Documents Needed to Buy a Used Car in Romania 2026

What changed in 2026: OUG 7/2026 in short

OUG 7/2026 was published in Romania's Official Gazette in late February 2026, and the rules for buying a used car changed on a few important points. The biggest news is on the fiscal side: the sale contract must carry a tax visa applied by the seller's local tax authority, confirming that the car has no outstanding vehicle tax. Ownership is validated only after the contract is registered by the tax authority, and without this visa the registration file is rejected at the counter.

In practice, the transaction is no longer closed just between you and the seller with a signature on a contract downloaded from the internet. The state additionally checks whether the car is fiscally 'clean' before letting you transfer it to your name. It is extra protection for the buyer, but it also means an additional administrative step you must plan for from the start.

The documents you need as a buyer

As a buyer, the file you take to the Vehicle Registration Service (DRPCIV) in your county must contain the documents below. Check every paper before you leave the seller. A missing document means an extra trip and a rescheduling that in some counties can take weeks.

• The registration application (filled in at the counter or online)
• Your ID card, as the new owner (original and copy)
• The original sale contract, with the tax visa applied
• The vehicle identity card (CIV), the car's own card, in original
• The old registration certificate (talon), handed over by the seller
• The old registration plates, if you change the number or come from another county
• Valid RCA insurance, taken out in your name
• A valid periodic technical inspection (ITP)
• Proof of payment for the registration certificate and, if applicable, the plates

The contract: model, copies and tax visa

The contract must be the standard vehicle transfer-acquisition model (Model 2016 ITL), not just any form found online. Only this model is accepted by local authorities for applying the tax visa. It is filled in with the full details of both parties and the car's data: make, model, year, engine size and chassis number.

The contract is drawn up in 5 original copies, all signed by seller and buyer. They are distributed between the two parties and the institutions involved: one copy stays with the seller, one with you, one each with the seller's and your town hall, and the last goes into the registration file. Make sure all copies are signed in original, not just one.

Tax clearance certificate: you too, not just the seller

OUG 7/2026 introduces a double fiscal check. The seller obtains the visa on the contract, certifying no outstanding tax on the car. You, as the buyer, must in turn present a tax clearance certificate issued by the authority in your place of residence, confirming that you have no local debts.

It is an easy step to miss, because many buyers expect all obligations to fall on the seller. Without your certificate, the transaction cannot be completed correctly from a fiscal standpoint, and the contract can even be declared null. Request it in advance from the town hall; it is usually issued within at most two business days.

RAR Auto-Pass: what it tells you and what it does NOT

Since December 2024, the Romanian Auto Register issues the RAR Auto-Pass certificate, and when selling a used car registered in Romania the seller is required by law (Law 142/2023) to provide it to the buyer. It is a digital document with the car's technical history: periodic technical inspections, the mileage recorded at inspection, interventions in authorized service centers and data from insurers. It costs around 42 lei and is valid for about 60 days. If there is no data for that VIN, RAR issues a free negation certificate. Keep in mind, though, that the data inside only concerns the history recorded in Romania.

Auto-Pass is useful, but it has an important limit: it mainly covers what happened to the car in Romania. If the car was imported (the case for most used cars on the market), the history before import, the real mileage in the country of origin, major repaired damage or a foreign lien do not appear in Auto-Pass.

What to check BEFORE you sign: the part the paperwork doesn't cover

The paperwork tells you who the owner is and that the car is fiscally in order. It does not tell you the things that matter most on a used car: whether the mileage is real, whether it has been seriously damaged, or whether it still has an unpaid loan on it. This is where the VIN check comes in. Before you sign the contract, you can check for free what data exists for that car using the 17-character chassis number.

Note: a serious check is done by chassis number (VIN), not by registration number. The number changes with each owner, while the VIN stays the same for the whole life of the car. You find it on the car's card, on the windscreen and stamped in the body. If at a first glance in the parking lot you only have the plate, you can start with a quick check by registration number and then move to the VIN for the full report.

• The mileage history and whether the odometer figure is plausible or rolled back
• Major damage and recorded repairs, including from abroad
• Whether the car is listed as pledged, on lease or stolen
• The inspection history and any date or mileage inconsistencies
• The real manufacturing data and factory equipment, via VIN decoding

The transfer deadline: 30 vs 90 days

As a new owner you actually have two deadlines to remember, easily confused. The first: declaring the car to the Local Taxes Directorate in your locality, done within 30 days of the contract date. The second: the transfer itself, meaning registration in your name at DRPCIV, with a legal deadline of 90 days from the same date.

The practical advice is simple: do not rely on the maximum deadline. Book a registration appointment right after purchase, because in some counties waiting times at the counter exceed two weeks. The longer you delay, the higher the risk of driving a car that, formally, is not yet yours.

The transfer steps, one by one

Once you have all the documents, the transfer follows a few clear steps. You can go through them even on the same day if you are organized and have an appointment.

• Sign the contract in the 5 copies and obtain the tax visa from the seller's authority
• Obtain your own tax clearance certificate from your town hall
• Take out RCA insurance in your name and check that the ITP is valid
• Declare the car to the Local Taxes Directorate (within 30 days)
• Book and submit the file at the Vehicle Registration Service (DRPCIV)
• Collect the new registration certificate and, if applicable, the new plates

Registration plates: keep or change

You can keep the old registration number if the car stays in the same county and the number is available in your name. This way you avoid the cost of new plates. If the car comes from another county or you prefer a new number, the old plates are handed over and you receive new ones. There is also the option of trial (red) plates for the period between purchase and registration, if you want to drive legally until you finalize the file.

Fees and estimated costs in 2026

The transfer costs in 2026 are, overall, modest. Unlike the car's value, the formalities are cheap. Here are the indicative figures:

• RAR Auto-Pass certificate: about 42 lei (usually paid by the seller)
• New registration certificate: about 49 lei
• New registration plates, if you change the number: 40–90 lei
• Tax clearance certificate: usually free, depending on the town hall
• RCA and, possibly, ITP if it is no longer valid: variable, depending on the car

Common mistakes that cost you

Most problems when buying a used car do not come from missing documents, but from skipped checks. Here are the mistakes that cost the most:

• Signing the contract without checking the car's history by VIN and finding out too late about rolled-back mileage or hidden damage
• Accepting a contract that is not the standard 2016 ITL model and getting stuck at the counter
• Forgetting your own tax clearance certificate, thinking it is the seller's job
• Delaying the transfer and passing the 90-day deadline, with a suspension risk
• Not checking whether the car has an unpaid loan or lien

The last point is the most financially dangerous: if the car has an unpaid loan, you risk the lender reclaiming it even though you paid for it. Before anything, read how to check whether a car has a lease or lien and run the VIN check.