The Moldova vignette, officially the Vinieta (vinieta Moldova in Romanian), is the mandatory digital road tax for vehicles registered abroad driving on the Republic of Moldova's road network. If your car has non-Moldovan plates, you need a valid Vinieta before you drive.
It is 100% digital. There is no windscreen sticker: buy online and your licence plate is registered in the national system straight away. New to the whole system? Our plain-English explainer on what a vignette is covers the concept in two minutes.
Whether you are crossing from Romania at Leușeni, entering from Ukraine through Palanca, or transiting Transnistria towards Chișinău, buy before you drive to avoid fines and delays at checkpoints.
Moldova checks you on the way out
Customs officers verify the national database in real time at border crossings, and unusually, the strictest check happens at exit. Officials confirm your vignette covered your entire stay, so many travellers are fined when leaving the country rather than entering it. Full detail below.
Who Needs the Moldova Vignette?
Moldova's system works differently from most of Europe. While Austria or Hungary charge every vehicle on their motorways, the Vinieta applies only to vehicles registered outside Moldova. If your plates are Romanian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, or from anywhere else abroad, you need one.
Moldovan-registered vehicles do not use this system at all: they pay an annual road tax through vehicle registration. The Vinieta exists specifically for foreign plates.
One development worth knowing about: a reform proposal announced in July 2026 would eventually replace the local road tax with a universal vignette covering Moldovan-registered vehicles too, phased in from 2028. Nothing has passed yet, so the rule today stands exactly as described: foreign plates only.
All foreign-registered cars need a vignette: SUVs, crossovers, minivans, motorhomes and campervans included. Visiting family in Chișinău or transiting between Ukraine and Romania, the requirement is the same regardless of trip length.
Classified by gross weight: up to 3.5 tonnes, 3.5 to 10 tonnes, and 10 to 40 tonnes, each with its own rate. Select the band matching your vehicle's technical specifications.
Split by seat count: minibuses with 9 to 24 seats and full-size coaches above 24 seats are priced separately.
A small trailer or caravan towed by a passenger car is covered by the car's own vignette, with nothing extra to buy. Heavy commercial combinations should verify their category when purchasing.
Completely exempt, whatever the engine size or country of registration. Nothing to buy and nothing to register.
Who Is Exempt from the Vinieta?
Moldova's exemption list, set by national law and the official e-Vinieta rules, is short:
- Moldovan-registered vehicles. They pay road tax through the annual registration process; the Vinieta exists only for foreign plates.
- Motorcycles. Exempt whatever the engine size or the country of registration.
- Diplomatic and consular vehicles. Missions, consular offices and their personnel, including their trailers.
- Special customs and transport cases. Carriers whose international road-transport authorisation includes a tax exemption, and residents placing a vehicle under a customs import regime.
Everyone else on foreign plates pays, electric vehicles included. A foreign disability badge grants no exemption either: the list above is the whole list.
Moldova Vignette Prices and Validity Periods
Moldova offers validity periods from a week to a full year for cars, with daily and annual options reserved for goods vehicles and buses. The rates below come live from our catalogue, so what you see is what you pay.
Freight 0-3.5t
Bus 9-24 seats
Bus > 24 seats
Truck 3.5-10t
Truck 10-40t
Official rates are set in Moldovan lei and shown here in euro. Not every period exists for every category: the table shows exactly what is available for yours.
No daily vignette for cars
The shortest period for a passenger car is 7 days. Even a two-hour transit between Romania and Ukraine needs the weekly vignette; the 1-day option exists only for goods vehicles and buses.
Which Validity Period Should You Choose?
7 Days
Quick transit, cross-border shopping, or a weekend family visit from Romania. The minimum, and the most popular choice.
15 Days
Extended holidays, several family visits within two weeks, or business trips that need slack.
30 Days
Month-long stays, seasonal work, or multiple trips within the month.
90 Days
Regular cross-border commuting and long family stays across a season.
180 Days
The best value for frequent travellers: if you cross into Moldova more than three or four times a year, this usually works out cheapest per trip.
Add buffer days if your plans might change. The exit check compares your vignette against your actual stay, so a period that runs out two days early costs far more than the next period up would have.
Activation Rules
Vignettes cannot be backdated: validity starts at purchase or on the future date you select, up to 30 days ahead. Every period gives access to the same road network, and everything runs on Moldovan time (Eastern European Time), so account for the difference if you are buying from further west.
