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The current requirements for road safety oblige car owners to coordinate with the traffic police and register changes to the design of the vehicle. This is a necessary procedure when installing any equipment not provided by the manufacturer. Car owners often have a question about which devices are approved by the car manufacturer. From this article, you can find out if you need to register a towbar with the traffic police in 2020 when installing it on a car.
What is a towbar for?
A towbar is a special towing device that allows you to operate a vehicle with a trailer. For passenger cars, it is a hook with a ball at the end, mounted under the rear bumper. It is on him that the drawbar of the trailer clings.
Installing a towing device allows you to significantly increase the amount of cargo transported due to a trailer or trailer. This device is very popular among summer residents, outdoor enthusiasts and rural residents.
How to install a hitch on your car
Installing a towbar is a responsible process that requires compliance with several mandatory conditions:
- The vehicle must be suitable for towing a trailer.
- The design of the car provides for special places for the installation of towing equipment.
- It is possible to install towing equipment on the rear of the car without making changes to the design of both the device itself and the vehicle body. This requirement can be met if the towbar is adapted to fit your machine model.
- The manufacturer provided a certificate and a passport for the product.
Installation can be carried out independently or at specialized service stations.
Is it possible to do without registration
Whether it is necessary to register the towbar depends on whether changes were made to the design of the car during the installation of the equipment. According to the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union 018/2011, paragraph 77, cars are not subject to inspection in such cases:
- When installing devices and components designed for this type of vehicle, tested in its composition and having supporting documents.
- The installation of certain devices and components is provided by the vehicle manufacturer in accordance with the operational documentation.
According to this technical regulation, when installing a towbar on a passenger car, the device may not be registered under the following conditions:
- The possibility of installing a towing device on a vehicle and its use with a trailer is indicated in the instruction manual. Most vehicles are adapted for operation in such conditions.
- For the towing device, the manufacturer provided a certificate confirming its compliance with the technical regulations, and a product passport, which indicates the possibility of installing it on certain models of vehicles.
- The device was installed on the vehicle according to the instructions and without changing the design of the vehicle.
Any non-compliance with these conditions is considered to be a change in the design of the vehicle, therefore, further operation of the vehicle is possible only after.
What is meant by changes in the design of the machine
Each car manufacturer must indicate in the operational documentation a list of devices and components that can be installed on a particular vehicle model. This is a mandatory procedure, without it the car will not be able to receive a certificate of conformity.
The installation of devices and components permitted by the vehicle manufacturer, according to the law, is not a change in the design of the car and is not subject to mandatory registration with the traffic police.
Installation of any other equipment not provided by the manufacturer must be agreed with the State Traffic Inspectorate.
Required documents for registration of design changes
Registration of a towing device in the traffic police, during the installation of which changes were made in the design of the machine, is carried out upon provision of:
- statements of the owner of the car;
- applicant's passport;
- TCP and car;
- receipts for payment of the state duty for making an entry in the TCP (350 rubles).
To apply for a towbar, a standard application form for registration of a vehicle is used, which can be obtained at any MREO of the traffic police or downloaded independently in the “For car owners” section on the official website of the department. When filling out, you must indicate the name of the inspection to which you intend to apply, your full name. and underline the item "Make changes in connection with the change in design."
Then you should indicate information about the car and your data - full name. in full, passport details and registration address.
The column "Changes to the design" is filled in by the traffic police officer.
Registration procedure
The question of how to register a towing device with the traffic police arises under the following circumstances:
- you have not saved the certificate and passport of the device, and it is not possible to obtain their duplicates from the manufacturer;
- the manufacturer in the operational documentation did not indicate the possibility of using a car with a trailer;
- during installation, changes were made to the design of the machine.
To apply for a towbar in the traffic police, you need to contact the nearest department of the department with the documents for the car and apply for registration. After submitting the necessary papers, the registration procedure will be carried out in the following order:
- Preliminary inspection of the towbar and the car by a traffic police officer.
- The car owner is sent to a specialized organization to certify the device and receive a diagnostic card.
