Ministry issues notice on change of vehicle number plates in Vientiane

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has issued a notification on changing vehicle number plates from Vientiane Municipality to Vientiane Capital, which will be implemented from March 1.
According to the notification issued on January 3, the name of the vehicle number plates will be changed to comply with the decree that was issued on May 28, 2006 on the change of name from Vientiane Municipality to Vientiane Capital.

A vehicle registration and driving management office in Vientiane.

Registered vehicles with the number plate of Vientiane Municipality will be able to use them until the registration expires. After that, the vehicle’s number plate has to be changed to Vientiane Capital.
If owners of vehicles want to change the plate before the expiration date of the vehicle’s registration, they can change them voluntarily, but the plate’s code and registration number must be kept the same.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport issued the notification to inform all relevant parties to acknowledge and cooperate the move in order to make the implementation of the decree successful.
To facilitate the registration of vehicle number plates, the Vientiane Department of Public Works and Transport opened vehicle registration and driving management offices in the districts of Hadxaifong, Xaythany and Naxaithong in 2022.
This was aimed at increasing public access to vehicle registration and driving management services, and mitigating misconduct among officials with respect to vehicle registration and driving management, according to the Vientiane Department of Public Works and Transport.
The district’s vehicle registration and driving management offices are able to issue vehicle registrations, provide vehicle technical inspection services, and conduct driving licence examinations.
In addition, the number of motor vehicles in the country has continued to rise, especially in Vientiane.
The latest statistics revealed Laos had 1.8 million vehicles, with 843,500 registered in Vientiane alone. A majority of them were motorcycles, according to Vientiane’s Vehicle Control Unit.
In 2022, the Lao Automotive Industry Association said that of the 80,708 vehicles imported into the country, 21,887 were internal combustion engine cars that use fuel and 1,408 were electric vehicles (EVs). Of the total, 58,893 were motorcycles.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update January 5, 2024)