Driving without documents - what is the fine?

What documents are required for a car in 2021 according to traffic rules?

In general, traffic rules prescribe 2 related responsibilities when driving a car:

1. carry documents for the car with you (and, accordingly, the obligation not to forget them at home),
2. hand them over to a police officer for inspection.

This is prescribed by paragraph 2.1 of the Rules.

Please note that you are obliged to transfer them, and not just present or show them. And also the fact that the right to check papers is granted not only to traffic police inspectors, but to any police officer, which includes police officers patrolling the streets, precinct officers and other employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In the vast majority of cases, for an ordinary passenger car driven by an individual and used for personal needs (not a legal entity or working in a taxi), only 3 documents are required:

• license (driver's license),
• registration document (registration certificate - STS)
• and a valid MTPL policy.

In some individual cases, the driver will also need:

• waybill and/or documents for the transported cargo – in the case of driving a commercial vehicle or taxi,
• permit and license – for taxi cars,
• certificate of disability – if a disabled person is driving a vehicle and if there is a corresponding sign on the rear window,
• access card – for international transportation,
• and various kinds of documents for heavy, large-sized transport or transporting dangerous goods.

What if the car is someone else's?

Then nothing changes. You must have with you:

1. your driver's license,
2. the owner of the car must give you the STS,
3. valid MTPL insurance, in which you must be included in the number of permitted drivers (column 3 of the policy).

This is all! You will not need any powers of attorney, since the obligation to present them to a traffic police officer has long been abolished (although formally such a document can be issued by law).

Thus, if you are driving someone else’s car, and at the same time you forgot the license and documents for the car at home, you were stopped by the traffic police, then the sanctions will be exactly the same as if it was your personal car.

You will also be interested in:

• What documents need to be changed when changing your last name?
• Is it legal to drive a walk-behind tractor with a trailer without a license and what is the fine?
• What documents are needed for a car if the driver is not the owner?

What documents should you always have with you?

What do you need with you to drive the car?

1. Driver's license. This document confirms passing exams at the State Traffic Inspectorate for the right to drive a vehicle. It indicates personal information about the owner and the validity period of the certificate. If the document is lost or lost for any other reason, a temporary permit is issued.
2. Temporary permit to drive a car.
3. Registration data. The vehicle registration certificate differs from the PTS. This card will indicate the main properties of the car. The certificate confirms that the driver has registration and ownership rights.
4. Permission to carry out transportation. Documents can be documents for cargo, transportation of heavy, dangerous, large cargo, taxi permission, waybill, license card.
5. Confirmation of the fact of disability. This disability certificate is required for those drivers who drive with a “Disabled Person” identification badge.
6. Insurance policy. The policy can be CASCO or OSAGO. The document must be valid.

What happens if you forget your car documents at home?

There are 3 categories of sanctions that may occur in the case of driving a car and leaving papers at home:

• administrative warning,
• a fine of 500 rubles,
• detention of a vehicle (evacuation to a parking lot).

What is the penalty for forgotten rights?

Responsibility for the lack of a driver's license when driving a vehicle is provided for in Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The fine for forgotten rights under this provision is 500 rubles. And in rare cases, the driver only faces a warning.

12.3, part 1. Driving a vehicle by a driver who does not have documents for the right to drive it... entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five hundred rubles.

The good news is that this penalty is eligible for a 50% discount if paid within 20 days of the judgment. And no additional punishments or security measures are provided: impound parking, various requirements and prohibitions on operation.

Below we will learn the intricacies of assigning this type of punishment and attempts to deceive by some “traffic cops” by assigning a larger sanction.

Fine and evacuation for driving without STS

If you forgot at home the main document for the car in the form of a registration certificate (a pink laminated card - it is also mistakenly called a “technical passport”), and you were stopped by traffic police officers on the road, you will face the same fine - 500 rubles or a warning. However, in this case, an additional security measure is the evacuation of the car to a special parking lot.

This is provided because driving a car without an STS may be a sign of a stolen vehicle. And, if you do not agree with the severity of this punishment, then think about how happy you would be if someone tried to steal your car... Of course, unless you keep the certificate in the car, which we strongly do not recommend doing!

