Validity
The legal validity of a driver's license is 10 years. After this period has expired, the document can be received again. To do this, you do not need to re-train at a driving school or take exams. The only condition is passing a medical examination.
The fact is that over 10 years the driver’s health condition may become worse, and driving such a driver can be dangerous not only for himself, but also for other road users. (the most likely causes are deterioration of vision, hearing, general physical condition, etc.)
The established period of validity of rights of 10 years applies only to Russian citizens. If a Russian-style certificate is issued to a foreigner temporarily residing in the country (for example, a citizen of the Republic of Belarus or the Republic of Kazakhstan who came for seasonal work in Russia), then his rights are valid only for the duration of his stay in Russia.
ATTENTION !!! After the expiration of the period, the holder of the invalid certificate must apply for a new document. An application for replacement of rights can also be submitted by last name using the State Services portal. There is also the opportunity to pay the state fee for replacing rights, and in 2021, when replacing rights through the State Services website, this can be done with a 30% discount. Also, starting from February 2021, this procedure is carried out throughout the country, regardless of geographical dependence on the place of registration of the car owner.
It is also possible that controversial situations may arise regarding the validity of rights on the last day. Although in reality disputes are resolved very simply. Rights are considered valid exactly until the end of the day specified in the rights as the last. That is, until 23:59 of the last day, the driver has the right to drive with a license on a completely legal basis.
Replacement of rights is also carried out when changing the surname, and in the event of a serious illness, which, due to physical limitations in health, does not make it possible to drive any of the categories of transport specified in the rights.
Will my license be changed if there are unpaid fines?
Replacing a license is a regular procedure that all drivers face sooner or later. The certificate may be a long-term document, but it is not a permanent document, so you should prepare for its replacement in advance.
You will learn how to do this and whether you need to pay fines when replacing a driver’s license in the article below.
Dear readers! Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.
If you want to find out how to solve your particular problem, please use the online consultant form on the right or call
+7 It's fast and free!
If there are fines, will the license be changed?
Our lawyer will help you. Many people believe that replacing an expiring driver's license is only possible at the traffic police department on Revolution Highway. There are many more places in St. Petersburg where you can exchange your driver's license. Novosaratovka, Travyanaya village, Traktornaya village,
Amount of fine
According to the law, driving a car after the expiration of this license is tantamount to not having one at all. Such an offense is punishable by a fine of up to fifteen thousand rubles. The inspector who issues the fine or the judicial authorities have the authority to more accurately determine what punishment the violator faces.
IMPORTANT !!! If the owner of the vehicle transferred the right to drive to another citizen who had an expired license, then the amount of the fine for the owner of the car doubles.
As soon as the traffic police inspector stops the car and discovers that the documents are overdue, the trip is immediately interrupted and the driver is removed from control. At the same time, the inspector has the right to decide whether to send the vehicle to the impound lot. In accordance with the requirements of Article 27.3 of the Administrative Code, the driver in this case assumes the costs of providing such a service, paying for the arrival and work of the tow truck, as well as for every day the car is in the impound lot.
In this case, the car will not be returned to its owner until he receives a new license or pays the fine in full. Another person can also pick up the car on the basis of a notarized power of attorney. In addition to the power of attorney, such a person must have a valid license for a car of this category.
IMPORTANT !!! In addition, the traffic police inspector, having stopped the driver and established the fact of such a violation, is obliged to take away his expired license from the driver. When replacing the document in the future, it is necessary to indicate that the rights have been confiscated.
Some drivers, having expired documents, may try to mitigate their punishment. When the inspector demands your license, they may say that your license was forgotten at home.
In the case when such an offender has the remaining necessary documents for the car (except for the driver’s license, which was allegedly “carelessly left at home”), the attempt to deceive the inspector may be successful. In this case, the driver will receive the minimum possible punishment (according to Article 12.3 of the Administrative Code - a fine of 500 rubles or even a warning)
ATTENTION !!! However, if the inspector nevertheless decides to check the information and makes a request about the availability of rights in the database, or offers to go with the driver to his home, where the license has been forgotten, then the driver will have to pay the fine provided by law. Moreover, for attempting to deceive the inspector, most likely, the amount of punishment will be the maximum possible for this article - fifteen thousand rubles.
In the event of an accident in which the driver of the car, driving it with expired documents, became an injured person, he automatically completely loses the right to receive insurance payments under the MTPL insurance policy. Even not guilty of violating traffic rules during an accident will not serve as a sufficient basis for the insurance company to pay out the insurance. However, even in court it will not be possible to obtain the right to insurance payments.
