Replacing a car body, procedure for registering a replacement

What is the body of a car according to the law?

Let's start by understanding what a car body is. Formally, in Russia this is a numbered unit. And this means that a designation number is applied to it, identifying the entire vehicle. And according to the law, if the traffic police fails to identify the car (the actual number on the unit will not match the documents), then registration of such a car will be legally denied.

But everything is not so sad - a new body can be officially issued, and any car enthusiast has the right to replace it. True, for this you need to comply with a number of conditions and formalities, as well as collect the necessary documents, including for a new “body”.

How can you not arrange a replacement in 2021?

Let's start with the law that regulates the replacement procedure. Almost the only legal act that prescribes the registration procedure (others have little practical relevance to our issue) is the brand new Order No. 399, which came into force quite recently. It is he who regulates not only the procedure for registering replaced car components, but also what is prohibited from being registered.

So, for 2021 the following restrictions apply:

You cannot replace it with a new body if it is listed as wanted by the traffic police (stolen, the car with it was deregistered by the traffic police due to loss),
if you do not have documents for a new component (clause 17 of the Order),
According to the law, you can supply the body from a scrapped car, but in practice in 99% of cases it is impossible - you will receive a refusal, because even the entire car, completely complete, is quite difficult to restore after disposal,
you will not register a car with a replaced body if it was removed from a car for which a recycling fee was not made (clause 3 of the Order), but you can register it if it was released before September 2012,
if you have already changed the “body” to a new one, then with a high degree of probability you will be denied registration on the basis of paragraph 3 of Order No. 399 due to inappropriate numbers of license units, which include the one we are discussing, we will discuss this issue in more detail below,
if the body number is not readable - in this case, the chances of making changes to the registration data of the State Traffic Inspectorate are approximately 50/50 - you will be sent for examination with an unreadable unit number, and whether the examination will establish the number will be known only after it is carried out,
if there are signs of counterfeiting (overcooking, changing the numbers/letters of the VIN number) of designations.

Registration of frame replacement on a car at the traffic police in 2021

Since direct driving is prohibited, it is possible to install wheels of a larger radius. But it’s no longer possible to operate such a car on public roads. We have already told you about how to register your car easier and faster. Although a car is private property, the owner cannot do absolutely whatever he wants with it. Manipulations with a vehicle associated with changes in design and technical characteristics are regulated by the Traffic Rules and other legislative acts.

Any changes to the design of the vehicle during the year must be formalized. Otherwise, you will have to pay a fine for changing the design of the car. Let's figure out what modifications are subject to restrictions, how to legalize them, and what sanctions await a driver who operates a car with illegal design modifications.

Before talking about the official registration of car tuning, you should understand what constitutes a change in the design of the vehicle. This may include the re-equipment of a machine associated with the removal of components, elements and parts, replacing them with analogues with different characteristics or adding new ones. The Law on Amendments to the Design of a Vehicle regulates the following modifications to the car:

Changes to the design of the car include attaching a winch to an SUV, installing wheels of a different radius, replacing standard bumpers with power ones, and changing the suspension travel.

Even removing seats to increase interior space will be considered a design change if the elements are secured with bolts rather than the latches provided by the manufacturer. However, all of them are subject to documentation. It is important to remember that not all design changes can be legalized.

Therefore, an examination should first be carried out before upgrading the car. During it, experts will give an opinion on which elements can be installed on the vehicle and which changes are prohibited. The list of institutions authorized to conduct such an examination can be found on the website of the Unified Economic Commission.

It, in addition to the owner’s passport data and registration information about the car, should list the planned design changes. Therefore, it will not be possible to legalize the modernization of only a purchased car that is not yet registered.

If the examination allows for independent installation of structural elements, you can do it yourself or contact any service station.

After the conversion, you will have to pay a state fee and undergo an unscheduled technical inspection with the issuance of a diagnostic card. In addition, a technical examination protocol is required, which is issued by the organization that issued the preliminary conclusion. With all the documents received, you should contact the traffic police and receive a new registration certificate and PTS with design changes included in them. Article Most violations fall under the first part of the article, which entails a fine of rubles.

Traffic Laws? However, unregistered changes to lighting fixtures will cost the driver significantly more. Part three of the article In addition to sanctions for operating a car with unregistered changes, there is another problem - passing a technical inspection. If unauthorized design changes are detected, you will not be able to obtain a technical inspection. Without it, operating the vehicle is prohibited.

