Dynamics of obtaining neutral license plates and national-type driving licences by citizens of Moldova residing in Transnistrian region

The Government of the Republic of Moldova

According to data from the State Transport Register, on 01 September 2018 - 31 December 2025, the vehicle registration offices in the cities of Tiraspol and Râbnița registered 14,863 non-commercial vehicles with neutral-model plates. The year 2025 marked a numerical increase. After the process resumed in August 2024 (following the unilateral blockages imposed by Tiraspol in December 2021), the number of registrations rose from 12,206 at the end of 2024 to 14,863 at the end of 2025. Thus, in 2025 alone, 2,656 vehicles were registered, representing an increase of 21.76% compared to 2024.

The total number of neutral-model registration certificates and neutral-model license plates issued at the registration offices in Râbnița and Tiraspol as of 31.12.2025 was 21,915.

The total number of vehicles with national-type (MD) license plates owned by citizens of the Republic of Moldova residing in the Transnistrian region for the year 2025 amounts to 23,800 units.

It is important to emphasize that the neutral-plate mechanism remains an alternative, a transitional and provisional stage towards the process of documentation with national-model plates.

Access to international road traffic is accepted only under the conditions of clear identification of the Republic of Moldova on the vehicle, possession of a national-type driving licence and other documents issued by the national authorities.

To increase road safety on public roads in the country and in international traffic, Government Decision No. 5/2025 amended the Regulation on the examination procedure for obtaining the right to drive vehicles, the issuance and validity of the driving licence, approved by Government Decision No. 181/2022. Accordingly, starting with 16 January 2025, the alignment of the right to drive vehicles for persons from the Transnistrian region to national norms takes place only after they pass the theoretical and practical tests of the respective level of the exam on the right bank of the Dniester.

As regards the obtaining of national-model driving licences by residents of the Transnistrian region through the simplified mechanism, a continuous dynamic has been recorded. Thus, between 2017 and 2025, a total of 19,176 driving licences were exchanged, of which 3,066 during 2025 (2,917 were issued without examination and 149 after passing the exam).

In parallel with this process, the total number of national-type driving licences issued to citizens of the Republic of Moldova residing on the left bank of the Dniester, between 2017 and 2025 (excluding those obtained through exchange) reached 2,777, of which 238 licences were issued during 2025. These figures confirm the trend of integrating vehicle owners and drivers residing in the eastern districts of the country into the single legal space of the Republic of Moldova, in line with the requirements applicable to all participants in domestic and international road traffic.