Is it legal to drive with upside down license plates?

What is the fine for unreadable numbers?

So, the very first part of Article 12.2 states that the driver is subject to a warning or a fine of 500 rubles for unreadable license plates. Please note that a fine is imposed only for driving a car with unreadable license plates or one license plate. If the car is stationary, there is no fine for this.

In what cases are numbers considered unreadable? The numbers will be recognized as such by the traffic police inspector if he fails to read at least one letter or number from a distance of 20 meters (note to Article 12.2). At the same time, the inscription “RUS” and the image of the flag may be unreadable, there is no fine for this. There is a difference in unreadability depending on the time of day. Since the front number plate is not illuminated in the dark, there is no requirement for its readability from 20 meters, but the rear number plate must be readable at any time. During daylight hours, both license plates should be readable - again, from a distance of 20 meters.

At the same time, the unreadability of numbers here does not include that due to their concealment and modification. The reasons for unreadability can be, for example, the following:

• the room is covered in dirt, snow, etc. (not on purpose, of course)
• the number has been erased (the black letters or numbers on the number have been erased),
• something accidentally stuck to the number (precisely by accident, but this may be a controversial point).

What violations of number installation exist?

All possible sanctions for violations of the rules for installing license plates are listed in Art. 12.2 Code of Administrative Offences. Let's look at each of them.

Is there a penalty for unreadable numbers?

The number is considered unreadable if it is impossible to distinguish one or more characters from 20 m from the car (exception: the front number on an unlit section of the road at night). Typical examples of unreadable license plates: they are stained with mud or snow, something is stuck on them, or some of the numbers have been erased.

For this offense, the mildest punishment is assigned: a warning or a fine of 500 rubles. according to Part 1 of Art. 12.2. The main criterion for the application of this particular part of the article is the unintentionality of concealment, for example, if you cover part of the sign with a sheet of paper, then the number will not be considered unreadable, but hidden - this is a completely different punishment.

What is the penalty for violating GOST when installing numbers?

The rules for installing state signs are regulated by GOST P 50577-93. The list of requirements for installation is quite lengthy, but when installing a sign in the designated place, the likelihood of violating the conditions of GOST is zero.

Here is the full list of requirements:

• maximum deviation from the line perpendicular to the length of the vehicle – 3⁰;
• maximum deviation from a line perpendicular to the road surface – 5⁰;
• the minimum distance from the border of the plate with the number to the road is 30 centimeters (for two-wheeled vehicles – 20 centimeters);
• visibility of the sign must be ensured at angles of 15⁰ up and down and 30⁰ to the right and left;
• The sign must be fastened exclusively with light-colored bolts;
• There should be no holes in the number except for the standard ones used to secure the number.

If the driver violates at least one of these requirements, then he can be held accountable for the same part and punished: a warning or a fine of 500 rubles.

It is important to understand that breaking the law occurs only while driving. If the owner installed the license plate incorrectly, but did not drive onto the road, then he did not break the law. But the intentionality or unintentionality of violating GOST does not matter; when driving such a car, punishment will be imposed in any case.

What is the penalty for hidden and modified signs?

For hiding license plates or changing their appearance, the punishment is much more severe: either a fine of 5,000 rubles, or even deprivation of rights for up to 3 months.

A number of methods can be classified as “hidden numbers” violations:

• the use of reflective and other films that hide license plates from automatic violation cameras;
• applying additional paint, which will distort the characters on the number and make them unreadable;
• installation of devices that change the angle of the number, lowering the sign with the symbols down to hide them from the camera or inspectors;
• the use of special curtains;
• deliberately hiding the number with a simple sheet of paper, cloth or any other object.

If you deliberately stain a number with dirt, making it unreadable, then theoretically the punishment should also be imposed under this article. However, it is quite difficult to prove the intentionality of causing dirt, so this issue is controversial.

Is there a penalty for upside down numbers?

Life hacks are widespread on the Internet that supposedly punishment for inverted numbers is illegal, since they are not modified and do not violate the requirements of GOST. This is only partly true: indeed, GOST does not impose a ban on installing inverted license plates, but such an action falls under the concept of modifying license plates. This rule was established by the Plenum of the Supreme Court: paragraph 4 of the Resolution of the RF PVS No. 20. According to the text of this resolution, an upside down number interferes with its reading and identification and is a violation of the law.

Punishment for an inverted license plate is imposed on the basis of the second part of Art. 12.2: fine 5000 rub. or deprivation of rights for 30-90 days.

What happens if you put signs on glass?

Another non-working life hack is to install a sign behind the glass, that is, inside the car on the windshield or rear window. Even if such a number is visible from a distance of more than 20 meters and even if all other GOST requirements are met, punishment cannot be avoided. The fact is that the above-mentioned part 2 of Article 12.2 introduces punishment not only for modified and hidden numbers, but also for signs installed in places not intended for this purpose.

The number must be installed on the bumper or trunk of the car, in a special place provided for it by the vehicle manufacturer. Moving the plate to any other place is considered a violation, which is punishable by a fine of RUB 5,000. or deprivation of rights for up to 3 months.

