Buying a car without license plates: what are the consequences of driving like this and how to drive legally?

How much is the fine for driving without license plates in 2021?

5,000 rubles. It is provided for in Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. But the subtlety is that according to the same standard of punishment for driving without registration marks, deprivation of rights for up to 3 months can be provided.

2. Driving a vehicle without state registration plates... entails an administrative fine in the amount of five thousand rubles or deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one to three months.

But the punishment for driving a car without license plates is not imposed by the road inspector - he is not authorized to do so. Prosecution occurs as follows:

• A traffic police officer stops you on the road, noticing from afar that you are driving without license plates,
• draws up a protocol regarding you as a driver, gives it to you for signature and then transfers the case materials to your boss (clause 5 of part 2 of article 23.3 of the Administrative Code),
• Having received the case, the head of the traffic police decides whether to impose a fine on the driver or transfer the case to court for deprivation - in the first case, the police officer himself issues a decision with a fine of 5 thousand rubles; and in the second, he transfers the case to the magistrate’s court at the place where the violation was committed, since the traffic police cannot deprive rights on their own,
• Having received constantly traveling case materials, the judge decides whether to fine the motorist for driving without a license plate or deprive him of his rights.

A little later we will talk about what affects a specific punishment: deprivation or a fine for driving without registration plates according to judicial practice in 2021.

Is there a discount?

Yes, the fine for driving without license plates can be paid with a 50% discount in the first 20 days after the decision is issued, that is:

• within 20 days after the head of the traffic police reviews the case and issues a decision with a fine,
• after the judge makes the appropriate decision, if the first one sends the case to court.

Please note, do not confuse the date of issuance of the fine and the entry into force of the resolution - these are different dates, and despite the fact that in most terms the legislation of 2021 operates precisely on the date of entry into force, with a discount there is an exception to this rule.

But about what to do if the letter with the fine arrived too late and you found out that you were given a fine for driving without a license plate after 20 days, we wrote a special article about missing this deadline.

You will also be interested in:

• We drove under the camera at a yellow traffic light: will there be a fine and how to appeal?
• Is it possible to order and legally drive without a fine with license plates without the Russian flag?
• Fine for non-working rear license plate light in questions and answers

Without rear license plate

Separately, the punishment for the absence of a rear GRZ should be considered. In general, Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses refers to numbers in the plural - that is, it does not see the difference whether you are missing one number or both. The same thing happens in practice. Do you like to drive without license plates? Will you receive imprisonment or a fine? How much will the last one be? No, not half of 5,000 rubles, as might seem logical if you are driving without one rear license plate, but the same 5 thousand. This is what judicial practice says (paragraph 4 of the Resolution of the Plenum No. 20 of June 25, 2019):

When considering cases of administrative offenses provided for in Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to take into account that the objective side of this administrative offense, in particular, is formed by the actions of a person driving a vehicle without state registration plates (including without one of them) ...

Another thing is that an inspector on the road will be less likely to detect a missing rear license plate than a front license plate. Therefore, the risk of running into a fine is lower.

Without front

Another thing is driving without a front number plate. Regardless of the reason for his absence, the same fine of 5 thousand will be issued, or the driver will be imprisoned for 1-3 months.

And the absence of a front registration plate is much easier to identify - such a car can be seen from afar.

Can they write me off on camera?

Of course not. It’s easy to guess that photo and video cameras on Russian roads identify vehicles by license plates. And if they are obviously absent, then how will the camera be able to recognize who to issue a fine to?!

You can argue that, for example, if a driver passes 2 fixation complexes: one removes the car from the back, and the other from the front, but only one license plate is missing, then theoretically a fine can be issued. Technically, yes, but the most that auto-fixing systems have learned to do in 2021 is measure the average speed. And then, at the same time, Avtodoriya cameras work in pairs, filming the car in one direction - either the front or the rear.

If the car is used at a wedding?

This is a fairly common practice. A sign “groom”, “bride”, “witnesses” and the like is hung at the place where the license plate is installed.

This is also illegal; there are no exceptions in the legislation today for weddings, anniversaries and other events.

No more 10 days without numbers - is that true?

And this is also not true and a myth spread by some news sources, and often quite authoritative ones.

The truth is that from January 1, you can still drive a new car for 10 days without a license plate before registering it with the traffic police.

To prove this information, you will have to dig a little into official laws and other documents, of which quite a lot have been introduced and also abolished in recent years. But there’s nothing complicated here either – let’s take it in order!

1. Even before January 2021, it was possible to drive without license plates for 10 days before registering a car with the traffic police, according to Order No. 399.
2. But, as you can see from the link, this order lost force just from January 1 due to the introduction of a new one - number 950. And in it, alas, there is not a word about the possibility of driving a new car without license plates.
3. However, the fact that you still have the same legal 10 days to register, and at the same time to obtain a state license, is in the new law on registration - in paragraph 3 of Article 8 of its official text, the first responsibility of the owner of the car the same 10 days are indicated.

