Over 30 thousand Moldovan driving licenses were issued to residents of the Transnistrian region in the period January 2017-March 2023

We are witnessing a continuous and increasing dynamic of the residents of the Transnistrian region obtaining national model driving licenses, based on the simplified exchange mechanism (applicable from May 2020, without taking additional exams), available to people residing in the Transnistrian region, holders of identity documents approved by Law no. 273/1994.

According to the data presented by the Public Services Agency, in the period January 2017-March 2023, 30,386 driving licenses of the Republic of Moldova were issued based on the given mechanism, of which 5,783 were issued in 2022 and 1,347 in the first quarter of 2023.

Moreover, according to the figures from the State Register of Transports, in the period 01.09.2018-31.03.2023, at the vehicle registration points in the cities of Tiraspol and Râbnița, 9,808 non-commercial vehicles from the Transnistrian region were documented with neutral model plates (Tiraspol – 6 829, Râbnița – 2 979), according to the mechanism agreed by the Protocol Decision of April 24, 2018, the provisions of Law no. 170/2018 and Government Decision no. 847/2018.

In the context of the restrictions maintained by Tiraspol on the provision of primary registration services, in the first quarter of 2023 the same slow dynamics of registration with neutral plates (164 registered vehicles) as during the entire year 2022 (555 registered vehicles) can be noted, if a comparison is made with the year 2021 when 4,780 transport units were registered. In order to overcome this situation, it is necessary for Tiraspol to depoliticize technical issues, to give up on the obligation for double registration or the obligation to withdraw neutral plates, to make progress in gauging the standards and fiscal-customs requirements applicable to means of transport throughout the country.

It is also necessary to remind that the mechanism of neutral model car plates does not replace the basic process widely used by the inhabitants of the region regarding registration with national model plates, while access to international road traffic is only accepted under the conditions of clear identification of the state of the Republic of Moldova, possession of national driving licenses and other documents issued by the competent Moldovan authorities/authorized institutions.