I saw a new car with Soviet license plates on the road and found out from the driver how he got them

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Is it possible to drive a car with USSR-era license plates?

Despite the fact that almost 30 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there are still cars with USSR-era license plates on the roads of our country.

But how legal is their use from a legal point of view? Let's try to figure it out...

Is it really possible

No, the presence of old license plates does not indicate a violation of the law. Somewhere they say that after the end of the Soviet Union there was no order ordering the license plates to be changed to new ones. Other sources report that there was such an order, ordering the change of all outdated numbers before 2000, but it was later canceled. The fact is that today there are no orders or laws requiring the mandatory replacement of state registration plates. Therefore, respectable owners can safely operate their cars.

Considering this circumstance, as well as the fact that old cars gradually become unusable and are sent to scrap, and their owners are not getting any younger, Soviet standard license plates will eventually disappear from our roads.

I want to keep the Soviet license plates on my car, is this possible?

9.1. Soviet plates do not fall under today's GOST. However, if they are not damaged, they cannot force you to change them by simply stopping you on the street. In case of sale and, accordingly, re-registration of the vehicle, it will have to be changed.

10.1. When re-registering a car, you will not be able to leave the number.

11.1. Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated 08/07/2013 N 605 (as amended on 06/26/2018) “On approval of the Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the provision of state services for the registration of motor vehicles and trailers for them” 56.3. Previously assigned registration plates that comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation are retained for the vehicle. Replacement of state registration plates on a vehicle is carried out at the request of the new owner.

You can familiarize yourself with the requirements for registration plates in the document: “GOST R 50577-93. State standard of the Russian Federation. State registration signs of vehicles. Types and main sizes. Technical requirements” (approved by Resolution of the State Standard of Russia dated June 29, 1993 N 165) (as amended on August 23, 2013) (together with “Requirements for the color of the field and the quality of the reflective coating of registration plates”)

YOU CAN FIND THE DOCUMENT ON THE INTERNET. THE TEXT IS VERY BIG.

12.1. If you are not the owner of the vehicle, then you can perform transactions with it, including re-registration, only on the basis of a valid power of attorney and nothing else.

13.1. Dear Alexander These signs are allowed in Ukraine, so you can drive on them. Good luck to you and your loved ones.

Source: www.9111.ru

Surely nothing will happen for this

There are several important details for owners of cars with old license plates. In the appendix to the traffic rules with a list of faults and conditions under which the operation of the car is prohibited, paragraph. 7.15 indicates the impossibility of using a car on which state signs are installed that do not meet the requirements of GOST R 50577-93. But Soviet license plates do not meet this standard.

This circumstance gives the traffic police officer the full right to bring the driver to administrative responsibility under Part 1 of Article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for driving a vehicle that has malfunctions or conditions prohibiting the operation of the car, and punish with a warning, if this is the first time, or a fine of five hundred rubles.

Is it possible to drive with black or other Soviet license plates?

Look at the interesting state number enclosed in a black square. And what a surprise it was when we learned that car owners in Russia can absolutely legally become owners of such license plates. But in this article we’ll talk a little about something else that will happen to a driver whose car already has an old Soviet-style license plate. Let's assume that the motorist wants to keep it upon purchase. Is this possible and is it even possible to drive like this?

If you want to hear yes, then this will not happen. There is only one answer, and it is “no”. More details? Then let's turn to Article 13 of Federal Law No. 283 “On state registration of vehicles.” It is in this document that you can find one small but very important clue. So, the vehicle registration plate must be manufactured in accordance with all the requirements of the national standard. There are certain GOST requirements for car license plates. GOST R 50577-2018 includes exclusively data on modern format numbers. That is, all signs that could have been used previously, no matter how beautiful they may seem to you, will be replaced with new ones during re-registration.

Is it possible to keep the old numbers? Why not? Let's remember photo and video cameras; these are not smart devices that can recognize anything. First of all, these are pre-trained control tools that can only work with modern license plates made in accordance with GOST. Traffic police officers are required to remove all license plates from the past, otherwise there will be a certain number of cars in the country that cameras will not be able to record in case of traffic violations. Perhaps now there are vehicles that do not have the standard numbers of the past. But over time they will be eliminated.

Is it possible to drive legally with license plates like these? If you drive a car with license plates from the past, then this will not be a violation. There must be one condition - you must be the owner of the vehicle. But the next owner of the car will have to receive modern signs upon re-registration.

