Container driver's license

What is a container truck?

A container truck, also commonly referred to as a tractor-trailer or simply a container, is a type of road motor vehicle that is coupled with cargo containers, trailers, or specialized semi-trailers for transporting large quantities of goods. Bulky items that need to be transported over long distances, such as from the North to the South, often opt for this type of vehicle. Road transportation is the backbone of freight transportation in Vietnam, with 77% of the country's total freight transport volume being carried by road in 2016. Container trucks have the ability to carry goods weighing up to hundreds of tons. These trucks are operated by a tractor unit, which pulls one or more cargo containers, trailers, or non-wheeled semi-trailers. It is thanks to these vehicles that goods and products are distributed throughout the country.

What license is required to drive a container truck?

There are many questions surrounding the issue of what license is required to drive a container truck. Here is the answer: As container trucks are specialized vehicles with large payloads, significant dimensions, and the potential to pose risks in traffic, driving a container truck requires a container truck driver's license according to the regulations of the Ministry of Transport. To drive a container truck, drivers must hold an FC driver's license.

An FC driver's license is a category of driver's license issued to drivers who operate vehicles specified in the C driver's license, which includes articulated vehicles, tractor-trailers, and vehicles specified in the B1, B2, C, and FB2 driver's licenses.

Drivers who already hold a C driver's license must ensure that they meet all the necessary conditions regarding safe mileage, age, and driving time in order to convert their license from C to FC if they want to drive container trucks.

Having an FC driver's license allows the driver to operate container trucks, which is why the FC driver's license is often referred to as a container driver's license. Rental agencies for container trucks will hire individuals with an FC license.

Requirements for learning and obtaining an FC container driver's license:
To learn to drive an FC container truck, drivers must meet the following conditions:

Be at least 24 years old, be a Vietnamese citizen, and meet the health requirements for learning and taking the FC driver's license examination as regulated.
Already hold a C, D, or E driver's license and have at least 3 years of professional experience, with a safe mileage of at least 50,000 km confirmed by an organization or company.
Have at least 2 years of continuous experience in driving tractor-trailers.
Be exempted from participating in theoretical courses at driving training facilities, exemption from theoretical and on-road driving examinations, but must participate in the on-road driving examination according to the examination procedure for obtaining an FC driver's license.
In the case of drivers who already hold C, D, or E driver's licenses, have the required professional experience and safe mileage, but only have 1 to less than 2 years of continuous experience in driving tractor-trailers, they are exempted from theoretical courses at driving training facilities but must participate in the theoretical and on-road driving examinations according to the examination procedure for obtaining an FC driver's license.

In the case of drivers who already hold C, D, or E driver's licenses and have the required professional experience and safe mileage but have been driving tractor-trailers continuously for less than 1 year, they are exempted from practical training but must undergo theoretical training at a driving training facility and participate in the theoretical and practical examinations according to the examination procedure for obtaining an FC driver's license.

In the case of drivers who already hold C, D, or E driver's licenses but do not have the required professional experience and safe mileage as mentioned above and are currently driving tractor-trailers, if they want to learn to drive an FC container truck, they must participate in theoretical and practical training at a driving training facility and undergo the theoretical and practical examinations according to the examination procedure for obtaining an FC driver's license.

How to obtain an FC container driver's license?

Is it possible to directly learn and take the FC license examination?
Chapter II of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT only regulates the direct training program for B1, B2, and C licenses, while for other car driver's licenses, there is only a training program for upgrading to B1, B2, and C licenses.

Therefore, if someone has never had a car driver's license and wants to take the FC driver's license examination, they cannot directly learn and take the examination. Instead, students at driving training centers must first take the C, D, or E license examination before being eligible to take the FC driver's license examination (according to point i, Article 14 of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT).