About 50 per cent of drivers from Transnistrian region hold national driving licenses

About 50% of drivers from the Transnistrian region hold national -type driving licenses. In 2024, there was a noticeable increase in the number of national model driver's licenses got by citizens residing on the left bank of the Dniester river and in the municipality of Bender. This procedure was carried out based on the simplified mechanism for aligning with national norms for the right to drive vehicles.

According to information provided by the Public Services Agency (ASP), under the simplified mechanism which operated until the end of last year, between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2024, 41,123 national model driving licenses were issued. Throughout 2024, under the simplified mechanism, 6,727 driving licenses were issued, representing an increase of about 20%  as compared to 2023 (5,357 licenses). Thus, approximately 50% of drivers in the Transnistrian region hold national type driving licenses.

Additionally, to ensure road traffic safety on public roads in the country and in international traffic, through enhancing the quality of the driver's license acquisition process, the government made amendments to the Regulation regarding the examination procedure for getting the right to drive vehicles, issuance, and validity of the driving license. Accordingly, starting from 2025, the equivalence to national norms of the right to drive vehicles got in settlements on the left bank of the Dniester and in the municipality of Bender will take place based on passing a theoretical and practical exam, corresponding to the category/subcategory of vehicles for which equivalence is requested.

According to data from the State Transport Register, between September 1, 2018, and December 31, 2024, at the vehicle registration points in the cities of Tiraspol and Râbnița, 12,206 non-commercial vehicles from the Transnistrian region were documented with neutral model plates. In 2024, 2,187 vehicles were registered with such plates, achieving almost six times the registration dynamic with neutral plates compared to 2023, when 376 vehicles were registered. In the same reference period (September 1, 2018 - December 31, 2024), 21,628 registration certificates were issued, of which 4,073 certificates were issued in 2024, which is more than twofold as compared to 2023 (1,919 certificates).


“In August 2024, the primary documentation process at the vehicle registration points in Tiraspol and Râbnița was resumed after a long hiatus caused by blockages and politicization from Tiraspol, which unilaterally withdrew from the mechanism at the end of December 2021,” specified the Bureau of Reintegration Policies.


The registration mechanism with neutral model plates does not replace the basic process widely used by residents in the region concerning documentation with national model plates, and access to international road traffic is accepted only under conditions of  clear identification of the Republic of Moldova state on the vehicle, holding by the driver of a national-type driving license and other documents issued by competent national authorities.