The Romanian Government passed, in September, Government Ordinance no. 21/2014; which changes the rules under which foreign citizens can obtain a driving license in Romania and the proof of domicile and residence that such foreign citizens must provide.
Foreign citizens who do not hold a driving license are entitled to appear before the Romanian authorities in order to take the exam for the driving license if they reside/domicile in Romania or if they have been studying here for more than 6 months. Moreover, they can request to take the exam in a foreign language. The organization of the exam and the driving license issuance is performed by the competent authority of the district where the foreign citizen's registered office / residence / place of study is located.
As regards foreign citizens wishing to take the driver's license exam in Romania, it is considered that they have their residence/domicile on Romanian territory in the following situations:
They live, on a regular basis, at least 185 days per year, at an address located in Romania, to which they have professional or personal ties.
They return periodically to and address located in Romania for personal reasons tied to this address, even if they live in different places located in two ore more EU/EEC Member States or in the Swiss Confederation, their professional ties being different from their personal ties. In such case, their residence is in Romania because this is the place to which the person has personal ties, if such person regularly returns there.
They live on a regular basis at an address located in Romania for personal reasons tied to this address, even if they temporarily live in another EU/EEC Member State or in the Swiss Confederation in order to carry out an activity or a mission for a determined period of time. In such case, the person's residence is considered to be in Romania because this is the place to which this person has personal ties, even if such person does not travel on a regular basis to this place.
In order to obtain the driving license in Romania, a person must submit several documents in order to prove that he/she resides in Romania.
The driving licence can be obtained after finishing a driving school in Romania and passing a two-stage test, a theory test and a road test.
The theory test
The theory test consists of 26 questions and it is computerized, with successful candidates needing to score a minimum of 22 correct answers. The candidate is automatically eliminated if 5 wrong answers are given. For authenticity, during the computerized examination, the candidate is photographed three times and these pictures are later used as evidence that the person present at the road test is the same person as the one who was present at the theory test.
The road test
The road test is a practical hands on test that lasts 25 minutes, during which time the candidate must prove that he/she is able to handle the vehicle properly and safely, that he/she can do all kind of manoeuvres including turns, parking, while respecting the law. The driving test ends when the test period finishes and the candidate is then informed of the result. If the candidate obtained no more than 20 penalty points, he is given the result passed, if the candidate made mistakes that sum at least 21 points, he is given the result failed and can reschedule another examination after a 15 day period has lapsed.