- Together with the documents received, it is necessary to return to the traffic police, where they must make an entry in the PTS and STS about the changes made to the design of the car.
Obtaining a certificate
To register a towbar with the traffic police, you must obtain a TR CU certificate, which is an official confirmation that the product meets all the requirements and standards in force in the territory of the Customs Union. You can get a document in specialized certification centers, which are available in almost every region in large cities. They advertise their services well, so finding the nearest center to you will not be difficult.
Certification centers may be called differently, but usually the word "standard" is found in the name of the organization. For example, PromTechStandard or Rosstandart. The cost of the service depends on the chosen institution.
Administrative responsibility for a towbar without documents
If you are still in doubt about whether you need to draw up a towing device, please note that each of your meetings with the inspector may end with the preparation of an administrative protocol. If a towing device installed on a car without a certificate is detected, the traffic police have the right to impose a fine of 500 rubles, guided by article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. 
How to avoid a fine
To avoid the claims of the traffic police inspector and the preparation of an administrative protocol, you should always carry a certificate and a passport for the towbar with you. And if you forgot your documents at home and received a penalty for this, you can challenge it within 10 days from the date of the decision on an administrative offense by submitting the necessary papers to the State traffic inspectorate. It is enough to file an official complaint with the traffic police unit, whose employee drew up the protocol. You can personally hand it to the secretary of the inspection, send it by registered mail or use the feedback form on the official website of the department.
Selling a car with a towbar
If the tow hitch is installed on the vehicle in compliance with all applicable regulations, the buyer will not have problems with it when selling it. Together with the TCP, he must definitely transfer the certificate and passport for the towbar, otherwise the traffic police inspector will have questions during the inspection of the car before reissuing.
If you are buying a used machine with a tow hitch, ask the seller for the relevant documents. If they are not available, find out the model of the equipment and the name of the manufacturer, who can be contacted in the future and asked to send copies of the certificate and product passport, explaining the reason for your request. If this venture fails, you will have to remove the towbar before re-registering the vehicle with the traffic police, since this procedure must be completed within 10 days from the date of purchase. You can then purchase a new trailer hitch with all the necessary documents.
Trailer Registration
The trailer is not part of the vehicle, even if it cannot be operated separately from it. This is a separate vehicle, the use of which on public roads requires registration with the traffic police with the issuance of a license plate. Moreover, the operation of a car with a trailer must be indicated in.
Conclusion
A towbar is a useful device that allows you to increase the volume and dimensions of the transported cargo. Its installation should be approached responsibly. It is best to purchase this device already with a certificate and passport, making sure it is suitable for installation on your car. This will avoid significant costs for self-certification and registration with the traffic police.
The procedure for registering changes in the design of the vehicle: video
1. I decided to install a spare wheel bracket on the VAZ‑2131. The product description indicates that it meets the requirements of GOST R50577–93 and does not require certification. Will there be any problems during the inspection?
The spare wheel carrier as a vehicle component is indeed not subject to mandatory certification and its installation is technically permissible. However, during installation, a number of conditions must be met. According to GOST R 50577–93 “Signs for state registration of vehicles. Types and basic dimensions. Technical requirements” the registration plate must be installed along the axis of symmetry of the car or to the left of it in the direction of travel. The registration plate must be perpendicular to the reference plane of the vehicle with a deviation of no more than five degrees. The height of the lower edge of the rear registration plate, measured from the reference plane of the vehicle, must be at least 300 mm, the height of the top edge of the sign - no more than 1200 mm. In addition, the installed spare wheel bracket must not block the rear lighting equipment, the visibility requirements of which are set out in UNECE Regulation No. 48. The rear license plate lighting device is subject to mandatory certification. The installation of a spare wheel bracket on a vehicle that is not provided by the vehicle manufacturer is a design change that may affect the injury risk of external protrusions (UNECE Regulation No. 26) and therefore must be registered in the prescribed manner.
