In brief
- From 1 January 2027, drivers holding a category B or BE licence who carry out international road haulage for hire or reward must hold a professional training certificate (CPP).
- The course runs for at least 5 days, of at least 7 hours each, the test has 30 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, and the pass mark is 70 per cent. The certificate costs 200 lei and is valid for 5 years.
- Training starts as early as 31 August 2026, in centres authorised by the ministry. The test can be taken in Romanian and in English.
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) no. 711 of 26 August 2026
In force from: 26 August 2026
Van drivers who take goods across the border for hire or reward move, from 1 January 2027, into a professional certification regime that had left them out until now. Order no. 801/2026 of the acting Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 711 of 26 August 2026, sets the conditions for obtaining the professional training certificate, abbreviated CPP, and amends four pieces of road transport legislation. The Order is issued under Government Ordinance no. 5/2026, which amended the road transport act, and it continues the run of new rules for professional drivers that began with the one changing roadside checks on lorries carrying dangerous goods.
Until now, professional certification applied to lorry drivers, meaning those who drive vehicles with a maximum authorised mass above 3.5 tonnes and who hold the professional competence certificate, CPI for the initial qualification and CPC for periodic training. Light vehicles had stayed outside the system.
The new certificate is aimed at holders of a category B or BE licence who carry out international road transport operations for hire or reward. The rules governing it are inserted into Order no. 1.214/2015 of the Minister of Transport, as a new annex, numbered 7^2.
What it changes in practice
The first effect is the obligation itself. From 1 January 2027, drivers holding category B and BE licences who carry out international road transport for hire or reward must hold the CPP. Without it, they cannot lawfully do the job.
The second effect is the training calendar. Courses can begin on 31 August 2026, so there are four months of run-up before the obligation bites.
The third effect concerns the centres. Training takes place in the professional training and development centres authorised by the ministry for courses for freight drivers of vehicles above 3.5 tonnes, which use for the CPP the course materials they already hold for the CPC freight category. The trainers are those already certified to train drivers.
The fourth effect is the structure of the course. At least 5 days, of at least 7 hours each, delivered in person or by e-learning, and in the online version the training time cannot exceed 12 hours. Completion of the course is valid for 12 months; anyone who fails to pass the test within that period takes the course again.
The fifth effect is the test. It is taken on a computer, lasts 30 minutes and contains 30 multiple-choice questions. The candidate passes by answering at least 70 per cent of them correctly. The test is organised in Romanian and in English.
The sixth effect is the cost and the deadline. The fee for issuing the CPP is 200 lei, the certificate is issued online by the Romanian Road Authority (ARR) within 15 days of the application being registered, and it is valid for 5 years. Renewal is done by taking the courses in the final year of validity, and the new certificate starts the day after the old one expires.
The seventh effect touches examinations in general, not just the CPP. Recordings from the video monitoring system in the examination rooms may be kept for no more than 60 days, and candidates who have been scheduled twice and failed to appear can be rescheduled only after 3 calendar months from the last appointment.
The eighth effect concerns the practical test. Candidates take it only in the county, or in the city of Bucharest, where they passed the theory test. A retake can be taken in the county of the theory test or in the county of registration. Moving to another centre in the same county is possible only at the request of the centre to the Romanian Road Authority, at least 3 working days before the test.
The ninth effect is for trainers. The examination fee for obtaining or endorsing the trainer certificate is 100 lei for each test taken, proof of payment is presented to the board in original, and board members are paid by the Romanian Road Authority out of that fee.
The tenth effect is digitalisation. From 1 January 2027, applications for the CPI, the CPC and the ADR dangerous goods transport certificate, as well as those for the driver card, the company card and the workshop card, are filed by registering in the IT system of the Romanian Road Authority.
What has changed compared with the previous situation
The first change is the appearance of a certificate that did not exist. The certification system had the CPI, the CPC and the ADR, all tied to heavy transport or to dangerous goods. The CPP is the first professional training document built for drivers of light vehicles on international runs.
The second change is that one form gains new fields. In annex no. 5 to the Rules on authorising centres, approved by Order no. 1.212/2015, the wording „The undersigned, ……………, having:” becomes „The undersigned, ……………, contact details: telephone ………………, e-mail …………………, having:”.
The third change places the examination in a legal category. The theory test is conducted independently of other duties and is expressly classified as teaching activity within the meaning of Article 462(2) of the Administrative Code. The wording matters for the rules on incompatibility and on holding more than one position that apply to board members.
The fourth change is the list of documents for the test. The candidate presents an identity document in original if a Romanian citizen, a registration certificate or a residence card if coming from a State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, or a residence permit if coming from another State. To these are added the driving licence in original, the replacement document conferring the right to drive, or the attestation showing that the licence has been lodged for exchange.
The fifth change is the territorial restriction on the practical test, until now looser in practice, and now written out expressly, with the derogation procedure and the 3 working day deadline.
What does not change is the syllabus. Training for the CPP follows the syllabus in annex no. 2a to annex no. 2 of the same 2015 Order, meaning the subject matter already used for drivers.
Advantages and disadvantages
What it improves
- Drivers of light vehicles who run international journeys enter a training system that had passed them by until now.
- The four months between 31 August 2026 and 1 January 2027 leave time for courses before the obligation takes effect.
- The certificate is issued online, within 15 days, with no trip to a counter.
- The test can also be taken in English, which helps foreign drivers working for Romanian operators.
- The 60 day limit on storing video recordings from examination rooms brings a clear data protection rule where there was none.
- The 100 lei fee per test at the trainer examination and the rule that the board is paid out of that fee make the flow of money transparent.
What remains a problem
- Who has to obtain the certificate is not clear: the articles speak of categories B and BE, while the certificate template speaks of vehicles between 2.4 and 3.5 tonnes.
