Grace period for paying a traffic police fine: when can you get a benefit?

What is the main condition every driver must comply with when paying off fines? This is undoubtedly the deadline for paying the traffic police fine. What consequences can arise if this factor is neglected?

Persons who pay a fine late or fail to pay it in full are considered offenders. For this they face administrative liability. Bailiffs will be able to take certain actions against such persons that can lead to dire consequences.

A notice of collection along with photographs from surveillance cameras will be sent to the traffic violator by mail. From the moment such a letter is delivered to the traffic violator, the deadline for paying the fine begins to count. If the debtor does not wish to receive this notification, it will be returned to the sender, but in this case it will be counted as received personally.

If a traffic police fine arrived by mail late, and the penalty for delay, i.e. after 20 days have passed from the date of the decision, this period can be restored by the judge or the official who issued the decision.

Why do you need a benefit?

The preferential regime began to operate in 2021, when the corresponding law came into force. Its introduction was driven by the need to collect fines, the average level of which was just over 60%. The adopted scheme was created in order to minimize cases of unofficial payments and reduce the burden on the bailiff service, which is engaged in forced collections. Despite the risk of a decrease in budget revenues due to these relaxations, the opportunity to repay the debt to the state in a preferential format was approved and approved at the legislative level.

Drivers are entitled to the benefit from 2021

How long does the discount last?

The repayment period for traffic police fines at a preferential discount is exactly 20 days, which begin to be calculated from the moment the decision on the administrative offense comes into force. If the resolution was drawn up by a traffic police inspector, then it will come into force only 10 days after it is delivered to the driver, which are given to the opportunity to appeal the fine in court.

If the resolution was drawn up as a result of recording a violation using road surveillance cameras, then it will come into force from the moment it is issued. There are often situations when a “chain letter” with a resolution reaches the driver already at the end of 20 days, which does not allow him to pay the fine at a preferential discount. To prevent this situation, you should regularly check for fines on one of the many online services (for example, the official website of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate or the State Services portal).

Only weekdays are taken into account, not calendar days. Therefore, if the last day for repaying a traffic police fine at a preferential discount is a weekend or holiday, it is postponed to the first working day.

Important! A discount for any traffic offenses is not provided even if the fine was deferred or deferred by the court at the request of the driver.

General payment rules

The preferential procedure for repayment of payments does not contradict the general procedure for imposing penalties, which is carried out in two versions:

Based on the actions of a traffic police officer. In this case, the inspector stops the car and records a violation of following traffic rules on the spot. A copy of the document with the collection data in the form of a resolution issued by the inspector remains in the hands of the driver. If he does not agree with certain destinations of the traffic police, the claims must be recorded in the appropriate act.
Based on video recordings or photographs from the camera. The car owner receives the document by mail and, if he disagrees with the decision, has the right to challenge it.

The date the fine is assigned is the day the document is received in hand. In order to file a refutation, the car owner has 10 days. If the absence of a violation on the part of the motorist is proven, he will be exempt from paying the fine.

The grace period for paying a fine is limited in duration

How to pay off outstanding fines

Not all violators can pay the entire fine at once. They would like to know whether it is possible to pay fines in installments or in installments. Legal experts argue that installment payments are applied at the request of a person brought to administrative responsibility. It must be accompanied by copies of documents that can confirm the difficult financial situation.

More compelling reasons are needed to defer payment. The court may assign a maximum admissible delay of up to three months. If the debtor cannot make payment by the required date, he must submit an application confirming the willingness of the offender to pay the penalty for the misdemeanor. He can pay in small amounts monthly or defer the payment of the fine for a while.

Validity period of the benefit

Regardless of how the violation was recorded - by camera or with the participation of an inspector - the driver has the opportunity to transfer half the fine instead of the full amount within 20 days from the date of receipt of the decision. This is the preferential mechanism.

If the fine is 3,000 rubles, then upon receipt of the resolution you can make a preferential payment within the first 20 days, which is 50% or 1.5 thousand rubles.

