This page explains the DGPCI theory test for the Romanian driving licence for people who take it in English: who may take it in English and how to ask for it, who can apply for a Romanian licence and where, what the test looks like, who has been exempt from it since 2026, and how to prepare. Every rule below carries a number in brackets that points to its source: the Ministry of Internal Affairs, DGPCI and the law. Sources checked on 14 October 2026; the 2026 exemptions on 26 October 2026. LaPermis.ro is an independent study service, not part of DGPCI.
In short
- Language: foreign citizens and citizens of EU and EEA countries or of Switzerland can ask to take the theory test in English, French or German. You tick the language on the exam application form.[4]
- Format (category B): 26 questions in 30 minutes; you pass with 22 correct answers, so at most 4 mistakes.[2, 4]
- Exemptions (from 13 May 2026): holders of a category B1 licence obtained at 16 or 17, with at least one year of experience, no longer take the theory test for category B; there are exemptions for A2 and A too, explained below.[6, 7]
- Questions: DGPCI publishes them in Romanian only.[1] The English you read in the exam is DGPCI's own translation; the English on LaPermis.ro is ours.
- Try it now: take a free mock exam in English — no account, real questions, a real timer.
- What is at stake: in 2025, 362,557 of 680,300 theory exams ended in “failed”, 53%.[3]
Can you take the theory test in English?
Yes, if you are not a Romanian citizen. The theory test is in Romanian as a rule. Foreign citizens and citizens of EU and EEA member states or of Switzerland can ask to take it in an international language, and the application form offers English, French and German. Romanian citizens who belong to a national minority can ask for their mother tongue instead; the form offers Hungarian and German.[4, 7] You make the choice on the application form for the exam.[4]
DGPCI's English exists only in the exam room. The questions DGPCI publishes are in Romanian,[1] and its free online simulator offered no English when we checked on 14 October 2026.[2] Nobody outside the exam can learn DGPCI's English wording by heart, so learn the rule behind each question rather than its sentences.
Who can apply, and where you take the test
You can apply for a Romanian driving licence if you have your domicile or residence in Romania, or if you can show that you have been studying in Romania for at least 6 months. For driving licences, having your residence in Romania means, for example, that you usually live at least 185 days in a calendar year at an address in Romania because of personal and work ties.[5]
Before the theory test you must meet the age conditions and show that you have done the theory training: a course at an authorised driving school.[5] Since March 2024 you can take the theory test at any licensing service in Romania. The practical test and the licence itself are handled by the service for the place where you live, or, if you are a student in Romania, for the address where you live while you study.[5]
How the theory test works
The theory test is the first part of the driving exam. You take it on a computer at a public licensing service (DGPCI, formerly DRPCIV). For category B it has 26 questions, you have 30 minutes, and you pass with at least 22 correct answers.[4] Each question has 3 options, and one, two or all three can be correct: you score the question only if you tick every correct option and nothing else.[2] A fifth mistake means you can no longer reach 22, so the test is failed. Shared out evenly, the time gives you about 69 seconds per question.
DGPCI's software draws the questions at random from the official bank, so no two tests are the same. DGPCI also offers a free online simulator built from the same bank, in Romanian.[2, 4] To try the format in English before the exam, start from our Romanian driving test practice questions in English.
Who no longer takes the theory test (from 13 May 2026)
Law 240/2025, in force since 27 December 2025, added exemptions from the theory test to the road traffic code.[6] MAI Order 69/2026, in force since 13 May 2026, wrote them into the examination procedure as art. 3² of Order 268/2010.[7] From that date you no longer take the theory test:
- for category B, if you hold a category B1 licence obtained at 16 or 17 and have at least one year of experience driving a category B1 vehicle (road traffic code, art. 23(4²); Order 268/2010, art. 3²(a));[6, 7]
- for category A2, if you hold a category A1 licence and have at least two years of experience riding a category A1 motorcycle (road traffic code, art. 24(1²); Order 268/2010, art. 3²(b));[6, 7]
- for category A, if you hold a category A2 licence and have at least two years of experience riding a category A2 motorcycle (Order 268/2010, art. 3²(c)). The road traffic code, in art. 24(1²), words the category A exemption for people who first obtained a category A1 licence, with the same condition of at least two years riding a category A2 motorcycle;[6, 7]
- for category A or A2, if you already held a category B licence on 27 December 2025, the day Law 240/2025 came into force, and can prove that you completed the category A theory and practical courses (road traffic code, art. 24(1³); Order 268/2010, art. 3²(d)). This is a transitional rule: it covers only people who held B on that date, and the practical test is still required.[6, 7]
The other conditions set by law still apply.[6] The new application form (annex 1, replaced by the same order) has a box for “with/without the exemption from the theory test”, and exempted candidates are booked straight for the practical test, as places allow and in the order of the requests.[7] For everyone else the theory test is as described above: Order 69/2026 changes neither its format (art. 10) nor its languages (art. 5).[4, 7]
Practising in English on LaPermis.ro
LaPermis.ro has translated its category B bank into English: the same questions, answers, pictures and numbering as the Romanian original, with an explanation for every question. The translation is ours, so its wording will not match DGPCI's exam English word for word. When a sentence is unclear, switch the test to the Romanian original: the rule is what counts, and the rule is the same in every language. For the road signs, our road sign catalogue (in Romanian) shows every sign as drawn in the official annex. Our bank was brought in line with DGPCI's current bank on 19 October 2026 (1,208 category B questions), and the changes are logged on the question bank updates page.
