A lost Vietnamese motorbike licence is reissued, not re-earned. The A1 and A classes carry no expiry date, so a licence that was valid before it disappeared is reissued with the same classes after a short administrative procedure under Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA.

The dossier

The reissue file is deliberately small: the standard application form, the health declaration or certificate required for the class, and identity papers — ID card or citizen identity card for Vietnamese, passport with residence papers for foreigners. The applicant files it at the Traffic Police Department or a commune-level police point that accepts licence dossiers, or through the online public-service portal where available. A photograph is taken at the counter.

Time and cost

Processing runs on the order of a few working days for straightforward reissues; the exact duration depends on the receiving office, and the state issuance fee applies under the Ministry of Finance’s fee schedule. No retest is involved — the classes on the old licence carry over.

The exceptions

Two situations change the character of the procedure. First, a lost licence that had already expired: the reissue turns into a validity question, and licences expired for longer periods can require sitting the theory test again before a new one is issued. Second, a lost licence whose points were fully deducted: the reissue waits behind the point-recovery process, because the reissued card would carry zero usable points until they are restored.

While you wait

Riding without carrying your licence is a 200,000–300,000 VND fine per the document-carriage rules; riding with no valid licence at all is a far heavier offence. If the lost licence cannot be located before you need to ride, the safe answer is to wait for the reissue rather than treat the loss as a technicality.

Foreign residents reissuing a Vietnamese licence follow the same file structure plus passport and residence papers — the same documents the exchange procedure uses.

Information, not legal advice. Verified against Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA on 2026-09-22.