Thus, if you purchased a new car at an authorized dealer’s showroom, you do not have to receive registration plates there - you still have the full legal right to drive for 10 days without license plates before registering with the traffic police.

But I want to get a GRZ in the salon!

And here we have a little disappointing news for you.

In order to have the right to issue registration marks, a car dealership must meet certain requirements, and also undergo special accreditation for this purpose.

As of May 20, 2021, not a single car dealership has yet issued license plates in the manner prescribed by the new law - that is, there are simply no organizations authorized to do this yet, so it is actually impossible to register a car with a dealer.

However, there are literally several network car dealerships that, even before the January changes in legislation came into force, were issuing license plates for new cars, so you can simply search and take care of this possibility in advance - before purchasing a car, by checking this detail with a car dealership representative.

There is no license plate because there is no bumper - what is the fine?

Same. The fact is that the traffic police officer is not at all concerned about the reason why you are driving without license plates. It has traffic regulations that stipulate that they must be installed in designated places. And the logic here is primitive: if there is no license plate in the designated place, you will receive a fine of 5,000!

By the way, you can’t drive without a bumper according to the same traffic rules. True, the fine for this is less - only 500 rubles under Part 1 of Article 12.5 of the Administrative Code.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that even if there is no bumper, you secure the number so that it is installed approximately in the place where it would be on the bumper. Although, formally, there is also a violation here that falls within the scope of the rule of deprivation of rights or a fine for driving without license plates, in practice this method will help to avoid a fine in almost all cases.

Expert opinion

Yuri Panchenko

Driving instructor, human rights activist, author of books. 10 years of experience.

According to clause 12.2 of Appendix No. 8 of the technical regulations on the safety of wheeled vehicles, registration plates must be placed in places provided for by the design of the vehicle. Specific requirements are given in Section 4 of Appendix No. 7. If, for example, the intended location for the design is a bumper, and it falls off, then there is no place to install a registration plate.

Then attach the sign in accordance with Section 4 of Appendix No. 7. There is only one requirement for the front sign: it must be fixed vertically. Nothing is said about the location of the sign along the axis of symmetry, to the right or to the left. The rear registration plate must be installed along the axis of symmetry of the vehicle, but it is allowed to install the sign to the left of the axis of symmetry of the vehicle in the direction of movement of the vehicle.

To be fair, according to GOST 50577-2018, if the front number plate cannot be secured along the axis of the vehicle, then it should be attached to the left in the direction of travel of the vehicle.

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Can it be mounted under glass?

No. You cannot install a license plate number either under the windshield or under the rear window - this will be equivalent to driving without a license plate with all the ensuing consequences. This is what the judicial practice of 2021 prescribes in the form of PPVS No. 20:

When considering cases of administrative offenses provided for in Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to take into account that the objective side of this administrative offense, in particular, is formed by the actions of a person driving a vehicle: in the presence of state registration plates installed in violation of the requirements of the state standard for places not provided for by the design of the vehicle (including only one of them).

Fine for false license plates (fake, not from your car) (Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation)

In this article we would like to talk about the case when state registration plates are installed on a car, but they are not from your car, or are fake.
Such life events are possible even without deliberately selfish goals. For example, moving a car without license plates, even from garage to garage, is much easier with license plates than without them. You can always borrow them from a friend without any problems. It happens that your number was simply stolen and you bought a duplicate from a company that produces state registration plates. Will this be legal? You never know... You know, this happens in life...

So, here we will try to figure out what will happen if you drive a car with false or counterfeit state registration plates.

In fact, we will cover the topic not in the light of what situations forced the driver to do this, but we will talk about what punishment - a fine - the driver faces if this is discovered by law enforcement officers.

That is, if police officers stop a driver and identify counterfeit government signs. This is quite simple, especially if they do not symbolically match the documents.

Here it is necessary to say about the level of responsibility for different persons, be it a private person, an official or a legal entity. Believe me, the fines for legal entities are very significant, but first things first.

Which article regulates the punishment for installing and driving a car with counterfeit (forged) signs?

This state of affairs will be considered under Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Driving a vehicle in violation of the rules for installing state registration plates on it.”

This article provides for penalties (fine) for incorrectly installed license plates and unreadable license plates. It also provides for punishment for installing false license plates, as well as for driving a vehicle with them.

These are already parts 3 and 4 of the same article of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Fine for installing and driving a vehicle with false (fake, not from your car) license plates

So, you and I understand that there are many cases in which the driver can put numbers that he got from out of nowhere. Reasoning about this can be gleaned from the first paragraph of our article. But law enforcement agencies, first of all, look at the root of the problem, so to speak, consider the worst option.