- The total cost for a driver is not just the 200 lei: the course of at least 5 days is paid separately, and the Order sets no cap on what the centres charge.
- Five days of training mean a week in which the driver is not working, a cost borne by the driver or by the employer.
- The restriction tying the practical test to the county of the theory test complicates matters for drivers who work far from home.
- Rescheduling after 3 months for anyone who misses twice is a harsh penalty in a job with an unpredictable timetable.
- The Order says nothing about those who obtain the certificate between September and December 2026, that is, before the obligation comes into being.
Practical advice
- If you carry international freight for hire or reward on a category B or BE licence, start the course this autumn. The obligation kicks in on 1 January 2027, and completion of the course is valid for only 12 months.
- Check that the centre you enrol with is authorised by the ministry for freight driver courses. Only those centres can run the CPP training.
- Ask from the outset for the full programme: at least 5 days of at least 7 hours each. A shorter course does not entitle you to sit the test.
- If you choose the e-learning option, keep the ceiling in mind: training delivered through an IT programme cannot exceed 12 hours.
- Have your documents ready in original for the day of the test. Copies of the identity document and of the driving licence are not enough at the examination, even though copies are accepted at registration.
- If your licence has been lodged for exchange, get a valid attestation from the competent authority. It is accepted in place of the licence.
- Do not miss two test appointments. The third can be taken only after 3 calendar months from the last one.
- Take the practical test in the county where you passed the theory. If you need another centre in the same county, ask the centre to send the request to the Romanian Road Authority at least 3 working days beforehand.
- Start the renewal in the final year of the certificate’s validity. The new CPP runs from the day after the old one expires, so you lose no working days.
Frequently asked questions
Who has to hold the professional training certificate?
When can the courses be taken?
How long is the course?
What does the test look like?
How much does the certificate cost?
How long is it valid?
How soon do I receive it?
What changes for the tachograph card?
What happens if I miss the test?
Errors and inconsistencies in the published text
- The scope does not close: licence category in the articles, tonnage on the certificate. Article I(4) of the Order and Article 1(1) of the rules in the annex define the obligation by the licence category, B and BE, and by the nature of the transport, international and for hire or reward, with no mass threshold at all. The certificate template in the annex to the rules, however, attests training „for drivers who carry out road transport of goods for hire or reward in international traffic with vehicles having a maximum authorised mass between 2.4 and 3.5 tonnes”. A driver with a category B licence who runs international transport for hire or reward with a 2 tonne vehicle falls under the obligation in Article I(4), but receives a document certifying training for a class of vehicles he does not fall into. The act makes it impossible to establish whether the obligation covers all holders of B and BE or only those driving vehicles between 2.4 and 3.5 tonnes.
- The same certificate, two names, Article I(3). The paragraph reads „Training of drivers with a view to obtaining the professional competence certificate (CPP)”. In the title of the Order, in Article I(1), (2) and (4) and throughout the rules in the annex, the CPP is the professional training certificate. „Professional competence certificate” is the name of two other documents governed by the same rules, the CPI and the CPC, invoked as such in Article V(1) of the same Order. Paragraph (3) is the only one that establishes who delivers the courses, so the mix-up in names lands precisely on the provision that designates the competent trainers.
Editorial analysis
The Order fills a real gap. International transport with light vehicles has grown sharply in recent years precisely because it was less regulated than heavy transport, and its drivers went through no form of mandatory training. A five day course and a multiple-choice test do not turn a courier into a professional, but they set a minimum threshold where none existed. The administrative detail is well thought out: online issuing, the 15 day deadline, the test in English as well, the 60 day cap on video recordings from examination rooms.
The weakness of the act is that it does not say clearly who it is addressed to. The articles define the obligation by licence category, while the certificate defines it by the mass of the vehicle, between 2.4 and 3.5 tonnes. The two criteria do not overlap: a category B licence also covers one tonne vehicles. An operator who has to decide in September which employees go on the course finds no answer in the text, and on that answer depends whether he can still run journeys from January.
The second weakness is economic. The 200 lei is the issuing fee, not the real cost. The course of at least five days is paid separately, at a price the Order does not touch, and on top of it comes a week of lost work. For a self-employed driver running journeys in a van, the sum can be several times the official fee, and the Order provides neither instalments nor a shorter training route for those with experience.
The way the centres are designated is also worth noting. Training for a certificate meant for light vehicles takes place in centres authorised for courses for drivers above 3.5 tonnes, using the CPC freight course materials. The solution has its logic, since the infrastructure already exists, but it means that a light vehicle driver learns from material written for lorries.
What should be changed
- A single criterion for application, written into the article that creates the obligation. Either the licence category or the mass of the vehicle, not both in different places. It would give operators a verifiable answer to the question of who goes on the course, four months before the deadline.
- Correction of the name of the certificate in Article I(3). It would remove the only place where the provision designating the trainers appears to be talking about a document other than the one the Order governs.
- A cap or a fee scale for the training course. It would make the total cost predictable for a self-employed driver, where at present only the issuing fee is known, which is the smallest part.
- A dedicated syllabus for light vehicles, instead of the CPC freight material. It would replace material written for heavy lorries with one adapted to international runs by van, which have a different driving time regime and a different type of cargo.
- A transitional rule for certificates obtained between 31 August and 31 December 2026. It would confirm expressly that those who train early lose nothing, and that the five years of validity run from issue, not from the date the obligation takes effect.
- A justified exception to the 3 month rescheduling rule. An unplanned international journey is not absence through negligence, and a document from the employer could tell the two situations apart.
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. 711 of 26 August 2026 16 pages PDF, 126 KB the act starts on page 4
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.