Road transport business licence: passenger transport, freight, terminals, vehicle hire and logistics

建筑施工许可

ໃບອະນຸຍາດດຳເນີນທຸລະກິດຂົນສົ່ງທາງບົກ (ຂົນສົ່ງຜູ້ໂດຍສານ, ຂົນສົ່ງສິນຄ້າ, ສະຖານີ, ໃຫ້ເຊົ່າລົດ, ໂລຈິສຕິກ)

Handling agency: Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Source: 公共工程运输部官方站 (https://mpwt.gov.la/download_legislation?name=ລະບຽບຄຸ້ມຄອງການຂໍອະນຸຍາດດຳເນີນທຸລະກິດໃນຂະແໜງການໂຍທາທິການ ແລະ ຂົນສົ່ງ)

Where to apply

Land transport is administered centrally by the government through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Art. 73) at four levels: the ministry (Art. 74), provincial and municipal departments (Art. 75), district and town offices (Art. 76) and village administrations (Art. 77). For the business licence, controlled-list activities are filed with the investment office, studied by the sector one-stop implementation committee with the departments concerned and issued after the minister gives direction (Agreement, Arts. 8 and 18); activities off the list are filed with the central, provincial or district one-stop investment service office, which issues on the committee assessment (Arts. 9 and 19).

Procedure

• Match your activity to the nine types in Art. 7 and confirm it falls in the fifth, land transport, as defined in Art. 2.5
• Then establish whether it is on the controlled list (Arts. 5 and 6), which decides which office takes it and whether you wait fifteen or five working days
• Meet the Art. 10 conditions, an enterprise registration and staff with knowledge and experience suited to the business, then prepare the seven items in Art. 11, noting that the business plan has its own separate form
• The vehicle layer is separate: every commercial or dedicated vehicle needs its own operating permit (Art. 17) and must meet the Art. 15 conditions, while dangerous goods and special transport need their own approvals (Arts. 38 and 39), the latter after surveying the route
• Once licensed, watch three things: renew before expiry, since six months late doubles the fees and twelve months quadruples them and forces a fresh application; report damage or loss in writing within thirty working days; and amend the enterprise registration at the industry and commerce sector before applying to change the licence (Arts. 12, 13, 16 and 20)

Statutory time limit

The licensing timescales sit in the Agreement (Arts. 18 and 19): fifteen working days for controlled activities, broken down as two days to circulate, five to study and answer in writing, five to report to the minister and three to issue, with a refusal notified within three; and five working days for activities off the list. After a suspension is remedied the office checks and certifies within fifteen working days (Art. 38), and damage or loss must be reported within thirty (Art. 20). The Agreement does not fix the licence term in years, only the penalties for late renewal, so rely on the licence itself and the counter; the Land Transport Law likewise gives no periods for the vehicle, dangerous goods or special transport approvals.

Common questions and pitfalls

• Check article numbers at the counter first: our library holds another agreement of the same name with forty-two articles whose Art. 42 replaces the 25 June 2025 version cited here. The documents and timescales match but the numbering is shifted by one
• Do not read only the Land Transport Law: the documents and timescales are all in the licensing Agreement
• Controlled and non-controlled differ by ten working days and a whole round of concurrences (Arts. 18 and 19), so establish which list you are on before planning
• Do not let renewal slip: over six months doubles the charges and over twelve quadruples them and forces refiling the whole set (Arts. 12 and 13)
• Changes have an order: amend the enterprise registration at the industry and commerce sector first and bring the amended copy (Art. 16.3)
• Dissolution needs two cessation notices first, one from the tax authority and one from industry and commerce (Art. 17.3 and 17.4), so it is not a single stop at the transport office
• An enterprise whose licence has been revoked may not apply again in this sector (Art. 39), which is final
• Special transport requires surveying the route before applying (Art. 39), and dangerous goods need approval from other ministries besides public works and transport (Art. 38), so one office is not enough

15 items to fill in

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