The reverse of the card features a detailed list of allowed categories in Russian.[2] Older booklet-style licences are also occasionally seen although they are no longer issued and are increasingly rare as a result. The Russian driving licence is also sometimes supplemented by a special card called "временное разрешение" (temporary permission), which serves for registering penalty endorsement points and as a temporary licence if the primary licence has been seized by the authorities for serious traffic offences.[3] This supplement has been abolished and reinstated a countless number of times as the views of the traffic police change.

The legal driving age within the Russian Federation is 18 years (16 for motorcycles and 20 for buses)[4] and to obtain a licence one must be physically fit to drive (including certificates of mental fitness and no record of substance abuse). One must also pass a test administered at a local traffic police authority and pay a fee. Tests are divided into theory and practice. The theory test is usually a computerized multiple-choice test on various traffic rules.

Twenty multiple-choice questions are asked, only one incorrect answer allowed in two different test topics (for a total of two incorrect answers) for a passing grade, after the main part of the test is finished, five additional questions are added for every incorrect answer, bringing a total maximum of questions to 30.

[5] Practice part of the test is divided into two parts: basic skills test conducted in an isolated area (steering, slope starting, backing-up, parallel parking and an obstacle course) and a road test conducted on public roads. Four minor errors are allowed for the road driving examination. The number of retries is virtually unlimited, but there is a mandatory grace period of one week for the first three tries and a month for any subsequent ones.