Short guides on documents and your car
How long is the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) valid in Romania?
The European Health Insurance Card is valid for 2 years from the date it is issued. For cards issued from 1 October 2025 there are two exceptions: 10 years for pensioners aged 65 or over and, for children, until the day they turn 18.
How long is it valid for pensioners and children?
- The general rule: 2 years from the date of issue
- Pensioners aged 65 or over: 10 years from the date of issue
- Children: from the date of issue until the day they turn 18
The exceptions only apply to cards issued from 1 October 2025 (Law 95/2006, art. 330). The date until which your card is valid is printed on it (art. 327).
How do you apply for a new card?
- The application, filed with the health insurance house you belong to
- Your ID (check your health insurance house's page whether they also want a copy)
- The insurance house checks your insured status itself. If you don't show up as insured, the card is refused.
The card is printed and posted to the address in your application within 7 working days (at some houses, up to 10 working days).
How much does it cost?
Free — the printing cost is covered by the insurance fund.
If you ask to replace the card while it is still valid, the new card has to be paid for and cannot be valid for longer than the original one (Law 95/2006, art. 328).
Where can you use it and what does it cover?
It does not replace travel insurance: it only covers medical care that becomes necessary during a temporary stay. Ask for it a few weeks before you leave, because it comes by post.
It is used in the member states of the European Union; in Romania it has no effect (Law 95/2006, art. 331). A temporary stay means a trip for tourism, work, family or study, of up to 6 months (art. 326). The card does not cover a trip made specifically for medical treatment (art. 335), and it is personal: every insured person applies for their own (art. 334).
What is the provisional replacement certificate?
If exceptional circumstances prevent the card from being issued, the health insurance house gives you a provisional replacement certificate. It entitles you to the same medical care as the card (Law 95/2006, art. 328 and 329).
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Checked between September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026. Sources:
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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