In brief

  • The College of Physiotherapists of Romania has completely rewritten the procedure by which physiotherapists with a long break return to the profession. The compulsory practical placement drops from 420 to 150 hours for a break of between 5 and 10 years and from 700 to 250 hours for one longer than 10 years. The compulsory split across fields, musculoskeletal, neurology and respiratory, cardiovascular or paediatrics, disappears and becomes a mere recommendation.
  • Who enters the procedure changes too. The threshold moves from „a break of more than 5 years” to „at least 5 consecutive years”, and the exemption enjoyed by a physiotherapist with at least one year of activity in the past five no longer exists. In exchange, the list of those who skip the practical placement and sit only the theoretical test grows from a single situation, parental leave, to four.
  • Failing one of the two tests is no longer a matter of choice. Article 9(7) says that the whole procedure starts again, including the theoretical test already passed, unlike the previous text, where the procedure was resumed at the candidate’s request. Applications lodged before 11 September 2026 are dealt with under the new rules.
Act: Decision of the National Council of the College of Physiotherapists of Romania no. 123/2026 amending the annex to Decision of the National Council of the College of Physiotherapists of Romania no. 82/2026 approving the Methodology for the recertification of the professional competence of physiotherapists
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) no. 771 of 11 September 2026
In force from: 11 September 2026, the date of publication

A physiotherapist who stopped practising for more than ten years and wants to come back now does 250 hours of supervised practice, not 700. The College of Physiotherapists of Romania has entirely replaced the methodology for the recertification of professional competence that it had approved 65 days earlier, and the new version cuts the practical placement by almost two thirds in both length-of-break categories. The fee stays the same: the 750 lei introduced in August, described on MonitorLegal in the article Physiotherapists returning to practice pay a new fee of 750 lei, are paid in the same way, for a placement almost three times shorter.

Recertification is the procedure by which a physiotherapist who has not worked for a long period recovers the right to practise independently. Without it there is no authorisation and no annual endorsement, so no lawful practice. The College is the competent authority in the field, under Article 19 of Law no. 229/2016, and Article 21 of the same law gives it the power to authorise and to supervise the exercise of the profession.

The methodology had gone through the Official Gazette of Romania on 8 July 2026, as the annex to Decision no. 82/2026. On 27 August, the National Council adopted Decision no. 123/2026, which replaces that annex with another one, rewritten article by article. Publication came on 11 September 2026, in Official Gazette of Romania no. 771, Part I, pages 11 to 16. The act sets no later date of application, so it takes effect from publication.

What it changes in practice

The first consequence is the duration. A physiotherapist with a break of between 5 and 10 years does 150 hours of placement, against 420 before. Over 10 years of break, 250 hours instead of 700. Those 250 hours have to be completed within a maximum of 6 months, which can be extended by no more than 3 months in justified situations, under Article 6(1)(b) and (2). Set against a six-month window, that means around ten hours a week, against almost 27 for the 700 hours over the same window.

The second consequence concerns where the practice takes place. The old methodology fixed the split across fields in its own text: 200 hours musculoskeletal, 150 neurology and 70 respiratory, cardiovascular or paediatrics for the first category, and 350, 245 and 105 for the second. The new version says nothing about the split in its binding part and moves the subject to Article 9(6), as a recommendation addressed to the placement plan. The plan is still set by the president of the territorial college.

The third consequence is entry into the procedure. Article 2 of the new methodology ties recertification to a break of „at least 5 consecutive years”, whereas the previous text spoke of a break of „more than 5 years”. The difference looks like a nuance, but it decides the cases sitting exactly on the line: anyone with precisely five years of break now enters the procedure instead of falling outside it.

The fourth consequence concerns exemptions. Article 10 lists four situations in which the physiotherapist sits only the theoretical test: maternity leave and leave for raising or caring for a child; invalidity pension or serious illness and caring for a dependent person; actually practising the profession without being able to prove the legal conditions in Article 3(c); and work in the post of medical assistant in balneophysiotherapy, balneophysiokinetotherapy and rehabilitation. The previous text had a single situation of this kind, tied to parental leave.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

The general exemption in the old Article 8(2) disappears. It provided that a physiotherapist who had practised the profession effectively, lawfully and without interruption for at least one year in the past five was not subject to the recertification procedure. The new Article 8 contains nothing equivalent. Anyone relying on that sentence to avoid the procedure now has to look at Article 8(1), which exempts nobody and merely lists the periods taken into account when establishing continuity.