It is worth noting that we are talking about calendar days - this is the order contained in the text of the Code. There are times when the 20-day grace period ends on a weekend. Then the last opportunity to pay the fine at a discount is the next business day.

If the letter with the decision arrives late, the driver does not retain the right to the benefit unless he submits a corresponding petition. You should not expect that the grace period will retain its status automatically.

Features and deadlines for paying a fine during the grace period

According to official data, more and more fines are issued every year, which is associated with the development of technological video monitoring systems for roads. So in the first six months of 2015, 35 million penalties were officially issued , and at the end of the same year their number almost reached 80 million.

Even illegal parking can be detected by control systems, after which the motorist will receive a penalty. Moreover, the fine must be paid without fail, and liability is provided for failure to comply with this requirement.

Statistical indicators of the traffic police show that the collection rate of penalties has reached 64%. Benefits for them were proposed to increase this indicator.

The grace period encourages violators to use a legal method of payment, rather than trying to “negotiate” with state traffic inspectors. Because of this, the number of appeals is reduced along with the workload on bailiffs. In addition, the discount is positive for drivers who committed a violation due to negligence or due to malfunctions in the car.

The changes introducing a grace period for payment came into force on January 1, 2021. From now on, all penalties must be accompanied by a note that the violator can pay half as much if he meets the deadline.

Important! The peculiarity of this system is that the grace period begins not at the moment of receipt of the notification, but when the decision is issued. Therefore, state traffic inspectors recommend regularly checking for unpaid fines to save on payment. This can be done on the government services website or other resources.

When fining, you should not hesitate, because the time of payment is controlled electronically - exactly 20 days after the violation, the grace period ends, and the system will only accept payment in full.

How to find out about a fine

In the text of the resolution you can find a specific amount with a note about the discount. The available information is in the traffic police database. Payments are recorded directly from the database - after 20 days, information appears in the system that the grace period has ended and full payment must be made.

If you suspect a possible fine, you can view the information online. To do this, you need to register in the State Services system and subscribe to notifications.

In addition, data can be obtained when accessing services:

Official website of the traffic police
Portal "Government Services".
Yandex.Fines system.
SMS notification format - the service is available to residents of Moscow.

Mobile apps help you make payments on time

Checking the fine on the traffic police website

Since 2021, a form has appeared on the traffic police website that allows you to track fines. It does not require registration in the system - you just need to enter the data. The form consists of three columns. In the first one you should indicate the state number of the vehicle, in the second - data on the registration of the vehicle. The third line is reserved for captcha verification.

The advantages of this method are:

Saves time, since verification does not require authorization and sending SMS messages.
Opportunity to obtain information for each region.
The check applies to every driver who is behind the wheel while driving.

Disadvantages of the system:

There is no technical possibility to link a fine to a specific motorist.
To obtain information, you need to know your registration data (this is a controversial point, but in some cases it is impossible to gain access to documents).
The system is protected from hacking, however, in the operation of any online service there is a risk of interference by third parties.

Form on the official website of the state traffic inspectorate

Above is the form into which data is entered. Previously it worked in test mode. This restriction has now been lifted.

If entered incorrectly, the procedure can be repeated.

An error in the system is accompanied by comments

At the final stage, click the “Request” button.

If the database does not contain information about traffic violations and corresponding penalties, the user will see the following message in the window:

In the absence of fines, the user receives information of reference nature

If information about fines has been recorded, you can obtain information on the website according to which you need to make payment:

Penalty information is displayed in the form of a summary table

In the table you can see:

Serial number of the traffic fine.
The date when the violation was recorded.
The number of the article of the Administrative Code, which contains information about the fine.
The name of the traffic police department that is responsible for the protocol.
Resolution number, date of receipt.
The fine amount.

Items highlighted in blue contain links to detailed information about the fine. In addition, they can be used to find contacts of the traffic police department.