- Topics. The category B bank is split, in the order of the official bank, into 14 groups of 86–87 questions, which you work through one after another.
- All questions. Random questions from the whole bank, without a timer, for the days when you want volume.
- Exam simulation. 26 questions, 30 minutes, pass from 22: the same shape as the real test.
- Questions with mistakes. Every question you have ever got wrong, repeated until you get it right.
- Favorites and Spaced review. The questions you save, and the questions the app brings back at growing intervals so that they stay learned.
- An explanation for every answer, saying why each option is right or wrong and which rule decides it.
The app speaks English too: menus, buttons, the timer and the results. Start with the free mock exam, then create a free account (email or Google) to practise in these modes. The first period is unlimited and free; after it a free daily allowance remains, and unlimited access is a one-time purchase.
A study plan
- Day 1: take a mock exam cold. Do not study first. Your score shows how far you are, and your mistakes show where to start.
- Days 2–10: one or two groups a day. Read the explanation of every question you get wrong, and look up the signs you do not know in the catalogue.
- Every day: ten minutes of mistakes only. Your own mistakes are the most valuable questions in the bank. If you cannot say why the other options are wrong, you have not learned the question yet.
- Days 11–20: one or two mock exams a day. Time yourself. Bookmark the questions you guessed, even when you guessed right, and settle them the next day.
- The last three days: mistakes and bookmarks only, plus a mock exam every morning.
When are you ready?
Ready does not mean one passed mock exam. It means 25 or 26 out of 26 in five mock exams in a row, with time to spare, and being able to explain every question you guessed. Only then does the pass mark of 22 leave you room for an unfamiliar sentence in DGPCI's English, or for nerves.[4] More than half of all theory exams end in “failed”: in 2025, 53% did.[3]
Frequently asked questions
Can I take the Romanian driving theory test in English?
Yes, if you are a foreign citizen or a citizen of another EU or EEA country or of Switzerland: you ask for English, French or German on the exam application form. Romanian citizens take it in Romanian, or in Hungarian or German if that is their mother tongue as members of a national minority.[4]
Is the English on LaPermis.ro the same as in the exam?
Not word for word. DGPCI publishes its questions in Romanian only,[1] and the English version of the exam is its own translation, used only in the exam room. Ours is a careful translation of the Romanian questions, with the same answers, pictures and numbering, and you can switch any question to the Romanian original.
Who can get a Romanian driving licence?
People with their domicile or residence in Romania (for example, living here at least 185 days a year because of personal and work ties), and people who have been studying in Romania for at least 6 months.[5]
Where can I take the theory test?
At any licensing service in Romania, once you meet the age conditions and have done a theory course at an authorised driving school. The practical test is taken where you live.[5]
Who is exempt from the theory test?
From 13 May 2026: for category B, holders of a category B1 licence obtained at 16 or 17 with at least one year of experience; for A2, holders of A1 with at least two years of experience; for A, holders of A2 with at least two years of experience; and for A or A2, as a transitional rule, people who held a category B licence on 27 December 2025 and completed the category A theory and practical courses. All of them still take the practical test.[6, 7]
How many questions and mistakes are allowed?
26 questions in 30 minutes for category B; you pass with at least 22 correct answers, so at most 4 mistakes.[4]
How is a question with several correct options scored?
You score it only if you tick every correct option and no wrong one. Ticking one of two correct options is a mistake.[2]
Can I practise for free without an account?
Yes: one full mock exam in English is open to everyone, with no account. Practising by group, the mistakes mode, the explanations and saved progress need a free account.
Sources
The numbers in brackets point to this list. All the documents are in Romanian. To practise in English, start from LaPermis.ro's practice questions in English.
- Ministry of Internal Affairs — "Examene auto simulate on-line" (the questions of the official tests, public since 31 July 2009; in Romanian)
- DGPCI — the official exam simulator (26 questions, 30 minutes, pass from 22; in Romanian)
- Ziarul Financiar, 18 January 2026 — DGPCI's figures for 2025: 680,300 theory exams, 362,557 failed (in Romanian)
- MAI Order 268/2010 on the examination procedure for the driving licence (in Romanian): art. 5, art. 10, annex 1
- Government Emergency Ordinance 195/2002 on road traffic (the road traffic code; art. 23 and 24 as amended by Law 48/2024; in Romanian): art. 23, 23¹, 24
- Law 240/2025 amending Government Emergency Ordinance 195/2002 (Official Gazette no. 1198 of 24 December 2025, in force from 27 December 2025; in Romanian): art. I (art. 23(4²), art. 24(1²) and (1³) of the road traffic code)
- MAI Order 69/2026 amending Order 268/2010 (Official Gazette no. 406 of 13 May 2026, in force from 13 May 2026; in Romanian): art. I points 1, 6 and 9 (art. 3², art. 8(5) and annex 1 of Order 268/2010)