ITP in Romania: when it's due, what's checked and how to prepare

What ITP is and who carries it out#

The Romanian road traffic code requires registered vehicles to pass a periodic technical inspection to stay on the road. Inspections are done at authorised stations or at RAR offices. Every station follows the same inspection plan, set out in the RNTR 1 regulations, and the inspector puts each fault into one of three groups: minor (DMi), major (DMa) or dangerous (DP).

If the car passes, you get an ITP certificate, the deadline for the next ITP is written in the annex to the registration certificate (the talon), and an ITP sticker goes on the front number plate.

When ITP is due: the first test and the intervals#

The car's age is the year of the test minus the year of manufacture shown in the vehicle identity card (CIV, cartea de identitate a vehiculului). The next deadline runs from the date of the last test, not from the date the old one would have expired: go two weeks early and the next one is due two weeks early too.

What is checked at the ITP#

The inspection plan for cars (annex 2 of the RNTR 1 regulations) covers these groups:

• Identification: the VIN, the number plates and whether they match the papers. This comes first; if a serious mismatch shows up here, the inspection stops there.
• Brakes: performance on the brake tester, the parking brake, the lines and the pedal.
• Steering: play in the steering and the condition of its parts.
• Visibility: windscreen and windows, mirrors, wipers and washers.
• Lights and electrics: headlights (including their aim), indicators, brake lights, side lights, reflectors.
• Axles, wheels, tyres and suspension.
• Chassis, body and attachments: corrosion, mountings, doors, floor, fuel tank and exhaust.
• Other equipment: seat belts, horn, speedometer, plus the compulsory kit: first-aid kit, two warning triangles and a fire extinguisher.
• Emissions: measured with a gas analyser (petrol) or an opacimeter (diesel).

At the end the odometer reading is photographed, and the inspector can see the reading from the previous ITP in RAR's database.

Which papers to bring#

Under RNTR 1, the test is only carried out if you show the registration certificate (talon), or the document that temporarily replaces it, and the vehicle identity card (CIV). Don't forget the compulsory kit in the boot: it is checked too. Booking, price and payment are agreed directly with the station.

How to prepare for the ITP#

Ten minutes of checks in a car park can save you a fail for a blown bulb.

• Wash the car, especially the body and the underside: RNTR 1 requires the car to be clean. Tyres must be at the pressure the manufacturer specifies.
• Check every light with someone standing behind the car: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, reversing light and the number-plate light.
• Wipers and screenwash: the blades shouldn't smear and the washers should work. A crack in the windscreen within the area the wipers sweep can mean a fail.
• Dashboard warning lights: a warning light that stays on (ABS, airbag, engine) is worth checking at a garage before the test.
• Seat belts and horn: every belt should pull out and lock, and the horn should work.
• First-aid kit, triangles and extinguisher: in the car, complete and in date (see the car calendar).
• Tyres: no cuts or bulges on the sidewalls and enough tread; if you're unsure, ask a tyre shop.

If you know the brakes, steering or suspension have a problem, get it fixed at a garage first.

What happens if the car fails#

If the station finds only minor faults, the car passes ("Bun tehnic cu DMi", roadworthy with minor faults) and you get the certificate; fix them, but they don't stop you. If it finds major or dangerous faults, the car fails and you are given the report listing every fault.

• A fail cancels a still-valid ITP (for example, if you went early), except for identification problems. From that moment the car may not be driven on public roads until it passes a new ITP.
• You have 30 calendar days from the first test to fix the faults: come back within that time and only the failed systems are checked again.
• After 30 days the car needs a full new inspection.

What you risk driving with an expired ITP#

Under the road traffic code (OUG 195/2002), from the day the ITP expires the car's registration is automatically suspended until it passes a new ITP, and a car with a suspended registration may not be driven on public roads.

• Driving a car with an expired ITP is fined in class IV: 9 to 20 fine units (puncte-amendă), not points on your licence. The same class applies to driving a car whose registration is suspended.
• One fine unit is worth 5% of the national gross minimum wage, so the amount in lei changes whenever the minimum wage does.
• The police keep the registration certificate and give you a temporary document that lets you drive for 15 days. You get the certificate back once the car passes the ITP and the suspension ends.

The next ITP date is written in the annex to the registration certificate (talon), and its month is also on the sticker on the front number plate. Look it up now and put it somewhere you'll see it in time, next to your RCA and rovinietă dates.

How CariX helps you stay on top of the ITP#

In the free driver account you add your car and, under documents, the ITP: you pick the inspection date and the validity (6 months, 1, 2 or 3 years) and CariX works out the expiry date. You can attach a photo or PDF of the certificate too.

• Email reminders 30, 14 and 7 days and 1 day before it expires.
• "Book" in the reminder takes you to the garage that set the reminder, or to the ITP station search with your car already selected.
• The first-aid kit and the extinguisher also have expiry dates in CariX, with the same reminders, so they aren't out of date at the test.
• The car passport keeps the service history recorded by garages and the mileage they confirmed, which helps when you sell the car.

See the other maintenance services too, from servicing to diagnostics.