How to unlock a driver card for a tachograph yourself

It is worth noting that every driver must know how to unlock driver cards for a tachograph. The reason for this is the ban on using the device without a card, which entails large penalties.

All drivers carrying out transportation (if their vehicle has a tachograph) should understand how to unlock the tachograph card themselves, what actions to take?

How is the tachograph card used?

The CIPF card is considered a mandatory element of the system that registers the movement of commercial vehicles and records the driver’s working hours. This device also records information related to the movement of vehicles, while the card itself performs the following functions:

contains all the data about the driver who drives the car;
records information about periods of movement and idle time.

If the car is equipped with a tachograph, the driver must:

Eliminating common mistakes

Drivers make a lot of mistakes, so let’s first try to eliminate the most common and banal ones. You must understand that only the driver card for tachographs with a cryptographic information protection unit . AETR driver cards are not blocked; in principle, they do not have a PIN code for operation.

Is the card definitely blocked?

Why did you decide so? On the tachograph display, after entering the card, does it specifically say something like “ card blocked ”? Below in the photo we show an example of an Atol Drive 5 tachograph inscription if a blocked driver card is inserted into it. Other tachograph models should have something similar.

Is this the case? In this case, you can skip the next paragraph. However, if the error number is simply written on the tachograph screen without a hint of blocking, or the device silently throws the driver card back, the reason most likely lies elsewhere! Read on...

Typical mistakes...

If the tachograph simply “spits out” the driver’s card without a blocking inscription and indicates an incomprehensible error number, then it is advisable to check the following. Let's consider the options:

Does the driver card match the appearance of the tachograph? There are two completely different types of cards and tachographs - AETR and CIPF. They are not compatible with each other and are not “friends” in any way. Maybe you are trying to insert a CIPF driver card into the AETR tachograph? If so, then this is a utopia. There's nothing wrong with your card, it's just that the tachograph doesn't match. We wrote in detail about the types of tachographs and driver cards in our blog article “Types of Tachographs and Driver Cards,” so we will not consider this issue again here. Please read carefully. The main thing you need to make sure of is that you are actually inserting the cryptographic information protection card into the tachograph with the cryptographic information protection unit .
Are you sure you insert the card into the tachograph correctly? In most tachographs, the driver card must be inserted with the chip facing up and away from you, as shown in the picture below.

Has your driver card expired by chance? We take the driver card out of the device and carefully look until what date is it valid? If the period has expired, then you just need to order a new tachograph card. By the way, this can be done through us, we accept orders online, produce quickly and promptly deliver throughout Russia and the CIS - please contact us!
What date is on the tachograph? Pull out the driver card and see what date the tachograph shows on the display. If the current date is not displayed on the screen, dig into the device menu. Pay special attention to the YEAR! Quite often, the date in tachographs disappears and they are “teleported” into the future or past for several years. If there is a problem with the date, then the driver card has nothing to do with it, it’s the tachograph itself that is faulty - go to a workshop, you can’t fix this on your own.

Types of cards for tachographs

There are several types of CIPF cards for tachographs:

Card for the driver, with entered personal data.
An enterprise card that allows you to download information from all driver cards of the enterprise’s transport fleet.
Master's card giving permission to install a tachograph and repair.
Map of regulatory authorities.

Cards are issued by special companies that have a license for this activity. To receive it, you must submit a written application, photographs and documents of the enterprise during a personal visit to the office, confirming the need to issue a card to this citizen, and also submit payment confirmation of payment for services. On the official website of the Tahocard company, you can learn more about the full list of documents that are required to obtain a tachograph card - https://www.tahocard.ru/info/dokumenty/

Upon receipt of the card, the driver assumes responsibility for:

Follow all operating instructions.
Do not transfer your card to third parties.
In case of damage, return the card to the place of issue.
If you change your job or change your personal data, contact the company that issued the card.
If lost, you should also immediately contact the manufacturer.

And now what i can do?

