page_title: Driver's license
section_title: Russia
hierarchical_section_title: Driver's license / Permits for different categories of vehicles / Rest of Europe / Russia
caption_attribution_description: English: Both sides of Russian 2014 driving license Eesti: Venemaa 2014. aasta juhiloa mõlemad pooled Русский: Водительское удостоверение РФ (образца 2014 года). Стороны А и Б. На копии закрашена часть персональной информации, изменены даты, серия и номер не позволяющая идентифицировать владельца.
context_page_description: A driver's license is an official document, often plastic and the size of a credit card, permitting a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles, such as a motorcycle, car, truck, or bus on a public road.
  Most American jurisdictions issue a driver license but some a driver's license, which is conversationally American English; Canadian English uses both driver's licence as well as driver licence; the Australian and New Zealand English equivalent is driver licence; in British English and in many Commonwealth of Nations countries and Ireland it is driving licence. In most international agreements the wording driving permit is used, for instance in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. In this article, the American terminology and spelling is used generally but in country specific sections, the local spelling variant is used.
  The laws relating to the licensing of drivers vary between jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, a permit is issued after the recipient has passed a driving test, while in others, a person acquires their permit before beginning to drive.
context_section_description: Russia was one of the first countries to create a driving licence. Russia's first licences were issued in 1900 by Saint Petersburg authorities, and Russia joined an international convention in 1909. However, due to a relatively small number of cars, the attempts to create a standardized Russian licence were rather sporadic and limited to major urban areas. No comprehensive system of driver licensing was present until 1936, when the Soviet government organized and standardized traffic and driving regulations, with the statewide system regulated by specialized police authorities.
  Russia employs a system of driver's licences very similar to the EU standard. Since 2014 there are 14 main categories that require a driving licence: A, A1, B, B1, C, C1, D, D1, BE, CE, C1E, DE, D1E, M and two additional categories: Tm (tram) and Tb (trolleybus).
  The current licence style, introduced in 2011, is a laminated plastic card similar to the European driving licence card in dimensions and outward appearance, with the bearer's photo and name (in Latin and Cyrillic scripts), place/date of issue, allowed categories, and signature. The reverse of the card features a detailed list of allowed categories. This new style is fully compliant with the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, and therefore is acceptable in all its signatory states and countries. Older credit-card-style and booklet-style licenses are also occasionally seen although they are no longer issued and are increasingly rare as a result. The Russian driving licence is also sometimes supplemented by a special card called "временное разрешение" (temporary permission), which serves for registering offense points and as a temporary licence if the primary license has been seized by the authorities for serious traffic offenses. This supplement has been abolished and reinstated a countless number of times as the views of the traffic police change.
  The legal driving age within the Russian Federation is 18 years (16 for motorcycles (A1 and M categories only, not A) and 20 for buses) and to obtain a license one must be physically fit to drive (including certificates of mental fitness and no record of substance abuse). One must also pass a test administered at a local traffic police authority and pay a fee. Tests are divided into theory and practice. The theory test is usually a computerized multiple-choice test on various traffic rules. Twenty multiple-choice questions are asked, only two incorrect answers allowed for a passing grade, five additional questions per mistake. A road test is then administered which includes a demonstration of basic driving skills (steering, slope starting for manual transmission vehicles and backing-up), obstacle course as well as a skills examination for road driving. Four minor errors are allowed for the road driving examination—the obstacle course is pass-fail. The number of retries is unlimited.
  Driver's licences are issued by subdivisions of the General Administration for Traffic Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and grant the right to drive on-road vehicles only. 
  The right to drive off-road vehicles is granted by tractorist-machinist's license , which is issued by state inspections of the supervision of the technical condition of self-propelled machines and other machinery  (these state inspections are parts of the regional governments of federal subjects of Russia and may have different names). The Ministry of Agriculture approves the form of the license and the procedure for issuing it. There are 9 categories in tractorist-machinist's license: AI (quad bikes, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles with steering that is similar to motorcycle's steering), AII (wheeled cross-country vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kg, including amphibious snow-and-swamp vehicles such as TREKOL-39294, VIKING-29031, etc.), AIII (haul trucks), AIV (off-road buses), B (wheeled and caterpillar tractors with engine power less than 25,7 kW), C (wheeled tractors with engine power from 25,7 kW to 110,3 kW), D (wheeled tractors with engine power over 110,3 kW), E (caterp
caption: Driving license, 2014
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