По истечении срока действия начнётся замена водительского удостоверения.

По истечении is a formal expression meaning after the expiration of, upon the expiry of, or once ... has expired.

In this sentence:

• по = after/upon
• истечении = expiration, expiry

So по истечении срока действия means after the validity period expires.

This is a very common bureaucratic or official pattern in Russian, similar to:

• по окончании курса = after the course ends
• по прибытии = upon arrival
• по возвращении = upon returning

It sounds much more official than everyday speech.

Because the noun истечение is used after the preposition по, and in this formal time-related expression it takes the prepositional case:

• nominative: истечение
• prepositional: об истечении, по истечении

So:

• по истечении = after the expiration

This is one of those fixed official expressions that learners usually just memorize as a chunk.

Literally, it means the period of validity or term of validity.

Breakdown:

• срок = term, period, deadline
• действие = action, operation, validity, being in force

In many official contexts, срок действия means validity period, as in:

• срок действия паспорта = passport validity period
• срок действия договора = term of a contract
• срок действия удостоверения = validity period of an ID/license

So here it refers to the time during which the driver’s license is valid.

Yes, действие often means action, but it also has another meaning: operation, effect, or being in force.

In official language, срок действия is a set phrase meaning:

• the period during which something is valid
• the period during which a document or law is in force

So in this sentence, действия does not mean someone’s actions. It means something like the state of being valid.

Because по истечении requires the thing that expires to be in the genitive case.

Compare:

• истечение срока = expiration of the term
• по истечении срока = after the expiration of the term

So:

• срок → срока (genitive singular)
• действие → действия (genitive singular)

The whole phrase is:

• по истечении срока действия = after the expiration of the validity period

Начнётся means will begin or will start.

It is the 3rd person singular future of начаться:

• infinitive: начаться = to begin, to start
• future: начнётся = it will begin

Why 3rd person singular? Because the grammatical subject is замена:

• замена начнётся = the replacement will begin

Also, начаться is perfective, so its future form is a simple one-word future:

• начнётся = will begin

Yes. In normal Russian writing, ё is often replaced by е, so you may also see:

• начнется

Both mean the same thing, but начнётся is the more precise spelling.

For learners, keeping ё is very helpful because it shows the correct pronunciation and stress.

Because замена is the subject of the sentence.

The structure is:

• начнётся замена = the replacement will begin

So замена is the thing that will begin, which makes it nominative.

This may feel a little unusual in English, because English often prefers a verb phrase like:

• they will replace the driver’s license
• the replacement process will begin

Russian often uses nouns in official style where English might prefer a verb.

Because замена normally takes the thing being replaced in the genitive case.

So:

• замена чего? = replacement of what?
• замена удостоверения = replacement of the license/document

That is why:

• водительское удостоверение → водительского удостоверения

This is a common pattern:

• замена паспорта = replacement of a passport
• замена батареи = replacement of the battery
• замена документа = replacement of the document

Водительское удостоверение is the formal, official term for a driver’s license.

Word by word:

• водительский = driver’s
• удостоверение = certificate, ID document, credential

So literally it is something like driver identification document or driver certificate, but in real usage it means driver’s license.

In everyday speech, Russians very often say:

• права

For example:

• Мне нужно поменять права. = I need to replace my driver’s license.

So:

• водительское удостоверение = formal/official
• права = everyday colloquial

Because it is written in an official/bureaucratic style.

Russian official language often prefers abstract nouns and fixed expressions, such as:

• по истечении
• срок действия
• замена
• удостоверение

A more natural everyday version might be something like:

• Когда срок действия водительского удостоверения закончится, начнётся его замена.
• После окончания срока действия водительского удостоверения начнётся его замена.

And in casual speech, even more simply:

• Когда права истекут, их будут менять.
• После окончания срока действия прав нужно будет их заменить.

So yes, the original sentence is quite formal and administrative.

They are very close in meaning, but по истечении is more fixed and official-sounding.

Compare:

• по истечении срока действия = upon expiry / after the validity period expires
• после истечения срока действия = after the expiration of the validity period

Both are understandable and correct, but по истечении is especially common in formal notices, regulations, and official documents.

Good question. The phrase срок действия is understood from context to refer to the driver’s license’s validity period.

Russian official style often leaves this kind of thing implicit when it is obvious from context.

A fuller version could be:

• По истечении срока действия водительского удостоверения начнётся замена водительского удостоверения.

But that sounds repetitive, so the shorter version is preferred.

So the meaning is:

• After the driver’s license expires, its replacement will begin
• or more naturally, After the validity period of the driver’s license ends, the replacement process will begin

Not necessarily. It means the replacement process will begin.

That is an important nuance. Замена can refer not only to the final act of replacing something, but also to the procedure or process of replacement.

So this sentence suggests the start of an administrative process, not necessarily that the new license is issued instantly.

Yes. A very literal translation would sound stiff in English.

Natural English versions might be:

• Once the validity period expires, the driver’s license replacement process will begin.
• After the license expires, the replacement process will start.
• Upon expiration, replacement of the driver’s license will begin.

The best translation depends on how formal you want to sound.

The main stresses are:

• по истече́нии
• сро́ка
• де́йствия
• начнётся
• заме́на
• води́тельского
• удостовере́ния

Stress is especially important in words like:

• истече́ние
• заме́на
• удостовере́ние

And if ё is written, it is always stressed:

• начнётся

Yes, that is a very good way to learn it.

You can break it into three useful chunks:

• по истечении ... = after the expiration of ...
• срок действия ... = validity period of ...
• замена чего-либо = replacement of something

So the sentence is basically:

• По истечении
  • срока действия
    • начнётся замена
      • водительского удостоверения

Memorizing these chunks will help you understand a lot of official Russian.