Documents for vehicle registration: complete list

What documents are needed to register a used car?

An application and documents can be submitted to the traffic police department by both the citizen himself and his representative with a power of attorney. The law also provides for sending documents by email or regular mail. What is included in the standard package of documents:

Application in a single copy. It can be filled out by hand or prepared in printed form. The form indicates the traffic police department that accepts the application, the applicant’s full name, the name of the required service, information about the vehicle, information about the owner’s representative and the owner of the car. Learn more about how to fill out the application.
Applicant's passport. It must contain a mark indicating registration on the territory of the Russian Federation, or a registration certificate must be attached.
Birth certificate. In the event that the owner of the car is less than 14 years old.
Vehicle passport and its photocopy.
Transit number (if available). It is issued when purchasing a car in another region or city.
Any document confirming ownership of the car (for example, a car purchase and sale agreement).
OSAGO insurance.
Receipt for payment of state duty.

We have listed the required documents for registering a car. Depending on the circumstances, additional information from the car owner may be required.

Where to register a car

New one - in a car showroom. From 2021, you will be allowed to register your car directly with a car dealer. If the salon has such a right, its employees will issue STS, PTS and license plates themselves. You will need the new owner's passport, insurance policy and receipt of payment of state fees. The cost of the service is up to 500 rubles.

Used one - to the traffic police. To register a used car, the owner applies to any registration department of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate. In this case, registration and place of residence do not matter. This is stated in Art. 8 of Federal Law No. 283.

To avoid standing in line, it is better to register at the branch through State Services. Residents of Moscow can also do this on the Mos.ru website.

What is not included in the standard list of documents

Let's consider cases when the standard package is not enough:

If the car is registered by a representative of the owner, then a power of attorney must be provided to the traffic police.
If the car belongs to a diplomat or consul, then you need a card from international organizations. This is a document confirming international activity and issued to each international employee.

Also, when deregistering a car in case of disposal, traffic police officers now have the right to request a certificate confirming the fact of disposal of the vehicle.

What documents are needed to register a car?

Statement. You can fill it out according to the sample at the traffic police department or online on the State Services website.

Passport. If his representative goes to the traffic police instead of the owner, the applicant’s passport and a power of attorney from the owner will be required.

Vehicle passport. If you use an electronic PTS, a paper one is not required. If the car is used, the new owner is first entered into the title. This can be done when you sign an agreement, or already at the traffic police, but you will need the signatures of the past and current owners.

Vehicle registration certificate. Be sure to keep the STS of the previous owner.

OSAGO policy. It is better to start taking out an insurance policy right on the day you buy the car. You will need to complete the maintenance within 10 days and receive a special document - a diagnostic card.

Contract of sale. Needed for used cars, but not required if the car was imported from abroad and you are the first to be included in the title. Sometimes the contract is replaced by other documents, such as a certificate of inheritance.

Receipt for payment of state duty. You need to pay for government services in advance, and then bring a check or receipt from the bank.

The owner of the car has most of the documents; you only have to get a policy and a receipt

How to register a car with the traffic police in 2021

The owner of the car registers it 10 days after purchase.
First, enter information about the new owner into the PTS and receive an MTPL policy.
The easiest way is to register with the traffic police through State Services. You will need a civil passport, vehicle passport, registration certificate, purchase and sale agreement and insurance policy.
The state duty is usually 2850 rubles, with a discount for online payment - 1995 rubles.
At the department, an inspector will check the car, issue you new STS and make changes to the title. If necessary, he will assign a new license plate number.

The car is registered with the traffic police by the new owner. And it doesn’t matter whether he is buying a new vehicle or one that has already been used, the owner performs the same steps to register the car.

The registration procedure is as follows:

Signing the DCP.
Collecting a package of necessary documents.
Payment of duties and other payments.
Arrival at any traffic police department for registration, where the vehicle will be inspected, checked and the relevant papers are issued.

The traffic police will accept all necessary documents, after which the person will be sent to the appropriate site for inspection. The employee must check the numbers (engine, chassis and others) with those indicated in the documentation and issue a document confirming the inspection.

