{"id":2653,"date":"2026-05-27T06:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T03:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/advokat-po-dtp\/povernennya-vodijskogo-posvidchennya-po-st-130-kupap\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T19:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T16:41:14","slug":"povernennya-vodijskogo-posvidchennya-po-st-130-kupap","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/en\/advokat-po-dtp\/povernennya-vodijskogo-posvidchennya-po-st-130-kupap\/","title":{"rendered":"Return of a driving licence under Article 130 of the Code of Administrative Offences"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a driving ban ends, the licence is not returned automatically<\/strong>. It has to be obtained afresh: with tests at a service centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a current medical certificate and no outstanding fines. So people who have waited a year often learn about the tests only on the day they turn up.<\/p>\n

The second common belief is that nothing can be done any more. Not so: a decision can be challenged even after the deadline, and the proceedings can be closed once the period for imposing a penalty has run. In that case the ban is treated as never having happened, and no tests are needed at all.<\/p>\n

We start the return of a licence under Art. 130 of the Code of Administrative Offences by examining the decision itself: when it was made, whether you were served with a copy, and what evidence the file contains.<\/p>\n

<\/svg>+38 095 554-54-24<\/span><\/a>legal consultation<\/span><\/div>\n

What is needed to get the licence back<\/h2>\n
  1. The ban must have run its course.<\/strong> Time runs from the day the decision came into force; the ban is entered in the ministry\u2019s register. The licence must be surrendered to the office enforcing the decision, and driving during the ban is a separate offence under Art. 126.<\/li>
  2. Tests at the service centre.<\/strong> After a ban under Art. 130 both are taken: theory and practical. For other articles less is required.<\/li>
  3. A medical certificate<\/strong> in the prescribed form, valid on the date of application, from an institution entitled to issue it.<\/li>
  4. No unpaid traffic fines<\/strong>, including ones you may not know about.<\/li>
  5. An application to the service centre<\/strong> with the complete set of documents.<\/li><\/ol>\n

    A ban under Art. 130 (driving while intoxicated) is the harshest version of the procedure: both in the tests required and in the scrutiny of the medical certificate.<\/p>\n

    \"Getting<\/a><\/p>\n

    Two strategies that return the right to drive early<\/h2>\n

    1. Challenging the decision, even out of time<\/h3><\/svg>10 days, extendable<\/span><\/div>

    The appeal period is 10 days<\/strong> from the date of the decision. If the copy was never served on you<\/strong> \u2014 which is typical where the case was heard in your absence \u2014 the period is restored: it runs from the day you actually learned of the decision.<\/p>\n

    Quashing the decision means the ban never existed, and the licence is returned without any tests.<\/p>\n

    <\/svg>
    Grounds for quashing: driving not proved, the intoxication testing procedure breached, no video recording, a device without a current calibration certificate, breach of the rules on referral to a medical institution. More on this on the page about challenging an Art. 130 charge<\/a>.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

    2. Closing the case once the penalty period has run<\/h3><\/svg>1 year under Art. 130<\/span><\/div>

    A penalty under Art. 130 may be imposed within one year<\/strong> of the offence. If the court did not give its decision within that year, the proceedings must be closed.<\/p>\n

    <\/svg>
    For Art. 124<\/a> (a traffic breach causing damage to vehicles) the period is much shorter \u2014 three months<\/strong> \u2014 so this strategy works there more often.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

    Why \u201cearly return\u201d does not exist<\/h2>\n
    <\/svg>

    People regularly ask us to \u201cshorten the ban\u201d. The Code contains no mechanism for shortening a driving ban: the provision on shortening a deprivation of a special right has been removed. Offers to \u201carrange\u201d an early licence are either a fraud or grounds for criminal proceedings<\/a> for an improper benefit.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

    The right to drive returns early only where the decision itself is quashed or the proceedings are closed. There is no other route, and at the consultation we assess exactly that \u2014 the prospect of quashing, not a hypothetical reduction.<\/p>\n