2. On a 2011 Daewoo Nexia car (model discontinued), I want to change the high and low beam lamps to LED. How to do it legally?When changes are made to the design of lighting fixtures, including when replacing a light module (as in your case), a safety assessment is required. It is not allowed to install non-standard light modules if the illuminating surface of the diffuser in the zone of passage of the light beam has optical elements involved in the formation of the beam (in other words, if the glass is corrugated). The procedure for conducting a safety assessment is as follows.
- Obtain a preliminary technical examination report from the testing laboratory on the possibility and procedure for making changes.
- In the technical supervision of the traffic police, fill out an application for changes to the design.
- After a decision is made on your application, carry out the appropriate work.
- After making the changes, contact a testing laboratory accredited to confirm the conformity of lighting and light signaling devices and have the vehicle checked for compliance with UNECE Regulation No. 48 "Uniform provisions concerning the certification of vehicles with regard to the installation of lighting and light signaling devices."
- If the test result is positive, a protocol for assessing the safety of the structure with the changes made will be issued.
- Based on the protocol, the technical supervision department of the traffic police will issue a certificate of conformity with the design of the vehicle. With a certificate, you should contact the registration department of the traffic police and make marks in the documents.
3. Is it necessary to draw up a towbar of a car if it is installed at an authorized dealer and has a certificate?
The service carrying out the installation work (this may be an official dealer) must provide a certificate of conformity for the tow hitch (TSU). Otherwise, it is impossible to confirm the safety of the component installed on the vehicle, as well as the compliance of the vehicle itself with the requirements of TR CU 018/2011. The certificate for the TSU confirms its safety as a component. However, it is necessary to make sure that this device is installed correctly and that the vehicle with the hitch installed complies with the safety requirements for the car as a whole. That is why the TSU is subject to mandatory certification, and its installation on a car is considered a re-equipment requiring changes in the design.
4. I want to install a D-154 or D-155T tractor diesel engine (produced by VMTZ) with a GAZ-63 box instead of the standard UMZ-4218 engine on the UAZ‑3153. I saw such converted machines and I know that they have proven themselves well in operation. How can this installation be legalized?Installation of such an engine instead of a regular one is impossible. Firstly, this tractor diesel does not meet the environmental requirements for cars, and lowering the environmental class when re-equipping a machine is unacceptable. In addition, the mass of such a motor (400 kg ± 20 kg, depending on attachments) is more than twice the mass of a standard one, which means that the load on the front axle will increase unacceptably. Therefore, such a change will require a full test of the car itself.
5. Recently installed gas equipment. But I plan to replace some components with newer ones. Is this a design change? Do I need to register with the traffic police?
Intervention in the design and completeness of the installed gas-balloon equipment (LGB) during operation is not allowed (according to Appendix No. 8 to TR TS 018/2011). If it is necessary to replace a gearbox or a cylinder, authorized organizations issue a certificate of compliance of HBO with safety requirements, which the owner of the machine presents at periodic inspections of HBO.
6. I want to install shelves in the PAZ bus. What requirements must be met?
Installation of shelves in the PAZ bus is permissible. Once installed, the interior equipment of the bus must comply with the requirements of UNECE Regulation No. 21-01 "Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to their interior equipment".
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Need or not?
Recently, we are often asked the question: "Do I need to register the towbar in the traffic police?".
Specifically, to clarify this issue, we turned to the traffic police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The official answer was not long in coming. So, only changes made to the design of the vehicle need to be registered in the traffic police, and the installation of a tow bar on 99% of car models is allowed by the manufacturers of these cars (see the car's operating manual) and this is not a change in the design of the vehicle. We received similar responses from other departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, two responses were sent to us by our clients.
Therefore, the towbar is not subject to registration in the traffic police if:
1. Installation of a towbar on a car is provided by the car manufacturer
But there are models for which the factory did not give a recommendation in order to use them as a tractor for a trailer. You can find out for yourself whether it is possible to install a hitch 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. Consider the Renault Sandero plate as an example. Pay attention to the numbers with kilograms at the end. In this case, there are 4.
