ITP and RCA in Romania in 2026: car technical inspection and compulsory insurance explained

Every car registered in Romania needs two things to stay legal on the road: a valid periodic technical inspection (ITP, inspecția tehnică periodică) and compulsory third-party motor insurance (RCA). A private car with up to 8 passenger seats has its first ITP 3 years after first registration if it was new, then every 2 years, and every year once it is at least 12 years old. When the ITP expires, the car’s registration is suspended automatically. Driving without RCA costs 1,000 to 2,000 lei, and the police keep the registration certificate. Both can be checked online. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with the Romanian Auto Register (RAR) and the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF).

Not registered yet? See how to register a car in Romania as a foreigner first.

The legal basis in 2026

The road traffic law, Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 195/2002, requires periodic inspection to keep a registered vehicle on the road, at authorised stations or RAR offices (Article 9(4)-(5)), and bans uninsured vehicles from public roads (Article 10(1)) (OUG 195/2002, consolidated text of 25 August 2026).

The detailed ITP rules are in RNTR 1, approved by Transport Ministry Order 2133/2005 (Order 2133/2005, consolidated text of 1 June 2023). The portal does not reproduce the RNTR 1 annex, so we used RAR’s consolidated text, which includes Order 1127/2023 (RNTR 1, consolidated by RAR). RAR notes that only the Official Gazette text has legal value. On the portal we found no order amending RNTR 1 after Order 1127/2023.

RCA is governed by Law 132/2017. Law 181/2025 changed it in November and December 2025, rewriting the insurance obligation and the fine for individuals (Law 132/2017, consolidated text of 13 December 2025). The ASF detail is in Norm 20/2017, consolidated to 21 August 2023 (ASF Norm 20/2017). The portal shows no later consolidation, but the norm may have been amended since, so check the current bonus-malus classes with ASF.

How often a car needs ITP

Article 5(3) of RNTR 1 sets these intervals:

• Every 6 months: buses and coaches with more than 8 passenger seats, taxis, cars used for transport în regim de închiriere (hire with a driver), and ride-hailing cars (transport alternativ).
• Every year: vans and trucks for goods (any weight), trailers and tractor units over 3,500 kg, ambulances, and driving-school cars.
• Every 2 years: private cars with up to 8 passenger seats, but every year once the car is at least 12 years old (historic vehicles are excepted). Mopeds, motorcycles and quadricycles also fall here, as do trailers up to 3,500 kg.
• Every 3 years: caravans and beekeeping trailers.

First inspections for vehicles that were new at their first registration in Romania (Article 5(3^1)-(4^2)):

• private cars: after 3 years
• light vans up to 3,500 kg: after 2 years (1 year if approved for dangerous goods)
• motorhomes: after 4 years
• taxis and buses: after 1 year

The deadline runs from first registration, then from the previous ITP (Article 5(5)). Age is the year of the inspection minus the year of manufacture on the vehicle identity card, the CIV (Article 5(6)).

Where to go and what to bring

ITP is done by RAR itself or by private stations (stații ITP, SITP) that operate under the RAR brand through a franchise contract and are monitored by RAR (RNTR 1, Articles 3(7) and 20(1)). Some vehicles can only be inspected at a RAR office. These include historic vehicles, sports cars, vehicles for dangerous goods, and vehicles registered in other countries (RNTR 1, Article 7(1)).

Bring two documents (RNTR 1, Article 13):

• the registration certificate (certificat de înmatriculare, often called the talon), or the official substitute or temporary permit
• the vehicle identity card (cartea de identitate a vehiculului, CIV)

The car must be clean, with tyres at normal pressure (Article 14).

Price: each station must display its ITP prices on its notice board (RNTR 1, Article 10^1(1)(g)). In the version we read, RNTR 1 does not set a national price, so prices vary by station.

What is checked

The inspector checks only parts reachable without dismantling (RNTR 1, Article 2), starting with identification (Article 16(3)). For cars and vans, Annex 2 of RNTR 1 lists the checks, from identification, brakes and steering to lights, tyres, chassis and emissions.

Each defect found is classed as minor (DMi), major (DMa) or dangerous (DP), and every defect goes on the ITP report (Article 16(2)). A pass is recorded in an annex to the registration certificate and in RAR’s national database. You get an ITP certificate and a sticker (ecuson) on the front number plate (Article 16(6)). The certificate is not issued for foreign-registered vehicles (Article 17^1(2)).

If the car fails

A car is rejected if it has major or dangerous defects, and you are given the report. Rejection also ends any ITP that was still valid, and the car may not be driven on public roads until it passes a new inspection (RNTR 1, Article 16^1). That does not apply to major defects in the identification checks (Article 16^2).

If you fix the defects within 30 calendar days of the first inspection, only the failed systems are checked again. The next ITP date then runs from the day the repair is confirmed (Article 17(1)). After 30 days, you need a full new inspection (Article 17(4)).

