Red license plates on cars in Russia: what does it mean?

Separation by color

Registration plates used on the territory of the Russian Federation:

1. The background is blue, the letters are white. These GRZ are mounted on vehicles belonging to the Ministry of Internal Affairs - for example, on traffic police vehicles.

   

2. The background is yellow, the letters are black. Such numbers are installed on cars, buses and other vehicles intended for transporting passengers on a commercial basis.

   

3. The background is black, the letters are white. Black signs are placed on vehicles registered with military units of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the FSB.

   

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4. The background is white, the letters are black. Main color of GRZ. Cars with such license plates can be found on almost every corner.

Other types of license plates in Russia

Types of “colored” state car identifiers:

• Yellow – state license plates designating passenger vehicles and cars intended for transporting up to 8 people or more.
• Black ones are state license plates, indicating that the car belongs to the military executive authorities of the Russian Federation.
• Blue (blue) - state license plates belonging to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.

What do red license plates mean on a car in Russia?

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If a citizen sees a car that has a front and rear warning sign installed on a red background with white letters, he should know that this vehicle belongs to the embassy or consulate of a foreign country in the Russian Federation.

As a general rule, such cars do not have priority on the roads of the Russian Federation.

Everything changes if the diplomatic car is accompanied by a traffic police car with flashing lights and a special sound signal. In this case, the diplomat will have priority (paragraph 3, clause 3.1 of the traffic rules), that is, he must be allowed through.

For failure to comply with this requirement, the driver may be fined 500 rubles or deprived of the right to drive vehicles for up to 3 months (Part 2 of Article 12.17 of the Administrative Code).

What is the procedure for issuing special license plates in Russia?

The use of special numbers and the procedure for their issuance are regulated by the government decree “On regulating the installation and use of special signals and special state registration plates on vehicles.” Instead of a symbolic designation of the region, the Russian flag may be imprinted on them.

According to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 116 of March 3, 1997, traffic police officers must provide all possible assistance in the safe passage of such vehicles. Some of them are prohibited from stopping and/or searching. Until 1993, in Moscow, cars used by law enforcement agencies had the “MKM”, “MOS”, “MKS” and “MOL” series of license plates. “MOS” was assigned to the first government officials, “MOL” had security vehicles for these representatives, “MKS” and “MKM” belonged to law enforcement agencies, such as the State Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB and others. However, simply having a car with a similar license plate was not considered prestigious; a special luxury was noted if it was also “mirror”, that is, the digital combination should have looked something like this - “3553 M**”.

After perestroika times and the complete collapse of the USSR, new series were introduced into circulation: “MMA”, “MMK”, “MOM”, “MMO”. But needless to say, even this year you can see a car with this number on the roads. These series have become a sign of the elitism of the owner. Motorists call them “a flag for those who understand.”

Ordinary people know that it is better to avoid such cars on the road. Very often their drivers behave rudely and defiantly. Numerous scandals surrounding diplomatic badges have shown that not every “racer” has a license plate legally. And it is quite difficult to understand this issue; embassies hand over documents for cars that should be registered to employees of a special department of the traffic police. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign affairs agencies have virtually nothing to do with this process. In fact, “on the side” you can issue a red number almost uncontrollably.

Alas, judicial practice does not recall a single high-profile case related to the illegal assignment of diplomatic numbers. The maximum that a participant in a scandal faces is an administrative fine. Legal consequences also seem to favor drivers who use red license plates to stay away.

Decoding

The number reads like this:

• the first three digits always indicate the country represented in the Russian Federation by the person driving this car;
• the next 1 or 2 letters – the status (rank) of the official of the corresponding embassy or consular office;
• the following numbers are the serial number of the vehicle in this dealership;
• finally, two or three digits located on the right side of the license plate and separated from the other symbols by a vertical line indicate the automobile code of the subject of the Russian Federation in which the vehicle is registered (as on ordinary “white” registration plates).

