According to Lawyer Bui Minh Kinh, Minh Kinh Law Company Limited, currently, there is no regulation that illiterate people are not allowed to take the A1 driver's license exam. However, to be issued a driver's license, learners must complete a training course and pass an entrance exam including theory and practice.
For people who cannot read or write, participating in and passing the theory test will face many difficulties because the test content requires understanding of road traffic regulations.
For ethnic minorities who do not know how to read and write Vietnamese, the law has its own regulations. According to Circular 14/2025/TT-BXD, training institutions must organize separate classes, have ethnic minority language interpreters and teach with images, drawings, models, and sables combined with Q&A and practice.
The A1 driving training program consists of at least 12 hours, including 9 hours of theory and 3 hours of practice.
According to Circular 108/2026/TT-BCA, ethnic minorities who do not know how to read and write Vietnamese still have to take two parts: theory and practice. The theory part is organized in the form of question-and-answer combined with a paper multiple-choice test, with a translator reading the question and transferring the candidate's answer to the examiner. The translator only performs the task of translating, and is not allowed to choose answers for the candidate.
The theory exam consists of 30 questions, the exam time is 60 minutes. Candidates must achieve 27/30 points or higher to meet the requirements to be recognized for the results.
Thus, there is no regulation prohibiting people who are illiterate from taking the A1 driver's license exam, but only ethnic minorities who do not know how to read and write Vietnamese are allowed to apply special training and testing forms according to current regulations. Other cases still have to fully meet the requirements of the testing to be issued a driver's license.
