And these recommendations are important especially if you would like to buy an used one. This is applicable irrespective of the EU country where you buy it from, or of the car’s model.
In this article we provide some helpful guiding on one of these important aspects that we recommend to verify before buying an used car – i.e., how to check validity of a Romanian car’s periodic technical verification (in Romanian “Inspecția Tehnică Periodică”, or in short “ITP”).
In short, what is a Romanian car’s periodic technical verification, and what are the consequences if it is expired?
The periodic technical verification is a mandatory complex technical check that must be done on a vehicle which is registered with Romanian authorities, and includes: identification of registration documents, verification of brakes, steering, lights, tires, emissions, appearance, etc.
Driving a vehicle on Romanian public roads which does not observe the mandatory safety technical regulations, or which has the validity for the periodic technical verification expired is punishable by a fine of between 315 and 700 lei. In addition, the Traffic Police can retain your car’s registration certificate. If so, you will be able to do the car’s technical verification only in service stations of the Romanian Automotive Register (RAR).
As per the law in force, for new cars, the first periodic technical verification must be done after three years from purchase. For cars that are up to 12 years old, the verification must be done every 2 years, and for cars which are older than 12 years the verification must be done every 12 months.
The price for a car’s periodic technical verification (in Romanian: “Inspecție Tehnică Periodică” or in short “ITP”) is between 100 and 200 lei, depending on the auto service station that does the verification, and the type of vehicle.
How to easily check validity of the technical verification for a Romanian car
The Romanian Auto Register warns those who buy an used car to retain from accepting the intermediation of obtaining proof of the technical verification status of the car by other people, because very often it turns out to be a fake document.
The validity of a Romanian car’s technical verification status can be easily checked on the website of the Romanian Automotive Register (RAR). To do this, you must first go to the RAR’s Romanian language official website: Registrul Auto Român. The English version does not have the technical option of verifying your car’s periodic technical verification status, yet.
Once you land on the website’s home page, then go to the section “Informații utile” from the main menu, and then to “Verificare ITP” that will appear in the drop-down list. Please refer to the screenshot below for an easier guidance:
Once you click on “Verificare ITP” you will be taken to a page that looks as the screenshot below, where you will have to fill in a simple search form with the car’s identification data.
Here you must fill in either the first or the second box (don’t have to fill in both). In the first box (where it says “Serie C.I.V”) you have to insert the series and number of the car’s ID card. If you don’t have access to the car’s ID card, you can fill in the second box (where it says “Serie caroserie”) with the car’s unique registration number (car body’s series).
Once you have filled in with the vehicle’s Identity Card series or the body series, enter the security code that appears in red, and press the Search button (in Romanian: “Cauta”).
Once you click search the website will list below the result from the RAR’s database, as reflected in the screenshot below. You will be provided with a confirmation that the car is registered in the RAR’s database (assuming the car is indeed registered in the RAR’s database with a valid technical verification), as well as the expiry date of the last technical verification.
Please keep in mind that, according to the Romanian legislation in force, the obligation to ensure that the periodic technical verification for a car is done in time rests with the registered owner of the vehicle (person who is reflected on the vehicle’s registration certificate).
The date until which you must perform the next technical verification is written on the registration certificate of the vehicle, where you see the abbreviation “ITM”.
For a new car, this date is normally calculated from the day of the first registration in Romania. Please note that you cannot find a new vehicle in the Romanian Automotive Register’s database, because they have not been subject to a periodic technical inspection.
Documents required by any Romanian auto service station for the technical verification
When you go with your car to have the technical verification done, please keep in mind that the following documents will always be requested by the auto service station:
IMPORTANT: For vehicles registered in other countries, the periodical technical inspection can only be performed by auto service stations of the Romanian Automotive Register (RAR).
Take care, and drive safe!
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