The head of Russia’s traffic police, Mikhail Chernikov, outlined the penalties for drivers operating cars without a state registration mark, clarifying how sanctions will be applied in practice. If the vehicle is properly registered, the punishment will cap at 800 rubles; if not, there is a real risk that a driver could lose the right to operate the vehicle, according to statements reported by Kommersant and reflected in official guidance.
Article 12.1 of the Administrative Code details penalties for driving an unregistered car, typically a fine ranging from 500 to 800 rubles, or the deprivation of driving rights in cases of repeated offenses. Article 12.2 covers driving a vehicle without license plates, which carries a higher penalty, commonly a 5,000 ruble fine or similar deprivation of rights. The formal notice emphasizes these distinctions as the legal framework governing plate and registration compliance.
The guidance notes that once a sale and purchase agreement is signed, the new owner must complete vehicle registration within ten days. Until now, it has been possible to drive a vehicle without state registration marks under certain transitional arrangements. This rule is being tightened to ensure timely registration after ownership changes and to reduce the window for noncompliance on public roads.
From this point forward, Chernikov explained, drivers should rely on Article 12.1 for unregistered vehicles. Article 12.2 will not apply to cases where a vehicle is being operated without a license plate when the plate in question is not displayed or mounted according to standards, signaling a shift in how violations are categorized and prosecuted on the road.
Previously there was ongoing legal debate about whether a vehicle could be driven for up to ten days without a license plate while registration was processed. A series of disputes culminated in a ruling by the Supreme Court late in 2023, which declared that driving without a state license plate was unlawful. This decision marked a turning point in traffic enforcement and set a precedent for stricter enforcement policies.
As a result, at the start of 2024, traffic police began imposing penalties on drivers of newly purchased vehicles that lacked license plates. The only practical remedy in many cases was to arrange a tow to the local MREO facility, where the vehicle would undergo registration and plate issuance processes before it could resume operation on public roads.
Chernikov also noted that enforcement has included actions against owners of right-hand drive vehicles when license plates were not mounted in the vehicle’s center axis position. This enforcement focus reflects the broader aim of standardizing plate placement to avoid ambiguities in identification and to facilitate smoother enforcement on busy urban roads.
In related discussions, it was reported that the tariffs for the forced evacuation of cars in Moscow had risen by about a quarter. The increase underscores the broader effort to deter noncompliance with registration and plate requirements and to ensure that vehicles are clearly identifiable in traffic authorities’ records.