How to register a car and get license plates according to the new rules

If the body, chassis and powertrain numbers, together with the VIN code, are unique identifiers of the car or its main components and are intended to reduce the likelihood of vehicle theft, then another identification attribute, the state license plate, has other tasks.

It is located in such a place that the car can be quickly and without the need for stops and inspections identified according to the traffic police database and its current status, owner and other information can be found out. License plates are subject to certain requirements not only regarding their location, but also regarding their condition. That is, they should always be clearly visible, without causing recognition problems if the need arises.

These requirements cannot always be satisfied due to objective/subjective reasons. For example, over time, they can wear out so much that they become indistinguishable, and they can suffer significant damage when the car collides with natural obstacles and other vehicles. Finally, license plates can simply be stolen - out of malicious intent or hooligan motives.

In all these cases, sanctions in the form of serious fines may be applied to the vehicle owner. Therefore, in order to avoid consequences, something needs to be done with license plates. Until recently, in such cases, there was only one solution to the problem - registration of new numbers. Today there is an alternative - the possibility of making a duplicate. We will try to tell you in detail what the difference is between these two procedures, where you can get a duplicate number and how much such a pleasure will cost.

How legal is it to make a duplicate license plate?

The possibility of producing a duplicate of a state license plate appeared relatively recently - in August 2013. This action is regulated by Order No. 605 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. And if previously, in order to replace a license plate, it was necessary to re-register the vehicle with the traffic police, and this procedure was accompanied by the replacement of the title, now car owners were freed from all these and other inconveniences.

The advantages of making duplicates are quite obvious, both in terms of freeing up time resources (all drivers know how tedious the procedure for obtaining license plates is and how long you need to stand in line for this), and in terms of cost, which we will talk about later. And although the replacement of license plates has now been made easier thanks to the possibility of pre-registration through the State Services website, for most car owners, obtaining a duplicate license plate in any case turned out to be more profitable.

In what cases can the possibility of producing duplicate license plates be really in demand:

• if you are planning to go on a long trip. Having a couple of duplicates in the trunk will allow you not to worry that if something unexpected happens on the road (for example, an accident that ends with the license plate being crushed), then you should not be afraid of meeting with the traffic police. It is enough to screw the duplicate, which will take no more than 5-10 minutes, in order to continue moving with a clear conscience;
• Although theft of license plates is rare today, this identification mark can simply be lost. This often happens if the car owner does not monitor the condition of the fastening, and due to constant shaking, threaded connections tend to unwind. In this case, the duplicate is also very useful;
• Car owners often get numbers that are valuable to them in themselves, being associated with some events in their lives. Losing such a number will be a serious loss, but making a duplicate will avoid any possible troubles;
• No one is immune from natural wear and tear. A small scratch is enough to start the process of oxidation of the number, and in just a few months it can become completely unreadable. And for driving with an indistinguishable number plate, a considerable fine is imposed. And you should not rely on the fact that just one letter/number turned out to be unreadable - this is quite enough to impose sanctions;
• Often, when purchasing a new car, the owner wants to keep the old registration plates. In this case, installing time-worn license plates will be undesirable, but brand new duplicates will not be able to spoil the appearance of a brand new car;
• It also happens that you find yourself in an unpleasant situation that renders one or both license plates unusable. And if you urgently need to hit the road, and today, as luck would have it, is Sunday or Saturday (the traffic police departments are closed on these days), duplicates will again help out.

Making a duplicate of a license plate
But before describing how to make a duplicate of a car’s license plate, you should take into account one important nuance. The fact is that although you get rid of many problems and hassles, you may also have new ones.

So, if your license plates are stolen, it is possible that they will appear on another vehicle, and then several cars with the same identification marks will be driving on the roads. This is also a serious violation with more serious consequences than driving with unreadable license plates. In particular, Art. 12.04 (clause 4) of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for punishment in the form of deprivation of driving license for 0.5-1 year for driving a vehicle with false license plates. And although you have not done anything reprehensible, for a traffic police officer you automatically become a suspect with all the ensuing consequences.

It is possible that your actions may be qualified under Article 326, Part 01 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (forgery of documents), which threatens with more serious consequences - an 80,000 fine or two-year imprisonment.

So you should think three times before deciding to take such a step as making your own license plates. If they are stolen, it is better to immediately contact the nearest traffic police department, where they will tell you how to best solve this problem.

Is it possible to issue MTPL for a car without license plates?

By law, every new owner is required to register the vehicle with the traffic police. The procedure takes 10 days from the date of signing the contract with the seller. When determining whether it is possible to insure a car without license plates, you must remember the general rules of compulsory motor insurance and operating the car without any negative consequences, and if the deadlines are not met, the motorist will be fined. Regarding the MTPL policy, slightly different rules apply, because in addition to the fine for driving without insurance, the driver runs a serious risk in the event of an accident - the damage caused will have to be paid out of his own pocket.

Under the standard procedure, the policy requires the registration data for the vehicle, however, in the case of a car without mileage, it will not be possible to enter the data due to the absence of any numbers. After the traffic police registers the new car, the car owner will have to contact the insurer again and reissue the policy, adding information about the license plate number.

The registration process for a new car is no different from regular car insurance, with the exception of an important feature - to conclude a contract, you will have to visit the insurance office without fail, since e-OSAGO for vehicles without mileage is not available due to the lack of data in the unified RSA information database.

Where can I duplicate a license plate for a car?

The possibility of making duplicate license plates does not mean that this type of activity can be carried out by everyone who is not too lazy. In order to specialize in providing this type of service, in accordance with current Russian legislation, you must be an accredited organization or individual. The term accredited should be understood as having received a special permit. Only the Ministry of Internal Affairs is authorized to issue such certificates.

