Is it possible to drive with a PTS without a registration certificate?

I am again glad to welcome all motorists to the pages of my blog!

From today's publication you will find out whether it is possible to drive without a registration certificate but with a PTS in hand.

After all, car owners quite often ask questions about such subtleties on the Internet. There are a lot of answers to this, but not all of them are correct. And sometimes there are downright harmful recommendations based on a misinterpretation of automobile legislation or practical cases on the roads.

Therefore, I decided to bring maximum clarity to this problem in order to warn misled drivers about the serious trouble that threatens them. After all, it can result in very large monetary losses, due to which you can even lose your car if you do not have the necessary information in advance.

Reasons for driving without STS

The main reason for driving without a vehicle license (STS, SOP, SoRTS) is somehow related to the confidence of some drivers in the frivolity of this violation and the quick fixability of the situation.

Here, so as not to bore readers, I will immediately answer a number of their main questions:

Is it possible to drive without STS? No you can not!
Is it possible to drive without a vehicle registration certificate, but with an existing vehicle passport (PTS)? No you can not!
Does this apply to all cases? No, not all, but the vast majority.
Will I be punished for driving without STS? This depends on the circumstances, but they “forgive” for this much less often than they punish.

We will look into the details of all this below, but here I want to point out the fact that many motorists, not knowing the exact answers to such questions, at least in a general format, in the absence of “plastic” (STS), invent for themselves non-existent rules that they use themselves, and even share “useful experience” with others.

For example, almost everyone knows (or at least guesses) about the absence of a driver’s license (DUL) and the possible consequences of this. As a result, no one has any fundamental questions about this. They still drive without a license, of course, but with full awareness of the impending liability and appropriate caution.

In the case of STS, the situation is different. There are many reasons for the absence of this document. For example, like this:

I just forgot it at home;
Forgot in some place (often on vacation);
I lost it and didn’t have time to restore it, but I need to travel;
They gave me a ride in a car, but forgot to leave the STS;
A relative took it by mistake;
The car is mine, but the STS is for my wife – we take turns driving.

But if in the case of a license, such reasons will keep the majority of drivers from using a vehicle, then the absence of a vehicle is much less “stressful” and many, even knowing for sure that they cannot drive without a “yolk”, will still get behind the wheel, relying on the driving license, the existing PTS and maybe.

It turns out that such an attitude is based on incomplete awareness of drivers and their poor understanding of the possible consequences. However, there are those who firmly believe in the full legality of replacing the STS with the presentation of a PTS and even come into conflict with representatives of the traffic police (road patrol service) on this issue, demanding “justice”, and not always unsuccessfully.

Well, let's correct the current situation.

Documentation for the car - road package and title

First of all, let's repeat what every motorist must know regarding mandatory car documents.

In this case, we are interested in the so-called. travel package – a set of documents that the driver must have when traveling by car and present them at the request of traffic police officers.

Here, pay attention to this:

The driver is required by law to both have and present this kit, without the right to refuse;
And all this is in the case of driving a vehicle on public roads.

For 2021, according to Art. 2.1.1 from the traffic rules (traffic rules), these documents are as follows:

Driver's license;
Compulsory MTPL insurance policy;
Vehicle registration certificate.

If the driver partially or completely lacks this documentation in the car, traffic police inspectors have every right to apply penalties according to the established procedure.

Note: previously this kit included an inspection card (the current diagnostic card, which is no longer required to be presented).

As you can see, the vehicle passport does not appear in the above list.

Let me also remind you that:

STS is a document certifying the registration of a car in strict relation to its owner and giving access to public roads;
PTS is a basic document for the car itself, without a strict link to the current owner of the vehicle.

That is, according to the PTS, the owner of the vehicle can be one person (individual or legal), and the owner and user is another (only an individual).

But the STS is issued only to a specific individual who uses a car for any reason, and is tied specifically to his person.

Article on the topic:

What documents are needed to buy a car?