4. Indicates the total weight of the car. That is, the mass of the equipped car plus the permissible weight of cargo or passengers;
5. Indicates the permissible weight together with the trailer. Here I think it is not necessary to explain;
6. and 7. These are the masses of the maximum load on the front and rear axles.
It follows from this that if your plate has a mass designation with a trailer, then a towbar is installed on the car. And if there is no number, then the coupling device is not provided.
2. The hitch has a certificate of conformity and a passport.
3. The towbar is installed according to the instructions indicated in the passport, i.e. without making changes to the design of the car.
When buying and installing a towbar, you must have:
1. Passport for the towbar with a mark of sale and installation (can be downloaded from the website of the towbar manufacturer)
2. A copy of the certificate for the towbar, certified by the selling organization (here http://website/certificate)
3. Receipt of payment and sales receipt (waybill)
If the car is under warranty from an authorized dealer, then the tow bar can be installed not only at an authorized dealer. It can be installed in any other organization that has a certificate of conformity of the services provided for the installation of the towbar to the technical regulations and GOST, while the car will remain under warranty from an authorized dealer.
The luggage compartment of any car has limited capacity, so bulky cargo has to be transported in a trailer connected to the car through a tow bar. Since the traffic police consider the hitch of this device to be a change in the design of the vehicle, they insist on the mandatory registration of the towbar. Without fulfilling this condition, problems may arise with passing the next technical inspection or, for example, when traveling abroad.
What is a towbar and why it needs to be registered
The towbar is a towing device designed for towing large objects: trailers, trailers, in some cases - bicycles. It allows you to evenly distribute the inertial weight load from a trailer located behind a moving car. Only in this case can we talk about compliance with safety requirements in the implementation of road traffic.
Any change in the structural part of the car is subject to registration, one of the stages of which is the passage of technical expertise. Only a positive conclusion can guarantee the reliability and safety of the device operation. Therefore, traffic police officers have the right to limit the ability to drive a vehicle with a towbar without going through the appropriate procedure.
Is this required for all vehicles?
If the towbar is included in the original equipment of the car, you will not be fined.
If the towbar is provided by the factory equipment of the car or its operation is regulated by the manufacturer, then in this case you will not need to go through the registration procedure.
Obligations to obtain an opinion and a safety certificate arise in the following cases:
- the manufacturer's prohibition to use the tow hitch;
- its non-standard size or shape;
- incorrect location covering registration plates;
- fastening in a place not provided by the manufacturer;
- stationary fastening by welding (usually the towbar is fastened by screwing in bolts and nuts).
In order to avoid problems when meeting with traffic police officers, even if the towing device is installed correctly and permitted by the manufacturer's standards, when buying a towbar, you must obtain from the seller and carry the following documents with you:
- device passport;
- certificate of conformity - a copy of the document certified by the seller;
- receipt of payment for the purchase or invoice for it.
How do I know if my vehicle is allowed to tow a trailer if the owner's manual is not available? Information about this is contained in the load table, the standard location of which is on the right middle pillar of the car or under the hood. If the line on the possibility of attaching a trailer does not contain information, the towbar is subject to mandatory registration.
What law governs this process
The obligation to register a tow hitch is regulated by the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union TR TS 018/2011 “On the safety of wheeled vehicles”, which entered into force in January 2015. According to section 4 of chapter 5 of this regulatory act, expert procedures will not be required only if the manufacturer provides for the use of additional components. As a rule, this point is reflected in the Owner's Manual of a particular vehicle in the form of a separate section, which also contains instructions for installing and safely operating the towing device.
Required documents
The registration procedure provides for a repeated visit to the traffic police, and each time it will be an individual package of documents. So, for a preliminary inspection, you will need to submit:
- Statement on the form of traffic police.
- A two-sided copy of the vehicle's passport.
- Vehicle registration certificate.
After installing the towing device, the set of documents will become different:
- Diagnostic card from the organization conducting maintenance.
- Passport and certificate of conformity for the tow bar.
- Application-declaration from the car service that performed the installation of the structure.
- Preliminary review decision.