The fine itself for this forgotten document is established by part 1 of article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences. And evacuation (correctly called “detention of a vehicle”) is Article 27.13 of the Code. Part 1 of this norm lists all other measures of liability for which a fine is provided, and part 1 of Article 12.3 is among them.

This fine is also subject to a discount.

Thus, if you forgot your license and car documents in the form of STS at home, and you were stopped by traffic police inspectors, then the total fine will be 1,000 rubles, which can be paid within 20 days in the amount of 500 rubles for both sanctions. However, in the case of a forgotten “technical passport”, there will also be a risk of evacuation to a special parking lot.

Punishment if you left your MTPL insurance at home

And exactly the same measure of liability is provided in 2021 if you forgot your MTPL insurance policy at home. A 500 ruble fine or warning is provided for by the same part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Administrative Code. There is also a discount on it, and the law does not require impound parking.

Thus, if you are caught by traffic police inspectors without a license and without insurance, then there will be only one fine. But if without STS, then the second one, because it is provided for by another part of Article 12.3.

But there is an important subtlety here. Clause 2.1.1 of the traffic rules provides for penalties for the lack of paper insurance. If you have an electronic MTPL, then you are required to carry one of two options with you:

• or a printed OSAGO policy,
• or his photograph.

That is, if the policy series begins with the letters “XXX” (and not “KKK”, “MMM” or others), then you have an electronic MTPL (it could have been issued even if you actually contacted the office of the insurance company or broker), and you must only carry a printout with you or show a photo from your smartphone to the traffic police inspector.

Expert opinion

Dmitry Tikovenko

Automotive law expert. 7 years of experience. Areas of specialization: civil law, disputes over compulsory motor liability insurance and road accidents

When discussing penalties for forgotten documents, one of the advantages of the electronic OSAGO policy will become clear. You should always carry a regular form with you, and if you forget it at home, the driver risks getting a fine under Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

With an electronic policy, everything is simpler. Not only is it sent by email, and if something happens you can always find it there, but the Supreme Court also clarified that failure to present an electronic OSAGO policy does not constitute an offense under Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. So that's one less fine!

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The inspector threatens a larger fine - who is right?

In practice in 2021, it is not uncommon for not very honest traffic police officers to try to scam motorists based on drivers’ ignorance of the law. So, you can be subject to the following sanctions:

• You may be charged 15,000 rubles for a driver’s license forgotten at home,
• for the absence of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy – ​​800 rubles,
• and for driving without STS - simply threaten with impound parking.

And only the last threat is legal here. But in order to receive increased fines for abandoned rights and compulsory motor liability insurance, you need to be completely ignorant of the rules of responsibility and, moreover, not try to understand them.

The fact is that a fine of 15,000 rubles for forgotten rights is the maximum sanction under Part 1 of Article 12.7 of the Administrative Code. And this punishment is legally applied due to the lack of control rights. Unfortunately, some motorists do not distinguish between a driver's license and the license itself. And these are completely different concepts:

• the right to drive is granted to you once and for all after passing the driving test for the first time in your life (then this right can only be suspended or revoked, it is also suspended if your license has expired),
• a driver's license confirms that you have such a right.

At the same time, the main essence of the illegality of the fine is that even if you do not have your license with you, it is not grounds for termination of your right to drive, and for this forgotten document a separate, more specific rule of responsibility is provided: part 2 of article 12.3.

Part 1 of Article 12.7 applies if a person is driving who has never had a driving license, if the license has expired or this right has been suspended for medical reasons. But for driving licenses forgotten at home, this fine is illegal.

As for 800 rubles for the absence of a policy, here too the inspector is very and blatantly disingenuous - this is a sanction under Part 2 of Article 12.37 for the absence of an insurance contract. That is, a fine is imposed if you did not conclude such an agreement at all (as well as if the previous one was overdue). In our case, we are talking about a policy forgotten at home as material confirmation that you have an MTPL insurance contract. And the traffic cop on the road after stopping has the opportunity to check this.