If you are sure that the driver’s card is really blocked, there are only TWO !
Take the money to a special tachograph service or try to unblock the card yourself. Of course, it’s up to you to decide, but we recommend that you still try to do this simple procedure yourself. There is no certainty that this will not happen again in the future. So what, will you run to the service center and pay every time? The money is decreasing... What if it happens on the road and there is no normal service nearby? Driving without a map is not cheap! But if you learn to do it yourself, you can always help yourself, your friends and colleagues - decide for yourself for free or for a bribe. This way the money can start to add up. ))) For those who are not far from us and don’t want to do it themselves - come! Our specialists will help you unlock your tachograph driver card. Moreover, we have all the necessary technical means and experience. More details about this service and cost are written here. Too lazy to go? You can call our specialist to your place, for an additional fee, of course.

If you are far away (in another city), or nearby, but just don’t want to come to us, read on, we will tell you in detail how you can unlock your tachograph card yourself.

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Reasons for blocking a chip card

Before taking specific actions to unlock a smart card, you should determine the reasons for what happened . Depending on them, the driver’s actions will differ. The most common cases when a tachograph blocks a personal card are :

Repeated incorrect PIN entry. Drivers forget the password or confuse the numbers. After entering the data incorrectly three times, the card is blocked, similar to a bank card.
Lost PIN code.
Damage to the card microprocessor (chip). It is useless to find out the origins of the problem; if the chip is not working, even entering the code correctly does not allow the tachograph to read data from the media.
Malfunction of control equipment. Tachographs can also fail.
A software failure that occurs when downloading data from the tachograph to the computer.
Invalid card. If replacement is not done in a timely manner, the personal storage medium is blocked as soon as its validity period expires.

Let's move on - the procedure

We connect the reader to any free USB connector on the computer. We are waiting for the operating system to determine the device type automatically or not. If you have determined it, everything is fine. Otherwise, install the hardware driver (must be on the disk included with the reader).
Download and install the program for reading ATOL data: Tachograph Cards.
Insert the driver card into the card reader. Which is correct? In most cases, the card is inserted with the chip facing up and away from you, but depending on the model of your reader, it may be different. If the reader has a green indicator, it will light up when the card is inserted correctly.
We launch the program for working with ATOL cards: Tachograph Cards, if you have not already done so. It should look something like this:

First, let's make sure that the card is really blocked. Click the “ Read Card ” button. A window should pop up, like in the picture below. The program asks us to select the model of the connected reader and enter the PIN code. Select the reader from the drop-down menu (most likely, you will only have one), enter the PIN and click “ Read ”:

If the card is indeed blocked, a message similar to the following should appear at the bottom of the window: “ Error: PIN code verification data is blocked. Error code: 27011 ". See the picture below. You should not pay attention to the error code number itself; they may change and differ depending on the software version and types of driver cards. The key content in this case is: “Data for checking the PIN code is blocked,” it is this inscription that indicates the driver’s card is blocked.

Close the window and click the “ Unblock Card ” button, another window will appear - see the picture below. Here, similarly, select the reader model and enter the PUK code. Attention! The PUK code of the driver card consists of 8 digits, written in the card envelope. If you do not have a PUK code, you can use our online service to recover PIN and PUK codes of your driver card. Let's move on... The bottom two lines: “ New PIN code ” and “ Confirmation ” - in both lines you need to enter the new IDENTICAL PIN code from the driver card. Which? Is it the same one or maybe a new one? It's up to you to decide, now you have the opportunity to set the card to a completely new PIN code for the driver card, perhaps more convenient than the factory one. Well, if you are used to the old, you can introduce the old one! But! If you enter a completely new PIN code, be sure to record it somewhere, it is better to make a corresponding note in the card envelope. If you forget it and at the same time lose the envelope with the PUK code, you will no longer be able to restore this new PIN. Our online service for recovering PIN and PUK codes sends only the original payment data installed in the card. In principle, there is nothing very scary in this situation either. You can always request a PUK code through the online service. and if it is available, you can again set a new PIN by repeating the procedure from the beginning, and here it does not matter which PIN code was set previously. So, enter the data and click the “Unblock” button.

IMPORTANT ADVICE!!! Do not hurry! You should succeed the first time, carefully press the buttons on the keyboard. You must exclude any possibility of error when entering the PUK code! If after this operation the card is not unblocked, we strongly recommend that you contact the nearest QUALIFIED service center. Do not try to enter the PUK code over and over again. After three attempts, the card will be blocked forever and there will be only one way out - to issue a new driver card for the tachograph. And these are costs, and, most importantly, time, downtime, losses and the like. If you don't succeed the first time, leave the attempts to the professionals. Well, in general, see for yourself, you are the owner of the card, it’s up to you to decide... Well, if suddenly you killed the card with three incorrect attempts to enter the PUK code, you can order a driver card for a tachograph through us. We accept orders online, quickly produce and promptly deliver to any region of the Russian Federation - contact us!

