What documents do you need to rent a car in Romania

You can book a car online in five minutes: choose the car, the dates and the pick-up location, and the system shows you the final price straight away, with no deposit. But the easy part ends there: at the handover, if your documents are not exactly the ones required, the rental can be refused or postponed even if you have already received the phone confirmation. It happens often to tourists who don’t know that their licence needs an accompanying document, and just as often to Romanians who turn up with an ID card that expired a few days earlier or a driving licence obtained less than a year ago.

The documents needed to rent a car in Romania are not complicated, but you should prepare them in advance, especially if you are coming from outside the European Union. Below we go through the complete list of documents, explain the rules on licence history and minimum age, show exactly what happens at handover, what to do if you have left something at home and the practical differences between a foreign tourist and a Romanian resident.

The complete list: what to bring on pick-up day

Whichever car you choose from our fleet — from the Dacia Logan to the Ford Mondeo — the basic documents are the same for every main driver. You need a valid ID document and your original driving licence. Both must be shown physically, in the original, at pick-up — photos on your phone, scans sent by email or digital licence apps are not accepted, however widely they may be used in other countries.

Here is the checklist we recommend before you set off for your pick-up point, whether it is in Bucharest, at Otopeni or at Băneasa:

A detail many people overlook: your passport must be valid for the entire rental period, not just on the pick-up date. If you book many weeks in advance, check the dates again just before you travel — a passport that expires in a few days can cause problems at border control too, not only with the rental company.

• ✓ A valid ID document in the original: an ID card for Romanian citizens or a passport for foreign nationals
• ✓ An original, valid category B driving licence, held for at least one year from the date of issue
• ✓ An International Driving Permit (IDP), required only if your licence was not issued in an EU/EEA country or is not written in the Latin alphabet
• ✓ Your booking reference, confirmed by phone, for quick identification at handover
• ✓ For any additional driver: the same documents — a valid ID and a licence held for the required time

The driving licence: how long you must have held it, categories and the International Driving Permit (IDP)

The basic rule is simple: you must have held a category B licence for at least one year on the day you pick up the car. This is calculated from the date category B was first issued, not from when you obtained another type of licence, and if your licence was reissued after a suspension, some companies count from the new issue date — ask explicitly when booking if this applies to you.

For citizens of the European Union and the European Economic Area, as well as Switzerland, a national licence is enough, with no additional document. Things are different for visitors from outside this area: if your licence is not written in the Latin alphabet or does not follow the European model, you need an International Driving Permit (IDP), issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, to which Romania is a signatory. This is often the case for visitors from China, Russia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Israel or South Korea. For visitors from the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or Japan we also recommend an IDP, even though direct recognition partly exists through bilateral agreements — it is simpler and avoids any discussion at handover.

An essential point: the IDP does not replace your national licence, it accompanies it. You must show both documents together, and the IDP can only be obtained in your home country before you travel, from the motoring club or designated authority (in the USA, for example, AAA or AATA). It cannot be issued in Romania to a foreign visitor, so people who only find out at pick-up that they need one are usually left without a quick solution.

Minimum age of 21: why it matters to insurers

The minimum rental age is 21, combined with having held a licence for at least one year. The rule is not arbitrary: the insurers that issue the RCA policy — the compulsory third-party motor insurance that every car in our fleet has — calculate the premium and cover conditions according to the driver’s risk profile, and traffic statistics consistently show that young and inexperienced drivers are involved in a disproportionate number of accidents, especially in busy city traffic like Bucharest’s.

Aligning the minimum age with the insurer’s requirements is not just red tape: it is the condition that keeps the RCA cover valid throughout the contract. Some rental companies charge an extra fee for drivers under 25 even if they meet the minimum age; our policy is not to charge such a supplement as long as the one-year licence requirement is met, but if you are checking for the first time, we recommend confirming this detail directly in the booking form.