If you are nevertheless subject to one of the illegal fines listed above, you should appeal them. This is very easy to do, since you have strong evidence - just attach a copy of your current MTPL policy or, accordingly, your driver’s license to your complaint. We have provided detailed instructions for filing a complaint in a special article.

Summary table of fines if you forgot your documents and were stopped by the traffic police

So, let's summarize and look at all the penalties if you forgot all the documents for the car at home: a driver's license, and STS, and OSAGO insurance.
Table of fines for forgotten car documents

Expert opinion

Yuri Panchenko

Driving instructor, human rights activist, author of books. 10 years of experience.

In my driving school classes, I especially emphasize that drivers should always know where their driver’s license and registration certificate are now.

If you do not have a license and have a passport, a road inspector can make sure that the driver has the right to drive a vehicle by simply calling the duty station. After which the driver is only issued a fine for not having a document with him.

“And if the driver doesn’t have a passport with him, then please go to the monkey house with the homeless for three hours until his identity is revealed. Not a good time,” I add.

If the driver does not have a registration certificate, then he is not able to confirm that he is driving the vehicle legally. In this case, the car leaves for a specialized parking lot on a tow truck, and the driver goes on foot to look for this document.

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Penalty for lack of registration certificate

A forgotten STS will cost the driver 500 rubles if there are no other violations. Employees can also issue a verbal reprimand if the STS is absent for a valid reason. The car may even be detained until the circumstances are clarified.

If the driver is caught more than once in the absence of an STS, they may be fined five thousand rubles or deprived of their driving license for three months.

If not all documents are in order or something is overdue, a fine of up to two thousand rubles is issued.

If the owner does not have several documents, the traffic police officer fills out a protocol with the obligatory payment of a fine. It is usually equal to three thousand rubles.

Fine

You can drive a car without a title. It is impossible without STS , with the exception of ten days from the date of purchasing a car at a car dealership or twenty days with transit numbers. After this time, the fine will be from three hundred to eight hundred rubles.

If a traffic police officer issues a violation not for the first time, he can issue a general fine of up to five thousand rubles.

If the car owner has not previously completed the registration procedure and has already overdue the deadline, provides a purchase and sale agreement, then the employee issues a fine of up to two thousand rubles for civilians.

Officials will have to pay 3,500 thousand rubles and legal entities up to ten thousand.

The next stop may be a reason for deprivation of your driver's license for a period of one to three months. If the driver does not have a license and a certificate of registration of the car, this will lead to the car being confiscated for a parking fine.

Are the traffic police required to wait until they are brought?

No. In 2021, the only regulatory act governing the procedure for communicating with the traffic police of drivers is in force. This is an Administrative Regulation introduced by Order No. 664. And in it you will not find the inspector’s obligation to wait for some time until the driver has forgotten documents for the car in his hands.

However, today this is practiced, being essentially an act of goodwill of the employees, and even then they do not always give time for the driver to “correct.” Here you should keep in mind the following subtleties:

• if you forgot the necessary licenses and documents for the car at home, the waiting time for the inspector is also not regulated; most often, if a police officer’s duty time on a given section of the road is running out, then they will not give you time,
• It is not always the case that the documents you bring will save you from a fine - most often the employee gives you time so as not to take your car to the impound lot if you have forgotten your vehicle,
• but it may also happen that even in the case of driving only without a driver’s license, after stopping the car the traffic cop will give time to bring them, but will still issue a fine; thereby, he allegedly prevented further punishments when you drive further down the road and are stopped again by another traffic police crew.

We discussed this issue in more detail in a separate article about the time for delivery of documents.

Is a PTS suitable if you have it with you?

No. Everything is very simple - the car’s passport is not in the list of documents listed in paragraph 2.1.1 of the traffic rules. And it, indeed, is not a necessary document to present to the employee, you do not need to carry it with you, and it is required only for certain registration actions with the car.

But among many motorists there is an opinion that if you have lost your STS, then the PTS will completely replace it. Yes, in rare cases, traffic cops can meet the driver halfway and let him go after seeing only the car’s passport, but these are very rare situations.