Having seen the corresponding number, you can immediately determine which country the ambassador represents in the Russian Federation:

On a red state registration plate, the first three digits will not always indicate a specific country. There is another unified list of codes. According to it, it is possible to determine the international organization that owns the car.

Here is a list of such codes in table form:

It is also not difficult to decipher the 1 or 2 letters following these numbers. If a citizen sees two, it means that a high-ranking person is driving:

Cars driven by less significant persons are marked with state registration plates containing one letter after three numbers indicating the country:

The number from 1 and above following the alphabetic characters indicates the serial number of the vehicle registered at that representative office or consulate.

Finally, it is not difficult to determine the region in which the car is registered - the designation of region codes on diplomatic cars is exactly the same as on Russian ones.

For example, 01 is the Republic of Adygea, 30 is the Astrakhan region, 64 is the Saratov region, 36 or 136 is the Voronezh region, etc.

Who can own the numbers?

State The red number in Moscow (region code 77) can be seen most often, since it is in this city that a large number of consulates and other government offices of other countries are concentrated. Only persons working in certain structures have the right to install such license plates, as mentioned above. Persons who have the right to install red license plates on their cars:

1. Ambassadors.
2. Diplomats.
3. Consuls.

All other persons, even those with high status, do not have the right to install such numbers, even if they are members of the government or deputies.

How about in other countries?

In foreign countries, there are registration marks of a similar type - that is, GRZ with a red background and white letters (numbers). However, such numbers will not always have the same meaning as in Russia.

Here are some examples:

Some states use a similar color scheme, but in a slightly different design. For example, in Belgium, the standard license plate installed on civilian cars is on a white background, but with red symbols.

And in Turkey, government vehicles are designated as GRZ, painted on a red background with yellow letters.

About red numbers

GOST R 50577-93 “State registration plates of vehicles” sets out the basic provisions on license plates that are assigned to Russian cars. In accordance with the document, red license plates on a car in Russia indicate that it belongs to a foreign mission accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Representatives of diplomatic departments (ambassadors, consuls and other employees), authorized employees of foreign commercial enterprises with accreditation drive cars with red license plates

Members of foreign sports delegations and representative offices have the right to drive cars with red license plates.

Features of the use of diplomatic license plates

Traffic police officers are charged with creating conditions for the unimpeded passage of vehicles of top officials representing diplomatic organizations.
Traffic police officers are charged with creating conditions for unhindered passage of vehicles of top officials representing diplomatic organizations. In addition, such cars are often equipped with a sound warning system, which means they have priority in road traffic. May be accompanied by a motorcade of traffic police vehicles.

If a diplomat’s vehicle is involved in an accident or violates traffic rules, the owner will bear responsibility on an equal basis with ordinary citizens of the Russian Federation. The inspector draws up two copies of the protocol, one of which is transferred to the consulate. The fine is paid in accordance with the current laws of Russia.

A diplomat, regardless of his status and rank, compensates for all damage caused due to his fault. But every driver knows that equality before the law is sometimes only nominal, so it is better to avoid any situations involving cars equipped with red license plates.

Transport of the diplomatic corps

If you see red license plates on a car, you should know that this is equipment belonging to the diplomatic corps. Let's take a closer look at this license plate. It can be divided into 4 parts:

1. you can find out which diplomatic or trade mission of which state this car belongs to by the first three digits;
2. Next comes the letter designation, by which you can determine the rank of the owner of the equipment (whether it belongs to the consul, the head of the consulate, or a diplomat);
3. the next digit indicates the serial number of the car at the dealership;
4. The digital designation on the right side, located above the inscription “RUS,” makes it possible to find out in which region of the country the vehicle was registered.

There are representative offices of 168 countries on the territory of the Russian Federation; accordingly, they are assigned codes from 001 to 168.

For example, red license plates with the numbers 001 indicate that the car belongs to British consuls or diplomats.

As for international organizations, their state. The signs are assigned values ​​from 499 to 555.

