Romania
Importing a car into Romania
A used car reaches Romania from an EU state with no customs declaration, and Romania currently levies no charge on first registration. What remains is a process across three bodies in a fixed order — and it does not begin at the registration authority.
- Registration authority
- Direcția Regim Permise de Conducere și Înmatriculare a Vehiculelor (DRPCIV)
- Customs
- Autoritatea Vamală Română
- Technical inspection
- Inspecție tehnică periodică (ITP)
- Last reviewed
Where the car comes from decides the effort
From an EU state
From an EU member state there is neither a customs declaration nor import VAT, as long as the car is used. If it stays under the threshold for first registration or mileage it counts as new for tax — then VAT is declared in Romania. Identification at the vehicle authority and fiscal registration at the town hall apply either way.
From a third country
From Switzerland or Liechtenstein it is a genuine import: declared to the customs authority, duty on the customs value, import VAT on customs value plus duty. The route is then the same; without European type approval, an individual approval at the vehicle authority replaces the identification.
The process, in order
The order is not arbitrary. Pull a step forward and you usually end up repeating it.
01Before buying: engine capacity and papers
The municipality's ongoing vehicle tax is assessed on engine capacity, banded into classes. For the registration itself you need the complete original foreign registration document; if a part of it is missing, the process starts with obtaining it in the country of sale, not in Romania.
02Have the certified translation made
The foreign papers and the purchase contract are required in a translation by an authorised translator, and that translation must be notarised. The notarisation is the part foreign buyers miss — a translation on its own does not meet the form.
Handled by: An authorised translator and a notary
03Identification at the vehicle authority
The car is physically identified at the vehicle authority: chassis number, technical data, agreement with the papers. On that basis the authority issues the Romanian vehicle identity document — the paper without which the registration authority can enter nothing.
Handled by: Registrul Auto Român (RAR)
04Periodic technical inspection (ITP)
The technical test is carried out at a workshop authorised by the vehicle authority. A still-valid test from the country of sale does not replace it for first registration; the result is entered in the national register.
Handled by: A testing station authorised by RAR
05Register the car for tax at the town hall
Before registration the car is declared to the tax department of the keeper's municipality. It is entered in the tax register and a certificate is issued confirming there are no arrears. Without that certificate the registration authority will not accept the application.
Handled by: The municipality's local tax office
06Register
With the vehicle identity document, the inspection report, the tax certificate, the translation and proof of third-party cover, the entry is made at the community registration service. The registration certificate and the plates are issued.
Handled by: The community registration service (DRPCIV)
What gets added
Without amounts, and deliberately so: official rates change, and a stale figure is worse than none. What is here is the basis of assessment — enough to calculate with, once the current rate is known.
- Municipal vehicle tax
- Assessed on: Engine capacity, banded into classes; the rate per class is set by the local council within the framework of the tax code, so it can differ between two municipalities.
- Vehicle identity document and identification
- Assessed on: The vehicle authority's tariff for identification and issue; without European type approval, the considerably dearer individual approval procedure.
- Periodic technical inspection (ITP)
- Assessed on: The authorised station's tariff by vehicle category; entering the result in the register is included.
- Registration and plates
- Assessed on: A fee for the registration certificate plus the price of the plates; both are set in law.
- Certified and notarised translation
- Assessed on: By length for each document, plus the notary's fee for the certification — two items, not one.
- Customs duty, import VAT and VAT
- Assessed on: From a third country, duty on the customs value and import VAT on customs value plus duty; within the EU, VAT only, and only for a car that counts as new for tax.
- Does not apply: Does not arise at all for a used car from an EU state.
The papers
Miss one of these and the appointment is wasted.
- The original foreign registration document, complete with all its parts.
- Purchase contract or invoice in a notarised certified translation.
- The Romanian vehicle identity document, issued by the vehicle authority.
- A valid ITP report.
- The municipal tax office's certificate of registration and of no arrears.
- Proof of third-party insurance, plus the keeper's ID and address.
Where the sum tips
- The town hall before the registration desk. In Romania fiscal registration is not a consequence of registration but a precondition for it. Stand at the registration service with complete papers but no tax certificate and you will be back a second time.
- The translation that was never notarised. What is required is a translation by an authorised translator with a notary's certification. A translation without that second stage does not meet the form, and the notary is not sitting at the authority's counter.
- Presenting the car at the vehicle authority. Identification requires the car itself. A car without valid plates and without insurance has to be transported there — plan for it and you avoid an awkward question.
- The incomplete foreign document. If a part of the registration document is missing, the process begins with obtaining it in the country of sale. That is the one point that can be settled before handover and costs weeks afterwards.
How long it takes
As an order of magnitude: two to four weeks from transfer with complete papers, because translation, the vehicle authority, the inspection, the town hall and the registration service come one after the other. Without European type approval, with an individual approval, rather two to three months.
The technical inspection
Inspecție tehnică periodică (ITP)
The recurring technical test at a station authorised by the vehicle authority; the result goes into the national register and is read from there at registration. Before the first Romanian registration it is due however recent the foreign test may be.
Common questions
Is there a charge on first registration in Romania?
Not at present. Earlier environmental charges on first registration were repealed. What remains is the municipality's ongoing vehicle tax, assessed on engine capacity — and because the local council sets the rate within the statutory framework, it can differ between two municipalities.
What does the vehicle authority do, and what does the registration authority do?
The vehicle authority identifies the car and issues the Romanian vehicle identity document; the registration authority enters it and issues the plates. Two bodies, a fixed order — with the town hall in between.
Is a German or Hungarian inspection recognised?
Not for the first registration of an imported car. The ITP has to be done in Romania, because the result must be entered in the national register from which the registration authority reads it.
Can I register the car without living in Romania?
Registration attaches to a domestic residence or registered seat — if only because the fiscal registration happens at a particular municipality. Foreign keepers need a residence permit with an address, or a company registered in Romania.
This overview is not a substitute for information from the competent authority. Rates, fees and deadlines change; the office that registers the car is always the binding source.