Driver's license series and number: where to look for old and new licenses

Samples of VU operating in Russia

Drivers have 4 types:

paper ID of the old form;
old plastic VU;
rights of the new sample of the old edition;
updated new licenses.

Now you can get a new sample of the latest edition of the holder of license. It was established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on May 13, 2009.

On them you can see the date of issue of rights and assignment of categories.

Old

A series of driver's licenses on old models consists of letters of the Russian alphabet, and only those that can be replaced with Latin ones. These VUs differ in that:

Does not contain a barcode;
Information about the owner is indicated in Russian;
Contains a total of 9 categories;
The photograph on the license must be in color and against any background.

The validity period of the rights is 10 years. If you don’t know how many digits are in the old license number, there are six of them.

Sample:

Pay attention! Drivers who are allowed to drive a car with an automatic transmission are prohibited from driving a car with a manual transmission. The old-style form cannot indicate this feature; its structure does not provide for this.

Some drivers ask the question: “Can car owners from Kazakhstan drive a vehicle on the territory of the Russian Federation?” Yes, they can, this is determined by the Vienna Convention.

New

The new sample form is made in the form of a small card with specific dimensions of 8.56 x 5.4 cm and slightly rounded corners. It is made of moisture-resistant and relatively fire-resistant material.

On the front side you can see all the information about the owner of the device, as well as:

the date when the rights were issued;
until what year, month and date are they valid;
management categories for which the driver studied.

On the reverse side are located:

graphic information (barcode);
a table showing all possible categories of rights;
the date when the driver passed the exam for a particular category;
year, date and month of expiration of the ability to manage the car category;
a column with specified restrictions regarding the management of a particular category of car;
rights identifier.

Important! The driver's photo should not include glasses, hats, etc.

Description of each category

The introduced expanded classification strictly distinguishes vehicles by power, carrying capacity and passenger capacity, and accordingly, the choice of an iron horse now needs to be approached even more carefully, taking into account open categories.

For example, the Hummer H1, according to the vehicle title, falls into category C (total weight of almost 5 tons), and the Land Cruiser 105, according to the number of passengers (10 seats), falls into category D.

Let's go over all types of vehicles again and consider some points, restrictions and differences by category in more detail.

Motorcycle technology

Category M – moped vehicles, scooters and light ATVs with low power and a total engine volume of no more than 50 sq. cm. This type of transport has gained popularity due to its accessibility to a wide segment of the population and its small dimensions. And of course, all traffic participants would like scooter drivers to have the necessary knowledge of traffic rules when driving on public roads.

Category A – heavy motorcycle vehicles. The curb weight of such motor vehicles can reach up to 400 kg, and the engine displacement must exceed 125 cubic meters. see Category A allows you to drive any type of motorcycle, including motor vehicles of subcategory A1 .

Subcategory A1 – lightweight and low-power motorcycles with an engine capacity of 50-125 cc and power up to 11 kW.

Cars

This is the most common class of vehicles on our roads:

Category B – Passenger vehicles with a total weight of up to 3.5 tons and a number of passenger seats of up to 8. Allows you to tow a trailer weighing up to 750 kg or a trailer of greater weight, subject to the condition that the weight of the entire train also falls within 3.5 tons.

Subcategory BE is permission to drive the same category B , but with a trailer that exceeds the weight of the car itself (trailer weight more than 750 kg). The total mass of such a composition can exceed 3.5 tons.

Subcategory B1 – This subcategory has nothing to do with passenger cars of category B. It is required for driving tricycles and quadricycles.

Subcategory B1 if you have categories A or B .

However, the types of vehicles are different:

Category A opens access to driving quadricycles with a motorcycle seat (controls and steering wheel like a motorcycle) and in this case the MS ;
category B allows you to drive a quadricycle with a car seat (steering wheel, seats, pedals, car-type switches), in this case the license will have the corresponding AS mark;
if the driver had both categories ( A and B ), he will have access to transport of subcategory B1 without any restrictions.

Where is the driver's license number on the license?

The device is identified by the number and series assigned to it. If we talk about the rights of a new type, then on the front side the necessary data is written in the fifth paragraph. There is also an identifier on the reverse side. It can be found in the lower corner, on the right. The numbers indicated on both sides must match. The first 4 digits are the series, the rest are the license number.

On old-style documents (before April 1, 2014), identifiers can be seen on the right side of the owner’s photo.

There is also a block with information about him, where it is written: full name, date of birth, date of issue.

On paper licenses, the identifier is found at the bottom; it is listed in the “Special Notes” section.

How to find out the driver's license number using passport data?

Drivers are wondering if it is possible to determine the license identifier using their passport. This can be done by State Traffic Inspectorate employees. They have access to the traffic police database, where they can find information on any known parameter, for example, by last name. Go to the traffic police department at your place of residence and write a statement. After 2 weeks, you will be sent information to the specified address.

You can send a request to the traffic police by registered mail, attaching an application to it. Its form is available on the traffic police website.rf. You need to print it out and fill it out. There you can also obtain data from the traffic police online database.

Another popular question: “Does their identifier change when rights are replaced?” No, he remains the same. Even if some driver data changes, the identifier remains the same.

How to open a new category

To supplement your driver’s license with new categories or subcategories, you must undergo proper training in the chosen area at a driving school, followed by a check of the level of training at the traffic police.

To enroll in a driving school you will need a standard package of documents:

civil passport (copies of pages with photo and registration);
color photo, standard size for documents 3x4;
medical certificate for a driver's license.

