It’s the obligation that gets talked about least and forgotten most often: every transport company must notify ARR (Romanian Road Authority) when it hires or loses a driver. Not at the end of the year, not at an inspection — within 15 days of the change at the latest.
It costs nothing, takes a few minutes online, and yet it’s one of the most frequently recorded offenses, because it has no fixed calendar deadline: it only comes up when something changes in the team. Below: who reports, what is reported, the deadline, the platform and the fine.
Who is required to report
The obligation isn’t limited to companies that transport for hire. Under HG no. 69/2012, it applies to both road transport operators and businesses that carry out road transport on own account — and it applies equally to Romanian and foreign companies operating in Romania.
In other words, if your company holds a Community license or an own-account transport certificate and employs drivers, the obligation applies to you. It doesn’t matter how many trucks you have or whether you carry your own goods or your customers’.
The platform also serves other categories — driving schools for trainees, occasional passenger transport operators, regular inter-county services, student passes — but for a freight transport company, the only relevant part is reporting employed drivers.
What exactly is reported
What gets reported is changes in the status of employed drivers. In practice, this means any change in the makeup of your driver team:
- Hiring a new driver — identification details, CNP (personal identification number), employment contract and hire date;
- Termination of employment — with the date the contract ended;
- Changes to the status of a driver already reported.
Watch out for the part that is missed most often: departures must be reported too, not just hires. A company that diligently reports every new hire but never reports departures ends up with ARR records that no longer match what’s in the yard — and the gap shows up at the first inspection.
The legal text leaves no room for interpretation: reporting must be done within no more than 15 days of the change occurring.
Two things to keep in mind about this deadline:
- It runs from the event, not from when someone in the company remembers. The reference date is the date of hire or contract termination.
- It applies to each change separately. There is no cumulative monthly report to cover you — each hire and each departure has its own 15-day deadline.
The practical recommendation is to tie reporting to your HR process rather than a separate reminder: on the same day an employment contract is signed or terminated, the report is filed too. It’s the only way to make sure the deadline doesn’t depend on anyone’s memory.
How to report
Reporting is done by filling in an electronic form on the dedicated platform of the Romanian Road Authority: raportarionlinearr.ro.
- Get the login credentials for your company. Access uses credentials specific to the user category, and the request for the access key is submitted to ARR.
- Fill in the electronic form with the driver’s details and the type of change — hire or termination.
- Submit it and keep the confirmation. It’s your proof that you met the deadline, and at a later inspection what matters is the submission date, not the fact that “we reported it at some point.”
It’s worth getting your access credentials before you need them. A company that hires a driver and only then discovers it has no working account loses part of the 15 days to the access procedure.
The fine for failing to report: 4,000–6,000 lei
The penalty is set out in HG no. 69/2012, Article 4, point 28, which penalizes a road transport operator or own-account transport business for failing to send ARR changes in the status of employed drivers within no more than 15 days.
According to Article 7 of the same decision, the offense is classified as a serious offense and is punishable by a a fine of 4,000 lei to 6,000 lei, applied to the Romanian or foreign operator.
The reporting itself is free and takes a few minutes. The fine for skipping it starts at 4,000 lei — more than eleven annual certified true copies cost. It’s probably the worst cost-benefit ratio in the entire administration of a transport company.
The same penalty group, also 4,000–6,000 lei, covers failing to provide the certified true copy to the driver for roadside inspections.
Legal basis
For anyone who wants to check or cite the sources in a discussion with a consultant, the framework is as follows:
- Government Ordinance No. 27/2011 on road transport — sets out the obligations but not the amount of the penalties: Article 85(2) provides that these are approved by Government decision.
- Government Decision (HG) no. 69/2012 — the decision that actually sets the offenses and fines; Article 4, point 28 for reporting, Article 7 for the amount.
- Regulations (EC) No. 1071/2009, 1072/2009 and 1073/2009 — the European framework for access to the occupation and to the road transport market.
The distinction between the ordinance and the decision isn’t an academic detail: the figures circulating on forums are often wrong precisely because they are taken from the ordinance, where they don’t exist, or from the wrong penalty group in the decision.
How it ties in with your other obligations
Reporting to ARR is one of the obligations triggered when you hire a driver. The others, in the same sequence:
- checking the certificate of professional competence (CPC) and the tachograph card — both with their own expiry dates;
- making sure the vehicle they drive has a certified true copy that is valid;
- for international trips, the obligations for driver posting and the IMI declaration.
Each has its own deadline and its own penalty, and none appears on a fixed calendar. In a company with staff turnover, tracking them systematically — along with driver activity times — costs significantly less than a single fine.
Frequently asked questions
Who has to report drivers to ARR?
Both road transport operators that transport for hire and businesses that carry out road transport on own account. The obligation applies equally to Romanian and foreign companies.
How soon must a driver’s hiring be reported?
Within no more than 15 days of the change occurring. The deadline runs from the date of hire or contract termination, not from when the company remembers, and applies to each change separately.
Do departures have to be reported too, not just hires?
Yes. The obligation covers changes in the status of employed drivers, which includes both hires and terminations of employment. Reporting only hires leads to ARR records that don’t match reality.
Where are ARR online reports submitted?
On the raportarionlinearr.ro platform, by filling in an electronic form. Access uses specific login credentials obtained in advance from ARR.
What is the fine for failing to report?
A fine of 4,000 lei to 6,000 lei, under HG no. 69/2012, Article 4, point 28 in conjunction with Article 7. The offense is classified as serious and applies to Romanian or foreign transport operators.
Does reporting cost anything?
No. Submitting the electronic form is free, unlike the issuing of ARR documents, which have their own fees. The only cost of this obligation arises when it isn’t met.
Is there a mandatory periodic report?
There is no cumulative monthly or annual report on driver status. The obligation is triggered by each change, with a 15-day deadline from the date it occurs.