What are the consequences for fake numbers?

The law provides for the most severe punishment for the use of fake numbers. This number is considered to be a sign registered to another vehicle or not registered at all. In this case, you can receive punishment not only for driving with such license plates, but also for installing false signs.

When driving a vehicle with false license plates, a double penalty is imposed:

• fine 2500 rub. for ordinary citizens (15,000-20,000 rubles for officials and 400,000-500,000 rubles for legal entities) for the installation itself - part three of article 12.2;
• deprivation of driver's license for 6-12 months. directly for driving a vehicle – part four of article 12.2.

An important nuance is that only persons who are aware of the violation of the law are punished. Let's give an example: if a company installed a false license plate on a car and gave the vehicle to an unsuspecting driver, then they have no right to punish him.

What is the fine for license plates installed in violation of GOST?

The same part of the article provides for a similar fine of 500 rubles for numbers that are installed in violation of the requirements of GOST R 50577-93. The list of such requirements is quite broad, but quite understandable and memorable.

Let's list how it is prohibited to install license plates in order to get fined for incorrectly installed license plates:

• the number must be installed perpendicular to the length of the car with a deviation of no more than 3o;
• the number must be installed perpendicular to the road surface with a deviation of no more than 5o;
• the distance from the road surface to the bottom edge of the sign must be at least 30 cm, and for two-wheelers and snowmobiles - 20 cm;
• Visibility should be ensured at the following angles in the diagram below:

• the number can only be attached to the holes on it with light-colored bolts or other light-colored elements;
• you can attach the number to the frame, but the frame should not cover the letters and numbers of the license plate (as well as the bolts in the holes);
• It is prohibited to drill additional holes into the license plate.

The fine here is also provided only for driving a car with such violations.

What is the penalty for hidden numbers?

Hiding numbers in 2021 is punishable by more severe penalties. And a fine is not the only punishment here. For a deliberately hidden license plate, a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for 1-3 months (by decision of the official or judge considering the case) is imposed under Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Only driving a car with hidden license plates is punishable in the same way.

Meanwhile, the line between hiding the number from being readable and making the license plate unreadable is quite thin. And the main factor here is precisely the intentionality of the concealment. If the room was deliberately splashed with mud or snow, then this is a cover-up; if by chance, then an unreadable number.

A reasonable question is how will a traffic police inspector determine whether the number is hidden intentionally or unintentionally? Alas, but at your own discretion. According to the Code of Administrative Violations, the composition of many violations and the driver’s guilt in them are determined by the body considering the case based on personal conviction, but having comprehensively and most fully considered all the circumstances and evidence (26.11 of the Administrative Code). You, if a decision is made not in your favor, can appeal such decisions.

Concealing a number includes such actions and circumstances as:

• use of curtains on rooms;
• the use of reflective film (the above GOST generally prohibits applying any coating to the number);
• covering the numbers with any objects (paper, rag, etc.);
• deliberately staining the license plates with mud, snow, clay, etc.;
• and another case described below...

Fine or deprivation of rights for upside down numbers

The fact is that such a “life hack” as inverted numbers, which allows you to avoid punishment from auto-fixation cameras, is practically not described anywhere in legislative acts. GOST for license plates also does not prescribe that the numbers must be placed so that they are not read upside down or that the back and front parts of the license plate must not be swapped.

And here the issue is not so easily resolved, including in practice. If the number is turned upside down, then the punishment for this can be either under Part 1 or Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. At the same time, logic dictates that there may not be a violation at all in this case. The fact is that an upside down number is quite readable, and the inspector doesn’t even need to break his neck to do this - everyone can read the text upside down.

On the other hand, GOST stipulates that the white stripe of the Russian flag should be on top and the red stripe on the bottom:

The image of the State Flag of the Russian Federation should be a rectangle with equal horizontal stripes: the top stripe is white, the middle stripe is blue and the bottom stripe is red.

But here again, with the violation, not everything is so simple. This note in GOST refers to the installed types of license plates themselves and has nothing to do with the requirements for their installation on a car. That is, the flag still remains in the correct position relative to the top and bottom edges of the number itself - it’s just that the number is hung upside down on the car. Simply put, the white stripe of the flag is on top of the number (but from below towards the road), and this GOST clause refers specifically to the position relative to the number.

But having an upside-down license plate with the front side facing the car, when its back side is visible, can be punishable by Part 2 of Article 12.2 with possible deprivation of rights. This is because in this case there is a deliberate intention to hide the number. That is, the official examining the case, in practice, usually concludes that a license plate deliberately directed with its front side towards an obstacle is an obvious concealment of the number.

Liability for counterfeiting or concealment of marks

In the past, registration plates for cars were issued exclusively by the traffic police service. This provoked theft of signs with subsequent extortion of hefty sums for return. Now signs are made by private companies that have permission to produce duplicates. The main thing is that GOST R 50577-93 is observed. There is no penalty for installing such numbers.

