Traffic police fines for driving without a vehicle registration certificate: what to do if there is no STS for the car or the owner forgot it at home?

What are the consequences for traveling without a vehicle?

For driving without an SOP, as well as for the absence of any of the required documents, sanctions are provided under the Code of Administrative Offenses.

• If the driver has all other documents, the inspector can release him without a fine. As practice shows, this happens quite often. It’s another matter if a traffic police officer is faced with the task of improving statistics on preventing violations - then any little thing can become the basis for a monetary punishment.
• Thus, missing registration documents, driver's licenses and insurance policies will lead to receiving a warning from the traffic police or a fine of 500 rubles - under Part 1 of Article 12.3 of the Administrative Code.
• When the reason for the absence of an SOP lies in the fact that the registration of the car after purchase was not carried out within the period allotted by law, the motorist faces punishment under Part 1 of Article 12.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses - a fine of 500-800 rubles, and under paragraph 1.1 of the same article - if stopped again for that same violation, the driver will be fined 5 thousand rubles, or the driving license will be confiscated for 1-3 months.

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.

Related articles:

5 steps to restore your PTS if it is lost

How do cars sell from impound lots?

What documents should the driver have?

In the section of general responsibilities of drivers in the traffic rules (clause 2.1.1) it is stated that the list of mandatory documents includes:

• VU or its temporary analogue;
• registration documents (STS);
• MTPL policy (it is allowed to present it electronically or show a printed copy of it, from October 29, 2021).

This package of documents must be presented at the request of State Traffic Inspectorate employees and, accordingly, must always be with you. Previously, this included a maintenance ticket, but now the clause about this has been removed from the Administrative Code.

Fine for lack of vehicle registration certificate

According to clause 2.1.1 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 23, 1993 N 1090 “On the Rules of the Road,” when driving a vehicle, the driver is required to carry a vehicle registration certificate and, upon request, present it to the traffic police officers.

2.1. The driver of a power-driven vehicle is obliged to: 2.1.1. Have with you and, at the request of the police officers, hand over to them for verification: ...registration documents for this vehicle (except for mopeds), and if there is a trailer, also for the trailer (except for trailers for mopeds).

Clause 2.1.1 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 23, 1993 N 1090 “On Traffic Rules”

For violating this rule, the driver will face a warning or an administrative fine. According to Part 1 of Art. 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the fine for the absence of STS in a car is 500 rubles.

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.

Part 1 Art. 12.3 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

Reasons for driving without a registration document

There can be many reasons for missing evidence - as with any forgotten thing. Most often, traffic police officers hear the following excuses:

• left at home (for example, in other clothes or a bag);
• lost and not yet restored;
• one vehicle is used by several family members included in the MTPL, and one of them retains the certificate;
• a power of attorney was issued, but they forgot to give the STS (for example, when the car is a right-hand drive “designer” and cannot be re-registered, therefore it is sold exclusively by power of attorney).

In what cases is it allowed to travel without a registration certificate?

If the car has just been purchased, the new owner has 10 days to register it. During this period, he can travel by car without an insurance policy and vehicle insurance.

However, you must understand that if an accident occurs due to the fault of the driver, the injured party will have to compensate for losses from their own funds. Therefore, the first thing after purchasing is to register the car and take out an insurance policy.

Also, instead of the specified documents, the motorist must carry with him a purchase and sale agreement and a title with the details of the new owner and the date of purchase entered into it.

According to Article 19.22 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a driver who fails to complete registration actions within the specified period will be issued a fine, which will have to be paid upon registration:

• 1.5-2 thousand for individuals;
• 2-3 thousand for civil servants;
• 5-10 thousand for legal entities.

Until 2013, it was possible to obtain temporary transit numbers and use them before registering and receiving STS within 20 days (but some continued to travel after the period had expired).

After re-registration became possible at any traffic police department, such a privilege was retained only for 3 categories of owners:

• legal entities;
• IP;
• individuals living in another country and transporting vehicles there.

Penalty for moving without proper documents?

Let us summarize the situations discussed above.

• If the car owner has issued a PTS, and he has received and has with him all additional papers, such as STS for the purchased car, a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, and also received license plates, there will be no punishment for making trips without a PTS.
• If he drives without a PTS, without STS and license plates, then the situation is divided into 2 parts. In a situation where 10 days have not passed since the purchase of the car, the owner of a specific piece of movable property has the right to drive without license plates and registration of the car for 10 days, he will not commit any offense. We indicated the normative act in the paragraph above. All that remains is to complete the documentation without delay.
• If the PTS has been issued, but there is neither it nor other mandatory documents, then the driver is given an administrative penalty. It can be either for the lack of STS due to the forgetfulness of the car owner, or due to the fact that the car is not registered with the traffic police.

Fines

If the driver does not have a PTS or he forgot it at home, then there will be no problems when checked by a traffic police inspector. After all, the law does not have a fine for not having a vehicle registration certificate.

The main requirement is that the car has both license plates, front and rear. It is also necessary that the vehicle be registered with the traffic police, and therefore have the appropriate certificate.

The vehicle passport may not be considered a key document that must be presented to the traffic police inspector during the inspection, but it plays an important role for the car owner.

If the PTS was not issued immediately after purchasing the car, the owner will not be able to register the vehicle, which entails the absence of license plates and STS, which means new violations. Also, without a registration certificate, the driver will not be able to apply for a compulsory MTPL insurance policy from an insurance company, for which he will subsequently receive an administrative penalty. Therefore, PTS must be issued in advance.

Let's look at what penalties this entails:

1. In the absence of license plates or STS, the car owner is issued a fine for detected violations.
2. Driving without an MTPL policy will cost you a fine of 800 rubles.
3. If a driver drives a car or motorcycle that is not registered, his fine will be 500-800 rubles under Article 12.1 of the Administrative Code, and in case of repeated violation, the amount will increase to 5 thousand, or deprivation of a driver’s license for a period of 1 to 3 months.

Important! If you lose your PTS, you will need to restore the document as soon as possible. After all, with its replacement, you will also need to change the STS, since you will need to enter a new vehicle registration number into it.

Can the STS be replaced by the PTS when stopped by an inspector?

Some drivers are convinced that driving without a vehicle is unlikely to have serious consequences, especially when they have the rest of the necessary documents with them - license, insurance and vehicle passport. Sometimes people are so convinced of the interchangeability of PTS and STS that they even manage to convince the inspector of this and avoid a fine.

The fact is that more than 10 years ago, technical passports, common in Soviet times, were still issued for cars. They really were the “harbingers” of the SOP. Now they can still be found, but they must be replaced whenever you contact the traffic police department. And yet, the SOP is an analogue of a technical passport, and not a modern PTS. You can learn more about “Do you need to take your PTS with you” from this article.

Is it possible to evacuate a car for lack of SOP?

Such a measure as evacuation (Part 1 of Article 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) is used quite rarely and, as a rule, there must be a good reason for it. The reason may be the provocative behavior of the car owner or the presence of other related violations.

In this case, the driver will have to go to get documents, pay fines and towing, and pick up the vehicle. If the STS is lost, the situation becomes somewhat more complicated. You will need to spend more time and money - go to the State Traffic Inspectorate office, write a statement about the loss, wait for a new document to be issued, and only then pick up the car from the parking lot, where the tariff, after the first free day, is 30-60 rubles per hour.

However, for the very fact of the absence of STS, they do not resort to evacuation of the car.