Starting August 15, the Vietnamese government is specifically cracking down on tricks designed to keep license plates from being read by cameras. Applying reflective film, spraying on coatings or sprays that block recognition, rigging up lights that blind the camera — for actions like these, cars face fines of up to 26,000,000 dong (about ¥156,000) and motorbikes up to 6,000,000 dong (about ¥36,000), plus deductions from the driver's license points. As unmanned-camera “phạt nguội” (violation notices sent after the fact) spread nationwide, this amendment targets the tricks designed to get around them. For residents and business travelers who drive cars or motorbikes regularly in Vietnam, it's worth laying out what's now off-limits and why this amendment is happening now.
Effective August 15, Decree 238 writes “tricks that deceive the camera” into the law
The basis is Decree 238/2026/ND-CP (Nghị định 238/2026/NĐ-CP), which amends the existing Decree 168/2024/ND-CP governing administrative penalties for traffic violations, with an effective date explicitly stated as August 15, 2026. The headline change is that it adds, as a new violation, a tactic the law hadn't previously anticipated.
Translated directly, the decree defines the violation as “using materials, substances, or devices to alter the ability of technical enforcement equipment (i.e., enforcement cameras and similar devices) to recognize license plate information.” In other words, on top of conventional violations like physically bending a plate or covering it with mud,“a trick that specifically jams the camera's AI recognition”has now been added as its own category. It's a very 2020s addition to the law, written with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras squarely in mind.
Cars: 200,000–26,000,000 dong; motorbikes: 4,000,000–6,000,000 dong, plus license points deducted
The fine varies significantly by vehicle type. The amended clause is inserted into Article 13, Clause 8b of Decree 168 for cars, and Article 14, Clause 3b for motorbikes. Here are the amounts, with yen conversions.
| Vehicle type | Fine (dong) | Approximate yen conversion | Additional penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars (including passenger cars, trucks, trailers, and 4-wheel cargo/passenger vehicles) | 20,000,000–26,000,000 dong | About ¥120,000–156,000 | License points deducted |
| Motorbikes and mopeds (including equivalent vehicles) | 4,000,000–6,000,000 dong | About ¥24,000–36,000 | License points deducted (reported as 6 points) |
*Yen conversion calculated at 10,000 dong ≈ ¥60 (26,000,000 dong ÷ 10,000 × ¥60 ≈ ¥156,000; 6,000,000 dong ÷ 10,000 × ¥60 ≈ ¥36,000). The rate is approximate and fluctuates with market conditions.
It's easy to misread the digits here, so to be clear: the upper limit of 26,000,000 dong for cars is, in Japanese yen,about ¥156,000, and the upper limit of 6,000,000 dong for motorbikes isabout ¥36,000. When Decree 168 took effect in January 2025, fines for some violations jumped to roughly 10 times their previous level, so this is no longer an amount you can casually risk. Driver's license points (trừ điểm giấy phép lái xe) are deducted as an additional penalty too, with multiple outlets reporting a 6-point deduction for motorbikes. The number of points deducted for cars isn't spelled out as clearly as the fine amount in this report, so we're treating only the fine figures as confirmed here.
A real case from a VinFast in Thanh Hoa Province: AI cameras catch even a single taped-over character
You might wonder, “Does anyone really go that far?” but real enforcement cases have been reported locally. In Thanh Hoa Province, an AI camera detected a VinFast driver who had used tape to alter a plate character, hiding the vehicle's identity to dodge a phạt nguội notice. A trick that a human officer glancing by might miss stands out precisely because the camera is constantly cross-checking images. This amendment is built on the premise that this kind of “camera-beating trick against the camera” is genuinely happening.
Flip it around, and it also shows the unmanned camera network is starting to work as intended. As the system of sending after-the-fact notices for running red lights, speeding, and even minor lane behavior spreads, the old instinct of “it's fine if there's no officer around” stops applying. The very motive for hiding a plate is growing in lockstep with the automation of enforcement.
The line resident drivers “cross without realizing it”
What tends to trip up Japanese residents and business travelers are accessories or modifications added with no bad intent at all. Beyond this new clause, Decree 168 broadly defines other violations related to plate display. Below are typical examples of “actions that impair how a plate can be seen,” also covered under the same Articles 13 and 14.
- Layering reflective film or a smoked cover over the plate (makes it unreadable to cameras at night or in backlight)
- Painting or sticking spray or stickers over the letters and numbers on the plate
- Bending the plate, covering part of it, or altering its color, shape, or dimensions
- Mounting the plate in a position or orientation that doesn't match regulations, or having faded characters that can't be read
- Fitting commercially sold gadgets marketed as “anti-reflective” or “speed camera countermeasures”
One thing worth being especially careful about is when you buy a used car or rent a motorbike and finda cover or film left on by the previous userstill on it. Even if you never modified anything yourself, you can still be held responsible as the driver once you're on public roads. It's reassuring to check around the plate right after picking up the vehicle and make sure there's nothing extra stuck on or covering it. When renting a motorbike, taking a phone photo of the frame number and the plate's condition lets you document “how it looked when you picked it up” in case of trouble later.
Driving in the phạt nguội era: letting the camera read your plate is cheaper than tricking it
What this amendment ultimately comes down to is a simple cost-benefit call: it's cheaper to just let the camera read your plate and drive normally than to spend effort deceiving it. Risking over ¥150,000 for a car or over ¥30,000 for a motorbike over a single plate cover just doesn't add up, however you look at it. When planning how to get around in Vietnam, it's worth building in the option of not driving at all — switching between the ride-hailing app Grab and a trusted taxi company — which makes both cost and safety easier to predict. If you do drive, leaving your plate exactly as it is, with nothing added and nothing hidden, is the safest way to save money after August 15.
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Sources
- Gia đình và Xã hội (Sức khỏe & Đời sống), “Từ 15/8/2026, tài xế vi phạm quy định này có thể bị phạt đến 26 triệu đồng,” August 4, 2026 giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn
- Người Quan Sát「Từ 15/8, tài xế ô tô ‘chơi chiêu’ kiểu này có thể bị phạt tới 26 triệu đồng, xe máy bị phạt 6 triệu và trừ điểm bằng lái」 nguoiquansat.vn
- AutoPro「Từ ngày 15/8, che biển số xe bị phạt nặng, tối đa lên đến 26 triệu đồng」 autopro.com.vn