The required amount can be deposited here, on the website, online. Payment terms and commission fees are determined only when payment begins.

Checking the fine on the State Services portal

At the moment, the State Services service provides the most complete information about debts for traffic violations. The system unites state and municipal databases in which you can find paid fines, as well as get a complete picture of upcoming payments.

To start working in the State Services service, you must gain access to your account. The first group of information that will be needed during registration includes passport data, contact phone number, email address, and SNILS number. Additionally, you can specify the driver's document number, as well as information about the vehicle. At this stage, verifying the authenticity of the information will take 15 minutes. Moreover, you will not need to contact the Rostelecom office, the MFC branch, or wait for written information with an access code. To track fines and pay them on time, it is enough to have the simplest version of an account, which can be accessed via email.

Smartphone owners use a mobile application that works no less quickly than the main State Services website.

Some users want to use the portal's capabilities to the maximum. Then the fine checking system will become one of the groups of information available during authorization. In order to confirm your intention to receive data on State Services online, you need to provide identification documents to the MFC, post office or branch of a large bank, where Service Centers are usually located. Within ten days, the applicant must receive a registered letter describing the registration requirements. Each citizen of the Russian Federation opens an account for individual use; relatives or friends must register separately in order to pay bills or apply for various documents.

In addition to fines issued to individuals, the State Services system transmits information about penalties imposed on a specific organization.

The first step towards obtaining information about the fine is to log into the site:

In the site directory you need to select the section corresponding to fines

At the next stage, instructions will appear that must be followed in order to pay the fine for violating traffic rules during the grace period.

Procedure for paying fines

In fact, the process of paying a preferential penalty differs from the standard method. It can be carried out both in bank branches and when using services using a decree or car number.

The State Traffic Inspectorate database reflects information on absolutely all regulations to which 50% benefits apply. This means that the driver has the right to change the amount in the payment order if he is fully confident that payment is made within 20 days from the moment the violation was discovered.

Important! Not all services provide the ability to change the amount manually; in the “to be paid” field, only the amount established in the resolution is indicated. In this case, it is recommended to use a resource with the ability to change numbers.

It is also highly recommended not to pay on the 18th-19th day, since the system can process it within several days. As a result, the State Traffic Inspectorate database will receive information about incomplete repayment of the debt.

The next thing to consider is that on most online services, including the official website of the traffic police, a commission is charged for the service provided. Its size varies from two to ten percent.

You can pay without commission only on the government services portal or using the Sberbank Online resource.

Types of fines

The simplified regime for paying fines at a discount is not widespread. There are certain types of traffic violations for which this is not relevant:

Table 1. Types of violations and legislative framework

What did the driver violate?

Basis for requesting payment of fine without discount

1. Repeatedly drove a car that was not properly registered and not entered into the traffic police database. 2. Driving while drunk, or entrusting the car to a drunk person. 3. Repeatedly drove 40 km/h or more faster than normal. 4. Repeatedly ignored the actions of the traffic controller and/or the stopping signal of the traffic light. 5. Repeatedly drove towards oncoming cars and moved along a one-way lane. 6. Violated traffic rules, as a result of which citizens received minor or moderate injuries. 7. Drank alcohol before a medical examination for the presence of alcohol in the blood and resisted examination by doctors.

Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. Note: A violation that was recorded more than once in a year is considered repeated.

Payments for which repayment is deferred are not subject to a 50% discount. Installment payment is possible only in the first 20 days of the grace period.

Reason for providing discount

The basis for the introduction throughout Russia of benefits for paying off traffic police fines was Federal Law No. 437 of December 22, 2014. It came into force only on January 1, 2021. The law stipulates that all drivers held accountable for administrative offenses in the field of traffic rules, if they are given a fine as punishment, have the right to pay it off with a 50 percent discount.