At the end of March this year, the restrictive wording on the need to pay euros for customs clearance of a vehicle body was canceled. Drom wrote several times about these changes, but the minds of motorists are still excited by the prospects that have opened up along with promising adjustments to the legislation. The increase in price for a whole body can be roughly estimated at thousands of rubles. It turns out that the main and key change is that a car imported for spare parts no longer needs to be literally cut down to pass as a set of parts in order to reduce the duty.

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 the numbers provided on the website.

It's fast and free! The new order was necessary to take into account and streamline all the changes in Russian legislation adopted in recent years, which are directly related to such changes and, naturally, to the registration of vehicles with the State Traffic Inspectorate.

And if previously the body could be replaced without problems, now the situation has become much more complicated. Replacing the body is considered to be an intervention in the structure of the vehicle. Thus, the main provisions for registering changes in the design of a vehicle can be found in Chapter 4 of the technical regulations of the Customs Union. According to the paragraphs of this bill, the owner of a vehicle to replace the car body must:. After this, the car itself is presented to the observation deck for inspection.

Next, you need to pay the state fee in rubles for making changes to the PTS and rubles for issuing a new STS and submit all the above documents, along with your personal passport, to the vehicle registration window. It is not necessary to submit a valid MTPL policy along with all documents, but an MREO employee will check this information through the electronic system. Otherwise, the vehicle may be deregistered.

Also, a discrepancy between the actual VIN number of the vehicle and the one indicated in the documents is the basis for conducting a forensic examination. After a year, the situation with replacing the body became much more complicated. If previously the driver registered a replacement simply after the fact, now he needs to agree on the replacement before it is carried out.

If the court turns out to be on the side of the traffic police, the car owner will have only 2 options: return to the beginning, removing the new body and installing the old one to coordinate all actions with the traffic police, or sell the car for spare parts. We recommend reading: How to register gas equipment for a car this year. How to make changes to the vehicle design of a car.

Registration and registration of car conversion is a process that takes more than one day. The driver must visit at least 4 organizations, each How to convert a truck, and what documents are needed?

Conversion of a truck is considered to be any intervention in its design. Converting a truck into a passenger vehicle, installing an LPG, installing Information about the engine number is contained in the vehicle's passport, which means that when replacing it, this information must be recorded in any case. Each case in court is considered individually, and only an experienced lawyer can predict the possible outcome in advance.

There is a well-known story of motorists from Kaliningrad who tried to legally obtain the restoration of a replacement permit.

It all started with a collective complaint about the failure of traffic police officers to fulfill their direct duties to register such changes in the design. Drivers complained about violations of their civil and constitutional rights and pointed out the inconsistency of this norm with the legislation of the Russian Federation. On the official Internet portal of legal information, the Order will come into force on October 6 this year, thereby putting on the shelf the outdated registration rules that have been in force since the year.

It is worth noting that the attempt to make global updates to the registration actions failed the first time; the first version of the order remained on paper due to the fact that during its consideration many nuances changed in the legislation that the document did not take into account. Therefore, we had to make adjustments and work on the second version of the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We have already written about it in detail on the pages of our online publication 1GAI.

Sooner or later, you may encounter the need to replace the car body or frame. Most often, this need arises as a result of being involved in an accident or excessive corrosion. The procedure itself is considered very complex: both from the technical and legal sides.

Not even all car services undertake such work. The need to replace the engine of a vehicle arises only in a few cases. And then a weaker or more powerful engine is installed under the hood. In both cases, vehicle owners begin to wonder how to register the installation of a new engine in a car with the traffic police.

New vehicle body: cannot be registered, scrapped Deadline for organizations to receive transit numbers. After which the specialists begin measurements and calculations. In our case, the donor frame was also not identical to the frame of the truck being repaired. In particular, the holes for attaching attachments were different, the rear cross members and the ends of the side members had an excellent shape.

Every car owner, sooner or later, may face the need to replace the car body. Drivers held pickets and rallies, however, they were unsuccessful. A petition was created, but it was signed only by campaign participants, which did not in any way affect the further development of events.

If available: — documents for numbered units; — customs documents on temporary import of vehicles for a period of more than six months; — documents on vehicle disposal; — resolution of the investigative body and documents that are the basis for vehicle identification. Do you need insurance? Yes, I need it. But there is no need to present it to the inspector, since the traffic police officer learns about its presence from the electronic database.