Is it possible to drive on a PTS without a STS (registration certificate)?

Unfortunately, of the three documents required to be submitted to the traffic police inspector for verification: a driver’s license, SoRTS and compulsory motor liability insurance policy, it is the absence of SoRTS that has the worst consequences for the driver under the law. But what should we do if we accidentally lost the vehicle registration certificate or forgot it at home, but luckily we have the technical vehicle passport with us.

Let us immediately note that the article is talking specifically about the registration certificate - an A5 plastic card in pink, this is what it looks like:

It is called a vehicle registration certificate, and not a registration certificate, as many believe. But a PTS is not the same as a registration certificate - a PTS is a vehicle passport. And the car’s registration certificate disappeared into oblivion more than a decade ago.

So, is it possible to drive on a PTS without an STS (SoRTS). As noted above, not having a vehicle with you is the most serious traffic violation. But first things first, let’s first take a look at what the SoRTS obliges us to carry with us - these are basic traffic regulations, clause 2.1:

2.1. The driver of a power-driven vehicle is obliged to: 2.1.1. Carry with you and, at the request of police officers, hand over to them for verification:
a driver's license or temporary permit to drive a vehicle of the appropriate category or subcategory;
registration documents for this vehicle (except for mopeds), and if there is a trailer, also for the trailer (except for trailers for mopeds);

As we can see, we need to carry registration documents with us, and it is the SoRTS that is the registration document for the driver of an ordinary passenger car. And this is not a PTS (judging at least by its name - a vehicle passport), because it does not prove in any way that our car is registered in the prescribed manner. Accordingly, it is prohibited to drive with a PTS instead of an STS.

What is the penalty if there is no STS?

If the driver does not have the SoRTS with him, he faces a warning or a fine of 500 rubles under Part 1 of Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:

1. Driving a vehicle by a driver who does not have registration documents for the vehicle, and in established cases, documents provided for by the customs legislation of the Customs Union, with marks from customs authorities confirming the temporary import of the vehicle, entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five hundred rubles .

But that is not all! Article 27.13 of the same Code of Administrative Offenses provides for the detention of a vehicle - that is, its evacuation for the absence of a vehicle. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that if you do not have a SoRTS due to the fact that you have lost it (or any other reason that means that you will not have a certificate in the very next few hours), then picking up the car from the impound lot will be problematic , since in order to issue the car to the driver there, the driver will need the same STS.

Roots of misconceptions

We've sorted out the documents. But still, for some, a number of uncertainties remain:

Firstly, where lies the root of the common misconception about the legality of presenting PTS instead of STS;
Secondly, where do the rumors come from about “thrilled” cases of presenting a PTS instead of an STS?

PTS and technical passport

Regarding the origins of the misconceptions, everything here is extremely clear: an incorrect interpretation of certain provisions of the automobile legislation.

Which ones?

These are Orders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation regulating the procedure for registering a vehicle:

Order No. 59 of 2003 (clause 3.3 of the General Provisions) – repealed;
Order No. 1001 of 2008 (clause 7 of the General Provisions) – repealed.
Order No. 950 dated December 21, 2019 (clause 27.3 of the Comprehensive List of Documents) is valid (as amended on September 28, 2020).

All documents say almost the same thing.

It is precisely in the second point that the root of the misconception lies. The fact is that previously, the function of the STS was performed by the so-called. vehicle registration certificates or technical certificates, in the form of a booklet (not to be confused with the canceled technical maintenance certificates in the form of “plastic”). These documents have been distributed since the times of the USSR, but they were replaced by modern STS more than ten years ago.

However, sometimes these technical passports are still found, and traffic police officers accept them instead of the STS, since this is a document with the same function, it is simply outdated and must be replaced the first time it is applied to the MREO.

And since they are called “Passport” or “Technical Passport”, many drivers associatively classified them as PTS, with all that it implies.