The discount is valid only in the first 20 days after the fine is issued and applies to all types of violations of the Traffic Rules, with the exception of the most serious or repeated ones. This law was intended to increase the collection of fines, since most of them never entered the state budget due to the short statute of limitations. After the expiration of the established period, State Traffic Inspectorate employees had no opportunity to receive them from the debtors.

When is the benefit valid?

Chapter 12 of the Code contains information about penalties that can be paid in half. These include cases:

The car owner does not have insurance and registration documents, or a certificate of the right to drive a car.
The car lacks license plates, or has dirty license plates and tinting, which generally does not correspond to the required condition of the vehicle.
Exceeding the speed limit, driving into the oncoming lane, making illegal maneuvers.
Violations related to the intersection of traffic lights and railway posts.
Absence of a child seat in the cabin.
Seat belt violations.
Improper transportation of goods and passengers.
Using a telephone while driving.

Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation Article 12.36.1. Violation of the rules for using a telephone by a vehicle driver

This list can include ignoring the rules for parking a car, refusing to obey the orders of inspectors on the road.

Regions set their own tariffs for violations of parking rules, which may differ from those in the capital. When counting on a benefit, you need to understand exactly what amount of payment is due for a particular violation.

A drunk driver is not entitled to benefits

Motorists are fined both for placing vehicles in the wrong place and for delaying payment if the driver is required to pay a fine. When counting on benefits, you need to understand

Table 2. How regions differ when it comes to parking violations

Failure to comply with traffic rules	What is the fine amount?
The car was placed under a sign indicating that it is not possible to place or park vehicles here	1.5 thousand rubles in the regions and twice as much in the capitals
Parking requirement not paid	From 2 and a half to three thousand rubles - it depends on the city and starts with 10-15 minutes of parking time
The car is parked in a green area not intended for placement or parking	From 1 to 2 and a half thousand rubles for constituent entities of the Russian Federation and five thousand rubles in Moscow (the exact amount of payment for violation is determined by local regulations)
The car is parked on the sidewalk	1000 rub. in Russian regions and three times more in Moscow and St. Petersburg
The car was parked in an area intended for persons with disabilities	In case of a violation of this nature, the fine will be five thousand rubles
A vehicle obstructs the movement of pedestrians while standing on the crossing line	1 thousand rub. at the regional level and 3 thousand rubles – at the capital
The car obstructs the movement of public transport while at a stop	1 thousand rubles in the Russian Federation and 3 thousand rubles in the capitals
Parking is carried out outside the permitted spaces in the second row	For such violation of parking rules, car owners are fined various amounts - 1.5 thousand rubles. in the regions, the fine amount is twice as large for capital cities
Parking is provided at the railway transport site	1000 rubles is a fine in monetary equivalent, or deprivation of rights is imposed
Car causing traffic jam during parking maneuvers	For this you will need to pay two thousand rubles - the fine amount complies with the requirements in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, three thousand rubles - this is the amount of the fine in both capitals (Moscow, St. Petersburg)

Payment for parking in the capital and benefits

Paid parking means a specially equipped area that is equipped as necessary to accommodate vehicles. It is located near the roadway, adjacent to the curb, sidewalk, bridge and overpass space, and has exclusively parking purposes.

In Russian cities and capitals, marks are made for paid parking spaces. Drivers often ignore them, occupying the usual parking spaces, which are not always acceptable for placing a vehicle in them. In the capital, you need to be especially careful about this fact, since the attitude towards parking and compliance with the relevant rules is much stricter here.

Muscovites are not entitled to a discount if the motorist ignores the requirement to pay for parking.

Paid parking zones in Moscow include:

Passage Karetny Ryad.
Petrovka.
The territory of Petrovsky Boulevard, etc.

You should pay for parking at the rate of 50 rubles per hour. Disabled people, WWII veterans, and emergency services employees on duty can park their vehicles in such zones for free.

Residents of the capital region can occupy paid car spaces from 8 pm to 8 am in residential parking areas. There is also the option of purchasing a discount ticket that allows you to park for free - its cost is three thousand rubles and entitles you to an annual service. For Muscovites there are about 150 parking lots and 50 boards providing information about parking options.

