thumb|50px|European Union stripe, known as a "Euroband"(2007-present)
The most common format for vehicle registration plates in Romania consists of black letters on white background in the format <code>CC 12 ABC</code>, where <code>CC</code> is a two letter county code, <code>12</code> is a two digit group, and <code>ABC</code> is a three letter group. For Bucharest, the format is <code>B 12 ABC</code> or <code>B 123 ABC</code>, where <code>B</code> is code for Bucharest city, <code>12</code> and <code>123</code> is a two or three digit group, and <code>ABC</code> is a three letter group.
The left side of the plate bears a blue vertical strip (the "Euroband") displaying the 12 stars of the European Union and the country code of Romania (RO). Between 1992 and 2007 the band featured the Romanian flag instead of the 12 stars. All lettering comes from the Latin alphabet.
The front plate usually carries a round label displaying the month and year when the technical inspection of the vehicle is due. These labels have different background colors depending on the year displayed. The label does not have a specific slot and can be placed anywhere, but the right side is preferred and plates usually come with a slot for them.
Regulations
License plates are mandatory on both the front and rear of vehicles (only on the rear for motorcycles).
It is mandatory for the paint on all plates to be reflective, and they must be kept clean and fully visible at all times.
Assignment rules
The plates are issued for each car and for each owner, and they must be returned when the car is either sold or scrapped, although the new buyer is entitled to request continued use of the old license plate.
The digits and letters for the standard license plates are usually assigned at random, unless a customization fee is paid. Customizing is limited to picking the digits and the 3 capital letters at the end, provided the chosen combination is not already assigned.
The letter <code>Q</code> is not used as it may be confused with the letter <code>O</code>. The three-letter code may not start with <code>I</code> or <code>O</code>, as they can be mistaken for <code>1</code> or <code>0</code>. (Until 1999, <code>I</code> and <code>O</code> were not used at all). Also, combinations like <code>III</code> or <code>OOO</code> are not allowed.
Several letter groups have been reserved for special use and may not be assigned to regular cars. These include <code>POL</code> (Romanian Police), <code>DEP</code> (Chamber of Deputies), <code>SNT</code> (Romanian Senate), <code>SRI</code> (Romanian Intelligence Service), <code>GUV</code> (Romanian Government).
Legislation
In Romania, vehicle license plates are issued based on:
- Article 19 from O.U.G. 195 from 12 December 2002 regarding traffic on public roads
- Order of Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration nr. 1501 from 13 November 2006, regarding the procedure of vehicle licensing, registering, striking out and issuing of provisional or running licenses.
- Romanian Standard SR 13078:1996 "Road vehicles. Retro-reflective registration plates for motor vehicles and trailers" with five updates.
- Romanian Standard SR 13140:1996 "Road vehicles. Content and structure of registration provisional and running test numbers to be relief embossed on retro-reflective registration plates" with three updates.
Second series of license plates (2024-present)
Starting from September 2024, a new series of license plate numbers has been issued in Romania, marking the second modification of the plate format since its initial adoption in 1992 and the previous update in 2007. These are not major changes; they mainly consist of new graphic and extra security elements designed to discourage potential counterfeiting of license plates, as well as to enhance European standards for license plates inside the European Union.
thumb|270x270px|Romanian license plate issued from 2007 to 2024.
Differences compared to the previously issued series of license plates (2007-2024):
- A unique personal identification code has now been added to each plate. Each plate comes with a completely random, distinct code following an increasing order. Previously, this code was visible only on the rear side of the plate. On the new plates, this code is located on the left side, under the first digit of the license plate number (see the attached photo).
- The newly issued plates feature a new security element: a barcode located below the second digit and, in some cases, extending even under the first letter of the license plate number. This code can be scanned by authorized public services (R.A.R.), police, surveillance cameras and so on. Once scanned, it automatically displays technical data about the vehicle as well as information about its owner, such as name, address, city, and county of origin (see the attached photo).thumb|319x319px|[[File:Phosphorescent hologram featuring the Romanian coat of arms (2024-present).jpg|thumb|90x90px|Phosphorescent hologram featuring the Romanian coat of arms (2024-present)New series of Romanian license plates issued after September 2024 from Bacău county.]]
