Is it possible to get square license plates for a car from the traffic police: distribution of plates in Russia

Is it possible to install square license plates today?

In general, most GOSTs in Russia are not mandatory for use and are advisory in nature. These include both of the above legal acts. In general, they establish the standard sizes and relations of registration marks for cars not for car owners, but match the installation of the GRZ to the type of vehicle and regulate their dimensions during manufacture. Thus, we can conclude - if someone is already making square numbers, then it is possible to install them?

But it's not that simple! The current Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a fine for a license plate that does not comply with GOST.

As of May 24, 2021, the specified GOST has not entered into legal force... But new square license plates can still be installed, but only at the rear. This is accurate information, which we will confirm below with links to official sources... And also we will sort out all this confusion!

So, in fact, everything is simple, but there are some shortcomings. We need to understand 3 main facts in all these regulations:

The new GOST, which provides for square state numbers, will come into force only on August 4, 2021 - as approved by Rosstandart, this coincides with the date of entry into force of the new law on registration, which will relieve the traffic police from the production of registration marks - they will only assign letters and numbers,
Meanwhile, the same Rosstandart indicated that the provisions of the new document can be applied ahead of schedule (including today),
but the old standard remains valid for 2021, and it does not allow two-level rooms,
But for the driver, the main by-law remains the traffic rules, and it is they who regulate that registration plates must comply with the requirements of GOST of 1993.

Thus, at the moment, a paradoxical situation arises when it is possible to put a new square license plate on a passenger car, as prescribed by the new GOST, but at the same time it is impossible, because the old standard remains in force.

But that’s not all – for now we are only talking about the effect of regulations. The subtleties of the method and location of installation of square numbers will be below.

How to get square plates for a car

Those owners of cars whose cars have a right-hand drive or are manufactured in the USA are familiar with the problem of installing a license plate in the rear, since the platform for the license plate is quite narrow and is intended for a square shape.

Therefore, when installing a standard format license plate, drivers are forced to resort to various tricks, such as a special spacer, or attaching the license plate directly to the bumper using self-tapping screws.

Some of them even tried to fit the number into the existing niche, which led to its bending and impaired readability, and could be considered a violation. Starting from 2021, the problem can be solved in another way - by producing a square-shaped number, in accordance with the current GOST. Who is allowed to hang such numbers and where, and how much will their production cost?

The basis for obtaining square numbers. The creation of this license plate format was carried out in accordance with the updated GOST R 50577-2018. It contains a new type of state registration mark, where the characters are arranged not in one line, but in two. They belong to type “1A”, and are installed on cars, trucks and buses, the place for attaching the license plate in which has a non-standard format. It came into force on August 4, 2021.

The official position is as follows: if a car has a non-standard platform for attaching a license plate, in the process of registering the car, the owner receives only a combination of symbols. The license plate itself, according to the above GOST, will need to be made to order in a specialized organization.

Possibility of installing a square license plate. The rules on the basis of which a license plate is installed in a two-line format are prescribed in Appendix Z of GOST. According to Note 1, “on cars and other vehicles, the place for attaching a license plate, which has a non-standard format, is allowed to be installed as type 1A instead of type 1.” This means that installing a square license plate is not available to everyone, but only to those drivers whose cars have a square rear plate area. Those car owners who have a standard format are required to use rectangular state registration signs.

Obtaining a square-shaped number and its cost. In order to obtain such non-standard numbers, you must contact any organization that produces them and has the appropriate license. A list of these can be found on the traffic police website. The price of such a service should not exceed 2 thousand rubles, since this is the maximum cost specified by the FAS order.

Conclusion. The right to install square-shaped license plates is exclusively available to owners of cars whose rear license plate area has a non-standard shape. The production of such numbers is carried out only by specialized organizations, in accordance with GOST.

What will happen in practice?

In real road life, a rare traffic police inspector or magistrate will understand the intricacies of the above chain, and there will simply be either a fine (including unsuccessfully appealed) or... there will be none.

There is little practice yet, but in most cases of the current contradictory situation, traffic police officers react normally to square license plates. However, it should be borne in mind that the traffic rules that the driver must follow refer exclusively to the old GOST, and it prescribes only rectangular license plates, and square ones, according to it, are prohibited. Therefore, formally there is a violation of the Rules, and, therefore, the fine is legal.

However, in practice, there are cases when cars with two-level license plates have already been registered. And the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to a number of publications, confirmed the possibility of installing such GRZs on passenger cars.

What's the fine?

It is small - 500 rubles, and in rare cases you can get off with a warning.

A fine is issued for violating the installation of a registration plate contrary to the current State Standard - in our case, the standard referred to by traffic rules in the Basic Provisions for Admission.

Choosing a mount for license plates

Well, the last question for today concerns the mounting of license plates .

So, in GOST there are special requirements regarding the bolts that should be used to secure the numbers:

I.5 To fasten registration plates, bolts or screws with heads that have the color of the field of the sign or light galvanic coatings should be used.

It is allowed to attach signs using frames. Bolts, screws, frames must not block or distort the inscription “RUS” on the registration plate, the image of the State Flag of the Russian Federation, letters, numbers or edging.

It is not allowed to cover the sign with organic glass or other materials.

It is prohibited to drill additional holes on the registration plate for attaching the plate to a vehicle or for other purposes.

If the coordinates of the mounting holes of the registration plate do not coincide with the coordinates of the mounting holes of the vehicle, the signs must be fastened through transitional structural elements that ensure compliance with the requirements I.2-I.4.

