Certificates issued in other countries are recognized in the Russian Federation (Clause 12, Article 25 of the Federal Law of December 10, 1995 No. 196-FZ “On Road Safety”), but it is necessary to go through some legal procedures. Translation of a driver's license with notarization is an important document, without which residents of other countries cannot drive a car in the Russian Federation (clause 15 of article 25 of 196-FZ). Such a document may be needed not only for citizens arriving on vacation in the Russian Federation, but also for those who permanently reside on its territory. Read our material about what needs to be done. In addition, the article contains information about when exactly it is necessary to fill out licenses in English.
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Use of foreign rights in 2021
The possibility of using a license obtained in another state is regulated by paragraph 12 of Article 25 of the Federal Law “On Road Safety”:
12. Persons permanently or temporarily residing or temporarily staying on the territory of the Russian Federation are allowed to drive vehicles on the basis of Russian national driver's licenses, and in the absence of such, on the basis of foreign national or international driver's licenses, subject to the restrictions specified in paragraph 13 of this article.
Please note that a person permanently or temporarily residing on the territory of the Russian Federation (namely, such a person is a citizen of the Russian Federation), first of all, can drive vehicles on the basis of a Russian national driver’s license. However, if you don’t have a national license, you can use a foreign or international driver’s license.
Those. Until a Russian citizen has received a Russian driver's license, he can use a foreign license.
The possibility of using foreign driver's licenses by citizens of the Russian Federation is also confirmed by the response of the Prosecutor General's Office, which is dated October 2021:
Letter from the Prosecutor General's Office on the use of foreign rights
Attention! In 2021, many complaints began to be received from drivers regarding the fact that, despite paragraph 12 of Article 25 of the Law “On Road Traffic Safety,” traffic police officers and courts at various levels impose fines when using foreign licenses. If you have not yet encountered such a problem and are just studying the legislation, then I recommend replacing foreign rights with Russian ones. This is much easier than later challenging the fine.
Features of driving license translation
Like the translation of a number of other standard official documents, notarized translation of a driver’s license is a type of service whose cost calculation does not depend on the number of characters and symbols in the finished document.
When translating a driver's license, the owner's last name will be indicated in the same spelling as in the passport (for English) or in accordance with the rules of transliteration (for other languages).
A notarized translation of a driver's license looks like stitched, sealed sheets: the translation itself with the translator's signature and a photocopy or notarized copy of the document. The translation is not attached to the original certificate.
If you need a notarized translation of your license, performing this procedure will not force you to give up driving even for one day. In order for a translator to start working with a document, the original license is not needed - a clear photocopy is sufficient, on which all numbers and inscriptions, as well as seals, are clearly visible and legible.
If it is necessary to present, at the request of a government agency, a translation of a driver's license filed with a notarized photocopy, you must also provide the notary with the original driver's license and photocopies of all pages of the document.
In any case, to avoid unnecessary hassle and problems abroad, take care of translating documents in advance!
The price includes:
- photocopy of the document;
- translation of all document data;
- translation of all stamps and seals on the document;
- notarized translation.
Deadlines
- The standard translation time for a document is 1 business day.
- If we are not very busy, we can make the translation faster without any extra charge for urgency.
- Call in advance and we will receive you without a queue, and your order will be completed in the shortest possible time.
List of countries that have signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Vatican City, Great Britain, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Guyana, Ghana, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Israel, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Spain, Italy, Cape Verde, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Liberia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Morocco, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, UAE, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia , Slovenia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Philippines, Finland, France, Croatia, Central African Republic, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, Ecuador, Estonia, South Africa.
Cost of translation of driver's license and PTS
| Driver's license | |
| Driver's licenses from CIS countries | from 900 |
| Oriental driving licenses (Persian, Chinese) | from 1200 |
| Translation of other driver's licenses, with data in English | from 900 |
| Translation into Italian, French | from 2200 |
| Other languages | from 2500 |
| Translation of 10 driver's licenses | 700 |
What foreign driver's licenses can be used in the Russian Federation?
If your driver's license meets the requirements of Annex 6 to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, then you can use it when driving a car in the Russian Federation.
Requirements for foreign driving licenses
In addition, there are several other types of driver's licenses that do not comply with the requirements of the Vienna Convention, which can be used in Russia:
- A foreign driver's license that does not indicate a validity period, which complies with the Vienna Convention on all other points.