- As an additional anti-counterfeiting measure, phosphorescent holograms featuring the Romanian coat of arms are now placed along the entire license plate number, visible in daylight or under any light conditions, especially at night. In previous versions, holograms were similar but not easily visible, and instead of the Romanian state coat of arms, only the "RO" code holograms was present.
Possible combinations
Given that <code>Q</code> cannot be used at all, and that all letter combinations starting with <code>O</code> or <code>I</code> are forbidden in order to avoid confusion, there are roughly 23 x 25 x 25 = 14,375 letter combinations (but keep in mind that a couple of dozen specific combinations have been eliminated from the public pool for various reasons). Multiplying with the 99 numbers in the original scheme (<code>00</code> is not a valid number) gives 1,423,125 possible combination for each of the 42 counties.
While the total 59,771,250 number of combinations is far in excess (about an order of magnitude greater) than the actual number of vehicles registered in the entirety of Romania, this does not take into account the particularities of specific counties.
Indeed, during 2010 it was estimated that the pool of combinations for Bucharest would run out during the year, a situation created by the city's unusually large vehicle pool when compared to other cities and even entire counties.
This has led to expanding the number code for Bucharest to 3 digits, raising the city's pool to 2,860,625 and the total number of combinations overall to 61,208,750.
Other license plate formats
There are several other types of license plates currently in use in Romania in addition to the standard format.
Short-term temporary plates
thumb|150px|right|Red plate from [[Timiș County]]
Colloquially referred to as red numbers, the short-term temporary plates consist of the European strip, followed by the county code and three to six digits, of which the first is always zero and the second is always non-zero. All the writing outside of the European-strip on this plate is in red font.
These plates are valid for a maximum of 30 days and they can be re-issued for a cumulative continuous period of no more than 90 days.
These plates can be used for any vehicle regardless of its technical road-worthy state and have been specially designed as a fallback for any case where it would be impractical or impossible for a vehicle to be issued regular plates.
thumb|150x150px|Test vehicle plate from [[Tulcea County]]
They tend to be most often used by car leasing and rental companies for their new cars, or cars used as temporary replacement while the owner's car is being repaired.
There is a variation of this format used for test vehicles, having 3 digits following the county code, and the inscription "PROBE" (trials) after the digits. The smallest number used in this case is 101.
Long-term temporary plates
thumb|150px|right|Temporary plate from [[Bucharest (1992-2007)]]
The long-term temporary plates are similar to the short-term plates but use a black inscription instead of red and the number never starts with zero. Additionally, on the right side there is a red strip containing the end date of the plate's validity in YY/MM format.
This kind of plate is used most often for foreign nationals who take temporary residence in Romania, and for cars that fall under a leasing agreement.
Plates for electric vehicles
thumb|150px|right|Green plate from [[Bacău County]]
right|150px|thumb|Diplomatic plateMost commonly known as "green plates", they are similar to the standard format, but use a green inscription instead of black. This kind of plate is meant solely for electric vehicles (EVs), distinguishing them from those vehicles relying on gasoline or diesel.
thumb|150x150px|Consular Transport plate
Diplomatic plates
right|150px|thumb|Car with diplomatic plates
The diplomatic plate contains the European strip followed by blue text. The text consists of a code which can be <code>CD</code> (Diplomatic Corps), <code>TC</code> (Consular Transport), or <code>CO</code> (Consulate), followed by 6 digits.
The first three digits stand for the country or international organization, the last three usually for the rank of the owner. The lowest number for both sets of 3 is 101. Thus, a car with license plate number <code>123 101</code> would refer to Switzerland's (<code>123</code>) ambassador (ambassadors and heads of mission are usually assigned code <code>101</code>).
CD license plates are issued exclusively to diplomats, and cars having such plates benefit from diplomatic immunity. However TC licence plates are issued to foreign NATO officers based in Romania and other organisations in addition to Consulates. Initially, the countries or organizations received codes in their alphabetical order, but some countries, such as United States or Russia, have received more than one code because they have surpassed 899 registered cars.
