Expired Romanian ID card: what should you do?

What to do, step by step

• Book online on hub.mai.gov.ro: pick your county and fill in the form. Appointments are not made by phone or email.
• Confirm the appointment within 30 minutes, using the link you receive by email. Otherwise it is cancelled automatically.
• If there are no free slots, try the records offices in other towns too: the electronic card can be requested at any of them, whatever your home address.
• Go to the counter in person: your photo, fingerprints (where applicable) and signature are taken there. The card cannot be requested through a power of attorney.
• You also collect the electronic card in person, because that is when you set its PIN codes. Collect it on the date you are given, or within 90 days of applying at most.

• Book an ID card appointment: MAI Hub (Ministry of Internal Affairs) — online booking, by county

What to bring

• Your current ID card
• Your birth certificate, the original
• Your marriage certificate or divorce ruling, the original, if that applies
• Proof of your home address — take it with you even though they may not ask for it
• Proof that you paid the fee, if there is one

This list covers the usual case. The exact list for your situation is on the official page.

Where to go, and how long it takes

For the electronic card you book online on hub.mai.gov.ro, at any records office regardless of address. The plain card is only done at the office for your home or residence address. The electronic card is issued in 5 calendar days on average (30 at most), the plain one in around 30 days (45 at most).

What it costs

If there is a fee, you pay it beforehand (at CEC Bank) and bring the receipt. The service page says when it is free and how much it costs.

The deadline, and what happens if you miss it

The law requires you to apply for the new card at most 180 days before the old one expires, and no later than 15 days before (Emergency Ordinance 97/2005, art. 19). Missing that deadline is an offence punished with a fine (art. 43), which can be recorded by the police or by the population records office staff (art. 44).

The amount of the fine is in the law; we don't list it here, because it changes.

If your card has not expired yet, apply now: a valid card stays with you until you receive the new one (art. 19).

Other documents that need a valid ID card

Some documents can only be requested with a valid ID card, so sort out the ID card first:

• Passport — your valid ID card, the original
• Criminal record — for the paper version: your ID in original, valid

How long the new card will be valid

The electronic and the plain ID card are issued, depending on your age at the time:

• Children aged 0–2: 2 years (electronic card only)
• Children aged 2–14: 4 years (electronic card only)
• Teenagers aged 14–18: 5 years
• Adults, after 18: 10 years
• After 70: it does not expire (unlimited validity)

• How long are Romanian ID cards, passports and driving licences valid?

Worth knowing

If you don't own the home, your host's consent written at home is not enough: the host gives it at the records counter (coming with you), or before a police officer, a notary or at a diplomatic mission.

What you need

• ID card (buletin)What you need to renew your Romanian ID card
• PassportWhat you need to renew your Romanian passport
• Criminal record certificateRomanian criminal record certificate online, free: what you need

More guides

• How long are Romanian ID cards, passports and driving licences valid?
• Driving abroad from Romania: which documents do you need?