Decree No. 138/2018/ND-CP Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 65/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 of the Government on Conditions for Operating Motor Vehicle Driving Training Services and Driving Examination Services.

DECREE

Amending and supplementing some articles of Government Decree No. 65/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 on conditions for operating automobile driving training services and driving examination services.

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Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Investment Law dated November 26, 2014; the Law Amending and Supplementing Article 6 and Appendix 4 on the List of Industries and Businesses Subject to Conditions for Investment dated November 22, 2016;

Pursuant to the Road Traffic Law 2008 dated November 13, 2008;

Based on Decree No. 15/2019/NĐ-CP dated February 1, 2019 of the Government detailing certain provisions and implementation measures of the Vocational Education Law;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Transport;

The Government promulgates this Decree to amend and supplement some articles of Government Decree No. 65/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 on conditions for operating automobile driving training service bases and driving examination services.June 2024;Driving examination vehicles used for conducting driving examinations shall be equipped with two "EXAMINATION" signs at the front and rear of the vehicle according to the model specified in Appendix II of this Decree, have a device to monitor the time and distance of practical driving lessons on the road by trainees, have a secondary braking system installed to ensure effective braking, located beside the instructor's seat, and must have a certificate of technical safety inspection and environmental protection of motor vehicles still valid.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Government Decree No. 65/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 on conditions for operating automobile driving training services and driving examination services.

1. Amend Article 3 as follows:

"Article 3. Explanation of terms

1. An automobile driving training base is a vocational education institution that performs the function of training driving skills for automobiles.

2. Training vehicles used for automobile driving training shall be equipped with two "DRIVING TRAINING" signs at the front and rear of the vehicle according to the model specified in Appendix II of this Decree, have a device to monitor the time and distance of practical driving lessons on the road by trainees, have a secondary braking system installed to ensure effective braking, located beside the instructor's seat, and must have a certificate of technical safety inspection and environmental protection of motor vehicles still valid.

3. Examination vehicles used for conducting driving examinations shall be equipped with two "EXAMINATION" signs at the front and rear of the vehicle, have a secondary braking system installed to ensure effective braking, and must have a certificate of technical safety inspection and environmental protection of motor vehicles still valid.

4. Training capacity is the maximum number of trainees allowed to be trained at one time by the training base, determined by the total number of trainees training for various categories of driver’s licenses, including both theoretical and practical trainees at the time of determining the training capacity.

5. A driving examination center is a facility constructed in accordance with national technical standards, providing driving examination services and classified as follows:

a) Type 1 driving examination center: Conducts examinations to issue driver’s licenses for categories A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, C, D, E, and categories F (FB2, FC, FD, FE).

b) Type 2 driving examination center: Conducts examinations to issue driver’s licenses for categories A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, and category C.

c) Type 3 driving examination center: Conducts examinations to issue driver’s licenses for categories A1, A2, A3, and category A4.”

2. Amending point d Clause 1 and point a Clause 2 Article 6 as follows:

a) Amending point d Clause 1 Article 6 as follows:

“d) Driving Technique Classroom: Has audiovisual equipment for teaching (tapes, projectors...); has images or drawings depicting basic driving maneuvers (adjusting the driver's seat, driving posture, position of holding the steering wheel...); has an automobile set up safely for cold and hot gear shifting practice (which can be arranged in a separate location); has a simulation device for driving training;”

b) Amending point a Clause 2 Article 6 as follows:

“a) Has training vehicles for each category approved by the competent authority to issue training vehicle permits; in cases where the training base also provides driving examination services, based on the usage time of examination vehicles for examination purposes, it is permitted to use examination vehicles for both conducting driving examinations and training driving but the number of examination vehicles used for calculating the training capacity shall not exceed 50% of the examination vehicles used for teaching driving;”

3. Amending point a Clause 3 Article 6 as follows:

“a) Legally belongs to the driving training base;”

3. In cases where the Cam Ranh International Port performs tasks according to the State’s and other ministries' programs and plans, the financial assurance for operations shall be implemented in accordance with relevant laws."

“Article 7. Conditions for instructors

1. Having a team of theoretical and practical instructors meeting the standards prescribed in this Decree.

2. Ensuring at least one practical driving instructor for every training vehicle.”

5. Amend Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8. Standards for driving instructors, Certificate, and Authority to Issue Driving Instructor Certificates

1. General standards: Driving instructors must meet the standards for primary-level teachers as stipulated by laws on vocational education.

2. Instructors teaching theory must hold a diploma from a college level or higher in one of the following majors: law, automotive technology, automotive engineering technology, automobile assembly, or other majors with at least 30% of the curriculum focused on automobile-related content; instructors teaching the Driving Techniques course must hold a driver’s license corresponding to the category of vehicle being taught or higher;

3. Practical driving instructors must meet the following criteria:

a) Hold a driver’s license corresponding to or higher than the category of vehicle being taught, but not lower than category B2;

b) Instructors teaching categories B1, B2 must hold a driver’s license for at least three years from the date of recruitment; instructors teaching categories C, D, E, and F must hold a driver’s license for at least five years from the date of recruitment;

c) Have undergone training in practical driving instruction according to a program issued by the competent authority and obtained a Practical Driving Instructor Certificate according to the model specified in Appendix VI attached to this Decree.

