Is registration of a towbar with the traffic police necessary or not: changes for 2022

Hello, dear car enthusiasts! Yes, there has indeed been a lot of buzz on this issue lately. Let's figure out whether registration of a towbar with the traffic police is really necessary?

We were first asked this question after June 1, 2016. To be honest, at that time we ourselves did not know the answer and therefore turned to the regional traffic police department for clarification.

Question to the inspector

To our question, Deputy The head of the department replied that indeed many people are interested in this law. According to the new rules, changes to the design of the car must be registered. But there is a certain list of changes in the design that do not require approval from the traffic police. And it is precisely the TSU that is on this list. But again, there is one “but”.

The design of the passenger car must allow for the future installation of this device. In other words, the car manufacturer has structurally calculated that a towbar can be installed on this car. According to statistics, it is possible to install a trailer hitch on almost 99% of cars.

If you wish, you can document the changes to the traffic police. After that, an entry is made in special marks in the technical ticket and PTS.

What documents are needed and how to get them

The vehicle owner will have to contact the traffic police several times with documents for installing a tow bar. Initially you need to submit:

• application in the prescribed form;
• original and two-sided copy of PTS;
• documentary evidence of the quality and safety of the device;
• certificate of registration of the vehicle with the traffic police.

After the modification (installation of a towbar), the owner must once again come to the traffic police to register the towbar for a passenger car. The traffic police officer will check whether the device is installed properly and whether there is a risk to road users. In this case, you must submit:

• application for registration of modification;
• trailer purchase agreement (if available);
• towbar certificate;
• car service certificate of installation;
• vehicle diagnostic card (issued by the service station);
• expert opinion (issued by service station).

The cost of installing equipment at a service station includes the time and effort expended by the technician, so the driver will have to pay an average of 1,500 rubles for installation, and 3,500 rubles with the electrical connection. Some drivers, wanting to save money, do the installation themselves or ask for help from “garage” specialists.

How to register an already installed towbar

If you purchased a car with a towbar, but there are no documents for it, you must contact the supplier for copies. You can send a registered letter or e-mail, or come to the office if the manufacturing company is located in the same city.

Usually there are no problems with issuing copies of documents to the tow bar. But if the manufacturer has not responded to your request, there are two options left:

• purchase of a new hitch with documents;
• registration of the modification with the traffic police.

The first option is simpler and, naturally, cheaper.

There are dealers offering to buy fake documents. If a counterfeit is discovered, administrative and sometimes criminal penalties may follow. These documents are issued only by the manufacturing company, and you only need to request them from them.

What you need to have

You can do without the traffic police. There is a list of technical changes made to the design that do not require approval from the state traffic inspectorate. In order not to be fined or, God forbid, to stop registering your vehicle, you must add to the usual set of documents:

• Certificate of conformity (copy) and passport for the towbar, which comes complete with the towbar. The passport must contain the stamp of the auto center that installed the trailer hitch.
• Documents provided by an auto center that is certified to perform this type of activity. You will be given a copy of the certificate with an auto stamp and a certificate of completion of work.

That is, in fact, the tow bar must be manufactured and tested at the factory for a specific car model. He must receive a certificate of conformity, a copy of which is provided upon sale. And also the tow bar must be installed in accordance with all regulations by a legal entity that has the appropriate permission to carry out this work.

Watch the educational video below on making design changes. It tells you in which case it is necessary to make changes to the design in the traffic police.

Official response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the registration of the tow bar

Pursuant to paragraph 5 of the Regulations, the vehicle manufacturer submits an application for approval of a vehicle equipped with a mechanical coupling device or its element, or authorizes the use of a vehicle for towing a trailer of any kind, he must, at the request of the competent authority or technical service of the Contracting Party, provide that authority with the information necessary for the manufacturer of the coupling device or component to properly design and manufacture the mechanical coupling device or component for the vehicle. At the request of a bona fide applicant for possible approval of a type of mechanical coupling device or component thereof, the competent authority or technical service shall provide to the applicant of that application any relevant information specified below and also contained in the communication card given in Annex 2 of the Regulation.

Every vehicle conforming to a vehicle type approved in accordance with UNECE Regulation No. 55 shall be affixed with an international approval mark

, consisting of:

The approval mark must be legible and indelible and shall be placed next to or on the vehicle characteristics plate.

In addition, coupling devices and their elements submitted for approval must be affixed with the manufacturer's brand or trademark

, supplier or applicant. They must provide sufficient space for the approval mark shown in Annex 3 of the Regulation. This location must be indicated on the drawings referred to in paragraph 3.2.2 of the Rules. Next to the approval mark on the coupling device or its element, the class of the coupling device defined in paragraph 2.6 of the Regulations and the corresponding parameter values ​​defined in paragraph 2.11 of the Regulations and given in Annex 4 of the Regulations must be indicated. The location of this marking shall be indicated on the drawings. After installation of the device or its element on the vehicle, any markings must be indelible and legible.

