Driving licence and car

Steps

1. Keep your European licence; to renew it, you then go to the Romanian administration (a provisional document may be given to you while it is being processed, but some EU countries do not recognise it: Your Europe).
2. Book an appointment at the RAR with the car and its original foreign registration certificate: the RAR checks authenticity and issues the vehicle identity card (cartea de identitate a vehiculului, CIV). For a car approved under the WLTP emissions standard (as a general rule after 31/08/2018), bring the manufacturer's certificate of conformity (according to the RAR; RAR site unreachable on 20/10/2026 and on 23/10/2026, to be checked again).
3. Have the technical inspection (ITP) done if it is not valid.
4. Ask ANAF for the VAT certificate for intra-Community purchases of vehicles, if you are not subject to VAT.
5. Declare the car to your town hall (local tax body of your home): the ownership document must show the registration number in the local vehicle register (REMTII).
6. Take out RCA insurance in your name.
7. Submit the file to the public service for licences and registrations of your county, with the documents below, and hand in the foreign plates.
8. Buy the rovinieta before driving on national roads (official CNAIR portal or distributors).

Documents

• Registration application, valid ID.
• Ownership document (original and copy) registered at the town hall (REMTII number).
• RAR vehicle identity card (original), valid authenticity certificate, valid technical inspection.
• Proof of payment of the registration certificate (76 lei) and of the plates, unless paying on ghiseul.ro.
• Copy of the RCA insurance in your name.
• ANAF VAT certificate (vehicle coming from another EU country, buyer not subject to VAT).
• Original foreign registration certificate and foreign plates; notarised power of attorney if someone submits the file for you.

Costs and timelines

• Registration certificate: 76 lei; plates and chosen number extra (DGPCI).
• RAR (CIV, authenticity), technical inspection: fees to be confirmed.
• Rovinieta: the price depends on the type of vehicle, its pollution standard (Euro) and the duration. For a passenger car, rates in lei, VAT included, from ministerial order no. 888/2026 in force since 25/09/2026 (category A, car with at most 9 seats, driver included):

A vehicle whose emission standard is not known is classed as Euro 0; the electric car has its own column. The 10-day duration counts the start day and the 9 following ones. These amounts are updated every year before 31 December according to inflation and apply from the following 1 January (order 888/2026, art. 2 and 3).

• Legal deadline to register after arrival: to be confirmed.

Common pitfalls

• Buying a car without papers or marked "to be dismantled": the RAR refuses vehicles whose documents carry a dismantling mention (for example Verwertungsnachweis in Germany) and advises against buying without registration documents (RAR page to be checked again).
• Forgetting the town hall: without registration in the local register (REMTII), the registration office rejects the file.
• Driving without a rovinieta on a national road: it is compulsory for cars on the whole national road network, except sections located within municipalities (between the entry and exit signs); its validity is only attested by its registration in the CNAIR database. Buy it before you set off.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA licences: recognised without exchange.
• British licences (Scots included) and other non-EU licences: the DGPCI describes the exchange procedure (preschimbare) for people domiciled or resident in Romania (at least 185 days), at the licences and registrations service of the place of residence, according to Ministry of the Interior order no. 163/2011. The following cannot be exchanged: international, provisional or temporary licences, cancelled or suspended licences, and expired licences (except those issued by a Member State). A legalised translation, or one made by an approved translator, is requested for the licences of the States listed in annexes 2 and 3 of the order. Which list the United Kingdom is on, and whether your licence can be exchanged: to be confirmed with the DGPCI.
• Car coming from a non-EU country: customs clearance on top; the ANAF VAT certificate is not requested in this case.