They will not understand that the driver wanted the best, but it turned out as always! All this is motivated, because often cars with fake license plates are used to commit any criminal acts. That is why the fine for such a seemingly insignificant offense at first glance is quite significant. As we have already said, Article 12.

2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (parts 3 and 4) provide two options. First for installation, this is part 3

Note: that is, the person did not even go anywhere, but simply installed false license plates on his car and will already have to pay a significant fine.

The second option is when a fine is imposed for driving with false license plates.

Note: This is a case where a driver was caught driving a car with false license plates while driving it.

Please note that if it turns out that the driver installed and then also drove a car with false signs, then this can be qualified as two offenses (installed and drove). In this case, there will be a fine and deprivation of your driver's license.

Is it possible to install duplicate registration plates on your car? Is there a penalty for this?

There was a time when registration plates could only be obtained from the traffic police. All this led to signs being stolen and ransoms being demanded for them... But now everything is different.

Signs can be ordered from any company that specializes in the production of duplicates. Duplicates can be installed on the machine without any restrictions. There is no penalty for this.

It is important here that the sign is made in accordance with GOST R 50577-93.

Is it possible to avoid a fine for false numbers or pay it with a 50 percent discount?

Installing false signs, as well as driving a car with them, is a fairly significant offense; in addition, Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, parts 3 and 4, does not provide for warnings, which means it is unlikely that it will be possible to avoid a fine through legal means. However, there are alternatives to paying the fine.

Since January 2021, the Russian government has made some concessions for drivers who are conscious of their misconduct. So, according to Article 32.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, many car fines can now be paid with a 50 percent discount.

In this case, such a violation falls under this article, that is, it is possible to pay the fine with a 50 percent discount.

Questions and answers on the topic “Fine for false license plates (fake, not from your car)”

Question: What is the penalty for installing false license plates on a car? Answer: If this is a private person, then the fine is 2,500 rubles, for legal entities up to 500,000 rubles

Question: What punishment is provided for driving a vehicle with false state license plates? Answer: Revocation of a driver's license for up to 1 year.

Question: Can a fine and deprivation of a driver’s license be applied at the same time when installing license plates and when driving a vehicle? Answer: Yes, they can.

Source: https://www.autosecret.net/avtoshkola/zakon/1508-shtraf-za-podlozhnye-nomera

I was caught without license plates: will I be fined or deprived of my license?

This will depend on a number of circumstances. But the main thing is that you have received traffic fines for the last year and even a slightly longer period, including paid ones.

The presence of previously imposed fines is a kind of aggravating circumstance that most often plays against the driver, since many motorists have such decisions.

The Supreme Court in its Resolution indicated (paragraph 22) that in the presence of homogeneous violations, one should be guided by the punishment of the person against whom the case is being conducted. And this exposure is calculated for a period of 1 year after full payment of the fine.

At the same time, violations from the same area of ​​legislation are considered homogeneous. In our case, driving without license plates will be a homogeneous violation of traffic rules, which entails punishment under the entire 12th chapter of the Code, including speeding, not allowing a pedestrian to pass, a seat belt, prohibited overtaking and other traffic police fines.

Thus, if you have previously issued fines, even if they have been paid, you may be subject to deprivation of your license for driving without a license plate. In this case, as we already mentioned above, first the head of the traffic police will send the case materials to the court on this basis, and then the judge will decide on a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 months.

But there are also special mitigating and aggravating circumstances, which are listed, respectively, in Articles 4.2 and 4.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

How to avoid responsibility?

Obviously, it is necessary to put a license plate on the car. But this is only possible if you deliberately drive without registration signs, in order, for example, to hide from traffic police fines.

In other cases, there are certain reasons for movement without a road protection device.

• If you simply lost one front or rear license plate, then, unfortunately, the only option to avoid a fine and deprivation for this is not to drive this car to get a duplicate of the others. Please note that you do not need to register with the traffic police to receive a duplicate, nor do you need to show the car itself for inspection. This is done at special points for the production of registration plates, and for this you need your passport and vehicle registration certificate.
• If you are driving a new car and have not yet received license plates for it, then in the first 10 days from the date in the purchase and sale agreement you have every right to drive without registration plates. Although, some traffic police inspectors think differently. We will discuss this issue in more detail below.
• If you don’t have a bumper on your car, and there’s simply nowhere to hang the number, then... you still need to install it approximately in the place where it should be.

Expert opinion

Dmitry Tikovenko

Automotive law expert. 7 years of experience. Areas of specialization: civil law, disputes over compulsory motor liability insurance and road accidents

If you are involved in an accident in which you lose your registration plate, then you are prohibited from moving further to the parking lot. In this case, even if your car was not seriously damaged in the accident, you will need to use a tow truck.