Attention How does registration work? When can registration be refused? If signs are detected: - concealment, falsification, alteration, destruction of vehicle identification markings; — forgery of documents; — discrepancy between the actual data and the data in the vehicle documentation. The company that replaces the part must show a certificate of completion of the work upon completion of the replacement work. What documents are needed to formalize the replacement of a car body in a year are determined by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated According to Part.

What to do if you are refused First of all, make sure to get physical evidence of the refusal. However, a verbal refusal will not serve as evidence in court. To appeal the refusal to register, you can go to court. Having received a written ban on registering a car, you can try to appeal the decision in court.

Important However, even in this case you can’t count on much: most often the court supports the representatives of the traffic police. If, after all the bureaucratic delays, you are still not allowed to register the body, the only thing you can do with your car is dispose of it.

The sequence of registration of changes in the traffic police In the process of legalizing the replacement of a car body, the following activities are carried out:. Even if the replacement of the car body was successful, it is too early to rejoice: the changes made still need to be legalized. Why is it difficult to re-register a car: legal nuances For many years, body changes were registered in exactly the same sequence as given above.

This procedure worked for up to a year.

How is it possible?

In fact, there are 2 options for re-registration of such a replacement in the traffic police, depending on the condition of the component. These options lie in 2 postulates of the legality of this procedure for 2021:

It is generally possible to change the body to another - it is not prohibited by law,
but if you bought it used from another car, then there will be no documents for it, since they have not issued papers for a released license plate for a long time, and you cannot have others.

Ultimately, we get 2 scenarios and, accordingly, replacement instructions, depending on your specific situation:

if the “body” was bought new, then you can register it with the traffic police in the traditional sense - register it as a replacement body,
if you purchased this component in a used condition, then it will be much easier to arrange for a replacement body as the purchase of the entire car (that is, the body = car, and you simply transfer all the parts and components from the old car to it).

Registration of a body replacement as a replacement of the entire car as an official legitimation of this procedure is only suitable if the identification numbers (VIN) are applied only to the body surface location. That is, this cannot be done with frame SUVs and trucks, where only the cabin is changed. In addition, there must be no change in the design of the vehicle.

What is a design change? This is the installation of components that were not installed stock on this car model. For example, the most obvious one is the engine. It must match the model and characteristics of what was installed on your new body. We discussed this issue in more detail in the article about changing the engine. Let us emphasize in the context of our question that the new body must be exactly identical to the one being replaced - so that this very design does not change.

Also, in the second case, documents for the body will not be required to obtain the right to replace it.

But if you bought the “body” of the car new, then according to the documents it should be listed as a new license plate unit (that is, we are not talking about buying a new car, but rather a replacement component).

What to do if registration is refused

In some cases, the car owner can resubmit documents for registration of changes if he eliminates the reason for the refusal. For example, he will pay the state fee and (or) put the documents in the established order.

If the car owner cannot (does not want) to eliminate the cause of the failure, he has 2 options:

Appeal to the court at your place of residence. For example, you can go to court to prove the legality of receiving the body. If the court rules in favor of the plaintiff, traffic police officers will be required to issue a SKTS certificate (provided that there are no other reasons to prohibit re-registration).
Selling a vehicle for spare parts.

Is it possible to restore a car after disposal - how can such a car be registered?

How do I formalize a replacement?

So, here are a few instructions depending on each of the situations described above.

If the body is used

In this case, officially registering a replacement is similar to buying a used car:

you transfer everything from the car whose body is being replaced to a new one,
Next, you need to register this car in the same way as when buying a used car: replace the registration certificate, make changes to the title (of the old car).

An old body with old spare parts and components can be scrapped and written off for recycling or deregistered with the traffic police on the basis of loss.

Full instructions for registering changes in connection with a change in the owner of a car are here (namely, this is the procedure we carry out when replacing the main unit of a car). If you need to save license plates from an old car (with an old body), then the instructions are here.

If the body is new

New bodies in Russia can only be purchased for domestic cars. For foreign cars you will not find such new components on sale almost anywhere. But foreign manufacturers almost always, at the request of dealer centers in our country, provide plates with the necessary data.

