Car accident in Ukraine on foreign plates: who pays
In short: who pays for an accident in Ukraine depends on how the car on foreign plates is insured. A Ukrainian policy — the insurer that issued it pays. A foreign insurer’s Green Card valid in Ukraine — MTSBU, the Motor Transport Insurance Bureau of Ukraine, pays under Ukrainian rules. No valid cover at all — MTSBU still pays the injured, then claims the money back from the driver at fault. At the scene, one rule: if either driver has a foreign policy, call the police on 102. TEHET is an insurance intermediary: a manager arranges a Ukrainian policy for a car on foreign plates; the payout is decided by the insurer or MTSBU.
Insure a foreign-registered car before entry
Law of Ukraine No. 3720-IX read 4 October 2026 · page reviewed 6 October 2026
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Who pays: three cases
A car registered abroad has to be insured when it enters Ukraine in one of two ways: by its own insurer’s Green Card valid in Ukraine, or by a Ukrainian contract for the stay (Article 9(3) of Law No. 3720-IX). Which one you have decides whom you notify after an accident, and who pays.
| The car’s insurance | Whom to notify | Who pays the injured party | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Ukrainian policy for the stay (a domestic contract) | the insurer that issued the policy | that insurer, under Ukrainian rules | Article 31(1), point 4; Article 32(1) |
| A foreign insurer’s Green Card valid in Ukraine (the UA code is not crossed out) | MTSBU | MTSBU — a payout under Ukrainian rules | Article 31(1), point 4; Article 43(2), point 3 |
| Nothing: no card, UA crossed out, or the term has ended | MTSBU; at the scene, the police (102): with no policy a joint report is impossible | MTSBU pays the injured, but not for the uninsured car itself — and then claims the money back from the driver at fault | Article 43(1), point 1; Article 37(2), point 1 |
What MTSBU does here. MTSBU represents Ukraine in the Green Card system. If a foreign card is valid in Ukraine, for an injured party in Ukraine MTSBU stands in for that insurer: it takes the claim and pays as a Ukrainian insurer would. Settling up with your insurer back home is the bureau’s business, not yours.
Whether your card is valid in Ukraine is on the card itself: the UA code must not be crossed out — UA crossed out on a Green Card. UA crossed out, or a card that has expired, is the third row of the table: an accident with no insurance.
At the scene
- Stop and make the scene safe. Anyone hurt — 112; the police — 102.
- Call the police if either of you has a foreign policy — or if you disagree about what happened, or have no language in common. The law allows the joint report without the police only under strict conditions (Article 31(2) of Law No. 3720-IX), and a report one of you did not fully understand is worse than a police report.
- Exchange details. Name, address, insurer and policy number — the law requires you to give them (Article 31(1), point 3). For a Green Card, its number and the insurer’s name; for a Ukrainian policy, the number of the electronic contract.
- Photograph both cars, the number plates, the damage and the scene — especially if you are leaving Ukraine soon.
- Do not leave without a report. Leaving the scene without the police is allowed only after a joint report (Article 31(2)); otherwise the insurer or MTSBU, having paid the injured party, may claim that money back from you (Article 37(1), point 1, subpoint «в»).
The full list of the joint report’s conditions, with the steps of the Road Rules: After a road accident.
Within three working days
- Do what the Road Rules require of a driver, and keep the damage from growing. (Article 31(1), point 1; Article 31(1), point 2)
- Give the others involved your name, your address, your insurer and the details of your valid policy. (Article 31(1), point 3)
- No later than three working days after the accident, notify the insurer — or MTSBU, if the car is insured by a foreign Green Card — and give the address where the car can be seen, a phone number and an email. (Article 31(1), point 4)
- Keep the damaged car as it was after the accident until the representative of the insurer (or MTSBU) has inspected it; the inspection is due within 10 working days of your notice. (Article 31(4))
A Ukrainian policy — the insurer’s name and contacts are in the contract that came to you by email. A foreign Green Card — you notify MTSBU, because in Ukraine claims under your card are settled by it (Article 43(2), point 3). Telling your insurer back home as well does no harm.