Avoid buying between 23:45 and 00:01
The payment system has a nightly maintenance window around midnight Moldovan time. Purchases attempted in it are blocked and refunded. Buy a few minutes earlier or later.
Border Guide: Entering from Romania and Ukraine
Every road entry into Moldova comes from Romania or Ukraine. Vignettes are technically sold at customs bank counters, but queues stretch 20 to 30 minutes at peak times. Buying online in the border queue means your plate is registered by the time you reach the booth.
From Romania
Albița to Leușeni (E581)
The busiest crossing and the direct Bucharest to Chișinău route, roughly 450 km in total.
Expect: heavy traffic Thursday to Sunday, waits of 30 to 90 minutes at holiday peaks, and enforcement from the first kilometre after customs.
Sculeni and Giurgiulești
Sculeni (E583): the northern route from Iași, noticeably quieter than Leușeni.
Giurgiulești: the southern crossing near Galați, used mainly by freight.
Use the queue time productively: buy the vinieta on your phone while you wait, and you are compliant the moment you clear customs.
Remember the road that brought you here: the drive to any of these crossings runs on Romanian national roads, which need Romania's own rovinietă from the first kilometre.
From Ukraine
Odesa to Palanca (M14)
The main southern crossing and the freight corridor towards Romania and the EU.
Expect: waits that can exceed 2 to 3 hours at peaks, heavy truck traffic, thorough inspections, and strict vignette checks at exit.
Tudora and Otaci
Tudora: the alternative southern crossing near Palanca, with lower volumes.
Otaci: the northern route from Chernivtsi towards Bălți and Chișinău.
Documents Ukrainian drivers get caught on
Your Green Card insurance must explicitly list MD among the covered countries; standard Ukrainian policies often omit it. Bring original registration documents, not photocopies. And the Ukrainian road tax does not cover Moldova: you need a separate vignette regardless of what you have paid at home.
Driving Through Transnistria
Transnistria is the strip of territory along Moldova's eastern border with Ukraine, centred on Tiraspol. Internationally recognised as part of Moldova, it has operated de facto separately since 1992, with its own checkpoints and traffic rules, and it does not participate in the vignette system.
Two rules cover every situation:
Moldovan vignettes are not enforced inside Transnistria
On roads within Transnistrian territory the Vinieta is not checked. If you enter from Ukraine, stay within the region and return to Ukraine, you do not need one.
Crossing into government-controlled Moldova requires a valid vignette immediately
The moment you pass a Dniester checkpoint, at Bender or Dubăsari, you are on vignette roads and police check plates right after the crossing.
Do not wait until Chișinău
The classic mistake on the Tiraspol to Chișinău run is planning to buy after arrival. Checks happen immediately beyond the Dniester checkpoints. Buy online before you reach the checkpoint and your plate is registered within minutes.
We present this neutrally: the region's political status is disputed, but the practical reality for drivers is multiple checkpoints run by different authorities, each with its own requirements.
Fines and Enforcement
Moldova relies on border verification and mobile patrols rather than a dense camera network, and the enforcement centre of gravity sits at the exit points.
The most common place a fine is issued. Officers compare your vignette's validity against your entire stay, so overstaying an expired vignette by even a few days is caught reliably on the way out.
Random plate checks on the main corridors between Chișinău and the borders, the E581, E58 and M14. A database lookup takes under a minute, and the same patrols enforce Moldova's speed limits, including the 70 km/h cap on novice drivers.
An expanding automated system on border approaches and the main highways around Chișinău, secondary to the exit checks for now.
The fine
2,250 to 9,000 MDL, roughly €115 to €460, under article 287³ of the Contravention Code. The scale is graded: 2,250 to 3,000 lei when the uncovered period is under seven days, 3,000 to 3,900 lei beyond that, and repeat offences climb towards the top.
The maths
The minimum fine costs more than ten weekly car vignettes. There is no version of skipping the Vinieta that saves money.
If you realise you have entered without a vignette, buy online immediately: your plate registers within minutes and you are compliant from that point on. It does not retroactively cover the driving already done, so prevention is the only guaranteed protection.
Where Can You Buy the Vinieta?
Every authorised channel writes the same record into the same national database at the same state-set price, so the real difference is convenience and timing.
Checkout in English in under three minutes, confirmation by email, and the plate is registered before you reach the border post.