    What derails the return<\/h2>\n
    <\/svg><\/span>

    The licence was never surrendered<\/h3>

    That does not extend the ban, but every journey during it is a fresh offence under Art. 126 \u2014 and a patrol sees your status in the register, not in whether you hold a plastic card.<\/p><\/div><\/article>

    <\/svg><\/span>

    The decision was made in your absence<\/h3>

    People find out about the ban when stopped by a patrol, sometimes more than a year later. Here restoration of the appeal deadline works, because the copy was never served.<\/p><\/div><\/article>

    <\/svg><\/span>

    Unpaid fines<\/h3>

    No licence is issued while arrears remain. A fine unpaid within 15 days doubles under Arts. 307 and 308, and then goes to the enforcement service with an enforcement fee on top.<\/p><\/div><\/article>

    <\/svg><\/span>

    An expired medical certificate<\/h3>

    Or one issued by an institution not entitled to carry out that examination. The certificate is checked as at the date of the application, not the date of the examination.<\/p><\/div><\/article>

    <\/svg><\/span>

    Failing the test<\/h3>

    After a long break the theory test is rarely passed first time. A retake is allowed, but there is an interval between attempts, so allow several weeks for the whole procedure.<\/p><\/div><\/article><\/div>\n

    If the service centre refuses<\/h2>\n

    A refusal to issue the licence must be in writing, citing a specific ground. An oral \u201cyou are not entitled\u201d cannot be challenged, so ask for a written answer.<\/p>\n

    A written refusal is challenged by an administrative claim<\/a>: the service centre is a public authority. The court fee for an individual is 0.4 of a subsistence minimum, that is 1,331.20 UAH in 2026, or 1,064.96 UAH through the Electronic Court.<\/p>\n

    <\/svg><\/span>

    A case from our practice<\/h2><\/div>

    In early 2026 a driver came to us after a patrol told him he was banned from driving. The court had made the Art. 130 decision in his absence more than a year earlier, the copy had gone to his old registered address, and he knew nothing about it. We obtained the case file, saw that the testing record had been drawn up without video and that there was no evidence he had been properly notified of the hearing, and filed an appeal with an application to restore the deadline. The deadline was restored, the decision quashed and the proceedings closed, and the licence was returned without any tests. About three months passed from the first approach to getting the licence; the client paid for a consultation, the appeal and two hearings (details changed).<\/p><\/div>\n

    How we work<\/h2>\n
    1. We analyse the decision<\/strong> and the case file for grounds to quash.<\/li>
    2. We check the deadlines<\/strong>: when the ban ends and whether the period for imposing a penalty has run.<\/li>
    3. We prepare the appeal<\/strong> with an application to restore the deadline where it has passed.<\/li>
    4. We run the case<\/strong> through to quashing the decision or closing the proceedings.<\/li>
    5. We handle the return<\/strong>: checking fines, the documents, booking the service centre.<\/li>
    6. We challenge a refusal<\/strong> to issue the licence by administrative claim.<\/li><\/ol>\n

      Cost of services<\/h2>\n
      Consultation with a review of the decision<\/span>from<\/i>1,500 UAH<\/b><\/div>
      Legal opinion: prospects of a challenge<\/span>from<\/i>5,000 UAH<\/b><\/div>
      Preparation of the appeal and the application to restore the deadline<\/span>from<\/i>5,000 UAH<\/b><\/div>
      Participation in one court hearing<\/span>from<\/i>3,000 UAH<\/b><\/div>
      Court representation<\/span>from<\/i>10,000 UAH<\/b><\/div>
      Comprehensive handling of an administrative case<\/span>from<\/i>30,000 UAH<\/b><\/div><\/div>\n

      Court fees 2026:<\/strong> no fee is payable for an appeal against a court decision in an administrative offence case. Where a police decision is challenged in the administrative court, the rate is 0.2 of a subsistence minimum \u2014 665.60 UAH. A claim against the service centre\u2019s refusal to issue a licence is charged at 0.4 of a subsistence minimum \u2014 1,331.20 UAH, or 1,064.96 UAH through the Electronic Court. The service centre\u2019s charges for the tests and the licence are paid separately at the state rates.<\/p>\n