Do you need a rovinieta to drive in Romania?

Prices from 1 October 2026

A new tariff order (Order MTI 888/2026) applies to any rovinieta whose validity starts on or after 1 October 2026. Prices are in lei, VAT included, and depend on the car's Euro emission standard, which is on the registration document:

• 1 day: 22 lei (Euro 6), 26 lei (Euro 4 to 5), 29 lei (Euro 0 to 3), 20 lei (electric) • 10 days: 30 / 35 / 39 lei, electric 27 lei • 30 days: 48 / 55 / 62 lei, electric 43 lei • 60 days: 76 / 87 / 99 lei, electric 68 lei • 12 months: 254 / 292 / 330 lei, electric 228 lei

A car whose Euro class is unknown is charged the highest (Euro 0) rate. At the Romanian central bank rate published on 30 September 2026, a 10-day pass for a Euro 6 car is about €6 (≈ $6.7). Older blogs still list the flat pre-October prices; ignore them.

For a visitor the choice is easy: the 10-day pass costs only 8 lei more than one day, so buy 10 days for any trip of two days or more, and 30 days for a longer loop like ours.

Which roads need it

This is where Romania differs from Hungary and the Czech Republic. The UK Foreign Office puts it plainly: you must pay the rovinieta to use the national roads. That means the DN roads as well as the A-motorways, so the drive from Brașov to Sibiu, the road to Bran, and the Transfăgărășan (DN7C) are all covered by it. City streets and county roads are not.

In practice, if you leave a city by car you need one. Do not try to plan around it.

Where to buy

The official channels are the national road company CNAIR's e-toll portal (etoll.ro) and its TollRO app, authorised distributors, SMS payment, and CNAIR sales points. The UK Foreign Office notes it is also sold at border crossings and most fuel stations, which is where most drivers coming from Hungary buy it.

You need the plate number, the country of registration, the vehicle category and the start date. Check the plate carefully. Keep the receipt or confirmation: it is your proof if a notice arrives later.

Do not confuse it with TollRO, the new per-kilometre toll that started on 1 October 2026. That one is only for goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes; cars and campervans under that weight just need the rovinieta.

Rental cars and driving in from Hungary

Romanian rental cars should already carry a valid rovinieta; ask at the desk and check its expiry date against your return date. A car rented in Hungary or elsewhere will not have one. Buy it before or at the border.

Coming from Budapest, you will also need a Hungarian vignette for the M3, M35 or M4 toward the border: see Hungary e-matrica. Our route went from Tokaj to Oradea, which is the northern of the main crossings; the drive on to Cluj-Napoca is then national road and motorway. Our Cluj-Napoca guide and Sibiu guide cover the stops.

Bridge tolls on the Danube

From 1 October 2026 there is no car toll on the Fetești–Cernavodă bridges on the A2 to Constanța, or on Giurgeni–Vadu Oii (DN2A). Order MTI 913/2026 repealed both tariffs; before that the Fetești crossing cost a car 19 lei.

The border bridges into Bulgaria are separate. Going Giurgiu to Ruse there is no Romanian toll; in the Ruse to Giurgiu direction Bulgarian customs charge €2 (≈ $2.2) a car. The Calafat–Vidin bridge costs €6 (≈ $6.7) a car. These matter if you combine day trips from Bucharest with northern Bulgaria.

Fines and road conditions

The UK Foreign Office warns that driving without a rovinieta can bring a heavy fine, and checks are made against the plate. We could not confirm the current fine amounts on an official source, so we leave them out; at under 40 lei for 10 days it is not worth testing.

The bigger issue is the roads themselves. The same advice notes that conditions vary, roads can be in a poor state, and you should expect double-parked cars, sudden braking around potholes, and horse-drawn carts, livestock and stray dogs in rural areas. Drink-driving with any alcohol in your system can mean a fine and imprisonment. Motorways are limited to 130 km/h (81 mph) and towns to 50 km/h (31 mph); limits on other roads vary, so follow the signs.

Plan shorter driving days than a map app suggests, especially on the DN1 through the Prahova valley between Brașov and Sinaia, and on mountain roads in October and later. Our best time to visit Romania article covers the seasons; the Transfăgărășan is closed for much of the year.

Frequently asked questions