Violation of traffic rules by consuls and diplomats

Cars with red license plates do not have an advantage over other road users unless they are accompanied by vehicles of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the State Traffic Inspectorate.

If a car with a red license plate is involved in an accident, the culprit is determined according to the rules. There is only one circumstance:

According to the “Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations between States”, all types of transport of deputies of the countries participating in the convention have inviolable status.

If the driver of a car with a red license plate violated traffic rules, the employee does not hold this driver accountable, but transfers the fact of violation in the form of a protocol to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Having special license plates, it is not permissible to drive with impunity, so to speak, “as I want.” They write on the Internet that if you encounter such a car, even if you are not at fault, it is more difficult to obtain insurance payments from the consulate. Therefore, if a car with a red license plate is driving nearby, you should drive even more carefully.

Red license plates - the current situation in Russia.

The issuance of red license plates is regulated by several legislative acts. The current standard GOST R 50577-93 (current edition - 08/23/2013) identifies license plates intended for installation on vehicles classified as group 3 in red. 2 types are defined:

• Type 9 – passenger vehicles of diplomatic missions, the coding “CCC BB C CC” is used;
• Type 10 – for cars and other types of cars, cargo and passenger transport, buses of diplomatic missions, consulates (including those headed by honorary consuls), international, interstate organizations, employees of institutions (encoding “CCC B CCCC CC”);

(in encodings C means a number, B means a letter). Explanation of symbols:

• The first group of three digits in the encodings on both types of signs is the code designation of affiliation with a country or organization.
• The second group – a letter or 2 letters determines the series of the registration plate;
• The third group (digit or 3 digits) – serial registration number;
• The last 2 digits are the region of registration in the Russian Federation.

The current accessory codes and series are established by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs dated 10/05/2017. The following series are used for diplomatic license plates:

• CD – for type 9 signs, indicating cars of persons heading representative offices (corresponds to the ambassador level);
• D (type 10 numbers) – for employees of organizations (missions) with confirmed diplomatic status;
• T (type 10) – with service cards or identification (without diplomatic status).

Thus, registration numbers are installed on the cars of diplomats, staff of missions and international organizations, service personnel, and family members. Membership codes indicate

• 001-170 - country of diplomatic representation (for example, for Great Britain - 001, USA - 004, Germany - 002, Japan - 005, Turkey - 015, 090 - People's Republic of China, 153 - Republic of Kazakhstan, 150 - Belarus).
• 499-560 – representation of an international organization or interstate bodies (499 – EU, 505 – IMF, 511 – UN, 531 – CSTO);
• 900 – consular missions (including those headed by honorary consuls).

Legal status of cars of representative offices accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The basis for the special status is the provisions of the Vienna Convention signed and ratified by the Russian Federation. The document formulates the immunity of vehicles of diplomatic missions (consulates) from enforcement actions - search, seizure by representatives of law enforcement agencies and other authorities, arrest. A special legal (diplomatic) status applies to employees of representative offices (upon confirmation). The norms of criminal, administrative, and civil legislation of the host country do not apply to them. In other words, foreign diplomats are not held accountable unless the state they represent denies them immunity. According to current documents (in particular, Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 664 of August 23, 2021), traffic police officers only have the right to:

• monitor compliance with traffic regulations;
• demand that the vehicle be stopped or stopped by available means if the driver creates a danger to traffic or others;
• check documents, license plates, technical condition of the vehicle;
• draw up administrative protocols (about the offense, inspection of the place where it was committed).

Traffic police officers do not have the authority to bring the offender to justice. The protocols are sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the foreign mission. The relevant regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is notified. Entering a car or contacting the driver or passengers without obtaining consent is prohibited. A set of restrictions encourages traffic police inspectors to refuse contact with drivers of cars with license plates in cases of minor violations. This unofficial (in addition to the official) advantage is shamelessly used by Russians who have legally (almost legally) received privileged license plates. They are often characterized by inappropriate behavior on the roads.