Drivers who do not pay their traffic fines will lose their license / When the measure will come into force

Drivers who do not pay their traffic fines within 105 days of the violation being reported will no longer have the right to drive, as the Ministry of the Interior will automatically suspend their driver's license, Cseke Attila, the Minister of Development, announced on Tuesday. The measure would enter into force on September 1, 2026 and is included in the draft Emergency Ordinance on the reform of the administration, which was adopted by the Government on Tuesday.

The Minister of Development announced on Tuesday, in a press conference together with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, what changes will come into effect regarding the suspension of the car license in case of a traffic fine.

“There are 2 cases related to permits. One case in which, when reducing the suspension period, the one who wants this reduction of the suspension period will have to prove the payment of the traffic fines he received, not only the fine resulting from that suspension whose suspension period he wants, but not all debts to the local budget”, said Cseke Attila.

The minister said that the proposal that the reduction of the suspension period of the driving license be conditional on the payment of all taxes and debts to the local budget, including the driving fine, has been eliminated.

“The second procedure is that after the expiry of 105 days from the finding of the contravention, the license will be suspended, which will be done through a digital interconnection between the local authorities and the MAI,” said Minister Cseke Attila.

The right to drive automatically returns after paying the fine

During this period, the minister also said, the citizen will be warned by a payment summons from the local authorities that after a certain period, for non-payment of the fine, the permit will be suspended.

“The citizen does not have to hand over the license. It will simply appear in the Traffic Police records after this period that the right to drive has been withdrawn or suspended for the person in question”, stated Cseke Attila.

“When the payment is made, the local authority, within 2 days, has the obligation to enter in the digital platform of the MAI that the fine has been paid and obviously from there the right to drive is no longer suspended. During all this time the citizen does not have to do anything”, said the minister.

It enters into force on September 1

Asked by HotNews.ro when these changes will come into force, the Minister of Development stated that the proposed entry into force is in 6 months.

“So if we consider that on March 1st this Emergency Ordinance is in the Official Gazette, somewhere on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, then it means that from September 1st this mechanism will be in force”, affirmed Cseke Attila.

The Minister of Development also stated that the emergency ordinance adopted by the Government on Tuesday no longer provides for a 60% increase in unpaid fines.

The Economic and Social Council (CES) gave an unfavorable opinion to the GEO project adopted by the Government, warning that several provisions could be unconstitutional.

Thus, the CES warned that “the loss of the right to drive for non-payment of traffic fines”, as well as “the condition of the restitution of the license and the access to road formalities on the payment of all obligations to the local budget” violate provisions of the Constitution.