Table of codes (incomplete):
: {| class="wikitable"
!Code !!Country
|-
| 101 ||
|-
| 102 ||
|-
| 103 ||
|-
| 104 ||
|-
| 105 ||
|-
| 106 ||
|-
| 107 ||
|-
| 108 ||
|-
| 109 ||
|-
| 110 ||
|-
| 111 ||
|-
| 112 ||
|-
| 113 ||
|-
| 114 ||
|-
| 115 ||
|-
| 116 ||
|-
| 122 ||
|-
| 123 ||
|-
| 124 ||
|-
| 125 ||
|-
| 126 ||
|-
| 127 ||
|-
| 128 ||
|-
| 130 ||
|-
| 131 ||
|-
| 132 ||
|-
| 134 ||
|-
| 136 ||
|-
| 138 ||
|-
| 141 ||
|-
| 142 ||
|-
| 146 ||
|-
| 150 ||
|-
| 152 ||
|-
| 154 ||
|-
| 155 ||
|-
| 156 ||
|-
| 157 ||
|-
| 159 ||
|-
| 165 ||
|-
| 166 ||
|-
| 167 ||
|-
| 168 ||
|-
| 170 ||
|-
| 183 ||
|-
| 188 ||
|-
| 189 ||
|-
| 191 ||
|-
| 193 ||
|-
| 205 ||
|-
| 206 ||
|-
| 207 ||
|-
| 210 ||
|-
| 211 ||
|-
| 216 ||
|-
| 217 ||
|-
| 220 ||
|-
| 222 ||
|-
| 223 ||
|-
| 226 ||
|-
| 231 ||
|-
| 233 ||
|-
| 234 ||
|} thumb|150x150px|[[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Romania)|MAI plate]]
Plates for special organizations
right|150px|thumb|[[Romanian Land Forces|Romanian Army truck]]
thumb|150x150px|[[Romanian Land Forces|Romanian Army plate]]
right|150px|thumb|[[SMURD ambulance with MAI plates]]
The Romanian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are allowed to issue plates in a special format which does not fall under normal regulations.
The format, size and style is decided by each such organization via internal regulations and may not resemble other types of plates.
The Armed Forces use plates without the European strip (as their regulations predate the 1992 regulation imposing it), with the letter "A" (Armată, military) followed by 3 to 7 digits. Military plates issued more recently (from 2002 onwards) may include the European strip.
Ministry of Interior plates start with "MAI" and are typically seen on cars belonging to the Gendarmerie, Romanian Police, emergency response units, and some SMURD ambulances.
MAI plates are not issued to cars used by local police employed by town hall, which use regular plates instead.
Local administration plates
Yellow background plates are issued by the local authorities such as town hall, municipalities, village or commune mayoralties for the registration of certain light vehicles, or other types of vehicles that do not need country-wide authorization, such as public utility vehicles, some light garbage trucks, lawn mowers, small sanitation vehicles, mass-transit vehicles tethered to local infrastructure, quad bikes, scooters, golf carts
thumb|150x150px|Yellow local administration license plate for [[Timișoara]]
and non-road going agricultural vehicles, such as combine harvesters, non-road-going tractors, or horse-drawn carts.
The format of the plate is not standardized across all administrations. Most local authorities used a yellow plate, but there are exceptions like Cluj-Napoca, which used white plate similar to old German plates, but always bearing the letters CJ-N (from the city name's abbreviation), followed by 3 digits.150px|thumb|Yellow local administration plate on a [[Bucharest trolleybus]]
The coat of arms or initials of the city or village is often used on the left, followed by a number of fixed-length number (4 to 6 digits, always the same size within the same issuing authority). The first number to be issued is usually 1, zero-padded to the left.
Vehicles bearing yellow plates may not leave the jurisdiction of the authority that issued the plate, but some of them can cross county borders on occasion, for example rental scooters, vehicles being towed, or trolleybuses on their way from the factory to the depot. In the case of rental vehicles such as scooters or quad bikes, they tend to retain the registration plates issued by the authority of the region where the owner resides even when they are used in another jurisdiction.
Dual-powered buses are registered with standard number plates.
Trams do not have to bear the plate itself, but are required to somehow bear the registration number, either painted or printed on a sticker, usually next to their fleet number.
County codes
thumb|400px|Map of the codes.
This is the table of counties, their county code and their county capital cities.
