The traffic police told whether it is legal to tint car license plates

Why is the license plate on a car erased?

After a few years, the paint on the license plate begins to fade and then disappears completely. The cause of wear is most often reagents, sand, salt and stones, which are found in abundance on the roads. Every day they come into contact with the coating of license plates, they gradually reduce the thickness of the paint layer. This happens especially quickly with the front signs, since they bear the brunt of the impact.

Other factors that may cause wear include:

• low quality materials;
• operation in the city;
• mileage;
• accident;
• climate: rain and moisture quickly destroy the paint layer;
• Frequently washing the car with chemicals.

Note! A faulty number must not be used. The traffic police fine for an administrative violation ranges from 500 rubles.

The license plate is considered unreadable provided that at a distance of 20 meters a person with normal vision cannot see at least one letter or number. If the white background is dirty, but the signs can still be read, then this is not considered a violation.

Causes of wear

Before we talk about what needs to be done if the license plate on the car is erased, it is worth touching on the reasons for this situation.

Wear is influenced by a number of factors, one of which is long-term use of the vehicle. It is also worth considering the conditions in which the machine is used. When the car is driven primarily in the city, the plates rarely wear out. But when a car is exposed to harsh conditions, the paint may not withstand such stress.

In order to somehow prevent rapid wear and tear, motorists came up with the idea of ​​​​using metal frames, inside which the number is placed.

A license plate can be erased for the simple reason that it was originally of low quality. This happens when production is not carried out by state enterprises, but by private organizations engaged in the creation of duplicates. Sometimes such signs cannot withstand even one trip in heavy rain or snow.

But it is important to note that such license plates are very rare. Therefore, the most common cause of wear is time.

It is worth recalling the existence of a fine of 500 rubles, which is provided for driving a car with an unreadable license plate. This may be due to contamination or wear of the paint.

Is it possible to tint the license plate yourself?

You can tint the license plate yourself, but only if the requirements according to GOST are met. Here's what the law says:

• Numbers and letters must be the same height. When touching up, you must not allow the outline of one sign to go beyond the outlined limits.
• The white background should have a reflective coating and a protective hologram, so it is not recommended to touch it. A small scratch or chip can still be painted over. But if the damage is extensive, then it is better to order new numbers.
• Numbers and letters must be black and clearly outlined. This requirement is easy to fulfill if you take a permanent marker.

If you choose the right tools and a certain amount of accuracy, meeting all these conditions will not be difficult.

What to consider when painting numbers

To avoid deteriorating the appearance of the license plate as a result of painting, the motorist must consider the following:

1. Remove license plates from the car. Wash and dry them thoroughly.
2. Cover the surface painted white so as not to stain it when applying black paint.
3. Apply waterproof paint with a medium-thick brush, being careful not to drip.

Many car enthusiasts tint license plates using a waterproof black marker. This is a simple but short-lived method, because the symbols will be erased within a couple of months. Therefore, the applied layer will have to be renewed periodically. It is better to use a black marker with a thick, beveled rod for such purposes. It can be purchased at any office supply store.

The benefits of using a marker are as follows:

1. Cheapness. The cost of the marker is less than 50 rubles. In this case, the motorist will not have to order new license plates or contact a specialist for painting.
2. Rapidity. You can update faded symbols within a few minutes.
3. Convenience. The marker can be placed in the glove compartment and, if necessary, update the appearance of the numbers.

When starting work, the motorist must understand that the painting procedure may be more complicated than it seemed at first glance. In addition, the final version does not always live up to expectations. If the license plates do not meet generally accepted standards, the driver may receive a fine.

What can you tint with?

To restore a car license plate, only waterproof products can be used. The more stable they are, the better - this way the letters will remain visible longer.

Marker

The easiest and fastest way to tint the number is with a marker. Suitable for both waterproof and industrial use for greasy or dusty surfaces. Excess strokes can be removed using a cotton pad soaked in solvent. To avoid going beyond the contour, you can use a plastic card or ruler.

