Duplicate PTS - what does it look like and why is it dangerous?

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The main document for a car is a vehicle passport (PTS). Without it, it will not be possible to export the car normally. Without a title, it will not be possible to deregister a car or officially register a vehicle. A ban is imposed on selling cars and undergoing technical inspection.

In practice, the vehicle passport may be damaged or lost. The law allows you to obtain a duplicate PTS. To do this, you will need to contact the authorized body, having previously prepared a package of documentation.

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When can I get a duplicate PTS?

Attention
A duplicate PTS can replace the original. The documents are of equal value. The series and number of the original are entered into the duplicate vehicle passport. Additionally, the reason for issuance is recorded. The action is performed by a traffic police officer.

A duplicate PTS can be provided in the following cases:

• the document was stolen;
• the original has run out of space for entering data;
• the original was lost;
• critical damage or failure has occurred.

If the original runs out of space, the document will be replaced. In fact, it will also be a duplicate. The receipt process may vary.

In what cases is it issued?

The main reasons why a duplicate PTS is issued:

1. The owner of the vehicle has changed.
2. The document is lost or damaged.
3. The owner of the car changed his place of residence registration.
4. The required fields in the PTS for filling out have ended.

Issuing a duplicate passport is not uncommon, since the original contains only six fields to fill out. The first column of the document is filled in by the vehicle manufacturer, and the second by the car dealership that purchased the car for subsequent sale.

There are often cases when car dealerships make sales to other retail facilities for further sale. Each fact of sale requires filling out a new column. Thus, when the future owner of the car makes a purchase, there may be no blank fields left in the passport at all, which creates the need to obtain a duplicate.

The difference between a duplicate PTS and the original

Initially, it seems that the duplicate PTS is identical to the original. The document contains detailed information about:

• number of car owners and the period during which they owned the car;
• engine and environmental class of the car;
• the presence of customs restrictions;
• the company that produced the car;
• engine, body and chassis numbers;
• permissible weight and the value of the indicator without load.

Attention
The duplicate PTS will contain the “duplicate” mark. Otherwise there are no differences. PTS is also produced on blue paper. All required watermarks are applied to it. Their presence confirms the legitimacy of the duplicate.

Sample of the original PTS.

Sample duplicate of PTS.

If the seller does not have the original title, this should alert the buyer and force him to exercise maximum caution. Thus, the duplicate does not reflect the real number of previous owners of the car. Up to 6 owners can be entered on a standard form. The official dealer is the first to enter. As a result, fewer owners are included in the duplicate. This makes it possible to hide a series of resales carried out for the purpose of committing fraudulent transactions. Comprehensive information about the previous owners is provided by the traffic police website. You can also obtain data by contacting the inspector of the nearest units.

You must have a duplicate of the PTS with you. It must contain information about the number and series of the original.

Required documents

To obtain a duplicate PTS, you need to prepare a package of documents. The car owner is obliged to provide:

1. Passport. It is required for personal identification. In some situations, representatives of the traffic police will agree to consider other papers that contain photographs and a stamp.

2. STS. The form confirms that the car has been registered with the traffic police. The document is a small booby-trapped device made of pink paper. It is provided after registration. The car owner is obliged to present it at the request of the traffic police when the car is stopped.

3. Car purchase and sale agreement. Instead, you can provide an agreement on donating or inheriting a car. It all depends on the specifics of the ownership of the car. The paper is required to confirm that the car is in the driver’s possession.

4. OSAGO policy. It is rarely requested by a traffic police representative at the time of filing an application. However, it is better to prepare the paper in advance.

5. A copy of the previous PTS, if available. Experts advise making it in advance and storing it separately from the original.

The above documents must be on hand at the time of contacting the traffic police. Additionally, three more papers may be required:

1. Application for a duplicate. The owner is required to indicate passport data and information from the STS.
2. Explanatory. It is written to the head of the unit. The paper indicates the reason for the request and the circumstances that led to the request for a copy.
3. A paper confirming the fact of payment of the state duty.