In this case, the traffic police has no formal reasons for refusing to replace the body. But in practice, nuances are possible - the fact is that MREO traffic police inspectors are afraid to carry out rare and important procedures, and therefore it is easier for them to refuse to issue a replacement than to take responsibility. In this case, the requirement of a written refusal for video recording will help (it is not prohibited to film employees) - as a rule, this is where everything ends successfully for the applicant.

When purchasing a new body, in all cases there are documents for it. Under no circumstances should they be lost - registration of a replacement body with the State Traffic Inspectorate in 2021 is carried out strictly on the basis of documents for a new one (clause 17 of Order 399). You need to contact the traffic police with them, but even before replacing...

Because what awaits you next is a simplified, but rather expensive vehicle certification. The simplicity of the scheme lies in the fact that tests and examinations are not required, since the body is “native” and has already passed all the tests as part of your car model. But, nevertheless, the procedure is costly in terms of finances and time.

First, you need to obtain permission from the traffic police to replace the body - this is a formality and they do not have the right to refuse you, since the law of 2021 does not prohibit this.
Then you need to appear for a traffic police inspection with documents: STS, application for changes (written by hand addressed to the head of the MREO), PTS and the passport of the owner of the car.
Next, you need to replace the body with a new one - the car service must have a certificate of conformity for this type of work, otherwise they will refuse to officially register the changes. Also, do not forget to take documents from the service station: a certificate of completion of work and other documents that will be given to you.
The last step is to submit an application to the traffic police to make changes.

(DOCX format for filling out on a computer).
to fill out by hand.

Procedure for registration of body replacement

If there is a need to replace the car body, the motorist must obtain new registration documents for his vehicle. To do this, you will need to contact the traffic police department, which will register the relevant changes and issue new documents for vehicles.

That is why a mandatory step is to submit an application to the traffic police department, which will necessarily be accompanied by:

Car owner's passport;
PTS and STS;
A certificate that indicates all available modifications to the car body;
State vehicle sign;
Documents confirming the legality of the purchase of the body;
Acts confirming the completion of work to replace the body unit.

If a motorist has purchased a completely new body, the procedure for registering changes will be quite simple, much easier than in the case of a used body.

The replacement process itself will look like this:

Purchase of a new body unit, which will be accompanied by all relevant documents.
Send an application to the traffic police office and get approval. In the case of purchasing a new body, the traffic police have no reason to refuse the appropriate replacement procedure.
Arrive in your vehicle to the traffic police department for a vehicle inspection.
Select a specialized car service authorized to carry out the relevant work to replace the car body.
Upon completion of the work, obtain all the necessary documents from the service center.
Send to the traffic police an application and a package of additional documentation necessary to register the changes.
Deposit the appropriate amount as payment of state duty.

The main nuance of such an event may be the fact that most often the acquisition of a new body is possible only for domestic brands, but for foreign cars it is not possible to purchase a new body in Russia. However, it is quite possible to solve this problem by ordering a body from a dealership auto center. It is there that the manufacturer will send the unit itself, containing all the identification codes, as well as supporting documents. If we approach the solution to the problematic issue in this way, then the traffic police representative will not have any formal reasons why he can refuse to register the corresponding changes to the car owner.

In the case of a used body, the replacement procedure will be as follows:

Purchasing a used unit. If it is purchased from a private person, it is necessary to carry out all kinds of examinations, which will confirm that neither the body number itself nor its owner are in the search database, as well as the fact that the body has already been disposed of previously and the recycling fee itself was paid on time;
Carrying out work in a special car service center and obtaining relevant documentation;
Submitting an application to the traffic police, as well as paying a fee for replacing documents for the car;
Inspection and registration of vehicles with the traffic police;
Receiving corrected documents.

I have already changed the body - can I register it with the traffic police after the fact?

But it is impossible to legalize a car body that has already been replaced, as we mentioned above. Although it would seem that there are no legal grounds for refusal here, the VIN number is actually verified during the inspection. It is applied to the body and will not match the documents, and this is already a reason for legal refusal.

In addition, you did not receive prior permission to make changes to the design, and this contradicts paragraph 7.18 of the Basic Provisions of the Traffic Regulations.

However, in rare cases, it is possible to arrange such a replacement, although only through the court. But even an insignificant chance of this is possible only under 2 conditions:

you still have an old body with no signs of destruction or change in VIN number,
There are witnesses and documents for the replacement work performed.

Something else useful for you:

How to buy a used car legally?
Is it necessary to change the registration certificate when changing the registered address?
I lost the title of my car - how to restore it?