The expert warned Russians about the massive replacement of driver's licenses from April

Due to changes in legislative acts that come into force in April, many drivers will have to change their IDs at the same time, which is why a large influx of people who want to go to the traffic police is expected. Maxim Tishakov, associate professor of the Moscow State Pedagogical University Law Department, warned about this on April 8 in an interview with the Prime agency.

"It is worth mentioning that we are talking specifically about national driver's licenses. This extension is invalid abroad, so international rights should be taken into account," the expert said.

In addition, he recalled that in April, the period of simplified replacement of foreign driver's licenses, which was valid for new citizens of the Russian Federation and people who received the right to permanent residence in the country, also ended. In the case of obtaining citizenship or a residence permit by citizens before April 1, 2024, if they had driver's documents from other countries up to that point, drivers were entitled to obtain the rights of the Russian Federation in a simplified format.

Thus, Tishakov stressed, it is expected that in April and the following months there will be more people wishing to renew or get a new driver's license than usual. Most likely, the flow of applicants will not dry up until the end of 2025, he noted. Therefore, the expert recommended that drivers need to make timely replacements and collect all the necessary documents, rather than delay it until the last.

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On April 1, the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Russian Federation announced that a driver's license, which expires between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025, is automatically renewed for three years. If the driver's license expires, for example, in May 2022, it will be considered valid until May 2025.