Having received the request, traffic police representatives check the car to see if it is stolen or pawned. If there is no encumbrance and illegal actions, the likelihood of providing a duplicate PTS will be very high.

Vehicle registration

The traffic police issues a duplicate PTS only if the previous PTS is lost or disposed of.
The traffic police issues a duplicate PTS only if the previous PTS is lost or disposed of.

But if the reason for issuing a duplicate is the loss of the previous document, you should be wary. Especially when the date of issue of the new document is very recent. For example, you have chosen a suitable car, the seller assures that he is the only owner, but accidentally lost the title. In reality, the car belonged to an organization where the car was driven to its tail and mane. Or maybe even worse. A man took out a loan for a car, and then the situation changed and there was no money to pay the bills. When issuing a car loan, the vehicle title is usually transferred to the bank for storage until the debt is fully repaid. The car itself is pledged, and it cannot be sold without the bank’s consent. Then the car owner “loses” the title, which the traffic police notifies. Those, in turn, not being able to verify information on the loan and collateral, issue a duplicate. In this situation, the buyer risks being left without a car and without money. The bank will take back the pledged property as soon as payments on the loan stop coming. And the seller may disappear by then. Or “suddenly” he will become insolvent and will not be able to return your money even by a court decision.

Or it could be like this: you are buying a car from an intermediary. Resellers, as a rule, do not re-register the car in the traffic police department. When caught by cameras that automatically record violations, fines are sent to the owner last registered in the traffic police database. If he cannot force the reseller to make changes to the documents in order not to pay fines, he can apply to terminate the registration in connection with the disposal of the car. In this case, it will not be possible to register the car. To avoid getting into such a situation, you can use the traffic police portal and check the registration history of the car.

The procedure for obtaining a duplicate PTS in case of loss of the original PTS

Please note:
If the vehicle's title is lost, you will need to immediately contact the traffic police. There are known cases when duplicate cars appeared, the import of which was carried out under the guise of spare parts. It is impossible to legally register such vehicles. That's why scammers use lost documents.

When restoring a lost PTS, you must proceed according to the following scheme:

1. The car owner prepares a package of documents. It is important to correctly fill out the receipt for payment of the state duty. You must not make mistakes in the details or payer data. In another situation, this may lead to refusal to accept documents.
2. The citizen contacts the traffic police department. The visit is made in person. Then you need to queue at a special window.
3. The car is placed on the site for inspection. Body and engine numbers are not always checked. However, if the need to perform an action arises, the presence of the machine on site will save time.

If all the above steps are completed correctly, and the traffic police officers did not decide to send the request to other authorities, a duplicate PTS and a new STS will be immediately provided.

Additional Information

The law does not indicate that only the owner has the right to receive a duplicate. The opportunity can be transferred to another person. For this purpose, a general power of attorney is issued. It is certified by a notary. A copy of the document is provided to the traffic police officer. Based on this, the legality of issuing the passport will be verified.

Refusal to issue a copy of the PTS and actions in case of refusal

If the car is not involved in illegal schemes, and the applicant has collected the necessary documentation and filled it out correctly, but the inspection staff refused to issue a duplicate registration certificate, then a written refusal form indicating the reasons should be requested.
Next, you need to hand over the prepared papers with a complaint and a request to understand the current situation to the head of the department. If the car owner is refused again, you can file a claim in court. To satisfy the claims, it is recommended to use the services of a lawyer.

The procedure for obtaining a duplicate PTS in case of theft of the original

If the PTS is stolen, the recovery process is delayed. There are criminal penalties for stealing documents. It is regulated by Article 325 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The violator may be subject to correctional labor, fined, imprisoned or placed under arrest. However, the intent of the criminal act must be proven. If the PTS is stolen, you must perform the following actions:

1. Contact the police to report the theft, providing evidence.
2. Wait for the trial.
3. Contact the traffic police, attaching a certificate of complete closure of the criminal case to the standard list of documents.
4. Receive a duplicate PTS.