Difficulties may arise in the following cases:

The previous owner made changes to the design of the vehicle and did not register them properly.
Car window tinting does not comply with legal requirements.
The lighting does not meet the requirements (for example, high-brightness halogen headlights are installed, when they are not included in the original configuration).
In other situations, when the design of the car differs from the factory one and there is no registration of differences.

The process is considered completed if the owner of the car has the following documents in hand:

STS, that is, a certificate of registration.
There are two car license plates.
The package of documents submitted to the traffic police is returned, not including the receipt for payment of the duty.

After this, the traffic police will independently transfer the data to the Tax Service.

Since 2013, when the new regulation on vehicle registration was put into effect, there are some points that significantly simplify the situation for citizens:

The maximum time for transport clearance is now an hour, and previously could reach three hours.
You can register your car at any traffic police department, regardless of the citizen’s place of registration.
It is now possible to save vehicle license plates.

The need to deregister a car when registering it has been eliminated. Now this is done automatically with the registration of purchase and sale. The seller no longer needs to deregister the car before selling it.

To further simplify the process, it is recommended to access the government services portal. It allows you to sign up for an electronic queue and avoid the “live” queue, which will significantly reduce the waiting time.

The main risk that you should be wary of when buying and selling from private individuals is fraudulent actions on the part of swindlers. Such persons sell cars that have been involved in accidents or stolen cars.

Important! Documentation is the most important part when buying and selling a car. The car should not be listed as stolen or encumbered.

There are often people who ask for an advance, although the deal has not yet been concluded. After receiving the funds, the scammers simply do not agree to sign the contract under any pretext. As a result, the buyer will not receive the car and will lose the money paid as an “advance payment.”

To safely purchase a vehicle, you must follow the following algorithm:

Avoid suspicious sellers.
Obtain all documentation from the owner regarding the vehicle.
It would be correct to check the car in the databases using the data received to find out about the presence of encumbrances or other information about the car (whether it is listed as stolen, whether an accident was registered, and so on). To do this, you must contact the traffic police department with a corresponding request. This will allow you to obtain a legally clean vehicle.
Conduct an examination to obtain the characteristics of the vehicle and their compliance with the available data.

If the buyer has experience in handling cars and understands their structure, then he may not have to resort to third parties to check the car.

Motor inspection

Separately, I would like to note the inspection of the engine. At the moment, the engine is not a mandatory inspection element, and most likely they will not look at its number. But here’s what you need to understand: if your car is not equipped with a “native” engine, but, for example, a more powerful one from another manufacturer, then you will also be denied registration; there have already been similar cases.

When buying a car, pay attention to the engine; if you have any doubts about the technical condition of the car, negotiate with the seller, take it for service, or better yet, look at other options. The secondary market is now overflowing with a huge number of different cars; you definitely won’t be left without a car.

Friends, be extremely careful when buying a car. It’s better to choose, as they say, a “naked” car, let it be on stock wheels, with a factory engine, without tinting, and of course, legally clean. And then you won’t have any problems with registration.

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Registration of a car with the traffic police through State Services

The State Services portal simplifies the registration of vehicles, since you can submit an application online, avoiding hours-long queues. On the website you need to select the appropriate department and sign up for the next available time, pay the fee using a bank card or e-wallet.

To use the service, you must register, create an account and wait for your passport data and SNILS to be verified. The verification takes several working days; the citizen receives confirmation of the data during a personal visit to the MFC or Sberbank, as well as by mail.

How to make an appointment at MREO online:

Log in to the website and go to the “Transport and Driving” section
Select
Fill out the electronic application, correctly indicate the transport details, note the need to obtain license plates (if necessary)
Select the appropriate area and time of visit
Confirm sending data
Pay the state fee
Print the receipt confirming payment, as well as the completed application

As soon as the application is reviewed, a corresponding notification will appear in your personal account. You will be invited to the traffic police and sent a PIN code, which you need to enter in the self-service terminal when visiting the selected department. Having submitted the original papers to a special window where users of State Services are served, all that remains is to place the vehicle on the site for inspection.

If the procedure will not be carried out by the owner of the vehicle, but by his legal representative, it is worth indicating the details of the authorized person when filling out the application on the portal.