If you are the injured party
If the driver at fault has a Ukrainian policy, you claim from that driver’s insurer: within a year of the accident for damage to property, and within three years for harm to health (Article 32(1) of Law No. 3720-IX). If the driver at fault has no policy, the claim goes to MTSBU (Article 43(1), point 1).
- Treatment at home is paid only if it was agreed in advance with the insurer that pays, or with MTSBU (Article 21(1)).
- Documents for the claim. Among them the law names a certificate of the РНОКПП — the claimant’s Ukrainian tax number (Article 32(3), point 3). If you are a foreigner without one, ask the insurer or MTSBU what to give instead before you file.
How not to end up in the third row
The costliest case is an accident you caused with no insurance valid in Ukraine: MTSBU pays the injured, then claims the whole sum from you (Article 37(2), point 1 of Law No. 3720-IX). So the cover has to exist before you enter: a Green Card with UA not crossed out, or a Ukrainian contract for the whole stay.
A manager arranges the Ukrainian policy for a car on foreign plates, 07:00–22:00 Kyiv time, remotely, as an electronic contract; a request sent from the English form is answered in English. Step by step: how to insure a foreign car in Ukraine.
Hours: щодня з 07:00 до 22:00.
Questions and answers
Who pays for an accident in Ukraine if the car at fault is on foreign plates?
It depends on how that car is insured. A Ukrainian policy — the insurer that issued it pays. A foreign Green Card valid in Ukraine — MTSBU pays, under Ukrainian rules (Article 43(2), point 3 of Law No. 3720-IX). Neither — MTSBU pays the injured and then claims the money back from the driver at fault (Article 43(1), point 1; Article 37(2), point 1 of Law No. 3720-IX).
I have a foreign Green Card. Whom do I notify about the accident?
MTSBU, no later than three working days after the accident. The law sends a driver with a foreign card to MTSBU, not to the insurer back home (Article 31(1), point 4 of Law No. 3720-IX). Telling your home insurer as well does no harm, but the deadline in Ukraine runs for MTSBU.
Can we fill in the joint accident report (європротокол) without the police?
The law allows it only under strict conditions — among them, two insured vehicles, nobody hurt and both drivers agreeing (Article 31(2) of Law No. 3720-IX). Our advice: if either of you has a foreign policy, or you cannot agree or understand each other, call the police on 102. With no policy valid in Ukraine at all, the police are the only way.
A Ukrainian driver hit me. Where do I claim?
From the insurer of the driver at fault — the law obliges them to tell you its name (Article 31(1), point 3 of Law No. 3720-IX). The claim is due within a year of the accident for damage to property and within three years for harm to health (Article 32(1) of Law No. 3720-IX). If that driver has no policy, claim from MTSBU (Article 43(1), point 1 of Law No. 3720-IX).
I have to leave Ukraine before the car is inspected. What do I do?
The law asks you to keep the car as it was after the accident until it is inspected, and the insurer (or MTSBU) has 10 working days from your notice to inspect it (Article 31(4) of Law No. 3720-IX). Say your departure date when you notify, and photograph the damage and the scene before anything is moved.
Will treatment at home, not in Ukraine, be paid?
The law allows treatment in another country to be paid, but only if it was agreed in advance with the insurer that pays, or with MTSBU (Article 21(1) of Law No. 3720-IX). Agreement first, bills after.
Does TEHET handle the claim?
No. TEHET is an insurance intermediary: a manager arranges a Ukrainian policy for a car on foreign plates. The claim goes to the insurer named in the contract or to MTSBU, and they decide the payout.
Sources
- Law of Ukraine No. 3720-IX (in Ukrainian), version of 1 January 2026: Articles 9(3), 21(1), 31(1)–(4), 32(1) and (3), 37(1)–(2), 43(1)–(2) — read 4 October 2026.
- «A foreign policy — call the police» is our advice, not a rule of the law: the law sets the conditions of the joint report, and a report misunderstood by one driver is the risk we steer you away from.
- The longer Ukrainian article, with the same law: ДТП в Україні на іноземних номерах.
TEHET is a Ukrainian insurance intermediary; the policy is issued by the insurer, and your contract is with them. Page reviewed 6 October 2026.