The conditions from which continuity is built also change. The old text required quantitative thresholds: a minimum of 2,000 hours of volunteering over 12 consecutive months and a minimum of 800 hours for independent activity, while a period as a director of a company with CAEN code 8690 or 8695 counted for at most two years. All these limits have been removed. In their place, Article 8(2) introduces a new condition for the assimilated periods, that is teaching, the post of kinetotherapy teacher in special schools, the position of director and scientific research: they count only „with observance of the conditions concerning membership of CFZRO and a valid annual endorsement”. Scientific research in physiotherapy is, incidentally, a new category, absent from the July version.

Article 3(c) separates two dates that used to be one. The July text said that the obligation to be a member of the College and to hold a valid annual endorsement applies from 2018. The new text says that the membership obligation applies from 2018 and the annual endorsement obligation from 2019. For someone counting their periods of activity from 2018, that year can now count, although before it did not.

The regime for failure gets tougher. The old Article 9(6) said that, in the event of failure, the procedure was resumed at the candidate’s request. The new Article 9(7) says that it is resumed in full, with no reference at all to the candidate’s wishes. Anyone who passes the theoretical test and fails the practical placement loses the theoretical test as well.

The annexes have been redone. The assessment sheet in Annex 3 is now called a „physiotherapy practical placement assessment sheet”, keeps the ten criteria marked from 1 to 10 points and receives a statement the July version did not have: „Punctajul total reprezintă suma punctajelor acordate pentru fiecare criteriu, iar nota finală reprezintă media acestora”, that is the total score is the sum of the points awarded for each criterion, while the final mark is their average. Annex 3 has also lost the footnote requiring a separate sheet for each of the three compulsory training fields, a natural consequence of removing the split across fields. Annex 1, the application form, no longer contains the sworn statement on the absence of a criminal record, and the document required by Article 7(4)(f) remains the criminal record certificate.

Article II of the decision settles the transition in a single sentence: applications lodged before entry into force are dealt with under the methodology as amended. Anyone already in the procedure on 10 September 2026 therefore moves onto the new rules, hence onto the shorter placement.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • The practical placement becomes feasible for an adult with commitments. 250 hours over six months can be done outside working hours, which 700 hours allowed almost nobody to do without giving up their income.
  • The exemptions from the practical placement now cover situations that existed in reality and were missing from the text: invalidity pension, serious illness, caring for a dependent person, work in the post of medical assistant in balneophysiotherapy.
  • Article 10(c) solves a category ignored until now, that of physiotherapists who actually worked but cannot prove membership or the annual endorsement for the period in question. They sit only the theoretical test.
  • The rigid hour thresholds for volunteering and for independent activity disappear; they used to exclude real periods of work from the continuity calculation, below the limit of 2,000 and 800 hours a year respectively.
  • The transition is clear. The transitional provision does not leave pending applications in an uncertain regime and applies the more favourable version to them.

What remains a problem

  • The pass threshold is still written as a „minimum score of 7”, although Annex 3 now expressly distinguishes between the total score, which is a sum, and the final mark, which is an average. The two readings give opposite results.
  • The theoretical test has 40 questions and a threshold of 7, with no rule for turning correct answers into points. The candidate cannot find out from the act how many answers are needed.
  • The maximum term of 6 months for the placement has no starting point, while the College has up to 60 days to tell the candidate where the practice can be done.
  • The 3-month extension is granted „in justified situations”, without saying who approves it and on what criteria. Each territorial college can therefore end up with a different practice.
  • The disappearance of the exemption for at least one year of activity in the past five quietly widens the circle of those required to be re-attested, in an act presented as a relaxation.
  • The new condition in Article 8(2) removes from the calculation the years of university teaching or research of anyone who was not a member of the College during that period.

