Good afternoon, dear reader.
As you know, one of the documents that is mandatory for driving a car is a valid driver’s license, the category of which corresponds to the category of the vehicle. From time to time, every driver has an urgent need to replace his driver's license.
What could cause this need? The reasons may be different: replacing a driver's license due to expiration (currently it is 10 years), replacing a license due to a change of surname, or changing a license after it has become unusable (for example, a favorite bull terrier may bite your license or after a meeting with traffic police officers, unofficial marks may appear on the ID).
Since replacing a driver’s license is not a very frequent procedure, drivers usually have many questions: where to change a license, what documents are needed to replace a driver’s license, how much and to whom they need to pay, etc. After reading this article, you will learn how to change your rights in 2021.
Where is a driver's license replaced due to expiration?
First, let's look at where a driver's license is replaced due to expiration. To do this, let us turn to paragraph 3 of the rules for conducting examinations for the right to drive vehicles and issuing driver’s licenses:
3. Conducting examinations for persons permanently or temporarily residing or temporarily staying on the territory of the Russian Federation, issuing Russian national and international driver’s licenses and exchanging foreign driver’s licenses are carried out in the departments of the State Traffic Inspectorate at the place of application of these persons.
Currently, replacing a driver's license is possible at the traffic police department at the place of application, i.e. at any branch in the country .
It does not matter whether you are registered in a given subject of the Russian Federation. Your license will be exchanged for you in any case.
It also doesn’t matter where you changed your driver’s license before. The traffic police database is common, so applying in a “new” region will not cause any problems.
Note. In 2021, you can also exchange your driver's license at multifunctional centers (MFC). You can find out more about this in the article “Replacing a driver’s license at the MFC.”
Medical certificate for traffic police
A motorist who changes his driver's license upon expiration must undergo a medical examination and receive a health certificate (003-B/u). A medical examination when re-registering a category “B” driver’s license includes an examination by a therapist, ophthalmologist, psychiatrist and narcologist. To obtain a certificate from a psychiatrist and narcologist, you need to contact a specialized dispensary at your place of residence (by registration or temporary registration). To undergo examination by other doctors, you can go to a public or private hospital that has the appropriate license.
Important! To obtain rights of other categories, a citizen must be examined by a neurologist, otolaryngologist and have an EEG. At the discretion of specialists, the driver may be prescribed additional examinations and tests.
Validity period of driver's license
The validity of a driver's license, as noted earlier, is 10 years . The expiration date is indicated in the corresponding rights column. After this date, the certificate becomes invalid and must be replaced due to its expiration date.
Attention! If the license expired from February 1 to July 15, 2021, then the validity of such a certificate is automatically extended until December 31, 2021. For more information on this issue, see the article “Renewing your driver's license during self-isolation/quarantine in 2020.”
However, there are several conditions under which a driver’s license may become invalid before the date specified on it (clause 35 of the rules for issuing driver’s licenses):
- change of personal data of the owner (for example, change of surname);
- wear or damage to the driver's license that interferes with reading the information specified on it;
- if the certificate was issued on the basis of documents subsequently found to be forged (falsified);
- theft or loss of a driver's license;
- obtaining a new driver's license;
- change in the driver's health condition;
- death of the driver.
Those. Driver's licenses are initially issued for 10 years, but whether they will be valid for this entire period depends on the factors listed above.
An international driver's license is issued for 3 years . However, its validity period should not exceed the validity period of the national driver's license.
Is the new law on retaking traffic rules when replacing a driver’s license true?
No. There is no such law as of May 23, 2021. But rumors about the possible introduction of a mandatory test of traffic rules knowledge when changing licenses are not without their roots - back in early 2021, the first rumors about such a change in the procedure for changing licenses appeared on the Internet.
The basis for the appearance of such rumors was the initiative of the Union of Driving Schools of Russia, which proposed such an idea to the government. Later, the head of the traffic police supported the idea. But this remains at the level of proposals for now.
For 2021, there is no law on mandatory re-examination when replacing licenses after expiration.
In particular, passing an exam is not required when replacing a device for the following reasons:
- if the validity period of the rights, which is 10 years, has expired,
- when changing rights due to a change of surname (marriage) or other personal data,
- if the old driver's license has become damaged, lost, stolen, and so on.
How much does it cost to replace a driver's license?
The state fee for issuing a driver's license is 2,000 rubles .
Note. When receiving a new driver's license (with an electronic storage medium), the cost will be 3,000 rubles . But such rights have not yet been issued.
There are no additional payments when replacing rights.
Attention! When replacing a driver's license through the government services portal, you can get a 30 percent discount on the state fee. Those. replacing a driver's license in this case will cost 1,400 rubles .
The discount is valid from January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2023. You can find out more about it in this article.
How to change your driver's license after the expiration date without retaking the traffic rules?
To replace your license if its 10-year service life has reached, you will need 5 documents:
- Your passport,
- old driver's license, if available,
- certificate of passing a medical examination,
- statement,
- receipt of payment of the state duty for replacement.
As we have already indicated above, the change of rights due to the expiration of their validity period occurs without a mandatory test of knowledge of traffic rules in the form of a theoretical exam. This can be done in any division of the MREO traffic police, not necessarily at your registration address, as well as in the MFC.
You can submit an application through State Services. To do this, go to the appropriate page, fill out the form that opens, select a convenient time and address to visit the State Traffic Inspectorate and pay the state fee at a discount (1,400 rubles, 2,000 without a discount).
By the way, on the same page at the end you can see another “proof” - here it is indicated whether exams will be a mandatory component for replacing the right upon expiration.
