What is the validity period of a driver's license in Russia?

Validity period of driver's license

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, a person has the right to replace domestic passports in the event of their loss or natural wear and tear. This applies to a passport, birth certificate, identification code and any other personal documents.

But there are also certificates that indicate a certain period of validity, after which the citizen is deprived of his powers and privileges. These include: passes, medical certificates, foreign certificates and driver's licenses. Moreover, for the latter type of certificate, depending on whether it meets international standards or GOST of the Russian Federation, the duration period will differ significantly.

For Russian ID

After successfully passing the theoretical and practical exams at a driving school, each citizen receives a Russian-style driving license. There, under indexes 10 and 11, it is indicated when the validity of the driver’s license begins and when it ends. According to generally accepted standards, this period reaches 10 years. But under certain criteria (if the owner is retired or has health problems), the duration of the document may be slightly reduced.

For international rights

When applying for a license to drive a car or motorcycle outside the Russian Federation, a person receives an international certificate, which is considered valid in other countries for 3 years. Next, the driver should renew his foreign driving license, or replace it with a new document (if the application for an extension of the period was submitted too late).

Without fulfilling these requirements, a citizen has the right to travel in his personal car only in those countries that are parties to the Vienna Convention.

In the remaining territorial divisions, the police can issue him a fine for driving without the necessary documents.

What is the validity period of a driver's license in the Russian Federation in 2021?

Are you learning to drive a car or motorcycle and wondering how long a driving license is? Or have you passed the traffic police exam a long time ago, but you don’t have the opportunity to look at your document and find out when its expiration date expires? Don't worry: if you remember when you got your license, you can easily calculate when your driver's license will expire.

Validity of a driver's license in Russia

Let's figure out how long a driver's license is issued, based on the legislation of the Russian Federation, and how to get a new license instead of an expired one. There is nothing complicated in this procedure: the main thing is not to delay your trip to the traffic police if the time has come to change your documents.

So, for how long are driving licenses issued in Russia? To answer this question, you should turn to the law, namely, Order No. 782 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated July 20, 2000. This document states that a driver’s license is issued for a period of 10 years. However, there are cases when replacement is made earlier (they are described below).

The law also states that traffic police officers do not have the right to refuse a “volunteer” who decided to renew the document 30 days before its expiration date.

As you know, a driver’s license is issued to a person after he passes two exams at a driving school - theoretical and practical. If the student has confirmed his knowledge of traffic rules and driving skills, he is sent to the traffic police, where he will have to take a photo.

But the ID contains not only personal data and a photo of the driver, but also the date of issue of the document and the day when its validity expires. So if you're wondering if it's time to change your license, just look at yours (and don't worry: the validity period of your license does not depend on its category, your age and other factors).

Russian drivers do not have to suffer from frequent changes of documents, and this, of course, is good news. But it is often also confusing - at least for those who have also received international rights in addition to national ones. People forget that although the “domestic” rights of the Russian Federation are valid for 10 years, international ones need to be changed every 3 years.

It also depends on how long ago your national license was issued to you, how long your international driver’s license will be valid. As soon as the national document expires, the international document also becomes invalid, even if three years have not passed since its receipt.

How to get new rights instead of outdated ones

It is logical to assume that as soon as a driver’s license in Russia expires, the citizen will have to obtain a new license. In order to be issued a new license, you just need to bring a package of documents and pay the state fee (2 thousand for a plastic license without a chip and 3 thousand rubles for a new license with a chip - from 08/3/18). The list of required documents is presented below. If you are asked to provide other papers or retake the theoretical or practical part of the exam, which is usually taken in driving schools, this is a reason to file a complaint with a higher authority.

Please note that the situation when a driver's license expires is not the only situation in which a replacement license is required. Many events can occur in a person’s life that affect the relevance of documents.

So, the driver needs to come to the traffic police for a new license if he:

made adjustments to the passport data (this applies not only to women who recently got married, but also to those who changed their name, patronymic, and gender);
lost old rights or they became unusable;
received citizenship of the Russian Federation, and before that had a residence permit;
health changes have occurred (for example, now I have to constantly wear glasses).

Documents should be collected 10–14 days before the date when the certificate becomes invalid. In this case, you will certainly receive your license on time. But if your license was stolen or you have already handed over your old one to the traffic police, but have not yet managed to get a new one, it is better not to drive.

Documents required to replace rights

And now the expiration date of your driver’s license is coming to an end, and at the same time you want to continue driving a car or motorcycle. As mentioned above, to obtain new rights you need to collect a package of documents. However, in different situations, the driver is required to have an unequal number of papers, among which the following are mandatory:

passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
driver's personal card;
statement;
a receipt indicating payment of the state duty.

