Driving licence, medical certificate, CPC: key dates

Which of your documents expire#

You check the car's papers often, because the inspection station or the insurer asks for them. Yours sit in your wallet for years and you forget them. Each one has an expiry date printed on it:

• Driving licence: 10 years for cars, 5 years for lorries and buses.
• ID card and passport: the date is on the document, and the counter will usually ask for a valid ID.
• Medical and psychological certificates: for drivers who need them, valid until the date written by the clinic that issued them.
• Professional certificate (CPC): for carrying goods or passengers, with a deadline printed on it.
• Tachograph card: the driver card, with its expiry date printed on it.

These deadlines come years apart, not months, which is why they are the easiest to miss: by the time one expires, you rarely remember where you put the old document. The car's own dates, from car tax to tyres, are in the car calendar.

How long a driving licence is valid#

The Romanian road traffic code (OUG 195/2002) sets the licence's administrative validity by the categories you hold:

If the same licence carries both B and C, look at the dates printed on it: the professional categories expire sooner than the car category.

How to renew your licence#

Technically you don't “extend” the licence: you apply for a new one with a new administrative validity, without an exam. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), the holder of a Romanian licence can apply at any time, not only after it expires.

1. Have the medical examination at an authorised medical unit. The traffic code says a licence with a new validity is issued only after this examination.
2. Check the list of documents and the current fee on the website of the Directorate for Driving Licences and Registrations (DGPCI) or at the licensing office in your county.
3. Submit the application with your valid ID, the old licence, the medical document and proof of payment.
4. If you need to drive until the new licence arrives, ask for a replacement certificate: it is valid until the licence is issued, for no more than 30 days.

Practical tip: start two or three months before the expiry date. The medical examination can take several appointments, and the counters get busy at times.

The fine for driving on an expired licence#

The traffic code punishes driving with an expired licence with a class III fine, that is 6 to 8 fine units (puncte-amendă). One fine unit is worth 5% of the national gross minimum base wage, so the amount in lei changes whenever the minimum wage does.

The traffic code sets no grace period after the date printed on the licence. A postponed doctor's appointment isn't worth the risk.

Take your licence out of your wallet now and check the expiry date. If it falls within the next year, decide today when you'll see the doctor.

Medical and psychological certificates#

The traffic code requires a medical examination when you get your licence, when you get the professional certificate, at periodic checks, and whenever a doctor refers you to a specialist exam. Separately, the psychological evaluation certifies the psychological fitness needed to drive.

• If you drive for a living, your employer and the transport rules require valid certificates; the date each one is valid until is written on it.
• If any doctor finds a condition that may affect your driving, the traffic code requires them to refer you to an authorised medical unit, and you must go within 3 working days.
• Keep a copy of every certificate: you'll need it when you renew the licence or the professional certificate.

The professional certificate and the tachograph card#

If you carry goods or passengers by lorry or bus, you also have the professional certificate, issued by the Romanian Road Authority (ARR), and the tachograph card, which the tachograph uses to record your driving hours. Both have an expiry date printed on them, and renewal involves steps that take time, so don't leave it for the last week.

For the exact renewal conditions, ask ARR or the school running your training. What you can do yourself is keep the dates in sight, so you start in time.

How CariX reminds you about your documents#

In the free driver account, under “My documents”, you add your own documents, separate from the car's:

• Your driving licence with its categories ticked, the issue date and the expiry date; if your categories expire on different dates, enter the earliest one.
• ID card, passport, medical and psychological certificates, professional certificate and tachograph card, each with its own date. For any other document with a deadline, choose “Other document” and give it a name.
• An email reminder 30, 14 and 7 days and one day before each document expires. No expiry date means no reminder, so fill it in.
• A photo or PDF of the document, optional: only you can see your files.

The 30-day reminder is your last comfortable window for a doctor's appointment; for the licence, also set yourself a reminder a few months ahead.