Duplicate license plate

Another way to restore a damaged number is to make duplicates.

In big cities you can easily find several companies engaged in this business within the framework of the law.

This method is much more convenient and faster than the first (the work can only take about half an hour), but its disadvantage is its high cost.

Thus, the cost of producing one issue for 2021 is about 1,500 rubles, and a set of two issues is more than 2,000 rubles.

To make a duplicate, you must provide the selected company with a vehicle registration certificate.

How to paint a number correctly

The sign restoration procedure will be successful if you properly prepare for it and do the following:

1. Rent a room. To do this, you need to bend the outer side of the plastic frame, pry the sign, and then pull it out.
2. Completely clear old symbols. This is necessary so that the new coat of paint lays down evenly. For work, you can use fine-grained sandpaper.
3. If there is rust on the metal, then a converter must be applied to the affected areas.
4. Wash the sign in warm water and soap. This solution best cleans the surface of foreign impurities.
5. Degrease the surface.
6. Cover the white part of the number with construction paper tape so that only the letters and numbers are exposed.
7. Spray paint from a can or touch up with a marker.
8. Wait until the first coat dries and then apply another one.
9. Carefully peel off the construction tape from the surface of the sign.

After completing the work, you cannot immediately put the license plate back on - it needs to be allowed to dry for several hours. Otherwise, all the dirt and dust will collect on the freshly painted numbers.

Important! If paint accidentally gets outside the contour, it can be removed using a degreaser.

Is it possible to tint license plates?

This question interests many car enthusiasts, but it is very difficult to find a definite answer to it.

On the one hand, the numbers are a state document that is prohibited from being changed or corrected. On the other hand, if even one letter or number is erased from the license plates, this will be a fair basis for issuing a fine from an attentive traffic inspector.

However, you must agree that making a duplicate or going through the procedure of replacing a state license plate every time is not a very tempting prospect.

Ultimately, we can conclude that touching up license plates is more likely allowed than prohibited..

The following arguments can be made:

1. The tinting procedure does not imply changing or correcting the number, since it only allows you to restore existing information and improve the quality of its perception.
2. There is not a single by-law or law that directly prohibits such a procedure.

So, it is allowed to tint numbers manually, however, one should take into account the state standards prescribed in ST RK 986-2012.

Thus, license plates must comply not only with the requirements for the font, size and thickness of letters and numbers, but also contain intact security elements.

These include holograms - these are negative or positive ellipses (with the KZ symbol), which are evenly distributed - over the entire surface of the license plate, at a distance of five centimeters from each other, as well as a three-dimensional traveling wave.

What to do if the paint on your car license plates has worn off? Minor scratches and chips may be carefully touched up, and this should not cause any complaints from police officers.

However, repainting the entire surface of the license plate will violate the relevant standards, since the holograms will disappear and the surface of the license plates will lose its reflective properties.

So, tinting the letters and numbers on the license plate with black paint meets the requirements of GOST, because it does not change its visual appearance. Therefore, what is not prohibited must be permitted. There is nothing illegal about this, that's for sure .

What to do if painting doesn't help

If you don’t neglect the situation and touch up the number on time, it can last for many more years. But in some cases, no restoration helps. A way out of the situation may be to make a duplicate or completely replace the plates. Private organizations have the right to reissue state license plates. Buying a copy will cost 900-1500 rubles per copy. This option has only one drawback - an unscrupulous company can make a sign from low-quality materials. This number will not last long, and the paint will peel off within a few months.

Replacement of state numbers

The most reliable way to replace license plates is to make new ones. To do this, you need to contact the traffic police and pay a fee of 2000 rubles for both signs. But the amount can be reduced if you pay the receipt through State Services.

License plates on cars should be clearly visible even in the dark - after all, this is one of the ways to recognize the owner of the car. If this rule is violated, the traffic police officer may issue a fine to the owner. To prevent this from happening, you can tint the sign with a marker or paint, make a duplicate of it, or make a new set.

Imposing a fine for a poorly readable state sign

The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation contains several articles related to the presence/absence or condition of license plates.