{| class=wikitable
|-
! align=center | Code !! County !! Capital
|-
|B ||-||Bucharest
|-
|AB || Alba || Alba Iulia
|-
|AG || Argeş || Pitești
|-
|AR || Arad || Arad
|-
|BC || Bacău|| Bacău
|-
|BH || Bihor || Oradea
|-
|BN || Bistrița-Năsăud || Bistrița
|-
|BR || Brăila || Brăila
|-
|BT || Botoșani || Botoșani
|-
|BV || Brașov || Brașov
|-
|BZ || Buzău || Buzău
|-
|CJ || Cluj || Cluj-Napoca
|-
|CL || Călărași|| Călărași
|-
|CS || Caraș-Severin || Reșița
|-
|CT || Constanța|| Constanța
|-
|CV || Covasna || Sfântu Gheorghe
|-
|DB || Dâmbovița|| Târgoviște
|-
|DJ || Dolj || Craiova
|-
|GJ || Gorj || Târgu Jiu
|-
|GL || Galați|| Galați
|-
|GR || Giurgiu || Giurgiu
|-
|HD || Hunedoara || Deva
|-
|HR || Harghita || Miercurea Ciuc
|-
|IF || Ilfov || Bucharest
|-
|IL || Ialomița|| Slobozia
|-
|IS || Iași|| Iași
|-
|MH || Mehedinți|| Drobeta-Turnu Severin
|-
|MM || Maramureș|| Baia Mare
|-
|MS || Mureș|| Târgu Mureș
|-
|NT || Neamț|| Piatra Neamț
|-
|OT || Olt || Slatina
|-
|PH || Prahova || Ploiești
|-
|SB || Sibiu || Sibiu
|-
|SJ || Sălaj|| Zalău
|-
|SM || Satu Mare || Satu Mare
|-
|SV || Suceava || Suceava
|-
|TL || Tulcea || Tulcea
|-
|TM || Timiș|| Timișoara
|-
|TR || Teleorman || Alexandria
|-
|VL || Vâlcea|| Râmnicu Vâlcea
|-
|VN || Vrancea || Focșani
|-
|VS || Vaslui || Vaslui
|}
History
1900–1908
The first vehicle registration plate in Romania was issued in 1900 to Bazil Assan, bearing the number 1.
This created a problem with Prince Bibescu, who was a keen automotive enthusiast, president of the Romanian Automobile Club and avid car racer, and wanted to have the first license plate, so he was issued plate number 0 (zero). Bibescu's car is exhibited today at the National Museum of Romanian History.
In the beginning the plates took the simple form of white numbers on a black background and could even be home made. Registration was done by the Mayor of Bucharest and the numbers identified the owner rather than the car. They were assigned in the order they were requested, without differentiating between physical persons and organizations. As there were so few cars in the country (139 in 1908, 169 in 1909) it was not necessary to note the region on the number plate, and the entire updated list was published monthly in the "Revista Automobilă" magazine, edited by the Romanian Royal Automobile club.|image2 = Sighişoara license plate (1908)
On August 15, 1908, a letter sent by the Romanian Automobile Club to the Chief Commissioner of Police mentions the need for a new system of license plates, which would see that all plates use the same size and font and include the name of the city where the vehicle was registered. The new system was approved by the police very soon after and a car participating to a race on October 26, 1908 can already be seen bearing the number "9-Bc" (Bucharest).
Transnistria
Wartime Transnistria occupied by Romanian forces briefly had its own special plates. These began Tr-number-regional suffix. Thus, the Cadillac of the regional administrator had Tr-1-Ods (for Odesa). These numbers were very short-lived.
thumb|150px|Crown shown on royal family vehicles
Royal family
Vehicles belonging to Romanian royal family all had a rectangular white plate with a drawing of the Steel crown of Romania in the middle.
Urban myths and popular culture
- In Communist Romania, certain license plates such as those starting with 1-B were issued only to high-ranking Communist leaders and their proteges. Many of them changed their license plates to fake military plates in the weeks following the Romanian Revolution, in order to avoid trouble. Others, such as tennis player Ilie Năstase, chose to still drive cars with plates 1-B-101 and 1-B-106 for many years afterward.
- Urban myths ascribing special meaning to certain license plate combinations crop up all the time. Such combinations have included plates starting with B 06, plates where the letter groups includes or starts with a W, and plates where the letter group has additional spacing between the letters. Some myths have some connection to reality; for example, the W myth may be related to the fact that the Protection and Guard Service chose to assign the combination WST to their entire car fleet, leading people to surmise that a car with such a license plate would not be pulled over by Police.