Payment Methods
For the convenience of citizens, the majority of all fines imposed by the traffic police can be paid directly on the official website of this government agency.
In the appropriate section of the site, you need to find your decision (this can be done either by the car number or by the driver’s license number), and then pay for it in one of the convenient ways:
- Bank payment card.
- Through the use of electronic payment systems.
- By printing the receipt and visiting any bank or post office.
It is worth considering that payment at a bank branch or with a bank card on the traffic police website additionally entails payment of a commission fee in favor of the banking institution. This payment can also be made through the Qiwi self-service terminal by entering the number of the receipt issued by the inspector when paying. In this case, you must keep the payment receipt.
In addition to the traffic police website, the fine can be paid online through the State Services portal. The portal additionally provides the service of sending information about the payment made to the authority that imposed the fine. Also, when paying a fine through the State Services portal, within 20 days after its imposition, the driver has the right to count on a discount of up to half of its amount.
Is there a chance to challenge the issued fine?
In most cases there is no such possibility. In order to issue a fine for this offense, the fact of being behind the wheel and moving the car must be recorded. If there is such a record, it is hardly possible to challenge the fact of the offense.
A judicial appeal has a slightly greater chance, but in the best case, the offender may be able to reduce the fine, and then only if there were serious violations on the part of the traffic police inspector (for example, when drawing up a protocol).
When intentionally driving a car with an expired license, the driver must independently understand the public risk of such an offense. If such a violation is discovered, there is practically no basis for mitigating the punishment. After all, it is hardly possible to forget about having an expired driver’s license. And depending on how long the excess is, the punishment becomes proportionate to the violation. Since expired rights are equated by law to their complete absence, there is practically no chance of receiving leniency from the court.
If the driver decides to challenge the fine, counting on a review of the court's decision, then this can be done within 10 days after the court ruling is issued.
In addition to obvious violations of the inspector (which it is advisable to prove documented or using video and audio), other possible arguments for trying to reconsider the decision may be:
- Insignificant period of delay of the document.
- Evidence of the presence of a disease that prevented timely contacting the traffic police for a replacement (for example, serious diseases of the musculoskeletal system associated with temporary restrictions on movement, being inpatient treatment in a hospital, etc.).
- Evidence showing that when stopped by a traffic police inspector, the driver was sent to get a replacement document. Although, in reality, it is extremely difficult to prove such a fact.
IMPORTANT !!! However, the outcome of court proceedings in almost all such cases remains not in favor of the driver with an expired license.
And transferring the case to a primary or re-trial hearing automatically deprives you of the opportunity to receive a 50% discount when paying a fine. Taking into account the payment of legal costs, which also falls on the violator, it turns out that when challenging, he loses even more money than he could save if he pays the fine right away.
In any case, the best option is to promptly contact the traffic police for a replacement driver’s license. The amount of the fee is much less than the fine, and registration using the Internet has significantly reduced the time spent on obtaining a new document.
Will I change my license at MREO if there are unpaid fines 2021
But here, let’s say you need to change your license or deregister your car. You are heading to the MREO. Having prepared the complete package of documents required in your case, you find yourself at the window.
The inspector carefully looks at your package of documents and turns his bright gaze to the monitor screen, making a few keystrokes on the keyboard, quite seriously tells you that you have unpaid fines, go pay them first, and then come back to me with receipts and returns your documents back !
IT IS ILLEGAL! The inspector's actions do not stand up to criticism.
The employee MUST accept your documents and perform with them all the registration actions that you indicated in the Application! In this case, the employee DOES NOT have the authority to refuse you to perform registration actions; frankly speaking, this is not part of his job responsibilities! Your unpaid fines have nothing to do with the commission of any registration actions at the MREO.
Do I need to pay a fine when replacing a driver's license?
Typically, traffic police officers use an oral form to refuse to issue a new driving license. Therefore, the driver does not have any facts confirming the refusal. The first thing you need to do is get the refusal in writing, which will indicate the reason that the employee was guided by.
In this case, there is another piece of advice: you need to use a registered letter with an inventory and notification. This is what needs to be sent to the road service authorities, enclosing an application for the return of the license. Traffic police officers cannot help but respond to such a letter, and you will definitely receive the document.
The procedure for replacing a license in a situation where the driver has unpaid fines
When replacing your driver's license, you will need to wait 2-3 hours to receive your new license. The person will need to fill out an application, bring official papers, take a photo and wait until the document is processed. It is also mandatory to pay the state fee, since the process will not begin without a receipt.