Table 2. Responsibility for indistinguishable numbers.

As can be seen from the table, the lightest punishment is imposed for using numbers with unreadable characters. If you paint over the white background of the license plate with regular, non-reflective paint, or allow the vehicle to be used with license plates removed for restoration, then the penalty imposed will be much more serious.

How to find out the owner of a car by car number via the Internet for free, about this in the article: Check a car by state number. Read how to check traffic police fines by vehicle registration number for free here.

How to find out the VIN by vehicle registration number for free, in this publication.

During operation, the car inevitably receives small scratches, chips and other damage to the paintwork. In order for the car to always look new and fresh, car enthusiasts eliminate all these shortcomings, but do not always pay attention to the condition of the registration plates.

It is necessary to periodically check their appearance, since not only the aesthetic appearance of the car depends on this, but also compliance with current legislation.

Penalty for operating a vehicle with worn-out license plates

The law does not gradate the amount of punishment depending on the degree or reason for the unreadability of numbers. The penalty for numbers that are unreadable for any reason is the same. For minor abrasions on letters or numbers, the inspector may issue a warning. If one or more numbers or letters are not readable, the driver will face a fine of 500 rubles .

Some inspectors classify worn out or incorrectly restored license plates as a complete absence of registration plates on the vehicle. In this case, the driver will have to pay 5,000 rubles out of pocket, or lose his license for up to 3 months .

If a traffic police officer considers the corrected numbers to be a fake or a deliberate change in the license plate data, you may lose your car altogether or fall under the “fraud” article. And this is already a criminal offense for which you can get a criminal record.

Replacing license plates instead of touching up paint?

As we already mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are 2 more options, in addition to touching up the license plates when they are worn out. This is their replacement. In one case, you receive duplicate numbers, in the other, they are replaced (the alphanumeric designation changes).

Detailed instructions for replacing numbers with others are given in our article on obtaining new license plates.

And in order to obtain duplicate numbers, it is enough to contact any organization authorized for production. They are most often located opposite or next to the MREO traffic police department. To obtain duplicates, you will need a certificate of registration. You also need to hand over your old numbers.

What factors can negatively affect the rapid erasure of license plate paint?

A variety of factors can affect the condition of the license plate. First of all, we are talking about the significant mileage of the vehicle. The higher the mileage, the higher the degree of wear of the plates. In addition, the label may be affected by the operating conditions of the machine. The less negative factors affect the numbers, the better it looks.

Some drivers try to protect license plates by placing them in special frames, which gives certain results. To avoid damage, some people try to place a special film on the sign, but such actions do not give a positive result.

Sometimes it happens that the issued license plate was initially of poor quality and very quickly became unusable. The owner of the car just needs to order a duplicate. This can only be done by contacting a private company or government agency. Unfortunately, there is a group of fraudulent companies that produce low-quality signs, so you should approach this issue very carefully. Additional information on the topic of the note is presented in the video:

When touch-up is not allowed

Not in all situations it will be possible to adjust the license plate yourself. If most of the numbers cannot be read, or if you cannot accurately restore the numbers yourself, then you should turn to legal methods of restoring numbers.

• Duplicate license plate. You can obtain a duplicate by contacting official organizations, the list of which is published on the official website of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate. This method is much more convenient and faster than self-recovery. The advantage is its legality and speed - about half an hour. The disadvantage is the high cost. In 2021, the cost of producing one issue will be about 1,500 rubles. A set of two numbers will cost more than 2000. To make a duplicate, you will need to submit an application in person or online to the selected organization. After reviewing it, you need to provide a vehicle registration certificate and old license plates.
• Complete replacement of signs. Involves receiving numbers with a modified alphanumeric designation. To complete this procedure, you should contact the traffic police and write a statement. Having paid the state duty, get new license plates for the vehicle. The state fee will be 2850 rubles or 1995 rubles if you use the government services portal. This method is the most expensive, but its advantage is that all procedures take place officially.