Fines for other violations are established by Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

1. Paragraph one of this article provides for an administrative fine of 500 rubles for driving a car with signs that:

• They are not readable from 20 meters behind - at night and in front - during the day.
• Signs made or installed in violation of GOST R 50577-93 (except for the cases provided for in the second paragraph of this law).
• Non-standard signs.

This may include an “accidentally” stuck piece of paper, a dangling rag, dirt and similar “unintentional” violations.

1. Point two threatens with the deprivation of a driver's license for 1-3 months and an administrative fine of 5,000 rubles for driving a car without state signs (or one of them), with deliberately altered signs (or one of them).

This item includes:

• Curtains
• Reversed numbers
• Adding or filling in the markings on the number
• Magnetic mount of someone else’s license plate on top of your own and similar devices

1. The third paragraph provides for liability in the amount of:

• 2500 rubles - for individuals
• 15,000-20,000 rubles - for officials
• 400,000-500,000 rubles - for legal entities

For installing (even in a garage) deliberately false/fake license plates on a vehicle.

1. The fourth point provides for the deprivation of a driver’s license for a period of 6-12 months for driving a vehicle with deliberately false/false license plates.

The conditions for payment, and in some cases the amounts, of administrative fines are regulated by Articles 32.2 and 20.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

More on the topic: Fines and evacuation for parking on sidewalks

So, according to paragraph 1.3 of Article 32.2, if you pay some fines within 20 days, then their amount can be reduced by half, and the first paragraph of Article 20.25, on the contrary, doubles the fine; in case of failure to pay the entire amount on time, arrest may also be applied for 15 days or forced labor for 50 hours.

Recently, traffic police officers promised to take action against all manipulators with license plates. Since, according to them, the cameras are capable of providing enough information to target cars with poorly readable or fake license plates. And soon all violators detained based on the orientation will be held accountable.

What is the fine if numbers are placed on glass?

For driving a vehicle whose license plates are installed outside the place provided by the design, in 2021 you will also be punished under Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Including if you put the license plates behind the glass in the car, and even if they are clearly visible from 20 meters away.

But what to do if there are no places provided by the design of the car at the moment. For example, if you removed the bumper or it was broken, and the numbers are installed on the bumper? Unfortunately, it is prohibited to travel in this case. Dura lex - sed lex (from Latin “the law is harsh, but it is the law”).

What is the penalty for false numbers?

But the most severe punishment in terms of car license plates awaits the driver for driving with false license plates. Let’s imagine a not very common situation: entry into the closed territory of an organization using passes issued for a car number, and a camera that records the number and automatically opens the barrier, if there is one in the database. You arrived in a different car, but took with you the number registered in the database and put it on top of the current number in order to drive through the barrier.

If such an action is seen by a traffic police officer, then you will face two punishments at once: the first - for the very fact of installing false license plates, the second - for driving with false license plates. For installation you will face a fine of 2,500 rubles, but for management you will be deprived of your rights for a period of six months to a year.

Selling a car without deregistration and keeping the license plates

When a driver changes his place of registration, appropriate changes must be made to the PTS. It does not matter whether the owner intends to sell the car. It is recommended to check in advance whether there is free space in the vehicle. After all, a completely completed document can become an unexpected nuisance. In this case, you will first need to obtain a new PTS.

When the owner’s personal information changes, the car also needs to be re-registered. Naturally, changes will be made to the PTS. If this is not done, the owner will face troubles when selling or donating the vehicle. After all, the information about the owner indicated in the PTS will differ from reality. It is worth remembering that only the owner of the car has the right to change its registration information.

The new owner may be faced with a situation where the traffic police inspector refuses to re-register. However, practice shows that this happens extremely rarely, and there are quite good reasons for this. The most common ones are:

• Gross violations were committed during customs clearance of the car;
• documents have been provided whose authenticity is in doubt;
• body numbers do not match the numbers recorded in documents.

Such cases are also not uncommon. For example, your friend is having a wedding soon, and he asked you to give guests a ride in the motorcade. And on wedding and other special cars, funny, beautiful numbers or stickers are usually installed that cover the state.

number. In such cases, many drivers fear that they may be fined for driving a car without a license. signs. Or the numbers could simply be twisted or stolen. Friends might turn your numbers upside down as a joke.

• After losing your number. If the driver does not contact the traffic police department after losing his license plate or continues to operate the car without license plates not only for the purpose of getting to his final destination, he will face a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of his license for a period of 1 to 3 months;
• For driving with dirty license plates.

Is it possible to drive without license plates?

• 06/29/2015 18:27 #15 Message from Viktorrr38 I also think that he meant... Maybe removing (unscrewing) the old gas valves, and then installing (screwing) new ones. )) When you have a GRZ that you want to keep for yourself,......you will understand. ;
• 06.29.2015 18:32 #16 Message from defavod there is no “removal/arrangement”, there is re-registration in connection with the change of state registration order. Every year we change something, I can’t say for sure what they call it. The point is that you need to have your license plates verified, and then wash your license plates and take them to the traffic police. You sell old ones and get new ones. ……Fse.