Traffic offences in Romania

Where the fine ends and the criminal offence begins

This is where the most common confusion arises. The offence under art. 336 (1) of the Criminal Code is defined by reference to the blood alcohol concentration, above 0.80 g/l of pure alcohol. A breathalyser measures something different: pure alcohol in exhaled air, expressed in mg/l. These are two distinct quantities and two distinct types of evidence.

The statutory thresholds are built on an approximate one to two relationship, so 0.40 mg/l in breath corresponds to the 0.80 g/l blood threshold. The relationship is not a fixed multiplier, and the breath reading must not simply be doubled. What the roadside device shows decides nothing. The blood analysis does.

Procedural thresholds under Ordinance no. 195/2002, as amended by Emergency Ordinance no. 84/2024 in force from 29 June 2024:

• Above 0.40 mg/l in exhaled air: biological sampling is mandatory under art. 38 (3), as it is on refusal of testing or on detection of psychoactive substances. Exactly 0.40 mg/l is not the same as above 0.40 mg/l.
• Between 0.11 and 0.40 mg/l inclusive: sampling is not mandatory and the act remains an administrative offence, but under art. 88 (5) you may request biological sampling yourself. It is worth requesting whenever the reading is near the limit.
• Accident with death or injury: sampling is mandatory even at a positive reading of up to 0.40 mg/l, under art. 38 (4).

Foreign drivers are frequently caught by this distinction, because the threshold, the units and the consequences differ substantially from those in their home jurisdiction.

Indicative alcohol calculator

A preventive tool for assessing risk before driving. It starts from declared consumption, not from a breathalyser reading or biological samples. It never confirms that you can drive. Data is processed only in your browser.

Open the calculator on its own page, together with the full explanation of the model, sources and limitations.

Driving under the influence, art. 336 Criminal Code

The text was amended by Law no. 172/2024, in force from 3 June 2024. In its current form, paragraph (1) provides imprisonment from 1 to 5 years and a ban on exercising certain rights. The alternative of a fine no longer exists. The same penalty applies under paragraph (2) to driving under the influence of psychoactive substances, for which the law sets no threshold value at all.

For psychoactive substances, where the law sets no threshold at all, the position is covered separately in the article on drug driving in Romania, including High Court Decision no. 25/2025.

Law no. 200/2023, in force from 9 July 2023, had already removed from paragraph (1) the phrase „at the time the biological samples are taken”, held unconstitutional for lack of foreseeability by Constitutional Court Decision no. 732/2014. What counts is therefore the blood alcohol concentration at the time of driving, not at the time of sampling, which is why the interval between the stop and the sample, and the limits of retrograde extrapolation, matter in every case.

The same law introduced paragraph (3), which raises the penalty to 2 to 7 years where the driver was carrying out public passenger transport, transporting dangerous substances, or acting as a driving instructor or examiner during practical training or testing.

Drinking after an accident, art. 336¹

Introduced by Law no. 200/2023, this offence targets a defence that used to work. Consuming alcohol or psychoactive substances after an accident resulting in death or bodily injury, and before biological samples are taken, carries 1 to 5 years or a fine. Paragraph (3) provides one exception: substances administered by authorised medical personnel where the driver's state of health requires it.

Refusing to provide samples, art. 337

Refusal or evasion of biological sampling carries imprisonment from 1 to 5 years, the same range as the offence the test would have established. Refusing does not improve your position, and it removes the technical challenges you could otherwise raise against the result.

Driving without a licence, art. 335

Driving without holding a licence carries 1 to 5 years, with no fine alternative; the fine was removed here earlier than for art. 336, by Law no. 200/2023, in force from 9 July 2023. Driving with a licence that does not cover the vehicle category, or that has been withdrawn, cancelled or suspended, carries 6 months to 3 years or a fine. Paragraph (3) extends the same penalty to anyone who hands over a vehicle to a person they know to be in one of those situations or under the influence.

Important for non-residents: a foreign licence that is not valid for driving in Romania places you within paragraph (2).