If fines are not paid on time, sanctions will be taken. You will have to pay money for the delay, and the amount is equal to the debt in double amount. Administrative arrest may also be applied. Therefore, before going to the traffic police, pay all fines. Then you will be sure that the procedure will be carried out without problems.
Do they check fines when replacing licenses?
If the driver comes to change his license, but he has overdue penalties, the inspector has the right to draw up a report and take the case to court. But he has no right not to issue a certificate.
Can traffic police officers refuse to replace your license if fines are unpaid? According to the law, no, but they have the right to apply other sanctions such as arrest. But today, when many people submit an application, they see an inscription in the MREO stating that if there are unpaid penalties, the certificate will not be replaced.
Also, the driver is immediately punched through the database. There is an opinion that the problem is supposedly in the new law, which states that the rights will not be replaced not only for violations unpaid by the traffic police, but even for non-payers of alimony.
If employees do not want to change their driver’s license due to unpaid fines, they need to turn on video recording, a voice recorder, record this, write a complaint and file a lawsuit.
We recommend reading: Rosstat Divorce Statistics 2020
So, is it necessary to pay fines when replacing a driver’s license or not? It is necessary in any case! To get rid of unnecessary problems, it is better to make sure in advance that there is no debt or to pay it off, since in any case you will have to do this. Conscientiousness and honesty will help to competently solve all problems related to the issuance of rights.
Do fines need to be paid when replacing licenses?
In order to replace the license with a new one, the driver needs to contact the traffic police.
If the reason for the replacement is expiration, then the driver has 10 days from the date of replacement to replace it, and it is best to do this a couple of days before.
If a decision was made to deprive of rights, then they must be handed over within a strictly specified period, for violation of which you can receive a fine. It's better not to aggravate this process.
- Expiration date of rights.
- The document has an improper appearance due to external influence (damaged by a child, chewed by a dog).
- Rights have been lost or stolen.
- The data in the document is no longer relevant (for example, the citizen’s last name has changed).
- The owner of the car was deprived of his rights due to a court decision.
- The driver received new categories.
Will my license be changed if there are fines?
After this period, the driver's license must be replaced. You can exchange your certificate at the Registration and Examination Department of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate at the place of registration, and from April 2021 also at the MFC. An exception has been made for Moscow, and you can exchange your license regardless of your place of registration in any department of the city.
Notifying drivers about a fine by mail raises many questions: is it possible, for example, to disagree with such a fine? Or pretend you didn't receive anything? Letter in an envelope Fines from automatic video cameras are sent by registered letters, which are stored in post offices until receipt.
How to restore a driver's license and what are the penalties for loss?
The driving instruction card must be kept carefully. This is when you will need it. And it doesn’t matter when you got your first license. Please note that when restoring a driver's license if lost, you must present the card. In other cases, for example, during a normal change of rights, it may not be needed .
True, the situation with obtaining new rights to replace the lost ones may follow a different pattern; the intermediate stage of obtaining a temporary permit may not take place.
Everything will depend on how busy the district traffic police department is. It may happen that, having paid a fine, a driver receives a brand new license in a few days.
But such a situation is most likely an exception, and therefore happens extremely rarely.
Replacement or acquisition of rights and unpaid fines - is refusal legal?
In practice, the likelihood of being denied this procedure if there are unpaid traffic fines is lower, but it does exist. All actions, grounds and risks here are absolutely similar to the previous case - replacing rights according to the validity period, so it makes no sense to describe everything again in detail. The grounds for refusal to restore are listed in the same paragraph 23 of PPRF No. 1097.
No you can not. This is the first and only case when all existing unpaid traffic police fines will have to be paid. But the joke is that theory and practice here correlate exactly the opposite in comparison with the above cases - that is, in theory it is impossible, but for practice there is one loophole.
Fines when replacing rights
- If there are blots and corrections in the documents;
- The date is incorrectly indicated or the validity period of the documents provided has expired (the old license does not count);
- The traffic police database contains information about the deprivation of the applicant’s right to drive a vehicle;
- Providing knowingly false information;
- Providing an incomplete list of documents to replace the certificate;
- If the applicant is wanted by government agencies;
- Lack of information about payment of state duty
There is no provision in the legislation of the Russian Federation prohibiting the replacement of a driving license if the driver has not paid fines for previous violations. If you have received a refusal to exchange your driver's license, you can request written confirmation of the incident from an MREO employee and contact higher authorities to resolve disagreements. Rest assured - the actions of the traffic police officers, in this case, are illegal