The procedure for registering a towbar in the traffic police in 2019
The appearance of a towbar is a good reason to visit the traffic police
In general, the procedure for registering a trailer at the traffic police department consists of three stages:
- Preliminary examination of the product in the traffic police.
- Examination after installation of the tow bar.
- Safety assessment.
The algorithm of actions of the car owner is as follows:
- Visit the nearest traffic police department with a package of documents for a preliminary examination.
- Receive a decision on the appointed day.
- It is better to install the towbar in a specialized center so that there are no problems with collecting the papers necessary for the second stage - an application-declaration from the auto center.
- Carry out inspection and get a diagnostic card.
- Pass a technical examination in the traffic police.
The final document is a certificate issued on the basis of the protocol of technical expertise.
What is the penalty for non-registration?
When operating an unregistered towbar, the traffic police inspector has the right to issue a fine, especially if the tow hitch:
- non-standard form;
- closes license plates;
- installed in the wrong place.
The fine for operating a towing unit without registration is 500 rubles, however, if it is paid within 20 days from the date of the decision, it is permissible to pay only half of this amount.
You can avoid a fine in the absence of registration documents for the towbar in the following cases:
- in the absence of other traffic violations during the year, the inspector has the right to limit himself to a warning;
- operate a removable model;
- the towing device is provided by the manufacturer;
- the towbar is certified for a specific model of the machine (clause 77 of the Technical Regulations).
It will also be considered a violation to exceed the permissible mass of cargo for towing together with the trailer and the car itself. Thus, category B does not imply driving skills, the total weight of which with a loaded trailer exceeds 3.5 tons. To do this, you need to open category E.
Thus, if the manufacturer provides for the possibility of towing, then registration of the towbar is not required. If, for its fastening, it is necessary to drill or otherwise change the structural part of the car, then a visit to the traffic police cannot be avoided. During the entire period of operation, it is necessary to have the passport of the device and the certificate of conformity at hand for presentation to the inspectors.
Any car is a complex system consisting of mutually influencing components and parts. The manufacturer, developing the design of the machine, initially tries to take into account all the nuances that the use of each individual device entails.
As a rule, unauthorized changes to the design of the car only lead to the fact that it becomes more dangerous in operation - both for the driver and for other road users. That is why the installation of additional nodes requires special procedures, coordination with the traffic police, and often auto-technical expertise.
Here one should be guided by the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union TR CU 018/2011, which determines that such a dismantling of components or installation of vehicles not provided for by the design that will affect traffic safety on the road will be considered as changes to the design.
Important: Among the nodes, improper installation and operation of which is dangerous, is the tow bar (or, as it is officially called in the documents, the towing device for a car).
This node is designed to attach trailers to the car - and therefore, in the event of its destruction or sudden slippage, an uncontrollably moving trailer may appear on the track, into which other cars may crash, or it may collide with them.
However, regarding towbars, the situation with registration is twofold:
- Some of them require mandatory registration and approval from the traffic police.
- But for many, the explicit order of installing this node is enough.
What determines the need for registration?
When is it necessary to do this?
It is necessary to register a towbar in the following cases:
- If its installation was not originally provided for by the design of the car. In this situation, the owner of the machine, before installing a new device, may need to conduct an examination in a certified laboratory, which will confirm the safety of the changes made.
- If the design of the car allows the installation of a towbar, but there are no necessary documents for this unit. In particular, such a situation may arise when installing handicraft towbars.
In what cases is it not necessary to make changes?
Questions about installing a towbar arose among car owners so often that as a result, a number of regional UGIBDD of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation gave official clarifications in 2016. Their essence is as follows. If the vehicle manufacturer allows the installation of a towing hitch, then additional registration of changes to the design is not required.
However, this requires several conditions to be met:
Therefore, in order to install a towbar on a car, the owner will need:
- Passport for the TSU with the marks of the seller and the installer.
- A certified copy of the tow bar certificate.
- Receipt of payment and sales receipt or invoice for the device.
These documents should be kept in the car and presented to the traffic police inspector if questions arise during the check regarding the changes made to the design of the car.