- Foreign licenses issued before March 28, 2011 and corresponding to the previous version of Annex 6 to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
- Foreign licenses issued before March 28, 2011 and written in Russian or accompanied by a certified translation into Russian.
- A foreign certificate issued by a state that has not signed the Vienna Convention, all entries in which are made in letters of the Latin or Russian alphabet or accompanied by a certified translation.
If your ID is not included in the specified list, then it is impossible to use it on the territory of the Russian Federation. In addition, you cannot use in Russia licenses from countries that do not recognize Russian national driver’s licenses.
Translation of PTS
Translation of a vehicle passport is a must for those who are planning a trip abroad with their own car, and for those who want to confirm the presence of a vehicle with foreign authorities. It is important to remember that different countries and services have different requirements for the translation of this document. Therefore, it would be a good idea to clarify in advance exactly how the translation should be certified.
For example, the British Consulate accepts a translation of the PTS into English, certified by the seal of the translator or translation agency. In such a case, a good photocopy of the registration certificate may be accepted for use.
Although often a notarized translation of a driver’s license and registration certificate is required. To carry out such a translation, the original PTS or its notarized copy is taken. The standard turnaround time for a notarized translation of a PTS can be reduced if you find time to contact the agency in advance.
Notarization
Translation of a driver's license is almost always carried out with notarization. This is necessary to give it legitimacy and legal force. This translation is suitable for renting a car, registering an accident abroad, buying a car, or obtaining a work visa.
The notary certifies the translator's signature and confirms that he has sufficient qualifications to translate personal documents. Thus, he acts as a guarantor of the quality and accuracy of the translation. Therefore, notarized rights are recognized in all countries of the world - unless the need for an IDP is noted on the website of the country's embassy or consulate.
In some situations, the employer or government authorities require not just a translation of the rights, but also an apostille on the rights. The apostille stamp is placed on the notarized copy or notarized translation at the Ministry of Justice.
Translation of a driver's license has its own characteristics: not only the driver's personal data is translated, but also all marks on the document, seals and stamps. It is better to contact trusted translation agencies for this task. I am ready to provide you with a professional translation of your driver’s license, followed by notarization or apostille. Our translators know 120 languages of the world, so we take on projects of any complexity, and are also ready to translate rights and issue an apostille urgently, within one working day.
Border on penalty lock
The department reported that on December 8, 2021, amendments to the Federal Law “On state control over international road transport and liability for violation of the procedure for their implementation” came into force.
According to them, if upon entry into the Russian Federation of a vehicle belonging to a foreign carrier, at a checkpoint across the state border, the fact of non-payment of an administrative fine imposed for an offense previously committed on the territory of Russia using this vehicle is revealed, its further movement throughout the country is allowed only after payment of this fine.
The foreign carrier or a person acting on his behalf must pay the outstanding administrative fines within three hours from the moment the vehicle arrives at the checkpoint across the state border. Otherwise, take measures to remove the vehicle from the territory of the Russian Federation.
Certain provisions of this federal law come into force on July 7, 2021. Thus, starting from this day, the obligation to pay an administrative fine imposed for violations of traffic legislation will also affect foreign vehicles leaving the territory of Russia and participating in transportation activities. Such a car may be allowed to leave the territory of the Russian Federation only after paying a fine.
Let us recall that foreigners quite often avoid responsibility for violating the rules in Russia. Indeed, in the vast majority of violations, they are recorded automatically by photo-video recording systems, and a fine is issued to the owner of the car. But, as a rule, the traffic police does not have information about this owner, since the car is registered abroad. Foreign drivers felt unpunished on Russian roads.
Then employees of the traffic patrol units began to stop cars with foreign license plates and check whether the car had any fines. If so, then the fines were issued to the person driving.
The foreign carrier at the checkpoint must pay a fine within three hours
And so checks for fines began to be carried out at points of entry into the country. The presence of a fine became the basis for a ban on entry into Russia until the debt was paid. And from July 7, it will also become the basis for a ban on leaving the country. In Europe, by the way, this is standard practice, which for some unknown reason has not yet been used here.
How can the driver of a foreign car find out if he has fines? There is nothing simpler: the ability to check unpaid administrative penalties for a foreign registration plate is implemented in the service section “Checking traffic police fines” on the official website of the State Traffic Inspectorate traffic police.rf.