Therefore, if in your city you are offered the production of duplicates on very favorable terms, inquire about the availability of a license, and if the answer is negative, a variety of problems may arise when driving on such license plates.

The fact is that both the original state license plate and its duplicate must have the same degrees of protection against counterfeiting and at the same time comply with the requirements of GOST R5057793.

You can make sure that your choice is correct by studying the list of accredited organizations in your region, using the appropriate service of the traffic police offsite.

Remember that making a duplicate is not a time- or financial-consuming procedure, and you will not need to go through the re-registration procedure for your car. Just as there is no need to provide damaged numbers. The package of documents provided for making duplicates is also not a problem to collect - it is several times smaller than when issuing new license plates.

State Services Portal

How can you get numbers without spending too much time on it? You can simplify and speed up the process by making an appointment in advance through the State Services portal. The site is so convenient and simple that even a less confident computer user can use it. Let's look at the procedure:

• First you need to create a personal page. This won't take much time, but may come in handy in the future. The site allows you to use various government services without leaving your home or office, so it makes sense to get a “personal account” on the portal.
• Among the “Popular services” you need to find the “Car registration” tab.
• Next, press the “Get service” button and confirm your desire to register the car.
• The site visitor is offered a special form to fill out. There you need to enter the type of vehicle, indicate whether there is a need to obtain a license plate and title, and enter information about the person submitting the application.
• After this, you need to enter the data of the car documents you have on hand. I recommend that you pay special attention to filling out this information, as any errors may result in refusal of registration.

The program prompts the user to select a conveniently located traffic police department, the date and time of the future appointment.

The completed form can be printed for preliminary verification.

List of required documents

As already noted, only licensed organizations or individuals are authorized to produce duplicates, and the list of documents to be submitted depends on the status of the customer of the service.

In particular, for the most widespread category of car owners, individuals, this list is as follows:

• a document certifying the owner of the car (VU or Russian Federation resident passport);
• a document certifying completion of the vehicle registration procedure (STS);
• vehicle passport;
• if the original license plate is lost, a certificate of no criminal record may be required;
• It is not necessary to provide your old registration plates, but you may be asked to do so;
• It is also optional to provide an insurance policy;
• if you drive the car by proxy, it also needs to be included in the list.

Now let’s list what documents are needed to produce a duplicate license plate for legal entities:

• civil passport of a person who is a representative of the organization;
• a document certifying completion of the vehicle registration procedure (STS);
• vehicle passport;
• insurance policy;
• a notarized power of attorney issued to the person authorized to receive a duplicate;
• payment orders (with the seals of the financial institution);
• old license plates (if they were not lost/stolen);
• optionally - the original or a copy of the contract if the car was purchased under leasing terms.

As you can see, the list of documents required for the production of duplicate license plates almost completely coincides with those for re-registration of a vehicle.

How to save your existing number when buying a car through State Services

The step-by-step instructions will look like this:

• We go to the main page and find the item – vehicle registration .
• Select from the list that opens - change registration data .
• Next, duplicate the selection on the tab – change vehicle registration data .
• If necessary, read the downloaded text, then select “ Electronic service ” and click on the “ Get service ” button.
• We enter data into all fields as carefully as possible, checking them.
• Select the name of the window where your data will be received. In small towns there may only be one window.
• We select the address of the traffic police department that is most convenient for visiting.
• We put a tick in the box “ I am familiar with the procedure.... " and click on the " Send " button.

After reviewing your application, you will receive a notification containing links to the completed application and payment receipt; these documents must be printed. The receipt can be paid through the portal using a bank card.

Next you need to select, then “ Registration and issuance of documents ” and repeat all the steps described above. The completed documents and receipt must also be printed.

Then, at the appointed time, you need to come to the MREO department and present all the documents to the inspector, he will indicate the procedure for further actions.

How long does it take for a foreigner to take out a compulsory motor liability insurance policy?

You can insure a car with foreign registration for a period from 15 days to 12 months. Even if transit travel through Russia is expected for 1-2 days, the minimum validity period of the purchased insurance is 15 days.

Insurance can be obtained at the border or at a representative office of a Russian insurance company abroad. Some auto insurers for cars with Armenian license plates also offer online registration of an E-MTPL policy.

Related article: MTPL insurance when purchasing a used car in 2020

Important! You can also get CASCO insurance for cars with Armenian license plates. It is not mandatory, so there is no need to obtain such a policy. But there are also no restrictions on purchases.

Where can I get insurance?

According to the law, it is possible to obtain auto insurance for cars with Armenian license plates at any insurance company, since auto insurers do not have the right to refuse car owners’ requests to purchase compulsory motor liability insurance, regardless of the country of registration of the car.

Offers for insuring cars with Armenian license plates can be found on the websites of the following insurance companies:

1. Tinkoff Insurance has been considered one of the best insurance companies for the last 3 years. Registration takes place online, quickly and conveniently. We recommend that you apply for a policy there;
2. "VSK" is also a good option. We were previously clients of this insurance company. It so happened that we needed insurance, and in the end we paid everything according to the contract. This company is in second place in our rating. We can recommend her too. Registration also takes place through the website, in a few clicks;
3. "Agreement";
4. Renaissance Insurance;
5. "Rosgosstrakh";
6. Ingosstrakh;
7. "Zetta Insurance".

The MTPL policy does not require a meeting with a representative; registration takes place online. You will receive the policy by email (the electronic policy acts the same as its physical counterpart).

Important! After issuing a car insurance policy, the owner of the car will have the same rights as those provided for cars with Russian registration. He can also count on receiving insurance compensation in the amount of up to 500,000 rubles.