If you receive new rights due to the fact that yours has expired or your personal data has changed, you will have to bring them with you. This requirement, of course, is not relevant for those who have lost their ID or it has been stolen. If the rights have been preserved, but have lost their proper appearance, they also do not need to be attached to other documents.

By the way, to provide information about yourself, you do not have to go to the traffic police. If you do not need the help of an employee of this service, you can simply go to the appropriate section on the State Services portal. And when you pay the state fee through this site, you can also get a 30% discount.

There is nothing complicated in this procedure, but it is still worth studying in advance what is needed to replace a driver’s license.

Replacing a driver's license and obtaining an IDP: Video

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In what cases is the validity period of a temporary residence permit reduced?

In accordance with the law of the Russian Federation (namely, clause 35 of the regulations on the issuance of a driver's license), the validity period of a license for a car or motorcycle can be forcibly reduced. This happens in the following cases:

The owner of the document has changed his personal data (a striking example is the change of the maiden name through the registry office. Less often, the change of initials occurs at one’s own request);
The papers required to obtain a license were deliberately falsified (this applies to a certificate from a psychiatrist, ophthalmologist or narcologist, as well as a certificate of completion of a driving school);
The surface of the ID contains severe mechanical damage and abrasions, due to which identification of the person is not possible (the driver’s photo, his last name or first name are not visible);
The driver's license was lost or stolen, about which there is a corresponding statement;
Deterioration of the driver's health (loss of vision, development of mental disorders or other disorders in which driving is strictly prohibited).

For the listed criteria, the validity of a driver’s license may be reduced by several years (including up to the number indicated on the cover) or completely.

To renew the document, you need to take repeated exams at the traffic police and, if necessary, courses at a driving school.

Validity period of an international driver's license

An international driver's license allows motorists to travel behind the wheel of a car in any country in the world. However, like the national ID, they have a limited validity period. The validity of national rights does not automatically indicate the validity of international ones. It is unacceptable to drive a car abroad with an expired IDP. Therefore, it is necessary to check the validity period of your international driving license before leaving Russia and renew it promptly. The proposed material will tell you how long you can use an IDP and what to do in case of delay.

How long can you use an international driving license?

Regular domestic driving documents are issued for a period of 10 years. In contrast, an international driver's license is issued for only 3 years. And this is the maximum period. If there are less than 3 years left until the expiration of your national rights, then the IDP will be issued only until the expiration of the Russian documents.

Attention! For 3 years, a Russian can use international rights abroad without restrictions, subject to joint presentation of national rights.

In Russia there are a number of articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, under which a driver can be deprived of his license. This raises the question of whether it is possible to drive with an international license or drive a car abroad. The answer to both questions is negative. Firstly, an IDP is valid abroad only upon presentation of national rights. The national document is submitted to the traffic police after the resolution enters into force. Secondly, in Russia IDPs also do not have independent force, and you cannot drive on them.

How to renew an international ID

Renewal of an international certificate is carried out in exactly the same order as for obtaining a new document. The reasons for this are obvious. Firstly, the registration procedure is very simple, and secondly, such rights are rarely used constantly, and they tend to become overdue.

You can obtain an IDP:

Having visited the MFC,
Personally at the traffic police department,
By filling out an application on the government services portal. Muscovites can also submit applications on the website mos.ru.

The list of documents for obtaining an international certificate is not at all large:

Application for issuance of an international certificate,
Citizen's passport,
National rights,
Receipt for payment of duty.

Attention! In 2021, a program of interdepartmental interaction between executive authorities is being implemented. Thanks to it, the driver does not need to provide a receipt for payment of the duty. Traffic police officers can independently request data on payment of duties. However, this may take time.

A medical certificate was also excluded from the list of required documents back in 2015. You also do not need to take a driving test. It is considered that the driver passed it when receiving a national license, and it is valid for 10 years.

The amount of the duty is established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and is 1600 rubles. When paying through the government services portal, the user receives a 30% discount and spends only 1,120 rubles.

Responsibility for late IDP

Neither the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation nor other current regulations of the Russian Federation provide for liability for the delay of an international certificate. This is not surprising, because it is not needed to drive a car in Russia.

Driving a car abroad with an expired document is a completely different matter. The very fact of overstaying an international license is not punishable in any country in the world, but only until the driver gets behind the wheel.

In the best case, the driver simply will not be given a car to rent in a car sharing service. If the car is issued and the license expires later, then problems will arise when the documents are checked by a traffic police inspector. Depending on the country in which the arrest occurs, the violator faces punishment ranging from a large fine to removal from driving and confiscation of the car.

