Tens of thousands of Romanians cannot retire due to the lack of an extremely important document

Tens of thousands of Romanians are facing major difficulties in the retirement process due to the lack of work cards, essential documents for proving the length of work done before 2001, when digital records were switched to. Although the CNPP has been running scanning campaigns, the situation is critical for those whose cards have been lost, destroyed or not picked up from former employers or ITMs.

Tens of thousands of Romanians cannot retire because they do not have a work card. Photo by Alina Mitran

Thousands of Romanians still have their old work cards kept at the territorial labor inspectorates (ITM). In many counties, these documents were never collected after switching to the electronic register of employees (REVISAL).

This is why, in 2026, many work cards are still waiting to be picked up from the Territorial Labor Inspectorates (ITM), the holder having to take steps to take them over.

This step is extremely important, considering that without the work card, people of retirement age cannot submit their pension file and cannot prove the periods of work, risking receiving much lower pensions.

For many people, the work card can be essential to determine the pension or to prove the length of work for the periods before 2011.

Tens of thousands of uncollected work cards

The situation varies nationally, but public data shows that there are still tens of thousands of cards left in ITM warehouses. Among the counties with the most uncollected documents are: ITM Bacău, with over 14,000 uncollected work cards, ITM Ilfov with over 5,000 work books, ITM Caraș-Severin with almost 8,000, ITM Bucharest (over 30,000 books not yet retrieved, according to the latest public information), ITM Argeș (over 13,000 of uncollected passbooks, according to the latest public information). Similar situations are also recorded at ITM Prahova, ITM Constanța, ITM Iasi and ITM Hunedoara, but also in other counties of the country.

Why it is important to recover the work card

Even if after 2011 the record of professional activity is made electronically, the work book remains important in several situations:

• prove seniority before 2011

• it is necessary to establish pension rights

• helps to complete the file for early or partially early retirement

• serves as an official archival document for periods when REVISAL did not exist

• may be required by certain institutions in legal processes or special situations.

The notebook can be picked up by the holder of the document or by a person authorized by notarial power of attorney or by the heirs, if the holder is deceased (with supporting documents).

Documents required for picking up the work card:

• the identity document in the original

• standard application (to be completed at the ITM headquarters)

• if applicable: notarial power of attorney or deeds of heir

The lifting of work cards from ITMs is extremely important since, until the end of 2010, they provide the main way to prove the length of work for those who want to open the right to pension. Otherwise, the court would be needed to reconstitute seniority.

“The length of service established until December 31, 2010 is reconstituted, at the request of the person who does not have an employment card, by the court competent to resolve labor disputes, based on documents or other evidence from which the existence of labor relations can result“, according to the Labor Code.