You can, of course, continue driving, but for this you can get a fine or lose your driver's license. And, if you can then recover the cost of the tow truck from the culprit of the accident or his insurance company under compulsory motor liability insurance, then no one will pay you the fine and will not return the vehicle.

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Latest news about the new law

So, the main innovation was the so-called “specialized organizations producing registration plates.” That is, the traffic police divided the authority to issue such signs, transferring part of the work to such companies.

In fact, the issuance of state licenses is now divided into 2 stages:

1. assignment of traffic police license plates to a vehicle (simply identification with alphanumeric values),
2. the issuance of numbers in the form of physical tin plates.

The first stage is still entirely managed by the State Traffic Inspectorate. But the second one was handed over to car dealerships on January 1, 2021.

In this regard, let's look at 2 actively spreading facts about the changes.

Does the traffic police no longer issue license plates?

A number of not the most authoritative publications on the Internet started talking about the fact that the traffic police allegedly stopped issuing registration plates altogether, but simply began assigning letters and numbers of license plates to cars according to the new law.

And this is not true! The traffic police simply divided this work, partially delegating it to car dealerships. In MREO as of May 20, 2021, you can still get a license plate for a new car or replace it with a used car.

The “proofs” here are simple:

• in the new law you simply won’t find a word about the fact that the traffic police have stopped issuing license plates;
• in addition, paragraph 118 of the new Administrative Regulation No. 950 directly prescribes the issuance of license plates as a result of the provision of government services for car registration,
• on the State Services portal as of May 20, 2021, the opportunity to obtain registration marks from the traffic police has not gone away.

But let's return to our main question.

If the car is parked or parked?

And in this case, there is no violation in 2021. Under Part 2 of Article 12.2, driving without registration plates is punishable. But the mere fact of lack of license plates does not entail any punishment.

But please note that the exception to non-punished parking without a state license is paid parking in Moscow. They can take any car to an impound lot if it is parked without at least one front or rear license plate.

If the numbers are not on the trailer?

A trailer is the same vehicle and is subject to registration with the traffic police. Therefore, it needs its own registration plates with its own alphanumeric designation. According to the rules, one GRZ is installed only at the rear of the trailer.

Therefore, for driving a car with a trailer without license plates, even if they are on the leading car itself, the same sanction is provided in the form of a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for up to 3 months under Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Administrative Code.

Something else useful for you:

• Traffic police cameras in Largus - how legal are they and what violations are they caught for?
• Rooms are covered in snow - fine or deprivation? The inspector threatens to revoke your rights
• Tilting JDM frames for license plates - what is the punishment (fine, imprisonment)?

How long can you drive without license plates?

The most pressing question for most Russian motorists concerns whether driving a car without license plates is always punishable by administrative fines and whether any period of time is given for driving without license plates.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a clear answer to this question, since a number of circumstances are of great importance here. For example, the circumstances of the transfer of ownership of the vehicle.

If you buy a new car from a dealership, you have 10 days to register it. If you are stopped on the 11th day or later while driving your car without license plates, you will be fined an amount equal to 500-800 rubles.

Recidivism for this offense will result in much more severe penalties. And the second time you will have to pay not 800, but 5,000 rubles.

Another punishment option is deprivation of a driver’s license for 30 to 90 days. There are no registration deadlines for used cars.

If the seller receives fines, this is a direct sign that the buyer did not register the car with the traffic police department, which means he will have to pay this fine. And not only this, but also an administrative fine for missed registration deadlines (for individuals, it amounts to 1,500 - 2,000 rubles).

What other penalties are there for registration marks?

There are quite a lot of them, but they are all listed in the same article 12.2 of the Administrative Code.
Let's look at them! Other fines for license plates in 2021

Grounds for fine

Motor vehicles intended for use on roads, with the exception of mopeds, trams and trolleybuses, must have state registration plates. That is, license plates are required for cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and special equipment. This is discussed in paragraph 2 of the Russian Traffic Regulations.

Violation of vehicle operation standards is:

• absence of license plates or one of them;
• installation of license plates in places other than those intended for this purpose ;
• non-standard signs ;
• impossibility of freely reading the license plate due to its contamination or the use of mechanical devices that prevent this.

A fine is also imposed if traffic police officers establish the fact of operating a vehicle with false license plates.

If the number is lost

Defects or wear of fasteners, bad weather conditions or road surface - all this can cause the loss of the state vehicle registration plate. Since further operation of the vehicle falls under the description of “driving without license plates”, this will result in legal liability.

The only way to avoid it is to contact the nearest traffic police station immediately after discovering the loss with a corresponding statement. The period of driving without license plates in this case is very limited: the application makes it possible to get home unhindered. But further operation of the car without restoring the license plate is prohibited.

If the license plate is stolen, this is blamed on the owner of the vehicle (he did not take sufficient care of its safety) and an appropriate fine is imposed for this.