Those. Bolts with reflective caps cannot be used to attach license plates to cars. There is a punishment for such a violation in the Code of Administrative Offenses:

entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five hundred rubles.

In accordance with GOST, numbers can only be secured with light-colored bolts or screws .

How can I install according to the new GOST?

One of the main nuances of the amendments to the legislation is that you can only install a rear square license plate. You still can't put one in front.

This is regulated by Appendix G of the new document:

1 On vehicles with a non-standard mounting location for registration plates, it is allowed to install a rear registration plate of type 1A instead of a registration plate of type 1.

Type “A”, according to the same GOST, is precisely the square standard size.

Selecting a place on the car to install the number

Most modern cars have special places for attaching state registration plates, so it’s difficult to make a mistake.

However, sometimes there are no standard places and car owners, at their own peril and risk, attach the numbers with self-tapping screws in any place on the bumper.

Once again I will quote part 2 of article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses:

shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five thousand rubles or deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one to three months.

Even if your car does not have places provided for license plates, you should attach them in accordance with the requirements of GOST “State registration signs of vehicles. Types and main sizes. Technical requirements.":

I.3 The front registration plate should be installed, as a rule, along the axis of symmetry of the vehicle. It is allowed to install the front registration plate to the left of the axis of symmetry of the vehicle in the direction of movement of the vehicle.

I.4 The installation location of the rear registration plate must ensure that the following conditions are met.

I.4.1 The registration plate must be installed along the axis of symmetry of the vehicle or to the left of it in the direction of travel.

Those. both the front and rear numbers should be located either along the axis of symmetry of the car or to the left of it in the direction of travel (closer to the center of the road). If you set the numbers to the right of the axis of symmetry, traffic police officers will issue you a fine or deprive you of your license.

In addition, there is another important requirement for installation sites:

I.2 The location for installing the registration plate must be a flat, vertical, rectangular surface and selected in such a way as to prevent the sign from being blocked by the vehicle’s structural elements, becoming dirty during operation of the vehicle, and making it difficult to read. At the same time, registration plates must not reduce the angles of the front and rear overhangs of the vehicle, cover external light and signaling devices, or protrude beyond the side dimensions of the vehicle.

Please note that the non-standard bumpers of some cars are designed in such a way that installation of state registration plates is possible at an angle (the sign “looks” as if on the asphalt). Such situations should be avoided, because a number attached in this way automatically becomes incorrectly set.

What does the new square sign look like?

In truth, it is still not completely equilateral - it is rectangular. But the main difference between it and the old one is that:

square numbers in Russia in a new way are slightly larger in width than in height, and the letters with numbers on it are located in 2 tiers,
the old GRZ is much wider than above, and the characters in it are on one line (except for the region and the inscription “RUS” with a flag).

This is what the official diagram looks like with the standard sizes of the new square state number:

And here are his photos on cars:

But they are not really for Japanese cars!

Let's destroy the myth floating around the Internet that these numbers are designed specifically for Japanese cars.

The fact is that the standard size of a square on cars from the land of the rising sun is 330x165 mm. And the dimensions of the new square license plates in Russia – 290×170 mm – are exactly the same as those of American cars. That is, in fact, they may not be suitable in height for a number of “Japanese” ones, where there is no margin of 5 millimeters. But in fact, all right-hand drive models have such reserves.

In the example of the photo above, you can see that the Russian square number does not reach the edges of the space under it, which slightly spoils the appearance. But in any case, this is better than curved wide GRZs.

Where can I get a duplicate?

Today, quite a lot of companies in large cities produce new square numbers. Meanwhile, they, of course, will not give a guarantee against a fine from the traffic police, but in most cases they will assure that they are completely within the law, and they were allowed. Above you have already seen confirmation that this is not entirely true.

At the traffic police?

Officially, as of 2021, you will not be able to install square registration plates on passenger cars at the State Traffic Inspectorate - the traffic police do not provide the service of replacing the registration plates with such ones until August 4, 2020 - the date of entry into force of the new GOST.

And after this date, the Federal Law “On State Registration” comes into force, according to which the traffic police will generally only assign license plate symbols, and they will have to be produced externally - at the corresponding point of their production.

And where to do it?

It is precisely such points, in a small number, that provide the service of producing square numbers; you can also order from other cities - many organizations send by transport companies and mail.

The procedure for replacing them is quite simple:

you provide your passport (as an identification document, although in practice they may only ask for a driver’s license) and a registration certificate - these are legally required documents for the possibility of producing new square plates,
within literally a few tens of minutes - a maximum of an hour, an updated duplicate of your registration mark will be made for you.

At the same time, the letters and numbers on your number will not change - they will simply make you signs that comply with GOST (or do not comply - this must be checked)

Please note that by default you will be offered the production of square numbers in the amount of 2 pieces: front and rear. But according to the law, even after it comes into force, you can hang and drive only with a square license plate on the back. Therefore, there is no point in overpaying.

How much does it cost?

Prices for new plates do not vary much between individual manufacturers:

in Moscow and St. Petersburg, square registration plates can be made on average for 1,800 - 2,700 rubles per number,
in large cities such as Samara, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok (where there are more Japanese cars), the service can cost 1,500 - 2,200 rubles (example).

Something else useful for you:

Has the Supreme Court's ruling on imprisonment for dirty license plates entered into force?
Traffic police cameras in Largus - how legal are they and what violations are they caught for?
Is it possible to tint a car’s license plate with a marker yourself and what are the consequences?