After the marriage, she did not change her last name, but simply added the last name of her Spanish husband. It turned out “Shvetsova-Vargas”. Do I need to change my driver’s license and re-register my car to drive in Russia?
Elena, Leningrad Region
The reader’s question is answered by the head of the Main Directorate of Road Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Police Lieutenant General Mikhail Chernikov. |
Under civil law (Article 19 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), you changed your name (including the surname and proper name) by adding your spouse’s surname to your surname. In other words, “Shvetsova” and “Shvetsova-Vargas” are different surnames. It follows that the documents on the basis of which you and your vehicle participate in road traffic must also be replaced.
So, according to the rules for conducting examinations for the right to drive and issuing driver’s licenses, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 24, 2014 No. 1097, if the owner’s personal data changed in the driver’s license, the Russian national or international driver’s license will be considered invalid and may be canceled. The issuance of the document is carried out without passing the exam
Conditions under which a change of the certificate is required:
- driver details changed
- there are medical restrictions on driving
- the certificate itself is lost or damaged.
As for the car you own, the Federal Law of August 3, 2018 No. 283-FZ “On the State Registration of Vehicles in the Russian Federation and on the Amendments of Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” obliges you to submit your application within 10 days after receiving a passport with a new surname at the registration department of the State Traffic Inspectorate with a statement about changes in the vehicle’s registration data, including, among other things, the name of the owner.
Driving a vehicle with documents issued in the old name entails a warning or an administrative fine of 500 rubles under Part 1 of Article 12.1 (Vehicle Registration Certificate) and Part 2 of Article 12.3 (Driver’s License) of the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation.
- All the nuances of replacing a driver’s license are considered here.
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A picture: ITAR-TASS / Mikhail Dzhaparidze and “Behind the Wheel”