Drivers in Romania who ignore paying traffic fines risk losing their right to drive. The executive branch has approved the decision on methodological norms that clearly establish the procedure by which authorities will suspend the driving licenses of those who do not pay their traffic fines within 90 days.
The decision comes to implement the provisions of Article XVII of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 7/2026, creating the legal and logistical framework for close and automated collaboration between local tax authorities, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI).
The procedure is triggered when a traffic violation fine becomes final. Local tax authorities record it in their records and are required to send the taxpayer, within 30 days at the latest, a payment summons.
This document will be extremely explicit. In addition to the amount of the payment obligation and the amount remaining unpaid, the summons will clearly state the 90-day grace period granted for payment. Furthermore, the document will warn the driver of the exact date on which the suspension of the driving license will begin and end if the debt is not paid.
If the 90 days from the communication of the report expire and the fine is not paid in full, the local tax authority will calculate the period during which the driver's license will be suspended.
The duration of this sanction is directly proportional to the amount of the debt: one day of suspension is applied for every 50 lei unpaid, without taking into account fractions of a day. For example, a driver who owes 500 lei will remain without a license for 10 days, while a debt of 2,000 lei will attract a 40-day suspension.
According to the rules, the suspension of the right to drive officially begins at 00:00 on the third working day after the expiration of the 90-day period and ends at 24:00 on the last day established by calculation.
The Government Decision provides clear guarantees for the respect of the right to a fair trial and access to justice. Thus, if a driver decides to contest the report and files a minor offence complaint, the 90-day period is automatically suspended for the entire period in which the execution of the fine is stopped by law. The measure of withholding the license cannot be applied under any circumstances before the court issues a final decision.
To avoid bureaucracy and possible abuses or delays, the entire procedure will be managed digitally through the PatrimVen information system.
The system will become fully operational in the following period. Within 30 days of the publication of the decision in the Official Gazette, the Minister of Development, Public Works and Administration will approve the model of the standard form of the payment summons, ensuring a uniform application at the level of all city halls and tax departments in the country. At the same time, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) and the General Directorate for Driving Licenses and Registrations will sign a collaboration protocol to establish the final technical specifications and security standards of data transfer.
By implementing these rules, the Executive is counting on a significant increase in the collection rate of traffic fines - a historical vulnerable point in local budgets - but also on increased accountability of drivers in Romania.