The cost and duration of training in a driving school vary, depending on the chosen course:

Thus, retraining from category C to subcategory CE does not require passing the theory of knowledge of traffic rules and to open it, you must successfully complete the task of practical driving of a road train at the traffic police.
And if a person needs to open category D and he already has a category C and a corresponding driver’s card, then retraining includes a shortened theoretical part, which, of course, reduces the cost and duration of training.
Training in category M involves studying the code of traffic rules, from which sections that are not essentially related to driving scooters have been removed.

Important! The law provides for obtaining a driving class and the license itself from a certain age, having successfully passed the examination at the traffic police:

To drive light mopeds and lightweight motorcycles, licenses are issued upon reaching 16 years of age ;
Obtain permission to drive classes A , B , C and their 1 subcategories - from 18 years of age ;
You can drive freight vehicles, trolleybuses and trams from the age of 21 .

It is possible to undergo training at a driving school and pass an exam on knowledge of traffic rules at the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate earlier, but the issuance of a driver’s license is possible only upon reaching a specified age.

Is it possible to check your license using your driver's license number?

Knowing the series and number of the device, you can determine the data of interest:

Go to the traffic police website https://gibdd.rf/.
Open the "Services" section.
Review the list that appears and select Driver Verification.
A special form will appear on the screen. Enter there all the known data of the license: series, number and date of issue of the license.
Check the previous window to ensure that the entered data is correct.
Specify the email address where information about the verification result will be sent.
Click the "Request Review" button.
Enter the captcha.
Click on the "Check Driver's License" button.

The name of the rights owner is not required for this. You will need a document ID. The system will check the specified data and provide a list of information about rights.

If you know the series of driver’s licenses, then to obtain information about them, use only the official traffic police portal, so the chances of encountering scammers are minimal.

Let's consider all possible results of the rights check:

the certificate is valid. This means that everything is fine with the rights, they are valid. The screen will display the date of issue of rights, when the validity period and open categories will expire;
rights are invalid. They may be expired, replaced with new ones or fake;
The license is invalid and is being sought. You cannot appear on the roads with such a certificate. An error occurs if the rights are lost, confiscated or canceled by force;
a deprivation order was made. This means that the court has ordered deprivation of rights. However, it can be appealed, since 10 days have not passed during which the driver can drive. Then the VA must be passed;
The calculation of the period of deprivation has begun. The rights were withdrawn for a certain period, the countdown began;
the calculation of the period was interrupted. This means that the driver has been deprived of his license, but has not handed it over to the traffic police department;
receipt of information about the payment of a fine. The status appeared starting in 2021. It means deprivation of the driver's license due to alcohol intoxication, along with a fine that has already been paid. The driver is prohibited from driving the vehicle, however, the status does not make it clear whether the period has begun or not.

Sometimes drivers find themselves replacing their licenses with new ones, but this data is not displayed in the database. The update is delayed. If there is old information, just wait.

Try to check information about your license on the traffic police website from time to time. Especially if there are suspicions that the validity of the license has been suspended. Otherwise, you may receive fines.

Users are often interested in: How can I change my ID details on State Services? You can apply for a new driver's license:

Log in to the portal.
Open the "Transport and Driving" menu item.
Among those proposed.
In the next window, select the first item.
Follow the site prompts to fill in the information and submit your application.
Pay the state fee.
At the specified time, contact the selected traffic police department.

Pros and cons of an online database

Pros:

Speed. You can quickly check your rights for authenticity;
Credibility. The system provides accurate data taken from the original database;
You can check your ID anywhere, you don’t need to leave your home;
Reliability. Data from the database is not transferred to scammers.

Minuses:

Having collected enough information about you and your credentials, anyone can gain access to confidential information;
Sometimes the system provides out-of-date data;
Little information about the owner of the rights.

RSA database

Another way to check your rights is to contact the Russian Union of Auto Insurers (RUA). This service belongs to insurance companies. There is no separate section for checking rights, so you need to make a request to check the bonus-malus coefficient (BMC).

You must go to the RSA website and provide the following information:

FULL NAME;
date of birth;
series and license number.

If the system accepts them and starts processing the request, then the driver’s license is in the database.

Why do you need to know your rights status?

Driving without a license has serious consequences:

If without a certificate - a fine of 500 rubles;
Driving after deprivation of rights - 30 thousand rubles;
If a person deprived of his license gets behind the wheel of your car - 30 thousand rubles.

Since there are several types of driver's licenses in Russia, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with them. This will help you understand where the series and license number are located on the license forms. If you need to check whether your rights are valid or not, use these tips.

Punishment for violating traffic rules

The driver should be aware that not any discrepancy in driving class clearance and driving any vehicle can be regarded as a gross violation:

If during the inspection it is discovered that he is driving a cargo-type vehicle with a total weight of up to 12 tons, and he does not have a C1E , but his license has the CE , then a fine will not be imposed.
And in the event that the driver is allowed to drive a passenger car, but at the time of inspection he is driving a moped, with no permit on his license, a similar situation will arise.
But if he got behind the wheel of a bus, while having permission to drive only passenger vehicles, then the fine could range from 5 to 15 thousand rubles. The driver will definitely be removed from driving, and the vehicle will be driven to an impound lot (27.12 and 27.13 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).
Driving a manual car with only an automatic license is also equivalent to driving without a license, with the ensuing consequences.

This is what we wanted to tell you about driving licenses. If you have any questions, please contact our legal experts for clarification by filling out a request at the end of the article.