The registration process can be significantly delayed. Often the proceedings last for several months or even years. Without providing a certificate of closure of the criminal case, it will not be possible to obtain a duplicate PTS. As a result, the citizen will not be able to freely dispose of the car. Therefore, experts advise not to indicate document theft as a reason.

The procedure for issuing a duplicate PTS if there are no free fields to fill out

The procedure for replacing a title that has run out of fields for entering new owners is carried out in accordance with Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation No. 496 of June 23, 2005. The scheme of actions is not much different from the classic one. The citizen will have to:

1. Collect the necessary documents. The old PTS will have to be added to the list. In this case, there is no need to provide an explanation.
2. Wait for the package of documents to be verified and accepted. The vehicle is not inspected.
3. Receive a duplicate PTS. Typically, the document is provided on the day the application is submitted. The information is entered into the new passport without changes. The adjustment will only affect the “Special Information Clause” column. Information about the replacement is entered there.

The process is completed as quickly as possible.

Car selection

When choosing a car, you need to use all possible means to check its legal purity.
When choosing a car, you need to use all possible means to check its legal purity.

The same situation applies to other Internet resources. By analyzing information from several resources, as well as viewing data on the car through the official website of the State Traffic Inspectorate, you can only minimize the risk of buying a “pig in a poke.”

Why is a duplicate PTS dangerous?

The procedure for obtaining a duplicate title for a trailer

If you need to get a duplicate PTS, you can contact the manufacturer who sold the car, or the State Traffic Inspectorate. If the trailer has been registered, a duplicate is issued through the traffic police. The car owner is obliged:

1. Collect documents. The list includes a civil passport, STS, a sales contract and a receipt for payment of state duty. Its value is 800 rubles.
2. Submit the documents to the traffic police department and wait for the application to be reviewed.
3. Get a new title for the trailer. The action is carried out after checking the documents. The process usually takes one day.

Please note:
If the trailer has not been registered, the procedure for obtaining a title may take longer. The application is reviewed within 30 days. In this situation, the package of papers changes. You must provide a certificate confirming that the registration was not completed. Everything can be obtained from the traffic police. An application is written addressed to the head of the company where the trailer was purchased. A police certificate will be required. It is necessary to confirm the fact that there is no criminal case against the trailer.

Methods for restoring PTS

There are three ways to recover an important document:

Contact the traffic police.

Through the State Services portal.

Through MFC.

It should be noted that regardless of the method of application, the car owner will in any case need to report to the traffic police department.

Many car owners are interested in the question of how much it costs to restore a title. There are no penalties for the loss of this document. The only financial cost for the car owner is paying the state duty. As of 2020, the state duty for issuing a duplicate is 800 rubles. (ground: clause 36, part 1, article 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

You can see a sample of a duplicate PTS in this image:

Issuance of a duplicate PTS online through State Services

Obtaining a duplicate car passport can be done through State Services. The procedure allows you to avoid a personal visit to the State Traffic Inspectorate to submit an application. The person must perform the following actions:

• Go through the registration procedure on the State Services portal. If you already have a personal account, just log in.

• Click on Services and go to the section called Vehicle Registration.

• Among the options provided, you need to select Loss of documents or changes to vehicle data.

• The next action is to click on the item Receive STS, PTS or registration plates.

• In the section that appears, you need to study the information provided. If the citizen is satisfied with everything, he needs to click on the Get service link.
• The driver will see forms for entering data. Here you can indicate the date and time of your visit to the MREO, as well as the department that is most convenient for the citizen to get to.

The advantage of this method is the absence of queues. A citizen will be able to save on paying state fees if funds are deposited by bank transfer through the website. The need to visit the traffic police twice will disappear.