Attention! The outdated form of STS: technical passport, has nothing in common with PTS - these are two different documents.

With this, I think this confusion is completely cleared up.

PTS and Road Patrol Service

But some motorists will be indignant and say: how can this be, because I myself, or someone else trustworthy (brother, matchmaker, friend, etc.), successfully fought off the arrogant inspectors, reading them the above points from the orders. And the traffic police officers let go!

I believe!

Because sometimes people who do not have the highest level of knowledge strive to join the traffic police service, which I clearly demonstrated to you in the article about the discrepancy between the unit number on the PTS and the acute problem that exists because of this to this day, for the emergence and provocation of which almost the entire traffic police service is to blame from the top to the bottom.

And, naturally, the general contingent of the “Keepers of the Roads” accounts for an increased percentage of employees who are poorly suited to their positions due to banal professional incompetence.

Therefore, yes, some “gays” may decide that it is better not to mess with the “smart guys” poking some excerpts from some vaguely remembered standards (which every inspector is obliged to know “by heart”) and try their luck on others, fortunately the machines there is a huge mass around. Moreover, some inspectors may also sincerely apologize to you for making a “mistake” - it’s really easier for them to apologize than to learn something well on duty.

But you, of course, should not consider such comical situations as an example of the correctness of your actions, as well as as a guide to further actions and an incentive for “good” advice to other motorists.

After all, illiterate inspectors may be found on the roads, but they do not make up the majority of employees. Moreover, the traffic police, knowing this problem very well, are trying to form squads in such a way that there is at least one “well-read” and sane policeman at the post. So if you are hoping to “take over” some kind of traffic police unit, then I give ten to one that they will take you, “by the gills” and to the fullest extent, for your personal “initiative” in the interpretation of the legislation.

Is PTS always unable to replace STS?

In the vast majority of cases, you cannot drive without STS. But the PTS is still presented as a temporary replacement for this document during the 10-day period specified by law before re-registration of the car, since the law does not prohibit you from driving immediately after purchasing the car. During this period, even a compulsory motor liability insurance policy is not required (but desirable). In this case, an original copy of the concluded DCT must be attached to the PTS.

What other cases are there? No more for individuals. Previously, it was still possible to drive without STS on transit license plates (which some managed to ride all their lives :smile:).

Now, when deregistration of a car before its sale is no longer required, “transits” are issued only in special cases, mainly for legal entities and registered private entrepreneurs in various transactions with transport as a product, for example, related to the crossing of the border by the vehicle being sold .

A code will be added to the rights

Earlier, the media spread the news that in some regions drivers will not have to carry their license and vehicle registration certificate with them. It will be enough to present a smartphone with a special application that contains these documents in electronic form. This good news was announced at the Gaidar Forum by Oleg Kachanov, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development. The documents will be stored in the application in the form of a QR code, which the inspector will be able to read on the road using his device. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs cooled the joy somewhat.

“Currently, together with the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia, in order to improve the convenience of drivers, we are jointly exploring the possibility of duplicating documents issued on paper in electronic form,” said official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Irina Volk.

“To check electronic documents, it is assumed that only mobile devices of police officers with certified software installed on them will be used. “As a means of transferring electronic documents from a driver’s mobile device to a police officer’s mobile device, it is currently planned to use two-dimensional barcodes (QR codes),” she noted.

At the same time, according to Volk, “clause 2.1.1 of the Traffic Rules of the Russian Federation defines a list of documents that the driver of a motor vehicle must have with him and, at the request of police officers, present to them for verification, including a driver’s license and registration documents for the vehicle."

“The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia emphasizes that driving vehicles without documents provided for by the Russian Federation Traffic Regulations, as well as any other changes to the legal regime in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, are not planned for the period of trial operation of the services and mobile applications being created. The presentation of electronic copies of documents instead of their originals in the pilot regions is not provided,” the official representative of the department emphasized.