You can also undergo a medical examination anywhere, but there are some subtleties here. Despite the fact that in 2021 you can legally obtain a medical certificate to replace your license in any institution (licensed, of course), it is better to obtain a certificate from a narcologist and a psychiatrist-narcologist at your registration address in a municipal institution, since it is (illegal) otherwise a change of driver may be refused.
Can I change it ahead of time?
Yes. In any case, a driver's license can be replaced before its expiration date. At the same time, there are no restrictions on the period, how much is left until the end. But here it is important to take into account 2 more subtleties:
- if you do not bring a medical certificate, then you will be given a new license for the same period as the old ones (for example, if the old ones have six months left until the end, then the new ones will have the same six months),
- If you pass a medical examination for your license and provide a certificate, you will be given a new license for another 10 years.
What if I’m late with a replacement?
Nothing bad will happen if you don’t drive. There is no penalty for the mere fact of being late with a replacement, because a driver’s license is not a mandatory document for all citizens. You just won’t have anything to prove your right to control. And you can apply to the traffic police to replace your license (you also don’t need to pass exams on knowledge of traffic rules) at least 20 years after the end of the previous ones - there is no delay in this matter and there cannot be, according to the law in force for 2021.
Documents for replacing a driver's license in 2021
Let's consider the necessary documents to replace a driver's license in 2021:
1. Statement. It can be written in simple written form. You can read about how to do this here. There you can also download an application form to fill out.
2. Passport or other identification document.
3. Medical certificate.
Note. In 2021, a medical certificate is needed only when replacing a driver’s license due to expiration or when the driver’s health status changes. In other cases (if replaced due to a change of surname, damage or loss of the ID), a certificate is provided at the request of the driver. You can find out more about this in the article “Cancellation of a medical certificate when replacing rights.”
4. Driver's license (if previously issued).
5. A document confirming payment for the production and (or) issuance of a new driver’s license (receipt for payment of the state fee), or a document confirming the exemption for the state fee.
Summarizing the above list, you can see that in order to exchange a driver’s license, the driver needs to have a passport, a valid medical certificate, an old driver’s license and a receipt for payment of the state fee.
An application to replace a driver’s license due to expiration can be filled out directly at the traffic police by asking the inspector for the form.
Strictly speaking, you do not need to bring a document confirming payment of the state fee to the traffic police. Employees must obtain payment information independently through the interdepartmental communication system. However, in practice, electronics may malfunction, so it is better to have the receipt with you.
In addition to the originals of the documents listed above, take their copies with you . Usually copies can be made at the traffic police department, but the price tag there is inhumane.
Note. In 2021, you are not required to provide a photograph of a driver to replace your license. Photographing takes place directly at the traffic police department.
Replacing your driver's license due to expiration should not cause you any problems. Approach the procedure responsibly and prepare all the necessary documents in advance. In this case, you will save a lot of time.
This is when older drivers will not be able to renew their driver's license.
We all know that driver’s licenses in our country are issued from the age of 18 for a period of ten years. After this period, drivers are required to exchange their license for a new one after undergoing a mandatory medical examination, including a visit to a narcologist and a psychiatrist. And if you have no health problems (no contraindications to driving), you are not registered with a drug treatment clinic, or with a psychiatrist, then you will be given a medical certificate without any problems, which is necessary to replace your license.
In this case, you just need to pay the state fee, contact the traffic police or the MFC (in Moscow “My Documents”) with a corresponding application, attaching a valid medical certificate with notes from a psychiatrist and narcologist. But what about older people who may have health problems? How can older drivers change their license?
In our country, in fact, there is no direct ban on driving by older drivers. Even an 80-90 year old person can get behind the wheel. The only thing is that the driver should not have medical contraindications to driving, and he should not be registered with a drug treatment clinic or a psychiatrist. That is, it doesn’t matter what age you are. The main thing is a valid medical certificate, which gives you the right to renew your driver’s license for a new period. Thus, it turns out that, in principle, for medical reasons, it will not be possible to extend the license not only for older people who may have diseases that prevent them from driving, but also for younger motorists who, for medical reasons, are prohibited from driving.
However, for older people it is a little more difficult to obtain a medical certificate confirming the absence of contraindications. After all, the older a person is, the more various chronic diseases he may have. And, unfortunately, many diseases can be an obstacle to driving, since in this case the person behind the wheel poses a real danger to road users.
Naturally, when passing a medical driver's examination, attention to older people is much greater. True, if we are talking about a medical commission in state medical institutions. In commercial medical organizations, it is much easier for older people to undergo a medical examination. You understand that any commercial organization is interested in issuing the maximum number of medical certificates. After all, for many of them this is, in fact, their main income.
But this does not mean that older drivers are more likely to pass a driver's test at commercial medical centers. Not so simple. Although there really is some truth in this. In a regular clinic, such a patient may not undergo a medical examination. Especially at your place of residence (in your district clinic, where the driver’s medical record is stored). Indeed, in the clinic at the place of residence, doctors who will examine an older driver can familiarize themselves with the driver’s medical history, paying attention to all the chronic diseases he has.
In this case, if some chronic diseases do not allow a person to drive, then most likely he will not pass the driver’s examination. In commercial medical centers, as a rule, there is no access to your medical record, since it is stored in the district clinic to which you are assigned. This means that in most cases, a commercial medical institution will issue you a certificate of authorization to drive a vehicle without any problems. True, this does not mean that in our country there is a 100% way to avoid losing your license due to contraindications to driving.
