Car owners often think about radically changing the color of the body - everyone has different reasons, but the question is almost always the same: what about the documents and is such an alteration allowed by law? Let's analyze in which situations repainting goes without consequences, and when it can lead to problems.
From the point of view of legislation, changing the color of a vehicle is not prohibited and does not in itself require obtaining additional permits. However, there are several fundamental conditions that must be observed.
First of all, it is unacceptable to paint over the VIN number applied to the chassis. It must remain fully readable. Any damage to the marking - partial or complete - can entail serious legal consequences. In addition, it is forbidden to use color schemes characteristic of special service vehicles - police, ambulance, Ministry of Emergency Situations - as well as taxis, if the owner does not actually belong to the relevant structures.
There is another important rule: if repainting affects less than half of the body, changes to the registration documents are not required. For example, the law does not prohibit registering a car with large airbrushing or repainting individual elements - the roof or hood. In such cases, the color of the vehicle is formally considered the same.
The situation with legal restrictions is stipulated separately. Any changes, including repainting, are not allowed if the car is pledged or encumbered in any other way. In such circumstances, interference with the design or appearance is prohibited.
If a decision is made to completely change the color of the body, the data in the documents must correspond to the actual condition of the car. The procedure for making changes is relatively simple, but requires compliance with the established procedure. The owner needs to submit an application for adjusting the registration data, pay the state fee and transfer the set of documents to the nearest traffic police unit. After that, the car is inspected by an inspector. If discrepancies related to the VIN number or PTS data are detected, registration may be refused, and the vehicle will be sent for additional examination. In case of successful verification, updated PTS and STS are issued, which will indicate the new body color.
There is also a nuance regarding shades. If only the tone changes, but not the basic color itself, registration is usually not required: the color is recorded in the documents in a general way - for example, "blue" or "red". A different situation arises with two-tone factory painting. If initially the car, for example, was white with a black roof, and the owner decided to repaint the roof in the main color of the body, the changes will have to be officially recorded. This is due to the fact that the PTS indicates two colors, and the actual condition of the car must correspond to them.
The deadline for making changes is also regulated: after repainting, the owner has 10 days to update the registration data.