Before you start

A temporary residence card or visa showing lawful long-stay residence
Your original, valid foreign licence
A notarised Vietnamese translation of it
A health certificate from an approved clinic

Step-by-step

1
Establish which convention your international permit came under
Vietnam recognises 1968 Vienna Convention IDPs only. The permits issued by the AAA in the United States, CAA in Canada and the Australian auto clubs are 1949 Geneva permits and carry no standing here. If that is what you have, you are riding unlicensed and uninsured whatever the rental shop said.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get the translation notarised by a Vietnamese notary office
A translation agency's own certification is not enough; the document must carry a Vietnamese notary's seal keyed to the original licence. Notary offices around Hải Châu do this same-day for a modest fee. This is the step that gets applications refused at the counter.
In personWho: You1–2 days
3
Get the health certificate
A basic certificate from a facility on the approved list — vision and general fitness, sometimes a drugs screen. Any of the Da Nang hospitals or a licensed clinic will do it within an hour. It has a short shelf life, so time it close to the filing.
In personWho: You1 day
4
File the conversion
Submit at the transport authority or through dichvucong.gov.vn. No written test, no road test, VND 135,000, roughly five working days to issue. Confirm the class you are issued matches what you actually intend to ride.
OnlineWho: You≈5 working daysVND 135,000
5
Get class A1 if you ride a scooter, even if you have a car licence
The overwhelming majority of Da Nang commuting is on 110–150cc scooters, which require class A1 or above. A car-only licence does not cover them and riding outside your class voids third-party insurance entirely. This is the most common licensing error among foreign residents in Vietnam.
In personWho: You
6
Treat the wet season as a different riding environment
From September the roads flood, the painted lines and the metal drain covers become slick, and standing water hides potholes. Sơn Trà's upper loop road is genuinely dangerous after rain and worn rental tyres are the common factor in most foreigner accidents here. Buy a proper helmet rather than the token one that comes with a rental.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Temporary residence card or long-stay visa
Original foreign driving licence
Notarised Vietnamese translation
Vietnamese health certificate
Passport and photographs
Application form

Things most newcomers don’t know

American, Canadian and Australian international driving permits are not recognised in Vietnam.

Vietnam acceded to the 1968 Vienna Convention and honours only IDPs issued under it. The 1949 Geneva permits those countries issue have no standing. Riders discover this after a collision, when the police record shows an unlicensed rider and the insurer walks away. In a city where nearly all transport is a scooter and the accident rate involving foreigners is high, converting for VND 135,000 is the cheapest insurance available.

Source: US Embassy Vietnam / Vietnam Law Magazine

Never leave your passport as a rental deposit, however normal it looks.

Da Nang's short-term bike rental trade routinely asks to hold a passport, and it is a widespread practice rather than a scam in itself — but a passport held by a third party is a passport you cannot produce for the police, the bank or the immigration office, and disputes over alleged scratches turn into ransom situations. Leave a photocopy plus a cash deposit, or rent from shops that accept that arrangement. Several do.

Source: community-reported

Da Nang has no rail or usable bus network, so licence class is not a technicality.

There is no metro, buses are minimal and the city sprawls twenty kilometres along the coast. Essentially everyone rides. That makes the mismatch between a car-class licence and a 125cc scooter a live exposure rather than a paperwork nicety — third-party cover is void when you ride outside your class, and Vietnamese road injury costs fall on the party without valid documents.

Source: community-reported

The rainy season changes the road surface more than newcomers expect.

From September through December, standing water conceals potholes and open drains, painted road markings and steel utility covers become genuinely slippery, and the Sơn Trà loop road is steep enough that a worn rental tyre will let go. Most serious accidents involving foreign residents here combine an unfamiliar bike, a wet surface and an evening ride. New tyres and a real helmet are worth more than any amount of caution.

Source: community-reported