How do you get a Romanian criminal record certificate online?

Who can get the certificate online

The service page says the certificate can be obtained free of charge, in electronic form, only by individuals who are Romanian citizens, and only by those who have a validated user account on hub.mai.gov.ro.

In every other situation you have to go to a police unit that has a counter for criminal record certificates (see the last section).

The service is provided by the Romanian Police (Poliția Română), through its Criminal Records, Statistics and Operative Records Directorate.

How to validate your hub.mai.gov.ro account

You create the account on the platform; to request the certificate, the account must also be validated. The page “Despre validarea contului” (about validating the account) describes these routes, for Romanian citizens:

• With the electronic ID card: you need the card, a card reader (connected by cable or built into the laptop or keyboard) and the IDPLUGMANAGER application installed on your computer.
• Through ROeID, the digital identity used to log in to the online platforms of Romanian public institutions: you need a ROeID account and a valid Romanian identity document.
• Through ghiseul.ro, the online payments platform: you need a ROeID account or a Romanian bank card, and a valid Romanian identity document.
• At a Romanian Police counter that issues criminal record certificates or the road traffic penalties history: you first create the account on the platform, identify yourself at the counter with your identity document and give the account activation code, which you find in the “Contul meu” (my account) section once you are logged in. The code is not sent by e-mail.

At the counter you identify yourself with your ID card. If you do not have one or it has expired, you show the provisional ID card, and if you do not have that either, your passport. Without a valid identity document the account cannot be validated.

The page announces “three methods” but describes four routes, numbered 1 to 4; we have listed them all. The step-by-step guides for the first three and the lists of counters are on the same page.

• hub.mai.gov.ro — about validating your account (in Romanian)

Requesting the certificate online, step by step

1. Log in on hub.mai.gov.ro.
2. Go to “Servicii” (services), then “Acte, avize” (documents and approvals), and choose “Obținerea certificatului de cazier judiciar pentru persoană fizică” (getting the criminal record certificate as an individual).
3. Open the tab “Solicită certificatul de cazier judiciar” (request the criminal record certificate). The application appears pre-filled with your civil status data.
4. Select the reason for the request in its field, tick the consent box and press “Trimite cererea” (send the application).
5. The system generates the certificate automatically, electronically signed. You find it under “Vezi document” (see document), and “Descarcă” (download) saves it to the device you are using.

Under “average delivery time”, the service page gives one minute.

These are the steps described on the official page. We have not gone through them with an account ourselves, so we cannot tell you what each screen looks like.

• hub.mai.gov.ro — getting the criminal record certificate as an individual (who can request it online, the steps, the paper route; in Romanian)

What you receive, and how long it is valid

You receive the criminal record certificate in electronic form, electronically signed. Once you have downloaded it, you can open it or pass it on.

The certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of issue (Law 290/2004, art. 27).

The service page does not say whether whoever asks you for the certificate is obliged to accept it in electronic form. If you are not sure, ask at the place where you will hand it in.

How someone else can check that the certificate is genuine

On hub.mai.gov.ro, the “Verificare documente” (document verification) page offers three services: checking that a document is genuine from the data written in it, checking an electronic signature applied by a body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and checking an electronic signature applied with the electronic ID card.

In the first service, the “Tip document” (document type) list includes “Certificat de cazier judiciar” (criminal record certificate). The form says this type of document can be checked there only if it was issued exclusively through the hub.mai.gov.ro platform.

• hub.mai.gov.ro — document verification (in Romanian)

If you cannot use the online route: at a police counter, for a child, from abroad

• At a police counter: from the age of 14, you file the application in person, at any police unit that has a counter for criminal record certificates, with a valid identity document, the original. Among the documents accepted, the page lists the ID card, the passport, the registration certificate for citizens of the European Union and residence permits. At the counter you can ask for the application to be printed from the system, so that you only have to sign it. How long it takes: here the sources differ. The service page says that, for Romanian citizens, the paper certificate is issued, as a rule, on the spot or within 3 working days; the law (Law 290/2004, art. 28) says “within 3 days of the request at most”.
• For a child under 14: the certificate is requested by a parent or guardian. The parent shows their own identity document and the child's birth certificate, the originals; a guardian also shows the decision that set up the guardianship.
• From abroad, if you have no validated account: through Romanian diplomatic missions or consular offices. At the reasoned request of people who are abroad, these can also issue statements (adeverințe) recording the result of the checks, which have the legal value of a criminal record certificate and are used only abroad.
• Through someone else: in Romania, through a lawyer holding a lawyer's power of attorney, or through another person holding a power of attorney authenticated by a notary public. From abroad, with a power of attorney authenticated at a Romanian diplomatic mission or consular office, or by a notary, subject to the rules on legalising foreign official documents; for states that have joined the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, an apostille is enough. The person acting for you shows their own identity document, the original, and brings a copy of your identity document and the power of attorney.
• Foreign citizens: the service page says that, for them, the paper certificate is issued in about 30 days. For citizens of a European Union member state other than Romania, the extract from the criminal record of their state of citizenship is attached to the certificate.

The list of counters that issue criminal record certificates is on the hub.mai.gov.ro page about validating the account.

See also