Article 126 of the Administrative Offenses Code Explained Simply – What This Article Is About

Article 126 of the Administrative Offenses Code (КУпАП) establishes the liability of drivers for issues related to documents and the right to operate a vehicle. It concerns not only situations when a person simply forgot their driver’s license. The article covers much more serious cases – driving without the right to drive, driving after being deprived of this right, or contrary to an established temporary restriction.

The current Article 126 of the Administrative Offenses Code basically divides such violations by degree of responsibility:

• a driver has the right to drive a vehicle but does not have with them or did not present the necessary documents;
• a person has no right at all to drive the corresponding vehicle;
• a driver operates a vehicle despite having a temporary restriction on the right to drive;
• a person sits behind the wheel after being deprived of the right to drive;
• one of the violations specified in parts 2-4 of Article 126 of the Administrative Offenses Code is committed again within a year.

The amounts of sanctions are directly established by Article 126 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine.

Article 126 Part 1 – if the driver did not present documents

Article 126 Part 1 relates to the situation where a person has the right to drive but either does not have the documents with them or did not properly present them for inspection.

Specifically, this includes:

• a driver’s license of the corresponding category;
• a registration document for the vehicle;
• a valid insurance policy where the law requires one;
• other documents prescribed by law.

Documents can be presented not only in paper form. The law explicitly allows the use of an electronic driver’s license, electronic vehicle registration certificate, and electronic insurance document. The information must be available in a form that allows the police officer to read and record the data.

The fine for Part 1 of Article 126 is 425 UAH. The law establishes the sanction as 25 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens. For the calculation of administrative fines, one such minimum is 17 UAH.

Simply put: the driver has the right to drive, but did not show the necessary documents – the liability is much milder than for driving without the right to drive.

Article 126 Part 2 – driving without the right to drive

Article 126 Part 2 is applied when a person does not have the right to drive a particular vehicle. This part also applies to a person who handed control of the vehicle to someone who does not have such a right.

The fine is 3400 UAH, i.e., 200 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.

Typical situations include:

1. The person never received the right to drive vehicles.
2. The driver operates a vehicle for which they do not have the corresponding category.
3. The owner hands over the vehicle to a person who does not have the right to drive it.

At the same time, the article itself has an important reservation: the provisions of parts 1 and 2 do not apply to persons who are lawfully learning to drive a vehicle.

Article 126 Part 3 – temporary restriction of the right to drive

Article 126 Part 3 concerns a driver who has officially been given a temporary restriction on the right to drive but continues to drive.

In this case, the law does not provide for an ordinary monetary fine but deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of 3 to 6 months.

That is why the query “Article 126 Part 3 Administrative Offenses Code court practice” often arises when the driver challenges the existence of the restriction, its legality, or the circumstances of the driving itself.

Article 126 Part 4 – driving after deprivation of rights

Part 4 of Article 126 provides liability for a person driving a vehicle after they have been deprived of the right to drive.

Here the sanction is much stricter – 20,400 UAH, i.e., 1200 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.

It is important to distinguish two situations. If a person simply has not received a driver’s license, generally part 2 applies. If a court or other authorized body has already deprived them of the right to drive and they sit behind the wheel again, part 4 applies.

Therefore, court practice regarding Part 4 of Article 126 largely depends on documents confirming the fact of deprivation of the right and the driving after that.

Repeated violation under Article 126

The harshest liability is provided by Part 5. It applies in case of repeated violations within a year of the infringements stipulated in parts 2-4 of Article 126.

The consequences may be as follows:

• fine – 40,800 UAH;
• deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of 5 to 7 years;
• paid seizure of the vehicle or application of the sanction without such seizure.

The fact of repetition must be properly confirmed. The law speaks specifically of repeated violations within a year under parts 2-4.

What duties does a driver have?

The main duty is simple. The driver must have the documents prescribed by law and present them in the legally established cases in a manner that allows the police officer to familiarize themselves with the data. The legislation also recognizes corresponding electronic documents.

At the same time, it is important for the driver to distinguish between “not presenting a document” and “not having the right to drive.” These are different administrative offense compositions and entirely different sanctions.

What rights does the driver have when Article 126 is applied?

Stopping a vehicle does not cancel the procedural rights of a citizen. The police officer must inform the driver of the specific reason for the stop and describe the legal basis.

If a case on an administrative offense is being considered against the driver, Article 268 of the Administrative Offenses Code grants him the following rights:

• familiarize with the case materials;
• provide explanations and evidence;
• submit motions and applications;
• use legal assistance;
• use an interpreter if necessary;
• appeal the ruling.

These rights have practical significance. If the driver disagrees with the qualification under a specific part of Article 126, they can submit documents, videos, and other evidence to support their position.