What happens at handover: step by step

The first step is meeting at your chosen pick-up point — central Bucharest, Henri Coandă Airport in Otopeni or the private aviation area at Băneasa. If you choose Otopeni, it is worth reading our dedicated guide to car rental at the airport in advance, where we explain exactly where our representative will meet you and how long the procedure takes after landing.

The second step is the document check: our agent checks your ID, your original driving licence and, if applicable, your International Driving Permit, then confirms the details of your booking. At Skycar there is no deposit: nothing is blocked on your card and you don’t leave any money as a guarantee. For a detailed explanation of how renting with and without a deposit works in general, read our article on deposit vs. no deposit.

The third step is signing the rental contract, whose full terms you can find in the terms and conditions published on our website, followed by the vehicle inspection: we walk around the whole car, note any existing scratch, dent or defect on the handover form, usually with photos, and both parties sign it. We also check the fuel level — the standard policy is “full to full”, meaning you receive the car with a full tank and return it the same way; if you return it with less fuel, a refuelling charge applies at a rate higher than the pump price.

The last step is the actual handover of the keys and the car documents, together with a contact number for anything that may come up during the rental — a puncture, a minor accident, a question about your route or extending the rental.

What happens if you have left a document at home

Unfortunately, there is no real flexibility here: without your original ID or your physical, valid driving licence, the agent cannot legally hand over the car, whatever verbal assurances or alternative proof you show on your phone. The same applies to the International Driving Permit — if you are a visitor from a country where it is required and you don’t have it with you, it cannot be obtained quickly here, because it is issued only in your country of residence.

The most common mistake we see at Otopeni Airport is putting the driving licence in checked luggage “so it doesn’t get lost” — exactly the opposite of what you should do. Our advice: check all the required documents the evening before, keep your licence (and IDP, if needed) in your hand luggage, not in the bag you check in, and have your booking reference to hand. If you notice a problem before pick-up day — a passport about to expire, a licence that hasn’t been held long enough — contact us in advance; it can often be rescheduled or sorted out at no extra cost if you let us know early enough.

Foreign tourists vs. Romanian residents: the practical differences

For foreign tourists, the standard set of documents is a passport, the driving licence from their home country and, if needed, an International Driving Permit. It is also useful to know a few local traffic rules in advance — for example, in Romania you drive on the right, as in most of continental Europe — and if you plan to cross the border with the rental car, check in advance in the contract whether this is allowed and under what conditions.

For Romanian residents, the documents are simply the ID card and a Romanian driving licence, with no need for an IDP. The same rules on one year of licence history and the minimum age of 21 still apply, and, as for foreigners, licence history is calculated from the date category B was issued, not from when you came of age if you got your licence later or had it reissued.

Frequently asked questions about documents and renting

Can someone else be an additional driver? Yes, provided they meet the same age and licence-history requirements and show their own documents at handover; they can be added either when you book or directly at handover, usually for a small extra fee.

What if my licence is not written in the Latin alphabet, for example in Cyrillic, Arabic or Chinese? You need either an International Driving Permit or a certified translation to accompany the original licence — without one of these, the agent cannot check the validity and category of your licence.

Do I need a credit card for a deposit? No. At Skycar there is no deposit, so no amount is blocked on any card and you don’t need a credit card to rent.

What happens if my ID card expired a few days before pick-up? Your ID must be valid on the actual day you pick up the car, otherwise the booking cannot go ahead; check the expiry dates in advance, not only when you first book.

For any other specific situation, the frequently asked questions section of our website covers other cases too, from age and licence history to our mileage and cancellation policy.

The easiest way to avoid any surprises is to get your documents ready before you open the booking form: check that your ID card or passport is valid, that you have held your licence for at least a year and, if you are coming from outside the European Union, get an International Driving Permit from the authority in your country in good time. Once everything is ready, go to the booking form, choose the right car from the available fleet, your dates and pick-up location, and our team will call you shortly to confirm all the details.

October 2026 update: for most rentals you only need a valid driving licence and an ID document. If your licence was issued outside the European Union, ask us before booking whether you also need an International Driving Permit.