That is, while the application is being tested, until changes are made to the traffic rules, the presence in a smartphone of an application with electronic copies of documents embedded in it will not free drivers from the need to carry with them and present the originals of these documents to traffic police officers. Otherwise, you face a fine of 500 rubles. Moreover, if there is no provision for detaining the car for not having a license with you, then for the lack of documents for the car, which is the registration certificate, it is.

Moreover, according to the explanation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the experiment will take place in two stages.

“Currently, a draft plan for the implementation of these measures regarding the use of an electronic certificate of vehicle registration is under consideration by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. With regard to driver’s licenses, consideration of a similar issue is planned only if measures for the use of an electronic vehicle registration certificate are successfully implemented,” Volk said.

It must be said that experts generally doubt the need to create such a separate electronic platform. As the defender of motorists' rights Petr Shkumatov told an RG correspondent, why create any additional electronic platforms, QR codes - this is inconvenient for both drivers and inspectors. There is a government services application. It already has the ability to store data on the registration certificate, as well as rights. You can also add photographs of these documents there. And that's enough. The driver does not need so many electronic applications - an electronic OSAGO policy, an electronic PTS, now an electronic copy of the STS and an electronic copy of the license - you need one application for everything.

Possible consequences

I hope you have already understood that in an ordinary situation it is impossible to replace the STS with a vehicle passport. Now let's see what kind of punishment the guilty person faces from traffic law enforcement agencies.

The range of penalties here is quite wide: from mild fright to “goodbye to the car.” The good thing is that in this matter inspectors are given the opportunity to more freely determine what punishment to apply to the violator - by the way, make a special note of this.

So, in this case, drivers are punished on the basis of Chapter 12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (Administrative Code - No. 195-FZ).

The penalties provided for in our case are as follows:

Verbal warning in the absence of STS (Article 12.3) - if the reason for the absence is temporary, the explanation is reasonable, the driver is credible and there are no other offenses;
Fine of 500 rubles. in the absence of an STS (Article 12.3) - if for some reason the inspector decides that you deserve a fine;
Fine from 500 to 1000 rubles. (Article 12.3) - in the absence of STS and any other document from the travel package;
A fine of 1500-2000 rubles. – if violations of the vehicle registration rules are detected (for example, delay of the 10-day period for re-registration);
A fine of 5,000 rubles. (Article 12.1) or deprivation of driver’s license for a period of one to three months (Article 12.2) - in case of repeated cases of lack of STS and other documents;
Transportation of a vehicle to a special parking lot (Article 27.13) - in cases aggravated by any circumstances at the discretion of the traffic police inspector.

You should know that the inspector has the right to impose penalties in combination and, again, at his own discretion. For example, a fine + deprivation of driving privileges + evacuation to a special parking lot. This “maximum limit” is usually applied to those who begin to unreasonably “get nervous.”

Although the fines themselves, as you can see, are mostly “divine”. But the possibility of evacuating the car to an impound lot is of great concern: after all, the inspector can apply this punishment even with a simple “I forgot it at home, I’ll bring it right now.” And if you really forgot the STS at home, then all this is not so bad - you can come, pay some fines, pay for towing and pick up the car.

But if you have lost your STS, then things are worse, because you need time to restore it because from the next day a “meter” is turned on at the special parking lot, which is usually hourly and every hour is very expensive (from 30 to 60 rubles). At this point you’ll have to drop everything and rush to the MREO for restoration.

And if this restoration in the near future is impossible for some reason, or is delayed (by law this can last up to a month), then things are very bad. It happens that precisely because of such “little things” as driving without an STS under unfortunate circumstances, people develop large debts and are forced to urgently sell their car at an unprofitable price in order to save at least some money.

5 steps to restore your PTS if it is lost

How do cars sell from impound lots?

Driving (driving without STS) without a vehicle registration certificate in 2021 - what the consequences are, fine, with PTS

Most drivers do not think about the fact that they must carry with them the necessary documents for the car and their own.

