Driving Licence in Romania: How to Get or Exchange One

If you plan to drive in Romania — as a resident, a relocating professional, or a lorry driver on Romanian routes — sorting out your licence properly is the difference between legal driving and a fine.

The short version: visitors and new residents can usually drive on a valid foreign licence for six months, after which residents exchange it for a Romanian one through the Directorate for Driving Licences and Vehicle Registration (DRPCIV). Whether you need a test depends on where your licence was issued. Professional drivers in categories C, CE and D face extra medical and CPC requirements. If you are a driver, you can browse driver vacancies in Romania or register a driver profile.

How the Romanian licence system works

The Directorate runs Romania’s driving licences for Driving Licences and Vehicle Registration (DRPCIV), and the country is an EU member, so its licence follows EU Directive 2006/126/EC. That means the categories, the credit-card biometric format and the validity periods broadly match the rest of Europe. Romania applies zero tolerance for alcohol for all drivers; the DRPCIV is the national licensing body. All licence transactions — first issue, exchange, renewal — go through this authority, with current procedures and fees published on its official site at drpciv. ro.

Because rules and fees are updated from time to time, the official portal is always the reference point rather than second-hand advice.

Licence categories

Romania uses the standard European licence categories, so the letters on your licence mean the same here as elsewhere in Europe:

• AM, A1, A2, A — mopeds and motorcycles, from light to full power.
• B — cars and light vans up to 3.5 tonnes; the everyday car licence.
• BE — a car with a heavier trailer.
• C1 and C — medium and heavy goods vehicles; C is the core lorry licence.
• CE — articulated lorries and drawbar combinations; the licence long-haul truckers need.
• D1 and D — minibuses and full buses or coaches.
• DE — a bus or coach with a heavy trailer.

Freight drivers in Romania need C or CE, and bus or coach drivers need D — each category with its own minimum age and medical requirement.

Who needs a Romanian licence?

Whether you need a Romanian licence comes down to how long you stay and what you drive. Short-term visitors can drive on a valid foreign licence within the grace period. Once you become a resident, you are generally expected to hold or exchange for a Romanian licence. Professional drivers working for a Romanian-based operator need the right vocational category regardless of nationality.

For anyone relocating to Romania for work, the licence question is best settled alongside your residence paperwork rather than left until it becomes urgent.

Driving on a foreign licence — the six-month rule

An EU or EEA licence is fully recognised in Romania — you can drive on it and, when it expires, or you choose to, exchange it for a Romanian one with no test. A licence from outside the EU/EEA can be used for six months after you take up residence, after which you must exchange it or, if there is no recognition agreement, pass the Romanian test.

Do not let the grace period lapse unnoticed — driving on a foreign licence past the limit is treated as driving without a valid licence.

Exchanging your foreign licence

Exchanging an EU or EEA licence in Romania is an administrative step: you submit your current licence, proof of residence and identity, and the authority issues a Romanian licence in the same categories, no test involved. For a non-EU licence, the authority checks whether Romania has a recognition agreement with the issuing country; if it does, you exchange without a test, and if not, you sit the theory and practical exams.

Check the office’s appointment and document rules before you go — requirements are specific, and a missing paper means coming back.

Documents you’ll need

For an exchange or a first Romanian licence, expect to provide:

• Your passport or national ID, and proof of legal residence in Romania.
• Your original foreign licence (with a certified translation if it is not in Latin script).
• A recent passport-style photograph to the required specification.
• A medical certificate or eyesight report where the category or your age requires one.
• The completed application form and proof of the fee.

Requirements differ slightly by office and by your nationality, so treat this as the core list and confirm the details locally.

Applying from scratch

If your licence cannot be exchanged — there is no recognition agreement, or you are learning to drive for the first time — you take the Romanian test route. That means a theory exam on Romanian road rules and signs, then a practical driving test, usually after lessons with an approved instructor or driving school. You apply, pass the medical, sit theory, then practical, and the licence is issued in the category you qualified for.

Booking lessons with a local instructor is the fastest way to learn the Romanian test routes and the examiner’s expectations.

Fees and costs

Costs in Romania depend on whether you are exchanging or testing from scratch, and on the category. A straightforward exchange is typically a modest administrative fee, while a full first licence adds the theory and practical test fees, driving-school lessons and the medical. Professional categories cost more because of the extra medical and CPC steps.