You can pay for parking a car in specially equipped areas in the central part of the capital. There are several ways to do this:

The car owner can use the Eleksnet system and a terminal operating within the Qiwi system.
Deposit money at the parking meter.
Pay for a parking space using the mobile SMS system, USSD commands, or mobile application environment.

The parking system is equipped with signs

Parking spaces and the situation in them are monitored by special machines called parkons. If a car enters a toll area, the built-in photo recorder automatically starts working in the GPS system.

The first camera provides foreground coverage. The second records the license plate number of the car. All cars that fall within the radius of the parking lot are entered into the database.

Parking software allows you to track cars that have paid for parking spaces, as well as those vehicles for privileged categories, including people with disabilities and emergency responders.

You can stay on site without further payment for up to a quarter of an hour. The central part of the capital is served by 350 fixed parking lots. They follow several routes throughout the day. In the evening, information is transferred to the database servers responsible for organizing traffic, whose employees are responsible for sending information to violators.

In addition to car parks, the legal order of vehicle parking is monitored by foot inspectors. In addition to fixing incorrectly installed vehicles, their functions include cleaning license plates to improve the quality of control photography.

If the car owner intentionally hid the license plates or did not take care of their proper condition (dirt prevents normal inspection), in addition to the fine, he will cover the costs of tow truck services.

5 thousand rubles is the payment amount that falls on the shoulders of the car owner if it is driven to a parking lot. In addition, from the second day of keeping the car in the impound lot, where vehicles from the unauthorized parking zone are sent, a debt begins to form based on payment for services in the amount of 1 thousand rubles per day.

There is also a fee for towing the vehicle.

Penalties must be paid within forty days after the vehicle owner receives the receipts. If this does not happen, the violator will face a trial, administrative arrest for up to 15 days, and a ban on crossing the border of the Russian Federation.

If the owner of the car does not believe that the car violated parking rules, it is possible to challenge this error in the capital’s AMPP department. This can be done within 10 days. There are several options for filing an appeal:

Call its employees at telephone number 988-30-59 (for other regions - with the Moscow code). It is available from 10am to 7pm daily.
Submit an electronic complaint on a specialized city portal.
Submit a complaint to the Unified Parking Center, or call its employees by phone using a special application on the mobile network. There is also an option to send the text of the document by mail to Skakovaya Street, the organization’s address is building 19, 2nd entrance. It is also possible to visit the AMPP in person. You should only remember about the reception time, which is limited: on Tuesday you can complain about unfair actions of the inspectorate from 10 am to 4 pm, and on Thursdays you can appeal about the issue from one to five in the evening.

The Moscow parking portal provides an option for a specialized form in the section with fines. After printing, you need to attach a copy of the resolution to the completed document and put your personal signature on the form.

This year, the capital's bailiff service has created a department for parking fines. All complaints received in the system are registered and assigned a number. It can be clarified by calling GKU AMPP. They study information from motorists within 10 working days. The complaints relate to both misappropriation of payment for a parking space and staying in an unidentified place for a long time, which is regarded as a violation of traffic rules.

The mobile application is used not only to pay for parking, but also to search for towed cars and receive background information about fines, which comes in SMS format.

According to statistics, every 20th parking fine is subject to challenge. The reasons for false fines are movements between parking zones in the capital, of which there are 8. In theory, you can avoid paying for parking when moving from one zone to another if payment has been made in sufficient quantities. For example, a driver paid for an hour of parking, but instead stayed in this zone for only 20 minutes, deciding to go to another.

Paid parking spaces are located in designated areas

The funds go to the treasury of the district government, from where the beautifiers receive money. In fact, inside the capital’s Boulevard Ring you have to pay every time you move from one parking part of the city to another, since the payment system is far from ideal. If you pay for parking via SMS or through a mobile application, you are charged per minute (unlike a parking ticket, which records movement once every 15 minutes). If the driver leaves the parking area early, the unused balance can be spent on the next parking spaces.

