How to check the validity of a pass to the atomic zone

You can independently go to the SBU website and submit an application for a pass. Having successfully completed this procedure, it is important not to forget to subsequently check the presence of a pass to the ATO zone, find out if you are in the database, if there was any failure, as a result of which information about you “evaporated”, and at the same time you confidently pack your bags and you are going to the line of contact, where you will inevitably be disappointed.

Similar situations have happened more than once, therefore we strongly recommend that you check before the trip that you and your companions have the passes necessary for the trip.

To issue passes, you need to go to the official website of the Russian Security Service, register, and then fill out a special form and send it. Then wait 10 days (and sometimes longer) for a notification to allow or prohibit the trip.

The received response is printed out and then presented to the military when crossing the line of contact. Each applicant has the option to request one of two authorization options. The main feature is the expiration date:

• one-time, issued for a period of two weeks;
• multiple, which can be used throughout the year.

During the entire validity period of the document, your surname must be in the SBU database, from where it will be deleted only after the expiration date of the permit.

Causes of problems

When passing through the line, problems are most often encountered by those who have received a multiple pass and have not used it for a long time. It is desirable for everyone to check the availability of permission. Judging by user reviews, the SBU resource is unstable and often fails. On the eve of the trip, it will not be superfluous to inquire whether you and your companions are allowed to travel.

It is not uncommon for those who have previously received a paper version of the pass to have problems. The document was supposed to be entered into the database, however, for some reason it did not get there. Even if you have a permit on hand, without electronic data confirming its presence, it will remain a piece of paper.

To get through, you have to negotiate with the military. Some are loyal, enter the situation and are allowed to cross the border, some can be persuaded with money. But most often there are principled controlling persons who will not enter into your position.

How to find out if the last name is in the database?

Access to the SBU database has been ordered for ordinary citizens. You will not be able to just go to the site and get the information of interest. But you also don’t want to stand at the checkpoint for hours in frost or heat, and then find out that the time has been wasted. Therefore, enterprising citizens have come up with tricks to find out quite accurately whether the names are on the list of people who are allowed to pass through the intersection line, or they are not on it.

The surest way to check is to submit a re-application to the "Register of permits for moving persons in the areas of the ATO" for the name and passport data of interest.

To do this, you do not need to dig into the SBU database. You log in as a user and apply for a standard template. As a result, the system will give you the answer to your question. There may be two options:

1. If you or the people you help to find out if they are on the list of allowed persons are not registered in the register, the system will, without further prompting, skip you further to complete the application and send it for consideration. In this case, you need to decide whether to send or not, since the next step, if you click "Submit", will be to review the application and send you a notification. If such actions are not necessary, you should return to the previous page and click "Submit Application".
2. If the data on the persons being checked is entered into the register, the system will notify you that such passport data has already been registered.

Thus, you can check your own or someone else's pass to the ATO zone, and then decide what actions to take. If the system did not allow you to complete the application, the military will find your data in the database at the checkpoint. If not, you need to fill out a new application, adjust to the deadlines so that it is convenient for you.

Based on the feedback from citizens who acted in this way, we can conclude that this verification option is reliable and makes it possible to determine with a high probability the presence or absence of passes for certain persons.