Where can I renew my license?

10-15 days before the expiration date of the license, the motorist needs to submit an application for its renewal. The following structures usually deal with this issue:

Traffic police department;
Multifunctional Center;
State services website.

We will consider below how to contact each of them with a request to increase the validity period of an expiring document.

traffic police

Before contacting the branch

traffic police, the citizen should collect a list of required papers and attach copies of his passport and medical certificate to it. Next, all this is submitted to the responsible traffic police officer, paired with an application, after which the person will be assigned an appointment date for the issuance of a new driving license.

Having arrived on time, you must be dressed in accordance with all the rules for a photograph for an ID (without a headdress, in formal clothes, with light makeup). After taking a photo, a police officer will process it within an hour and give you a ready-made ID.

At the MFC

If you notice that your license is valid until tomorrow inclusive and you do not have the opportunity to go to the traffic police, there is always a backup option - contact the multifunctional center. As in the first case, to create an application you will need to collect all the necessary papers and certificates. After this, an MFC employee will give you a ticket for an appointment with a consultant.

You can show up on the appointed date only after paying a single state fee (regardless of whether you are renewing your license for a moped or a small car, the cost of this service will be the same - 2000 rubles).

At the same time, they will be able to issue you a new driving license no earlier than 5 working days from the date of submission of the application.

What documents are needed to replace a driver's license?

To receive a service for replacing a driver's license, you need to contact one of the traffic police departments that provide this service. At the same time, you must have a certificate of paid state duty (this can be done in your personal account on the State Services portal, its amount is 2000 rubles for 2021).

The official website of the traffic police provides a list of documents required to replace the certificate (due to its expiration ):

Passport or other identification document;
Driver's license;
Application for a driver's license;
Medical certificate of the established form.

Obtaining a duplicate of a driver's license document (after its loss, theft, change of personal data ):

Application for a driver's license;
Passport or other identification document;
Driver's license (if available).

Take care of your documents, store them in places that are difficult for children and animals to reach, it is advisable to have a separate wallet for these purposes, then you will change your driver’s license only after its expiration date, and this is not so often - once every 10 years . We wish you trouble-free driving!

List of documents for renewing a driver's license

Knowing for how long a driver's license is issued, a motorist can prepare in advance to receive a new one. To do this, he will need the following documents:

Old licenses with expired expiration dates;
Medical report;
Internal passport;
Driving school completion certificate;
Receipt for payment of state duty.

Having collected the listed certificates and papers, you can safely contact one of the three organizations responsible for issuing a new license.

Renewal cost

In order to exchange a used license for a new one, in addition to a one-time fee, the driver will need to pay the following expenses:

Medical certificates (from a narcologist and a psychiatrist inclusive) - will cost about 1000 rubles;
Photos - within 200 rubles.

If an inspector refuses to extend the validity period of a driver’s license without additional payment for services, then this can be perceived as a direct violation of the law.

For this, according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a police officer can receive a significant fine or even lose his position.

Possibility of early replacement of documents

Knowing how many years a driver's license is issued in Russia is sometimes not necessary. After all, over such a long period, the crust may get lost or become unusable, as a result of which it will need to be replaced with a new device. Moreover, this procedure also provides for the early replacement of an international certificate (for both citizens of the Russian Federation and foreigners). Therefore, if an old document wears out, you can immediately apply for a new one without waiting for its expiration date.

Responsibility for driving with an expired document

In accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses (namely Article 12.27), the use of an expired driving license is equivalent to driving without a license, for which the law provides for an impressive fine of 5 to 15 thousand rubles. At the same time, if a driver applies to the traffic police department with an expired license, the Code of Administrative Offenses deprives him of all responsibility, since if a person was not seen with an invalid license while driving, he is not considered an offender.

One conclusion can be drawn: knowing how long a driver’s license is valid is not enough. The main thing is to remember their expiration date and submit an application for a new document on time. Otherwise, the citizen will face serious fines, which may increase even more by 2021.

Penalty for expired licenses

Many drivers forget that their licenses have an expiration date and do not replace them on time. In a situation where the license is no longer valid, and the driver was stopped by a traffic police inspector, he will draw up a report and impose a fine on the violator. The traffic inspector in this case is guided by Article 12.27 of the Administrative Code. Driving with an expired license is punishable by collecting an amount from the violator, the amount of which varies from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles.

Many drivers are afraid of a fine when applying to the traffic police for a new license if the previous one has already expired. When a driver has not been found using an expired license, he is not an offender. When contacting the traffic police to replace the driving license, he will not face penalties.