Checking ITP validity online

RAR has an online Verificare ITP tool. You search by the CIV series (format C-123456) or the 17-character VIN; shorter VINs need the CIV series. New cars that have never had an ITP do not appear. The validity date is also on the annex to your registration certificate.

Fines and suspension for an expired ITP

OUG 195/2002 Article 11(4^5) says the car’s registration is suspended by law on the day its ITP expires or is cancelled. The suspension ends when the car passes a new ITP (OUG 195/2002).

• Fine: Article 102(1) point 39 makes driving a vehicle whose registration is suspended a class IV offence. The same class covers driving a vehicle with dangerous defects, and driving a locally registered (înregistrat) vehicle with an expired ITP (Article 102(1) point 1). Class IV is 9 to 20 fine points (Article 98(4)). One point is 5% of the national gross minimum wage (Article 98(2)). Government Decision 146/2026 set that wage at 4,325 lei from 1 July 2026, so one point is 216.25 lei and the range is 1,946.25 to 4,325 lei.
• Documents taken: the police keep the registration certificate when the registration is suspended (Article 112(1)(y)).
• Automatic deregistration: a vehicle whose registration stays suspended for 3 years without a break is removed from the register (radiere). Historic vehicles get 10 years (Article 17(5)(f)).

RCA: who needs it and how the price is set

Under Article 3 of Law 132/2017, as rewritten by Law 181/2025, the owner or user of a vehicle normally based in Romania must take out RCA and keep it valid. A vehicle is “normally based” in the country whose plate it carries (Article 2 point 25). Key points:

• Length: a policy runs from 1 to 12 months, in whole months (Article 5(1)).
• Minimum cover: 6,434,740 lei for property damage and 31,926,210 lei for injury and death, per accident (Article 6(4)).
• Price: insurers set premiums with their own risk criteria (Article 18(3)); ASF publishes a reference tariff twice a year (Article 18(2)).
• Laid-up cars: while a car’s registration is suspended, you can ask the insurer in writing to suspend the policy. The car must then be kept on private land off the public road. Leaving it on the street counts as breaking the insurance obligation (Article 6(6)-(9)).

Bonus-malus. Under ASF Norm 20/2017, a new policyholder starts in class B0. From there, 8 bonus classes lower the premium and 8 malus classes raise it (Article 31(1)). The reference period is the previous calendar year (Article 31(3)). Each paid claim where you were fully or partly at fault moves you down two classes (Article 32(3)). Annex 5 sets the multipliers: from 50% of the premium in B8 to 180% in M8.

Checking a policy, and the fine for no RCA

The insurers’ bureau BAAR runs the AIDA database of policies sold in Romania. Its Verificare poliță RCA tool checks a policy by VIN or number plate for a chosen date. The AIDA home page also offers Green Card checks and a claims-history certificate (certificat de daunalitate).

Fine: under Article 37(9) of Law 132/2017, an individual or company that breaks the RCA obligation is fined 1,000 to 2,000 lei, and the registration certificate is kept until proof of insurance is shown. Traffic police apply it only to uninsured vehicles driven on public roads. Under OUG 195/2002, the police also take the number plates of an uninsured vehicle in traffic (Article 76(2) and Article 112(1)(s) and (3)).

Foreign plates, Green Card and after an accident

Foreign-plated cars. A car is “normally based” where its plate is from, so RCA applies to Romanian-plated cars. A car from a third country needs a valid Green Card or cover guaranteed by its national bureau. Without either, it needs Romanian frontier insurance (asigurare de frontieră), issued for 30 days (Law 132/2017, Article 30). For licence rules, see Driving in Romania as a foreigner.

Green Card abroad. BAAR says that from 1 January 2025, Green Cards in PDF are valid as well as paper ones. BAAR adds that Lithuania, Luxembourg and Portugal have not yet confirmed accepting the PDF, and it recommends a paper copy as a backup.

After an accident:

• Injury or death: call the police at once, do not move anything that shows how the crash happened, and do not leave the scene (OUG 195/2002, Article 77(1)).
• Damage only: move the vehicles off the carriageway, then report to the local police within 24 hours (Article 79(1)). You can skip the police visit if both drivers complete an amicable report (constatare amiabilă de accident) (Article 79(2)).
• Amicable report rules: under ASF Norm 20/2017, Article 41, the report works only for two insured vehicles with damage only. Both drivers must fill it in and sign it, on paper or electronically. Signing it does not mean you admit fault.

Checklist

• Check the next ITP date on the annex to your registration certificate or in RAR’s tool.
• Bring the registration certificate and the CIV, with the car clean and the tyres at their normal pressure.
• If the car fails, fix it within 30 days so only the failed systems are rechecked.
• Remember that the registration is suspended from the day the ITP expires.
• Renew RCA before it lapses and check it in AIDA.
• For trips abroad, BAAR recommends a paper Green Card as a backup.

Header photo: Bucharest Traffic (128813657) by Rhys Sherring, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

We use AI in our daily operations; posts are reviewed by people before publishing; automated/generated posts are marked as such where needed.