Class A is the ceiling of the Vietnamese motorbike licence system. Under Article 57 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety (No. 36/2024/QH15), A covers two-wheeled motorbikes above 125 cc or above 11 kW — every size, every power, one class. Where A1 stops at the 125 cc / 11 kW line, A covers everything past it, from a 150 cc commuter to a litre-class tourer.
Who can hold it and how
The minimum age is 18, the same as A1. Training follows the same structure — licensed centre, fixed minimum hours (class A: 32 hours including 20 theory under Circular 14/2025), then the test. The A theory paper is slightly harder than A1’s: pass mark 23 of 25 rather than 21 of 25. The licence is issued with no expiry date, and it carries the same 12 points as every other class.
What A does not give you
Three boundaries matter. It does not cover three-wheelers — that is class B1. It does not put you on an expressway — motorbikes of every class are barred from expressways regardless of engine size. And it does not override the alcohol rules — the zero-tolerance bands apply to every rider of every class.
The fine line for riding without it
An unlicensed rider on a machine above 125 cc sits in the 6,000,000–8,000,000 VND band under Article 18 of Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP — three times the small-bike band, because the law prices the violation by the machine being ridden. An A1 holder who borrows a friend’s 300 cc tourer crosses that line knowingly: their licence covers the first 125 cc of the engine and nothing above it.
Practical Hanoi context
Big bikes are a small share of the local rental market, and the riders who rent them are usually experienced. If you are considering one, the class-A question comes first: a foreign licence with big-bike entitlement can be exchanged; an A1-only licence cannot grow into A without the test.
Information, not legal advice. Verified against Law 36/2024/QH15 and Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP on 2026-09-22.