Moreover, if the car is new, then you can install the towbar in only two ways:
- At the service center of an authorized dealer.
- In a service station that has an appropriate certificate of conformity for the services provided.
If this is not done, then the traffic police will not have claims against the TSU - however, the guarantee for the car will be terminated.
Important: The design of the towbar can provide for both its permanent use and the installation of a mounting unit immediately before using the trailer.
The latter option is mainly used on modern vehicles manufactured in countries where the use of a tow hitch without a trailer is prohibited. Of course, no approvals are needed for such a towbar: this is a standard vehicle unit that can be either removed or installed.
How to find out if it is provided on the machine?
In order to determine whether it is possible to install a towing hitch on a particular vehicle, the following steps should be taken:
How to register a TSU on a car: rules
In the event that a towbar is placed on a passenger car, it can be legalized as follows.
What is required for registration?
It will be necessary to register the towbar in the traffic police only if there is no evidence that a particular model of the tow hitch is approved. In this case, you need to be guided by the traffic rules and the Federal Law "On Road Safety" No. 196-FZ of 1995.
Attention: If there is no data on the approval of the towbar design by the car manufacturer, you will first need to submit an application for a preliminary examination to the traffic police.
In this case, auto experts must evaluate how safe the resulting structure will be and whether it can be released on public highways as a result.
In this case, the traffic police is served:
- Application for registration.
- Copy of PTS.
- Technical documents for TSU.
- STS on the car.
Certificate of conformity for the tow hitch
In some cases, when automakers did not take the trouble to describe the conditions for using the hitch, but the installation of the towbar itself is legal, a certificate is required that confirms the compliance of the coupling assembly with the standards.
The certificate is issued:
As a result, if a towbar is installed on the car, then the certificate for it:
- Can be restored again.
- It can be obtained if it has not been issued before.
In the first case, in order to obtain a duplicate, you must contact:
- To the official representative office of the company with a request or at least with a copy of the contract of sale. Basically, sales offices serve customers who have purchased new cars of the corresponding brand and have encountered difficulties. However, they often provide assistance to all car owners who own a car of the corresponding brand.
- To the official site. Often such documents are posted by automakers in the public domain.
- On a specialized Internet resource. Quite often, users collect a collection of regulatory documents. Even if such data is not officially accepted, the car owner will know what to build on.
Attention: In the same case, if the towbar was not initially certified, the owner of the car will either have to refuse to install it or go through the certification procedure.
To do this, you must contact the auto laboratory, which has permission to conduct the relevant examinations and is accredited by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Only after the corresponding document is received from there, we can talk about installing a non-standard towbar.
How much does the procedure cost?
If the design of the car provides for the possibility of mounting a towbar, and there are legal documents for the assembly itself, no additional fee is required. It is enough to put the TSU and drive, having the relevant documents with you.
If it is necessary to legalize changes made to the design of the car, then payment will be required:
- conducting auto technical expertise. It will cost at least 3 thousand rubles;
- payment for technical inspection - at least 400 rubles;
- obtaining a certificate of conformity - at least 800 rubles;
- changes in the TCP in accordance with Art. 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - 350 rubles;
- new STS - 500 rubles.
Prices are indicative.
What to do if the TSU is already installed without documents?
If the car owner has already installed a towbar and he only needs to legalize the alteration, the prices and procedures will be the same as when installing an unlicensed towing hitch. However, it must be remembered that in certain cases the installation will be an administratively punishable act and you will have to pay a fine.
When is it prohibited?
The ban on the installation of a towbar exists in two cases:
- When the car manufacturer did not provide for the possibility of using it as a tractor - and therefore the operation of trailers is unsafe for road users.
- When the design and fastening of the towbar do not provide safety.
In this case, the perpetrator will face a fine in the amount of 500 to 5000 rubles in accordance with Art. 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Towbar registration is a procedure that is not always required. The vast majority of vehicles can be used as trailers, but where the tow hitch is inadequate, problems can arise.
Video
Watch a video about the need to register a towbar:
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