Russia

At a glanceRequirements at a glance

No Specific Operating License Required for General Goods Transport

No

Correct. Russian law requires a specific license only for dangerous-goods road transport. Ordinary domestic cargo transport, including household moving, is not itself a licensed activity.

Freight Forwarder Registration Required, Effective 2026

Yes, where the mover organizes transport as a freight forwarder. Any company or individual entrepreneur organizing transport as a freight forwarder (concluding contracts with carriers, arranging shipment, handling documentation) must register in the Registry of Notifications on Transport-Forwarding Activity, on the government’s “GosLog” digital platform. This requirement took effect 1 March 2026, and existing forwarding businesses had to submit their registration notification by 30 April 2026.

Registration Disqualification Conditions

Yes. An applicant cannot register if it is not properly recorded in Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities or Individual Entrepreneurs (or has been liquidated), if company leadership has an unexpunged conviction for an economic crime, if company leadership violated dangerous-goods transport rules two or more times within a year, or if the company was previously removed from the registry for violations and fewer than 180 days have passed since removal.

Penalties for Non-Registration

Yes. Fines of 100,000 to 300,000 rubles apply to legal entities operating without registration, rising to as much as 1,000,000 rubles for repeat violations.

Business Registration Required

Yes. Standard registration as a legal entity (OOO) or individual entrepreneur (IP) in Russia’s Unified State Register is required, and is a prerequisite for freight forwarder registration.

Consumer Protection

Yes. The Consumer Rights Protection Law (1992) applies to the relationship between a moving company and its individual or household customers, and the Civil Code (Articles 792, 796) separately establishes carrier liability for safekeeping and timely delivery of goods.

Consumer Complaint Resources (For Movers Not Vetted as ITMs)

Yes. Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare) is Russia’s general consumer protection authority, empowered to conduct unscheduled inspections, issue corrective orders, and hold companies and officials accountable. Consumers are generally advised to first send a written claim to the moving company, then escalate to Rospotrebnadzor, the courts, or (for cargo-specific disputes) the relevant transport oversight body if unresolved.

Industry Association

None dedicated to household moving. ASMAP (Ассоциация международных автомобильных перевозчиков, Association of International Road Carriers), an IRU-affiliated national body, and ARE (Российская ассоциация экспедиторских и логистических организаций, established 1990) represent international road transport and freight forwarding and logistics generally, but neither is moving-specific.

OverviewOverview & Scope

Russia takes a lighter-touch approach to domestic goods-transport licensing: only dangerous-goods transport requires a specific operating license, so ordinary household moving does not need one. However, a significant and very recent development changes the picture for any mover organizing shipments under a forwarding contract rather than simply operating its own trucks point to point: since 1 March 2026, freight-forwarding activity requires registration in a new national notification registry, with financial penalties and specific disqualification conditions. Standard business registration (as an OOO or IP) is a prerequisite. Where a mover subcontracts the transport, it uses carriers that hold whatever licences the transport they perform requires. On the consumer side, Rospotrebnadzor administers Russia’s general consumer protection law, applicable to moving-service contracts, backed by Civil Code provisions addressing carrier liability. There is no dedicated household-moving trade association, though established bodies exist for international road transport (ASMAP) and freight forwarding and logistics generally (ARE).

RegistrationRegistration & Compliance Essentials

Company licensing

1. Register the business as an OOO or IP in Russia’s Unified State Register.
2. If the company organizes transport under a forwarding contract (organizing transport, contracting with carriers, handling documentation), submit the registration notification to the Registry of Notifications on Transport-Forwarding Activity via the GosLog platform, confirming no disqualifying conditions apply.
3. Obtain a dangerous-goods transport license from Rostransnadzor, only if the company carries dangerous goods by road itself.

Subcontracted transport

4. Where transport is subcontracted, use carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they perform.

Customer practices

5. Ensure consumer-facing practices comply with the Consumer Rights Protection Law and the relevant Civil Code carrier-liability provisions.

ChecklistCompliance checklist

Company licensing

• Business registration as an OOO or IP in the Unified State RegisterVerified by DocumentRequired
• Registration in the Registry of Notifications on Transport-Forwarding Activity (GosLog)Where applicable (mover organizes transport as a freight forwarder under a forwarding contract, concluding contracts with carriers and handling documentation)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Rostransnadzor dangerous-goods transport licenseWhere applicable (mover carries dangerous goods by road itself)Verified by DocumentRequired

Subcontracted transport

• Where transport is subcontracted, the mover uses carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they performWhere applicableVerified by AffirmationRequired

Customer practices

• Consumer-facing practices comply with the Consumer Rights Protection Law (1992) and Civil Code Articles 792 and 796 on carrier liabilityVerified by AffirmationRequired