The second reason for the error is a malfunction of parking signs and the GPS navigation system as a whole, which may incorrectly determine the location or send the car’s address to the database late.

Parking payment terms and penalties vary by region

Despite the payment, data on this is not presented in the database - this is one of the reasons

Wrongful parking fines range from 1 to 3%. Moreover, the parking amounts themselves seem quite adequate and acceptable, while the consequences within the framework of the Administrative Code are much more expensive.

If a driver violates parking rules in his region, you need to clarify what is customary locally. In general, in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation the effect of the law is still slowing down. To include regions extensively into the overall network, additional work is needed, including legislative work. At the moment, 8 regions of Russia can boast of having regulations regulating responsibility for timely decree and removal from a parking space.

Consequences of an unpaid fine

Some motorists argue that all fines should be paid within 30 days. This is not true. After being discharged, the “fan of fast driving” has the right to appeal the decision within 10 days.

Only after the end of this period does the countdown begin, during which the violator is obliged to pay a fine. In 2016-2017, according to the law, this period is 2 months.

If the fine is not paid within the time limits established by law, and local authorities do not receive a document on proper repayment of the debt, then the bailiff service comes into play, authorized to apply many measures to the defaulter, including:

Force him to pay off the existing fine debt, including accrued penalties, the amount of which is twice the amount of the original penalty (a simple example - if a penalty of 10 thousand rubles is paid, the debtor will have to pay 30 thousand).
Sentenced to community service for a specified period (up to 50 hours). This could be cleaning public places and streets, landscaping parks and squares, etc. Thus, the offender will work for the benefit of society 2 hours a day on weekdays after his work. On weekends, the defaulter will have to “wave a broom” for 4 hours a day.
Sentenced to administrative arrest (up to 15 days). However, bailiffs do not have the right to impose administrative arrest if a violation of traffic rules by a motorist was recorded only by photographic equipment.

It happens that within 2 years the offender does not pay the fine imposed on him due to the inattention of the executive authorities. Then the penalty is paid automatically upon expiration of the statute of limitations.

However, such situations are happening less and less due to the constant development of computer technology. That’s why you should pay all penalties imposed in good faith and not risk getting into further trouble with the law.

The best method of dealing with penalties is prevention, therefore, to avoid the occurrence of such debts, the occurrence of offenses should be avoided. This can be achieved by being attentive and respectful to the rules and road users.

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Payment options

Above, the scheme for online payment of debts on fines in various services was described in detail.

In addition to Internet resources, they are redeemed:

At the bank's cash desk, terminals, and non-cash payment systems.
At post offices.
In the format of electronic payment systems.
When using mobile applications.

Payment options include offline and online systems

Penalty payments can be made on the spot if we are talking about full (and not preferential!) amounts. For this purpose, special devices are installed in the cars of traffic police officers. They can access plastic card data for debiting.

You can transfer the full amount of the fine using a special device that is located by the inspector

This mechanism is not developed in every region and does not apply to the preferential payment regime.

Can I get a discount after appealing a fine?

It is not prohibited by law, but in fact it will be very difficult to do. It's all about the long time it takes to carry out the appeal procedure. Especially when it comes to appealing a decision issued on the basis of data from surveillance cameras and sent to the driver via Russian Post. Time is required to compile the text of the complaint and to transfer it to the traffic police or the court. Plus, the traffic police have the right to consider applications within 10 days.

The chances that appealing the decision will take less than 20 days are not very high. And in this case, if the fine is not canceled, it will have to be paid in full.

As a result. A 50 percent discount is given to all drivers, regardless of their driving experience, total number of offenses and other variables. The discount is valid only for the first 20 days after the fine decision comes into force and applies to all offenses that are not included in our list of exceptions. The discount will be valid throughout 2018, and possibly longer.