What documents must the driver carry with him?

According to traffic rules, the driver carries with him and presents at the request of the inspector:

• driver's license. Fine for forgotten rights - 500 rubles;
• registration documents for the car - vehicle registration certificate (VRC). The fine for a forgotten STS is also 500 rubles;
• OSAGO policy. Failure to do so will result in a fine of 800 rubles.

PTS is not on this list.

What to do to avoid a fine?

The only correct action, if at a certain moment you find that you are driving without documents for your car because you forgot them at home, is not to wait for the traffic police to stop you. Especially if we are talking about the registration certificate left behind.

That is, you need:

1. park the car,
2. check whether you have forgotten all these documents, and not just that they are located in another place,
3. it is better to make sure that they stayed at home by calling their household members,
4. go home to get documents by public transport or taxi, or ask them to be brought to you.

A more risky option is to go back home without documents. The risk will be less if you take the same route as you got to the place where you discovered that you had no papers for your car - provided, of course, that there were no traffic police crews along the way.

Is it possible to avoid it if there is a photo of the license and STS?

Unfortunately no. 2.1.1 of the Rules refers to the transfer of documents to the employee, and not their photocopies, various kinds of photocopied copies and the like - only paper originals (except for the electronic OSAGO policy.

Yes, in fact, a police officer has a full opportunity to make sure that you have a license and a certificate by looking at their photo and checking them against their database using the document identification number. However, a formality is a formality. Article 12.3 provides for punishment, regardless of the capabilities of the traffic police inspector on the road. Forgot your license and car documents at home? Please receive fines!

What if all the documents are lost?

We'll have to restore them. And it costs less than paying fines every time. Fortunately, restoration of both a driver’s license and STS occurs quickly - the same day you contact the traffic police.

We have provided instructions for loss of documents in special articles:

• what to do if you have lost STS,
• if your driver's license is lost,
• as well as the procedure for restoring PTS.

Please note that if your car is taken to an impound lot for lack of a certificate, you will be able to pick it up from there only after the documents have been restored.

If you lose your MTPL policy, it’s completely free - you just come to any office of your insurance company, and they should immediately print out a new policy for you.

Something else useful for you:

• All about the fine for low beam: what size is it if the headlights are not turned on or do not work?
• Is it possible to ride an ATV on roads and where not? Is it possible to drive without rights?
• Rooms are covered in snow - fine or deprivation? The inspector threatens to revoke your rights

If the car was recently purchased

Then you should still have documents: the STS of the previous owner, if you did not have time to re-register the car in your name with the traffic police, and your driver’s license, the availability of which does not depend at all on the purchase of the car.

But you don’t have to take the purchase and sale agreement with you - it is not in the list of clause 2.1.1 of the traffic rules.

Forgot the documents for the trailer - what is the fine?

According to the law, a trailer is also a vehicle – albeit not a full-fledged one (not a mechanical one according to traffic regulations). And it is subject to state registration, as a result of which a registration certificate is issued to it.

Accordingly, when driving with a trailer, you must have the following documents:

1. 2 registration certificates: for the car and for a separate trailer,
2. your driver's license,
3. OSAGO policy only for a car.

The consequences of driving with a trailer without any or all of these documents are absolutely identical to their absence when the traffic police stops a car without a trailer. The only difference is that only the trailer will be taken to the impound lot if there is no STS for it. If there is no certificate for both vehicles, then both will be towed.

The inspector demands to show the vehicle passport - am I obliged?

The answer to the question whether a motorist is required to present a PTS to a traffic police inspector is negative. But in practice, in addition to the purchase and sale agreement, it is also often required in order to finally make sure that he is really the legal owner of the car. Most often, such an event is carried out to justify the legality of the driver’s lack of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, the registration of which must be completed within 10 days and before the vehicle is registered with the traffic police.

However, it is important not to forget that clause 2.1.1 of the traffic rules states that in any region of the Russian Federation, a motorist is absolutely not obliged to give a vehicle title to an inspector for inspection.