Leaving the scene of an accident, art. 338

The penalty is 2 to 7 years, the most severe in this area. The law provides four situations in which the act is not an offence: where only material damage resulted; where the driver personally took the injured to the nearest medical facility, declared their identity and registration number there, and returned immediately to the scene; where a priority vehicle was involved and the police were notified; and where the victim left the scene and the driver immediately notified the nearest police unit.

What sentencing options actually exist

Law no. 172/2024, in force from 3 June 2024, removed the criminal fine from art. 336 and, through art. 83 (2¹) of the Criminal Code, excluded deferral of penalty for the offences in art. 335 and art. 336.

For offences committed from that date, what remains is a suspended sentence under supervision, which is the usual outcome in a first case, immediate imprisonment, and, as rare exceptions, waiver of penalty under art. 80 or waiver of prosecution by the prosecutor.

For conduct before 3 June 2024 the more favourable criminal law applies under art. 5, and both the fine and deferral remain available.

A separate restriction: art. 91 (3¹), inserted by Law no. 200/2023, bars a suspended sentence for the aggravated forms of negligent homicide in art. 192 (2) and (3) where committed in the circumstances of art. 335 or art. 336. In fatal accidents, immediate imprisonment becomes mandatory.

On psychoactive substances specifically, including High Court Decision no. 25/2025, see the article on drug driving in Romania.

Your licence, in practice

The 72 hour rule

Where the licence was retained solely because a roadside device indicated the presence of psychoactive substances, it is returned on the basis of a toxicology report establishing the absence of those substances, or on expiry of 72 hours from completion of the biological sampling procedures if no such report has been communicated by then.

That period concerns the communication of the result on presence or absence and the regime of the licence. It does not mean that a forensic assessment of the substance's capability to impair driving must be completed within 72 hours. Analysis of presence and the full assessment of influence are different exercises, and the latter normally takes considerably longer.

Retention, suspension and annulment

Retention of the licence is an immediate administrative measure taken by the traffic police. Suspension of the right to drive is also administrative, for a fixed period. Annulment applies only in the statutory situations following a conviction that trigger it. A waiver of penalty under art. 80 of the Criminal Code is not a conviction and not a custodial sentence, and does not by itself trigger annulment.

For the offences above, the licence is retained under art. 111 of Ordinance no. 195/2002 and the replacement document is issued without the right to drive. There is a further consequence that surprises most clients: under art. 103 (1) (c), a 180 day suspension applies even after a case closure, an acquittal under art. 16 (1) (b) second sentence of the Criminal Procedure Code, a waiver of prosecution, a waiver of penalty or a deferral of penalty. A favourable criminal outcome does not automatically restore your right to drive.

How the defence is built

• The sampling procedure: the interval between the stop and the blood draw, the recorded times, compliance with the medical protocol.
• Chain of custody for the biological samples.
• The toxicology report: method, margin of error, and the limits of retrograde extrapolation.
• Breathalyser reading against blood test, which carry different evidential weight.
• Whether the road qualifies as public, which is far from obvious in private courtyards, car parks and industrial sites.
• The lawfulness of the traffic stop itself.

See also the general page on criminal defence in Romania.

What the assistance covers

• Driving under the influence of alcohol and of psychoactive substances.
• Refusal of, or evasion from, biological sampling.
• Driving without a licence, in all the situations under art. 335.
• Leaving the scene of an accident and altering the scene.
• Negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm in a traffic context.
• Representation during the investigation, in the preliminary chamber, at trial and on appeal.
• Review of toxicology reports and forensic expert evidence, with the specialists the case requires.
• Challenges to administrative measures concerning the licence.

Every case is assessed on its own documents. I do not promise outcomes and do not estimate results before reading the file.

Related articles

• Drug driving in Romania: what you actually face
• Indicative alcohol calculator
• Indicative psychoactive substance calculator

This page is informational and reflects Romanian legislation in force as of 28 July 2026. It does not constitute legal advice. For your specific situation, please get in touch.