The basis for a car is a vehicle registration certificate, which indicates the owner, the date of registration, and indicates other facts.

It turns out that this document must be present with the driver at all times. The dangers of driving without a vehicle registration certificate will be discussed further.

What documents should the driver have with him?

According to article of traffic rules 2.1.1. Each driver must have with him:

driver's license;
vehicle registration certificate;

OSAGO policy;
diagnostic card of the completed technical inspection of the vehicle.

It is allowed to drive without documents, namely without a certificate and insurance policy, after purchasing a car. To do this, owners are given 10 days to re-register the vehicle. In such cases, you should have a title and a sales contract or other document indicating ownership of the car.

After the expiration of the period and in the absence of the specified documents, the traffic police officers issue a fine to the driver due to the delay in the period provided for registration.

It is also noted that it is possible to obtain transit numbers - temporary state signs issued after purchasing a vehicle for a period of no more than 20 days.

If you have transit signs, you are allowed to drive without a registration certificate and other documents that are issued after the vehicle is registered.

What threatens

A driver who drives without the specified documents faces a fine, since their absence is an offence. Based on Article 27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a traffic police inspector can take a car to a parking lot.

This is due to the lack of any documents on the car - in this case, the driver cannot prove the existence of ownership rights to movable property. As a result, inspectors have the right to seize the vehicle until the circumstances are clarified.

Fine for driving without a vehicle registration certificate

The penalty for driving without a vehicle registration certificate varies depending on the circumstances. The amount of penalties is regulated by law, namely Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

The following amounts are allocated here:

if the driver simply forgot the STS at home, the inspector will issue a fine of up to 800 rubles;
if the driver does not have several documents from the above list, a protocol is drawn up with the mandatory payment of a fine in the amount of 3 thousand rubles;
if a traffic police officer stops a driver for the first time and detects a violation in the form of not having a vehicle license on him, he can issue a fine of up to 5 thousand rubles;
if the driver has not previously registered the car (overstayed the period of mandatory registration) and presents only a purchase and sale agreement or other document of ownership, the inspector issues a fine of up to 2 thousand rubles for civilians, up to 3.5 thousand rubles for officials, and up to 10 thousand rubles for legal entities.

A repeated stop of a driver may result in the deprivation of a driver's license for a period of 1 to 3 months. The absence of a license and a car registration certificate leads to the confiscation of the car to the impound lot.

You can avoid this if you have the above-mentioned PTS and an agreement on the basis of your driving license. But you will still have to pay a fine for late re-registration required after purchasing.

Without a certificate, but with a PTS

PTS – vehicle passport, which contains the following information:

series and passport of the document - assigned when the vehicle is released by the manufacturer. Further, in case of loss of the original document, car owners are presented with only a duplicate.
Vehicle VIN code is a personal identification number of a vehicle, which is unique and displays information about the country of manufacture and other data.
car body type and type of car.
date of manufacture. Sometimes this information is not in the document, although such violations should not exist.
chassis number - each car has it, but entering the number in the document is determined only for frame types.
The body number is the same VIN code that is unique for each car. As a rule, it is the information provided that is used to search for a car in the event of its theft or other type of loss.

From the information presented above, it becomes clear that, to a greater extent, the PTS is a document displaying the data of the car.

Next comes information about the owner.

This document only confirms the fact of having the right to use the vehicle - the driver can present his ID to prove ownership of the vehicle.

But based on current legislation, car owners must go through a registration procedure, following which a certificate is issued.

The certificate is a registration document, which means it is prohibited to drive without an STS, presenting only a PTS. This will save you from problems with inspectors, but in any case it will entail drawing up a report with the subsequent payment of a fine.

Do they take you to the impound lot?

An impound lot is a special place where cars are sent when violations by the driver or car owner are detected.