If the above requirements are not met

, to make changes, you need to undergo a preliminary technical examination to determine the possibility of making changes to the design of the vehicle (a complete list of organizations authorized to carry out preliminary technical examination is posted on the page of the Department of Technical Regulation of the official website of the Eurasian Economic Commission: ( https://www.eurasiancommission .org.ru) and contact any department of the State Traffic Inspectorate with a corresponding application.

Determining the number of stripes and understanding the side spacing

Most vehicles are approved for installation of a trailer hitch by the manufacturer. But there are models for which the factory has not given recommendations for use as a tractor for a trailer. You can find out for yourself whether it is possible to install a towbar on your iron horse by looking at the plate with the VIN code on your car. They are usually located on the middle right door pillar or under the hood. Let's look at the example of a Renault Sandero sign.

Pay attention to the numbers with kilograms at the end. In this case there are 4 of them.

• 4. Indicates the total weight of the car. That is, the mass of the equipped vehicle plus the permissible weight of cargo or passengers;
• 5. Indicates the permissible weight with the trailer. Here I think there is no need to explain;
• 6. and 7. These are the masses of the maximum load on the front and rear axles.

Helpful information

Options for checking the possibility of installing a trailer hitch on a specific machine

The easiest way to do this is to read the Owner's Manual for your vehicle. It must indicate whether the use of a trailer hitch is intended or not.

In some cases, this is not indicated in the manual. Then you can check another way: by VIN number.

The code consists of four lines. The first one shows the car manufacturer, the second one shows the VIN number itself. On the third is the permissible maximum weight and the last line is about the maximum possible weight of the car with a trailer. If this figure is indicated, the use of a trailer hitch on the vehicle is possible.

When is the use of a trailer device completely prohibited?

You cannot install a tow bar on a car if it is technically prohibited to use a trailer on it. In this case, any vehicle will not be registered with the traffic police, and such a vehicle will not pass the examination.

What to do if the installation is not provided by the factory?

The question is the question... And in this case there is a way out. If we are not talking about changing the car, then it can be legalized with the help of an examination. Now, in order.

• Firstly, you will still have to do everything you read about above. Either install or obtain documents from a legalized installation center.
• You need to undergo an examination by the traffic police. There you will need documents issued by the auto center and documents for the car.
• Notes about changes to the design will be added to the PTS and technical certificate.

*The traffic police itself does not conduct any examination, but issues document forms and sends them to the address.

Is it necessary to register the installed towbar with the traffic police?

The solution to the issue depends on how the tow bar was purchased and whether there are documents for it.

• If the papers are in order, then contacting the traffic police is not required; the towbar is installed and used for its intended purpose.
• In the absence of documents and the impossibility of restoring them, the tow bar becomes an element of design modification that requires registration with the State Traffic Inspectorate.

The modified vehicle must comply with safety standards. Installing home-made devices is unacceptable, and many car owners order factory-made trailer hitches, which come with certificates and documents on the safety of the product.

If the car is not equipped with a basic towbar, then to install it yourself you have to remove the bumper, that is, change the design of the rear part of the body, which is considered a significant structural transformation. If the owner of the vehicle ignores the need to register the installed towbar, then by law he may incur administrative liability.

Do-it-yourself installation of supports on a trailer for transporting a PVC boat

In some regions, car owners have already begun to be seriously fined for illegal towbars. The fine is under Article 12.5 of the Administrative Code, Part 1, in the amount of 500 rubles. If you are being punished for the first time for driving a vehicle (it may be something that you did not know), then this same article provides for the issuance of a warning. Be polite to the inspector and tell him you will fix it. In this case, you may have to avoid punishment. But don’t delay legalization if you really need a towbar. If you don’t need it, then just take it off and don’t look for adventures in one place)))

Lada 2107 Crossover › Logbook › Installing a tow bar

Hello, I already wrote that the car was primarily purchased for household chores, and anyway to drive through forests and fields, and first of all it was necessary to install a tow bar, but either I don’t have the money, or I’m too lazy to buy and install it, in the end I I finally decided to buy it, but I couldn’t find it anywhere, I had to order it at the store. I picked it up two weeks later, I didn’t have it lying around for long, and I don’t like buying something for the car and leaving it to lie around later. Basically a tow bar not really needed, but still, from time to time I need to bring something, I took the trailer and drove off. Previously, my father had a tag, it had a tow bar, then he sold it, in the end there is a trailer and it stands idle) so the 7k had to take the rap. and a towbar. Installation turned out to be much simpler than I thought, the towbar is attached to the towing hooks in the front, four holes are made in the back under the car and secured, drilled, primed, painted and coated with mavilya, bolts

The current state of affairs on the road

Despite the fact that we nevertheless came to the conclusion that a fine for a tow bar is not only possible, but also quite legal, everything is not so bad. Indeed, in practice, motorists are not often issued such a fine. Let's say more, no one really pays attention to the presence of a towbar, and does not think about what the motorist is violating. Therefore, actual objectivity is not so gloomy, and until some high-profile incident occurs in our country or the idea of ​​a “fix” arises, there is no need to be particularly afraid of a fine for a tow bar. The likelihood of such administrative punishment is not high.