4. Competent authorities issuing certificates for practical driving instructors

a) The Vietnam Highway Corporation issues practical driving instructor certificates to instructors belonging to training bases under central agencies assigned by the Ministry of Transport;

b) Departments of Transport issue practical driving instructor certificates to instructors belonging to training bases managed by localities.”

6. Amending point a and b Clause 2 Article 9 as follows:

a) Amending point a Clause 2 Article 9 as follows:

“a) Individuals or driving training bases submit one set of application documents directly or through postal service to the competent authority issuing practical driving instructor certificates as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 8 of this Decree;”

b) Amending point b Clause 2 Article 9 as follows:

“b) Departments of Transport or the Vietnam Highway Corporation receive individual applications or lists of applications prepared by training bases according to the model specified in Appendix V attached to this Decree; within five working days from the date of receiving complete applications as required, they organize inspections and evaluations. If individuals do not meet the requirements, Departments of Transport or the Vietnam Highway Corporation must respond in writing and specify the reasons;”

7. Amending Clause 1 and point a Clause 2 Article 10 as follows:

a) Amending Clause 1 Article 10 as follows:

"1. The certificate for practical driving instructors shall be reissued in cases of loss, damage, or changes related to the content of the certificate for practical driving instructors. The dossier includes the components specified in points a and e of Clause 1, Article 9 of this Decree."

b) Amend point a of Clause 2, Article 10 as follows:

“a) Individuals or driving training bases submit one set of application documents directly or through postal service to the competent authority issuing practical driving instructor certificates as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 8 of this Decree;”

8. Amend point c of Clause 1 and supplement point g of Clause 1, Article 18 as follows:

a) Amend point c of Clause 1, Article 18 as follows:

“c) The number of motor vehicles used for examination: For driving license examinations in category A1, B1, B2, and C, there must be at least two vehicles per category, and for other categories, there must be at least one vehicle per category, and these vehicles may not be used for other business purposes; for on-road driving license examinations, there must be at least one vehicle per category. Examination vehicles must be legally owned by organizations or individuals with examination centers.”

b) Supplement point g of Clause 1, Article 18 as follows:

“g) Simulation equipment for driving license examinations: There must be at least one device installed with simulation examination software for driving licenses as prescribed by the Ministry of Transport.”

9. Amend point a of Clause 1, Article 20 as follows:

“a) Decision on investment orientation of the competent authority for domestic investors, economic organizations with foreign invested capital (where foreign investors hold less than 51% of the charter capital), except for projects that do not require approval of investment orientation or Investment Registration Certificate for foreign investors, economic organizations with foreign invested capital (where foreign investors hold 51% or more of the charter capital) (a copy accompanied by the original for verification or a certified copy).”

10. Amend and supplement point c of Clause 1, point b of Clause 5, and Clause 6 of Article 26 as follows:

a) Supplement point c of Clause 1, Article 26 as follows:

“c) Specify technical standards and timelines for equipping simulation training devices for driving license training, monitoring devices for theoretical study time, and monitoring devices for practical driving training distance for trainees; guide the application of information technology in management and supervision of theoretical study time for trainees at driving license training institutions.”

b) Amend point b of Clause 5, Article 26 as follows:

“b) Maintain and enhance material and equipment for teaching; manage the teaching staff to ensure conditions as prescribed; have sufficient means and equipment to ensure environmental hygiene and fire safety according to the law; organize refresher courses every three years to improve the skills of practical driving instructors according to the content prescribed by the Ministry of Transport.”

c) Amend Clause 6, Article 26 as follows:

“6. Driving license examination centers are responsible for ensuring material and equipment for inspection and scoring, having sufficient means and equipment to ensure environmental hygiene and fire safety according to the regulations to conduct examinations accurately and objectively.”

11. Replace Appendix IV on the model application form for training and issuing certificates for practical driving instructors prescribed in Decree No. 65/2016/NĐ-CP with Appendix IV on the model application form for training and issuing certificates for practical driving instructors issued together with this Decree.

Article 2. Abolish the following provisions:

Article 4; Clause 2, Article 5; point h, Clause 1, Article 6; points c, d, e, g, h, i, k, Clause 2, Article 6; Clause 4, Article 6; points c and d, Clause 1, Article 9; point c, Clause 1, Article 14; Article 17; point b, Clause 1, Article 18; Article 25; Appendix I of Decree No. 65/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 of the Government on conditions for operating driving license training services and driving license examination services.

Article 3. Transitional Provisions

1. Practical driving instructors who were issued certificates before the effective date of this Decree but do not meet the criteria stipulated in this Decree must comply with the provisions of this Decree before July 1, 2019.

2. Licenses for driving license training services and certificates for driving license examination centers with valid terms issued before July 1, 2016 will be reissued upon expiration if they meet the conditions for operating driving license training services or driving license examination services.

3. Driving license training institutions and driving license examination centers authorized by competent authorities to operate before the effective date of this Decree may continue their operations and must equip simulation training devices, monitoring devices for theoretical study time, and monitoring devices for practical driving training distance on roads for trainees, and simulation devices for driving license examinations according to the timeline prescribed by the Minister of Transport.

Article 4. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Implementation

1. This Decree takes effect from December 1, 2018.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under central city administrations, and relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree./.