The same purchase from your phone, on iOS and Android. Ideal in the queue at Leușeni or Palanca: buy, activate, and clear customs already compliant.
The official evinieta.gov.md sells online per period, in Romanian, with a purchase guide and FAQ.
Customs bank counters at the border, bank branches and larger petrol stations sell over the counter. They work, but the border queues run 20 to 30 minutes at peak and the exchange rate on cash payments works against you.
How to Buy the Vinieta Online
Select your vehicle category
Cars, SUVs, minivans and motorhomes are the passenger car category. Goods vehicles choose by gross weight, buses by seat count. Check your registration document if unsure: the wrong category means an invalid vignette.
Choose your validity period
7, 15, 30, 90 or 180 days for cars; goods vehicles and buses also have the daily and annual options.
Enter your licence plate
Exactly as printed on the vehicle, capital letters and digits, with no hyphens or spaces. Watch the classic traps: O against 0, I against 1, B against 8. A purchased vignette cannot be modified or refunded, so get the plate right the first time.
Have the chassis number handy
Our checkout asks for the VIN alongside the plate, so keep the registration document within reach.
Choose your start date
Start now if you are at the border, or schedule up to 30 days ahead for a planned trip. All times are Moldovan time.
Pay by credit card
Your confirmation and PDF receipt arrive by email within a few minutes, and your plate is registered in the national database.
No physical sticker is needed. Your licence plate is your vignette, and police and customs check it electronically.
Your Receipt Is Your Proof: Surviving the Exit Check
This part is unique to Moldova. Officers do not only check that you have a vignette when you enter: customs and border police verify at exit that your vignette covered the whole stay. And unlike Bulgaria or Romania, the official portal offers no public plate-checker, so the PDF confirmation on your phone is the proof you carry.
The classic exit-fine scenario
You enter on 1 June with a 7-day vignette, valid to 7 June. Plans change and you leave on 10 June. At the Leușeni exit the database shows three uncovered days, and the fine is issued on the spot.
To stay clear of it: keep the PDF confirmation saved on your phone throughout the stay, buy a new vignette before the current one expires if you stay longer, and show the receipt if asked at exit control. The system is digital, but having proof ready speeds up every customs interaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a vignette if I am only transiting Moldova for two hours?
Yes. The Vinieta is mandatory for all foreign-registered vehicles regardless of duration, and the shortest option for cars is the 7-day vignette.
Which website is the official Moldovan vignette portal?
The state portal is evinieta.gov.md, run by the Moldovan authorities in Romanian. Vignetim registers your plate in the same national system at the same state-set price, with an English checkout, email confirmation and support if a plate needs correcting before activation.
Will Moldovan-registered cars need a vignette in the future?
A reform proposal announced in July 2026 would phase in a universal vignette for all vehicles, including Moldovan ones, from 2028. It has not passed into law: today the Vinieta remains a requirement for foreign-registered vehicles only.
Is my Green Card insurance enough, or do I still need a vignette?
They are two separate requirements. The Green Card covers accident liability, the vignette is a road usage tax, and you need both to drive legally in Moldova.
My car has Moldovan plates. Do I need to buy one?
No. Moldovan-registered vehicles pay road tax through the annual registration process, not through this system. The Vinieta is for foreign plates only.
Can I extend my vignette if my plans change?
No. Vignettes cannot be extended or modified. Buy a new one before the current one expires, otherwise the gap is picked up at the exit check.
Do I need a separate vignette for my trailer?
Not with a passenger car: the car's vignette covers a small trailer or caravan. Commercial combinations should verify their weight category when purchasing.
Do I need to print anything?
No, the system is entirely digital and your plate is the proof. Keep the PDF confirmation on your phone anyway: it speeds up customs interactions, especially at exit.
Do motorcycles need a vignette in Moldova?
No. Motorcycles are completely exempt, whatever the engine size or the country of registration.
I am driving through Transnistria. Do I need a vignette?
Only if you cross from Transnistria into government-controlled Moldova. Inside the region the Vinieta is not enforced, but checks begin immediately after the Dniester checkpoints, so buy before you cross.
Can I pay in lei at the border instead?
Customs bank counters accept Moldovan lei, but the queues run 20 to 30 minutes at peak times and the exchange rate works against you. Buying online by card while you queue is faster and your plate is registered before you reach the booth.