A small digression: In the same way, you can change the factory PIN code on a normal, NOT blocked driver card. Insert the card into the reader, press the “unblock” button, enter the PUK code and a new, more convenient PIN code in the bottom lines. Voila - the PIN has changed! Sell this service to your friends...)))

We really hope that you were able to enter the PUK correctly the first time and the card was unblocked. You will receive a message similar to this:

Congratulations! So everything was done - correctly!

BY THE WAY! We recommend using this simple but functional program. It helps to keep track of reading dates, download the necessary periods for inspection authorities, change the PIN code to a more convenient one, unlock cards and many other small but very useful features. Of the free solutions, this is probably one of the best! Thanks to the developers.

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Who can unlock a tachograph card

If the PUK code is lost irretrievably, or the card is not accepted by the tachograph for other reasons, you will not be able to cope with the task on your own. You will have to contact a specialized organization that can be entrusted with:

Issue of a new card to replace a faulty one (electronic chips cannot be repaired, therefore, if broken, the card is simply disposed of).
Re-issuing an electronic key after the old one has expired.

In both cases, you need to collect and provide a complete package of documents necessary for the manufacture of an electronic chip. The production period can be up to 15 days from the date of receipt of the application.

If the tachograph is blocked by a working and not expired card, then you can receive a code to remove the blocking. To do this, either the card holder himself or a representative of the organization that ordered the issue contacts the company that issues tach cards. After submitting the application, a request is made to the plant to issue a new PIN and PUK. Once the information is provided by the manufacturer, the data is transferred to the driver, who can use it and unlock the card.

The timing of data transfer by the manufacturer depends on several factors. If you are interested in a speedy unlocking, you can entrust it to our company. We:

We will provide advice on possible reasons for refusals to read a tachograph.
If the card expires or breaks, we will help you collect documents for reissue.
If the PIN code is entered incorrectly and the PUK is lost, we will speed up the process of issuing new stakes for activation.

In any case, until you can unblock the card - yourself or by entrusting it to us - operating a vehicle equipped with a tachograph is not subject to the threat of fines.

On the road - a couple of tips!

Do not forget that it is advisable to periodically check the driver’s card for violations of work and rest schedules. Most drivers now take this “casually”, but this is before the first meeting with an inspector normally equipped with technical control equipment. This is where the surprise comes in! It is important to use your driver’s card correctly and “work on mistakes” in a timely manner, otherwise you can run into colossal fines. Take a closer look at our online service for deciphering violations on the driver’s card for a tachograph - it’s much cheaper than purchasing specialized software. We described in detail where the fines come from in our blog article “Driver Card for Tachograph - Friend or Foe.”

Moreover! We return money in FULL to ALL disciplined drivers who, after decoding, have NO active violations of work and rest regimes identified on the driver’s tachograph card. We believe that this can be a good incentive to carry out self-monitoring more often and improve your knowledge in the field of proper operation of tachographs and the use of work and rest devices along the route. In addition, it will be useful to you financially; studying is much cheaper than paying fines. Studying these questions in advance will put you ahead of the curve! Forewarned is forearmed! When others are mercilessly fined, everything will be fine with you! And the most important thing is road safety!

Differences between CIPF driver card and AETR

They have a number of significant differences, which are determined by different approaches to data encryption.

The list of differences includes:

The difference is in fonts and watermarks. Information on CIPF cards is contained only in Russian, while AETR cards contain both Russian and English.
Different approach to assigning a card number. So CIPF cards begin with the number zero, while AESTR cards begin with the letters RUD.
Different encoding principles are used. Therefore, they cannot be interchangeable.
CIPF cards use a PIN code.
AETR cards will cost about one and a half times more.
Motor vehicles involved in transportation and equipped with tachographs with cryptographic information protection cannot travel outside the Russian Federation, even within the territory of the countries of the Customs Union. The crypto-protection unit is under the jurisdiction of the FSB and an attempt to remove it will be regarded as a disclosure of state secrets.