Practical advice

  1. Count your break exactly, in consecutive years, up to the date on which you apply for the authorisation or the annual endorsement. Under 5 years you do not enter the procedure, from 5 years upwards you do. The old text required more than 5 years, so a case turned away as „not applicable” in July may be treated differently now.
  2. If your break is longer than 10 years and you have already started the placement under the old rules, ask the territorial college to recalculate it at 250 hours. The transitional provision puts you under the new methodology if the application was lodged before 11 September 2026.
  3. Check whether you fall within one of the four situations in Article 10 before scheduling your placement. Exemption from the placement means only the theoretical test, hence a much shorter road.
  4. Gather the evidence for the periods in Article 8(1) and (2) in parallel with the application file: contracts, certificates from employers, proof of activity abroad, volunteering contracts and certificates. For the assimilated periods, add proof of membership and of the annual endorsement for those years.
  5. Ask the territorial college in writing, when you apply, for two things the act does not clarify: the date from which the 6 months run, and whether resuming the whole procedure after a failure requires the 750 lei fee again. A written answer protects you if it comes to a challenge.
  6. Ask for the syllabus and bibliography set by the National Council of CFZRO before signing up for the theoretical test. They are provided for in Article 9(2)(c), but the act sets no deadline by which they have to be made public.

Frequently asked questions

From when do the new rules apply?
From 11 September 2026, the date of publication in Official Gazette of Romania no. 771. The decision sets no later date of application, and the three-day term after publication applies to laws and ordinances, not to the acts of a professional college.
How many hours of practice do I do if I have not worked for eight years?
150 hours. Breaks of between 5 and 10 years are covered by Article 9(5)(a). Over 10 years the figure is 250 hours, under point (b).
I lodged my application in August. Which methodology applies to me?
The new one. Article II of Decision no. 123/2026 says that applications lodged before the date of entry into force are dealt with under the methodology as amended, hence with the 150 or 250-hour placement.
Does the exemption for anyone who worked a year in the past five still exist?
No. That provision was in Article 8(2) of the version approved in July and was not carried over into the new text. Anyone who relied on it now enters the procedure.
What happens if I fail the practical placement?
The recertification procedure starts again in full, under Article 9(7), including the theoretical test passed earlier. It is not stated whether resuming it requires the 750 lei fee to be paid again, even though Article 7(4)(g) requires proof of payment at every application.
Who can be a mentor during the practical placement?
A physiotherapist with at least 7 years of professional experience, a member of the College for at least 5 years and with no disciplinary sanctions, under Article 9(5)(d). Members of the recertification panel cannot be mentors or placement coordinators.
How long does the certificate take to be issued?
10 days from the date on which the last test closing the procedure is passed, under Article 11(2). It is issued by the territorial college, on the model in Annex 4.

Errors and inconsistencies in the published text

  • Article 9(5)(g) of the annex, read against Annex 3. Point (g) says that „punctajul minim de promovare a stagiului practic este 7”, that is the minimum score for passing the practical placement is 7. Annex 3, redone by this act, contains ten assessment criteria, each marked between 1 and 10 points, and states that „Punctajul total reprezintă suma punctajelor acordate pentru fiecare criteriu, iar nota finală reprezintă media acestora”, that is the total score is the sum of the points awarded for each criterion, while the final mark is their average; the form has two separate boxes, „TOTAL PUNCTAJ” and „NOTA”, total score and mark. Read as a total score, the threshold of 7 cannot be missed by anyone, because ten criteria marked with at least 1 point give at least 10 points. Read as a final mark, the same threshold rejects any average below 7. The same sheet, filled in identically, leads to a pass on one reading and to a fail on the other. The text should have said that the minimum final mark for passing the practical placement is 7.
  • Article 9(2)(a) and (b) of the annex. The theoretical test „constă în verificarea cunoștințelor prin test-grilă cu 40 de întrebări”, that is it consists of a knowledge check through a multiple-choice test with 40 questions, and „punctajul minim de promovare a probei teoretice este 7”, the minimum score for passing the theoretical test is 7. Nowhere in the methodology is it stated what a correct answer is worth, what the maximum score is and how the 40 questions are converted into points. The threshold allows two readings with very different results: 7 correct answers out of 40, that is 17.5%, or a mark of 7 on the scale of 10 used in Annex 3, which would require 28 correct answers. The text was carried over unchanged from the annex approved by Decision no. 82/2026, and this act, which rewrites the annex in full, has not closed the gap.
  • Article 6(1)(b) read against Article 9(1) of the annex. The practical placement is carried out „într-o perioadă de maximum 6 luni”, within a maximum of 6 months, but the act does not say from what date the term runs, while Article 9(1) gives the College up to 60 days after the theoretical test is passed to tell the candidate where the practice can be done. If the 6 months run from passing the theoretical test, up to 60 of the roughly 182 days, that is a third of the window, can be taken up by the College’s notification. If the term runs from the start of the placement, the deadline is something else entirely. What happens once the 6 months are exceeded is nowhere provided for, and resuming the whole procedure is tied, by Article 9(7), only to failure.

