Short guides on documents and your car
How long are Romanian ID cards, passports and driving licences valid?
For adults, the ID card (electronic or plain) and the passport are valid for 10 years, and a category B driving licence also for 10 years. Children and teenagers get shorter periods, and an ID card issued after age 70 does not expire.
How long is a Romanian ID card valid?
For the electronic ID card and the plain ID card, the validity depends on your age when it is issued:
- 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)
The plain ID card is not issued to children under 14. The old ID card (1997 model) stays valid until the date printed on it, but from 3 August 2031 it can no longer be used as a travel document in the European Union or the Schengen Area.
You apply for the new card at most 180 days before the old one expires, and no later than 15 days before. The old card, while still valid, stays with you until you receive the new one.
How long is a Romanian passport valid?
- Children under 12: 3 years
- Aged 12 to 18: 5 years
- Over 18: 10 years
- The temporary passport: 12 months
“Passport valid for another 6 months” is not a universal rule. Many countries require your passport to stay valid for a period after you enter — often 6 months — but each state sets its own condition, not Romania. Leaving the country is allowed with a document valid on the travel date. If you travel outside the EU, check the destination country's conditions on mae.ro before booking. A passport with 5 months left can be refused at the border, even though it is perfectly valid in Romania.
How long is a Romanian driving licence valid?
- Categories AM, A1, A2, A, B, B1 and BE: 10 years
- Categories C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE, Tr, Tb and Tv: 5 years
A licence with a new validity period is only issued after the medical examination. If your home or residence is in Romania, you do not retake the driving test.
What you need
More guides
Checked between September 23, 2026 and September 29, 2026. Sources:
- carteadeidentitate.gov.ro — ID card validity by age
- carteadeidentitate.gov.ro — FAQ (when to apply for a new card, the 1997 card)
- DGEP (population records) — the electronic ID card, FAQ
- Emergency Ordinance 97/2005 (identity documents), art. 16 — validity periods
- pasapoarte.mai.gov.ro — validity periods
- Romanian MFA — travel conditions
- Border Police — frequently asked questions
- Emergency Ordinance 195/2002 (road traffic), art. 24 — driving licence validity
We are not an official source and we don't give legal advice — before you travel there or pay anything, check the institution's own page. We are not a government app and we don't represent MAI, RAR, CNAIR, ASF or any other institution. Links open the official websites.
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