The authority publishes an up-to-date fee list at drpciv. ro, which is the figure to rely on rather than older estimates.

Validity and renewal

A Romanian car (category B) licence is normally valid for 10 years. Professional categories (C, CE, D, DE) are issued for shorter periods — commonly 5 years — and are tied to a medical, so they are renewed more often. Renewal is usually a straightforward application with an up-to-date photo and, where required, a medical or eyesight check.

Renewing before expiry keeps you driving without a gap; letting a licence lapse can mean extra steps to get back on the road.

The International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit (IDP) is a recognised translation of your national licence, not a licence in itself. For driving in Romania, an IDP is useful — sometimes required — if your licence is not in Latin script or not from a country Romania recognises directly. Romania honours the 1968 Vienna Convention, so an IDP issued under it is accepted alongside your home licence.

An IDP is only valid together with your original licence, so always carry both when you drive.

Requirements for professional truck drivers

Freight work in Romania needs category C for rigid trucks and CE for articulated lorries; passenger work needs D, or D1 for minibuses. Each vocational category means a higher age limit, more extensive medical checks, and a professional competence certificate.

Professional lorry and bus drivers need the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) on top of the vocational licence. Under EU Directive 2003/59/EC, that means an initial qualification plus 35 hours of periodic training every five years, recorded as code 95 on the licence or on a separate Driver Qualification Card. A CPC earned in any EU or EEA country is valid in Romania.

Alongside the licence and CPC, commercial drivers use a tachograph card to log driving and rest time, which roadside enforcement checks.

Traffic laws and road rules

Traffic in Romania drives on the right. Speed limits are broadly 50/90/130 km/h, lower for heavy vehicles and in poor conditions. The blood-alcohol limit is 0.00%. Seatbelts are compulsory, using a hand-held phone while driving is an offence, and daytime running or dipped headlights may be required. As a professional or newly qualified driver, you are usually held to the stricter alcohol limit.

Local enforcement of speed and alcohol rules is active, and penalties for professional drivers are heavier, so the safe margin is zero.

Penalties for driving without a valid licence

Driving without a valid licence in Romania — whether because you never held one, let a foreign licence run past the grace period, or drove a category you are not entitled to — brings fines, possible vehicle impoundment, and points or endorsements against your record. For professional drivers, the stakes are higher: driving commercially without the correct category or a valid CPC can cost your job and expose the operator to penalties too.

Because an invalid licence can also void your insurance, the real cost of getting caught is usually far more than the fine.

For professional drivers in Romania

For professional drivers, Romania is one link in a wider European network, and the practical questions are the same everywhere: the right licence category, a valid CPC, a tachograph card, and an employer who has the paperwork in order. If you are looking for work, you can browse current driver vacancies in Romania, and if you are building a career across borders, keeping your CPC and medical current keeps you employable throughout the EU and beyond.

Employers hiring in Romania can post roles and manage recruitment and compliance through FastDriver, and drivers can register a profile to be matched with operators running Romanian routes.

Driving licence offices by Romanian region

DRPCIV has offices across its 8 regions, and you apply where you live. Here is where to go and what the local driving is like.

Bucharest-Ilfov

Where most licence applications in the country are handled, covering the capital and its dense traffic. Driver jobs in Bucharest-Ilfov.

South-East

Where drivers in South-East handle their licence paperwork. Driver jobs in South-East.

West

Serves West and its surrounding routes, from town driving to rural roads. Driver jobs in West.

South-Muntenia

Serves South-Muntenia and the roads around it. Driver jobs in South-Muntenia.

North-West

Covers exchanges, first licences and renewals for residents of North-West. Driver jobs in North-West.

Centre

Drivers in Centre handle their licence paperwork here. Driver jobs in Centre.

South-West Oltenia

Serves South-West Oltenia and its surrounding routes, from town driving to rural roads. Driver jobs in South-West Oltenia.

North-East

Serves North-East and the roads around it. Driver jobs in North-East.

Related guides

• EU driving licence — overview
• Romania work permit
• Romania residence permit
• Health insurance in Romania

Official government sources

• DRPCIV — the licensing authority.
• Ministry of Internal Affairs
• Romanian Police — road rules and safety.

Information only — not legal advice. Licence, exchange, and professional-driver rules can change. Always confirm current requirements with DRPCIV before you apply.