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Is it allowed to tint numbers?

According to the law, you cannot operate a car without normal and clearly visible license plates. For this action, a citizen is issued a fine of 500 rubles. If the number is erased, it needs to be touched up. The answer to this question interests many car owners, but finding it is not very easy.

On the one hand, the license plate is an official plate and a unique alphabetic code, which are prohibited from being changed, corrected or damaged in any other way. On the other hand, the absence of paint on one symbol may become a legal basis for issuing a fine.

As for registering a duplicate, you need to go through this procedure in advance, and this will require a certain amount of funds. In addition, the possibility of tinting is not prohibited by law, so this is more likely to be possible than not.

Cost of methods

For many car owners, the cost of carrying out certain work always plays a big role in car maintenance. Restoring a car registration plate is no exception.

Therefore, let’s try to compare how expensive or cheap it will be to use different options to achieve results.

• Aerosol. The method using paint in spray cans is quite common and in demand. It does not require particularly complex operations, although it implies maximum concentration when applying paint. Here the consumable part will be the spray paint itself, the price of which varies from 300 to 500 rubles.
• Dipping. Here you will need to find a board and thick fabric, and also buy a can of paint. If we assume that the board and fabric for covering can actually be found somewhere at home or in the garage, then you will only have to spend money on paint. Its cost will be from 200 to 500 rubles.
• Marker. The cheapest method, but inferior to other recovery options in terms of efficiency. But if you take a high-quality paint marker, then you will be able to quickly and easily restore erased symbols on the plate. A marker can cost from 60 to 200 rubles.
• Duplicate. When a car owner does not want to do the restoration himself, he pays money to other people and receives a ready-made duplicate. For one sign you will have to pay from 600 rubles. But it is better to turn to trusted and legal companies that use high-quality materials and equipment in their work. Then the price can rise to 2 thousand rubles for 2 duplicates.
• New number. The most expensive, but the safest method from a legal point of view will cost 2,850 rubles. This is the size of the state duty that is currently in effect when obtaining a new registration number at any traffic police department in the Russian Federation.

Which option to choose, everyone decides for himself. You can spend more time and effort, but save money. Or save yourself from unnecessary hassle by entrusting the solution to your issue to specialists.

If a car license plate is difficult to read, or some characters have been erased, this fact cannot be ignored. This threatens the driver with a fine for an administrative offense. Therefore, car owners will still have to restore the plate.

When using the proposed restoration methods, be extremely careful and careful. Although the law does not prohibit touching up black characters, touching the white background with its reflective effect and holograms is strongly discouraged. Also, you cannot change the size and shape of the symbol itself. Therefore, just tint them, and do not repaint them in a new color with a different thickness, height and other parameters that do not comply with current state standards.

Is it legal to touch up car license plates with a marker?

I got into trouble with my car. The license plate on the car has been erased, but I have neither the desire nor the additional funds to order a duplicate. A friend advised me to tint the numbers with a marker, carefully so that they were clearly visible, and not fool myself.

No sooner said than done. I armed myself with a black marker and colored in the numbers. I won’t go into details of how the traffic police officer found out about this, but as a result, I was given a fine for a tidy sum, and at home I started to figure out whether it was legal to correct car license plates with a marker. I will share the results of my investigation in this material.

Is it legal to correct car license plates with a marker?

Required documents

To retain your license plate, you will need to prepare a package of documents. The car owner must express a desire to leave the number. This is the main reason for providing the service (clause 44 of the Rules for state registration of vehicles, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1764 of December 21, 2021). The citizen will have to prepare an application. However, the form of the document is not fixed by law. However, general rules of office work must be observed. For a document to be considered valid, it must contain the following sections:

• Statement header. Vessels enter information about the traffic police department, as well as information about the person who wants to keep the number.
• Document's name. Fixed below the cap.
• Main part. A request to preserve the registration plate is recorded here. Additionally, you need to provide information about the car and vehicle license plate number. The data is reflected in the main part of the document.
• Final part. The car owner affixes the date and signature.

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