Ukraine car insurance for foreign-registered cars: compulsory liability, explained

Yes. Only insured vehicles may be used on Ukrainian roads (Law No. 3720-IX, art. 7 p. 1). The insurance in question is compulsory third-party motor liability — Ukrainians call it «автоцивілка». It pays for the damage you cause to other people and their property; it does not repair your own car.

For a car brought in temporarily, the law names the driver who brought it as the person who must take out a Ukrainian («domestic») policy — before entering Ukraine, unless the car already has a Green Card certificate that is valid in Ukraine (art. 7 p. 1).

Who needs it

Any car registered outside Ukraine, while it is in Ukraine — a tourist visit, a family trip, work, a transit drive.

What counts

A Green Card from your home insurer valid in Ukraine, or a Ukrainian policy for the time of your stay.

Where it works

A Ukrainian policy covers Ukraine only (art. 6). Abroad your own insurance applies.

The State Border Guard Service checks the insurance of every car at border control, «regardless of where the vehicle is registered» in the words of art. 9 p. 1. The check runs against the national MTSBU database, so an electronic policy is enough — no paper.

If the driver of a foreign-registered car has neither a Green Card valid in Ukraine nor a Ukrainian policy for the whole stay, the car is not let into Ukraine (art. 9 p. 3). In practice that means leaving the queue, buying a policy and queuing again — which is why it pays to buy it the day before.

The fine is the small part. The expensive part is the accident: if you hit another car and have no valid policy, the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine compensates the victims and then has the right to recover every hryvnia from the person who caused the crash (art. 37 p. 2). The police fine is set by art. 126 p. 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

Ukrainian drivers buy a policy for six months or a year. For a car registered abroad and staying in Ukraine temporarily, the law also allows short terms — 15 days, 21 days, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 months — «for the time of its stay» (art. 11 p. 7). Pick the term that covers your whole visit, including the drive back to the border.

There is no single price: insurer, vehicle category (engine size, motorcycle, van, trailer) and term all change it, so the manager calculates the price for your vehicle.

If your insurer at home issued a Green Card certificate, look at the list of countries on it. When Ukraine (code UA) is valid on your certificate, that card is your proof of insurance in Ukraine (art. 9 p. 2) and you do not need anything else. If UA is not covered, or you have no Green Card, take a Ukrainian policy for your stay.

A Ukrainian policy is often the simpler choice for a short visit: it is electronic by law (art. 11 p. 1), appears in the national database the border guards and police check, and is valid from the date and time written in it.

A policy issued in October 2026 for a car on foreign plates lists these insured sums. They are per accident, for damage you cause to others in Ukraine:

Tomas lives in Vilnius and drives his 2022 Skoda Octavia to Lviv for his sister's wedding: twelve days in Ukraine, crossing at Yahodyn on a Friday morning. His Lithuanian Green Card does not cover Ukraine. On Wednesday evening he writes to our manager with his plate and entry date. The reply names the price for a 15-day policy — 15 days, not 12, because the policy must also cover the drive back to the border.

On Friday the border guard checks the plate against the national database, the policy is there, and the car goes through. On day 13 Tomas decides to stay a few more days. The policy runs out at midnight of day 15, so on day 14 he asks for a new one starting the next day — otherwise from day 16 he would be driving uninsured, with the 425 UAH fine and the risk of paying for any accident himself.

The National Police check insurance on the road, including by automatic cameras, and they check it in the same MTSBU database as the border guards (art. 9 p. 1). The database is searched by the plate, so the electronic policy on your phone is enough — there is no paper certificate to carry. Keep the usual documents for driving with you: your driving licence and the car's registration certificate.

If the police find no valid policy for the car, the fine is 425 UAH (Code of Administrative Offences, art. 126 p. 1). It does not make the car insured: you still need a policy before you drive on.

Whether a car has a valid contract on a given date, and with which insurer, is open information in the MTSBU database (art. 8 p. 2). Enter the plate on the MTSBU website — it is free and takes a minute. Do it the evening before the trip: a policy starts working no earlier than the moment it is recorded in the database.

1. Stop, make the place safe and help anyone injured — the duties of a driver in an accident under the Road Traffic Rules apply to you as to everyone else (art. 31 p. 1).
2. Give the other drivers your name, address, your insurer and the number of your policy (art. 31 p. 1).
3. Tell your insurer about the accident within three working days (art. 31 p. 1).
4. Only two cars, only damage to the cars, nobody hurt, nobody drunk, and you agree on what happened? Then the two drivers may fill in a joint accident report — the «Europrotocol» — without calling the police, on paper or electronically (art. 31 p. 2).
5. Anyone injured, more than two cars, or no agreement — call the police (102) and wait for them.

There are no grace days. Staying longer than planned? Buy a new policy that starts the day after the old one ends, and buy it before the last day. If you take a new Ukrainian policy for the same car while the old one is still running, the new one ends the old one from the moment it starts (art. 11 p. 10).

Leaving Ukraine earlier? A contract can be ended early by agreement between you and the insurer; then the insurer returns the premium or part of it as the Law of Ukraine «On Insurance» defines (art. 15). With a 15-day policy the simpler choice is usually just to keep it to the end.

1. Leave a request in the form on this page, or write to our manager yourself. The plate, the country of registration, the entry date and the term make the answer exact.
2. Our manager answers in English with the price for your car and term from the insurers that cover cars registered abroad.
3. You confirm, and the policy is issued electronically — it appears in the MTSBU database that the border guards check.
4. Keep the policy on your phone. Check it any time on the MTSBU website by your plate.