Possible reasons for confiscation of a vehicle from a driver include:

violation of traffic rules;
improper parking;
the driver does not have a driver's license and other documents for the car;
alcohol intoxication and other reasons that led to inappropriate behavior of the driver;
car breakdown or accident;
driver's refusal to undergo a medical examination;
detection of illegally used structures and parts in the car;
transportation of dangerous goods.

Traffic police inspectors have the right to take a car to the impound lot for driving without a registration certificate on the basis of Article 27 of Part 13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

The presented actions are legal and are characterized by the lack of appropriate checks of the car for theft and other criminal actions.

Typically, upon registration, the vehicle undergoes a full inspection, checking the VIN and other information against a summary of the forensic database.

Lack of registration does not prove the safety of the car, so it may be confiscated and sent to an impound lot until the circumstances are clarified.

This happens only after a mandatory check of the driver and the car. For example, if inspectors were informed about the loss or abandonment of a house registration certificate, they are obliged to check its presence in principle.

For this purpose, state signs and personal data of the driver are checked. If the registration actually took place, it means that the inspectors issue a protocol with the obligatory payment of a fine.

If there is no registration, and the driver provides a title and other documents for the car, traffic police officers may seize the car to the impound lot until the circumstances are clarified.

The procedure for returning a car requires the following steps:

payment of a fine for driving without a vehicle registration certificate;
providing evidence of the legality of the purchase transaction or other type of receipt of a car - it is often necessary to prove ownership through the court;
payment for demurrage at the impound lot - the amount is calculated for each hour;
you will have to reimburse the tow truck and other costs.

Possible solutions to the problem

So, I scared you, but now let’s see what you need to do if you don’t have an STS, but you need to drive.

Of course, if possible, it is better to refrain from driving without this document. If you discover on the road that you forgot your STS at home, then the best option would be to park the car in the designated place and go on public transport to get some “plastic” or call your family and ask them to bring it.

If you have a choice: return home by car or drive to your destination (usually when driving to work), then it is better to get to work, and during the break take another transport to get the document. After all, traffic police can stop you on your way home.

If you are stopped, then in this case it is highly not recommended to behave provocatively or impolitely. After all, here the inspector has a wide range of the above-mentioned levels of punishment, and he may well apply it in accordance with his emotional impressions.

By the way, most often in this case fines are issued (this is, after all, one of the items of state income). A verbal warning is for special cases when the driver inspires special sympathy. So, if you are fined, humbly accept and be glad that they did not apply greater severity.

If you do not have an STS and for some reason you are forced to drive at your own peril and risk, then, of course, a PTS (which in a normal situation should be kept at home), a personal passport, and a diagnostic card will not hurt in the car. Only there is no need to add a purchase and sale agreement, otherwise this is clearly too much. Well, of course, drive your car as carefully as possible to minimize the risk of being stopped.

Useful tips

You should know that if you brought an STS and the sanctions for special parking were removed from you (you were given the car back), this does not at all negate the need to pay the additional fines imposed on you within the period prescribed by law (30 days).
If the inspector begins to draw up a report on you and threatens with a tow truck, and you have the opportunity to quickly bring the STS, then ask him to include in the document a clause according to which you undertake to provide a certificate within, say, an hour. There are no other mandatory deferments.
Experienced drivers advise those who do not have STS and really need to drive to cheat. You need to come to any district police station (preferably away from your home) and verbally report to the duty officer that the security guard where the STS was located was missing from the car. Then sincerely please the officer on duty with your understanding that there are many important cases in the police and the likelihood of catching petty thieves of your property. And ask just one little thing: to record your information about the loss in the call log, and also for the duty officer to write you a phone number to contact. They will do this with pleasure. That's it, now, if you are stopped, you will tell the inspector about how your security guard with all the money and STS was taken away, which you reported to the police, where they gave you a phone number in case of such a case. And hand the policeman your passport, PTS and phone number. With such a “drama theater” production, the traffic police usually releases the driver even without warning. Just do not abuse such methods!

If you suddenly find an old STS, you can use it and not even report the found document to the police.