Is it possible not to re-register a car in order to drive with the old license plates? And here there is a way out: you can purchase a vehicle using a general power of attorney. But this will last until the owner dies. Of course, it’s not entirely pleasant to talk about this, but it’s still a fact. Then the owner of the car must go and re-register the vehicle in his name, or take over the inheritance and wait until he can register the car.

So many problems because of one state number. You need to understand whether it's worth it or not. After all, as we see, there are no legal ways to drive a car with black license plates after the death of the owner. You can, of course, not return your old numbers and keep them, but only as a souvenir.

Oh, how I want to leave

It happens that the new owner wants to preserve the authenticity of the car and keep the old license plates. Alas, this is impossible to do. When re-registering a car to a new owner, replacement of registration plates will be required; it will not be possible to keep the old ones. Unless you keep the Soviet plates for your collection. Then in the application for registration, you must indicate the loss of registration numbers. It is important to note: theft of state signs is excluded. Of course, after this it is strictly prohibited to drive with such signs.

Number plates from the USSR - a brief overview

The first serious attempts to register all cars by assigning license plates to them were made in Russia in 1920 with the help of the decree “On License Plates,” which ordered that the front number be installed on the left fender of the car, and the rear number on the body or pillar.

In 1927, the Soviet Union adopted the “Rules for the All-Union Registration of Cars and Motorcycles,” which for the first time specified what the shape and size of license plates should be for different types of vehicles.

By the early 1930s, when the number of cars and motorcycles in the cities of the USSR increased noticeably, a single standard of license plates for cars and motorcycles was adopted. In accordance with it, Soviet license plates of that time were a set of black letters and numbers on a white background in the “letter - two digits - two digits” format.

Subsequently, the format of license plates in the USSR changed several times.

In recent years in the Soviet Union, private car owners were issued license plates of this type: x 77 77 XX.

Maybe there is a freebie

They say that photo radar systems are not able to track cars with Soviet license plates. Is it true? No, the violation will be recorded, the equipment does not care what license plate the car has. It’s just that state signs that comply with the current standard are determined automatically in the program, and the old numbers will be dealt with manually by the operator.

• Author: Margarita Zakharchenko
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What to do with old documents?

In Soviet times, car documents were different from modern ones.

This is what the car's technical passport used to look like. There was no STS - laminated plastic card - then. Photo source

Such a registration certificate has not been issued since 1993: then it was replaced by the vehicle passport we are used to. Despite their exotic appearance, such documents still have legal force upon registration. But you won’t be able to save them after re-registering the car in your name: the traffic police will issue new ones.

They will also change your state license plates: they are old, Soviet, do not meet modern requirements and you cannot drive with them.

If it is important for you to preserve the historical appearance of your car, write a statement about the loss of old state license plates. You will keep them, but you will not be able to operate the car with them: for driving a car with non-standard license plates, there is a fine of 500 rubles.

Old numbers can be screwed onto the car, for example, at exhibitions and collectors' gatherings. But before leaving on the road, you will need to screw back a valid license plate of the established type.

Military numbers

What they look like:

The symbolic designation is printed on a black background of a rectangular metal sheet in white. It can also be applied to a square black metal sheet - this is an older version of military numbers, but still used and relevant.

The symbolic designation consists of 4 numbers and 3 letters. The two-digit digital code on the right side of the sign has a different meaning than on regular license plates - it designates not the region in which the vehicle was registered, but

• military district;
• troops;
• ministries;
• departments;
• services;
• fleet, etc.

Who has the right to use:

As mentioned above, VAI has the privilege of issuing black military license plates in Russia.

VAI, or the Military Automobile Inspectorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, is one of the divisions of the Main Directorate of Military Police of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Interestingly, VAI also has its own black numbers. Code designation VAI – 99.

Not all groups of citizens have the right to receive black license plates. Those eligible to use black numbers include:

• VAI employees.
• Serving in military units.
• Personnel of the internal troops in the ranks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Department of Internal Affairs.
• Military personnel of the Russian fleet.
• Authorized to fulfill military obligations.

Permission to install black license plates can be obtained for almost any type of transport, both “civilian” and military, depending on the purpose of use, from a light motorcycle to heavy military equipment:

• motorcycles;
• passenger cars;
• the same with a trailer;
• trucks;
• means for transporting people;
• armored and unarmored military equipment;
• special operational response equipment like fire trucks.