Editorial analysis

The act solves a real problem and solves it in the right direction. A placement of 700 hours, demanded of an adult who by now has another job and family commitments, is not a safety measure, it is a barrier to entry. In practice most people do not come back at all, and the profession is left without trained people who could be working. Cutting it to 250 hours turns the procedure from an obstacle into a check.

The way the cut was made, however, says something about how carefully it was recalculated. 150 out of 420 and 250 out of 700 give exactly the same fraction, five fourteenths, that is minus 64.3% in both cases. In other words, nobody started from the question of how many hours someone who has been away for seven years needs compared with someone who has been away for fifteen; the same proportional cut was simply applied to both old figures. The ratio between the two categories stays at 1 to 1.67, inherited from July without re-examination.

The next observation comes from placing two acts of the same council side by side. The recertification fee of 750 lei was published on 13 August 2026, through Decision no. 114/2026, at a moment when the placement was 420 or 700 hours. Fourteen days later, on 27 August, the same National Council cut the hours by almost two thirds and left the fee untouched. Per hour of supervised practice, the cost for a candidate with a long break rises from 1.07 lei an hour to 3 lei an hour. The sum is not large in itself, but it shows that the two decisions, taken two weeks apart, were not thought through together.

More troubling is that an act presented as a relaxation contains two turns of the screw that are invisible unless the versions are compared. The first: the disappearance of the exemption for at least one year of activity in the past five, which took an active professional out of the procedure altogether. The second: the condition in Article 8(2), which requires membership of the College and a valid annual endorsement for the assimilated periods to count, so a university lecturer who taught physiotherapy without being a member of CFZRO has nothing left to demonstrate continuity with. Add the lowering of the threshold from „more than 5 years” to „at least 5 years” and it becomes clear that the number of people obliged to go through the procedure grows, even though the procedure itself is easier.

What should be changed

  • Replacing the word „punctaj” with „notă finală”, score with final mark, in Article 9(5)(g). Effect: the recertification panel no longer has to choose between a threshold nobody can miss and one that rejects any average below 7, and a rejected candidate knows on what basis the rejection was made.
  • A conversion rule in Article 9(2), stating what a correct answer is worth and what the maximum score of the 40-question test is. Effect: the candidate knows before the examination how many correct answers are needed, and the same paper can no longer pass with 7 answers in one territorial college and fail with 27 in another.
  • Fixing the moment from which the 6 months of placement run, by an express reference to the notification provided for in Article 9(1). Effect: the up to 60 days available to the College no longer eat into the candidate’s window, and exceeding the term becomes verifiable.
  • Stating, in Article 6(2), who approves the 3-month extension and on what criteria. Effect: „justified situations” are no longer assessed differently by each territorial college, and a refusal can be challenged on a concrete ground.
  • Adding volunteering, Article 8(1)(d), to the list in Article 10(c). Effect: a physiotherapist who worked as a volunteer without being able to prove the conditions in Article 3(c) is treated the same as someone who worked in the same period under an employment contract, not worse.
  • An express mention of the fee in Article 9(7), stating whether resuming the whole procedure means paying the 750 lei again. Effect: the candidate knows the cost of a failure in advance, and the territorial colleges no longer each decide differently, starting from Article 7(4)(g), which requires proof of payment of the fee at every application.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 771 of 11 September 2026 16 pages PDF, 107 KB the act starts on page 11

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