Colegiul Medicilor din România (CMR): Registration and Exams

• Register of doctors (Registrul medicilor), published at regmed.cmr.ro.
• Membership certificate (certificat de membru) for doctors, including resident doctors from the first year of residency.
• Opinion on recognition of specialist titles obtained in third countries, through the joint commission with the Ministry of Health.
• Practice approvals for temporary or occasional activity by doctors from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, and for teaching and occasional activity by third-country doctors.
• Documents for doctors who want to practise abroad.

• You must be in one of the situations in Article 376 of Law 95/2006 that allow a person to practise as a doctor in Romania. The CMR checklist asks for proof of Romanian or EU citizenship or another legal status that allows you to work in Romania.
• Proof of your medical qualification: a Romanian or EU, EEA or Swiss diploma, or the Ministry of Education's certificate recognising university studies in medicine obtained elsewhere.
• A specialist title issued by the competent authority of the country where you trained, in a specialty that exists in the Romanian nomenclature of medical specialties.
• Documents from that authority showing the length of training (years, months and weekly hours), the curriculum and the competences the title certifies.
• Proof of professional experience and continuing medical education.
• A health certificate, a good standing certificate and a criminal record certificate, each no more than 3 months old.
• A Romanian language certificate or language passport, unless you are a Romanian citizen.
• Legalised Romanian translations of foreign-language documents, and an apostille or superlegalisation on third-country study documents.

Check your route with the route finder

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   1. Identify your route with the CMR guides

   The CMR's simplified guide sorts applicants by where they qualified: Government Decision 1282/2007 for EU, EEA and Swiss qualifications; Emergency Ordinance 80/2012 for specialist titles from Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand and the United States; Government Decision 764/2017 for all other third countries; and Law 200/2004 as the fall-back for exceptional cases. Read the guide for your route before you collect documents.
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   2. Confirm your right to practise

   The norms make Article 376 of Law 95/2006 a condition, and the norms list failure to meet it as a ground for refusal. Ask the CMR if you are unsure whether your citizenship or residence status qualifies.
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   3. Recognise your basic medical degree

   If your medical degree is from a third country, obtain the Ministry of Education's certificate recognising your university studies in medicine. CNRED handles recognition of studies completed abroad and says regulated-profession diplomas are checked against European and national minimum requirements.
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   4. Build and translate the file

   Collect the request with full contact details, identity document, status proof, certified copies of your medical and specialist titles, training documents, experience and CME evidence, health and good standing certificates, criminal record, Romanian certificate and fee receipt. Training documents, experience, health, good standing and criminal record documents need original legalised Romanian translations. The three certificates expire after 3 months.
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   5. Pay the evaluation fee to the CMR

   Pay €1,000 in lei, at the euro rate on the day of payment, into the CMR account for recognition fees listed on its payments page. If the commission sets an aptitude test, the fee doubles.
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   6. Submit to the Ministry of Health

   The Ministry registers your complete file and must forward a copy to the joint commission within 30 days. The whole request must be settled within 90 days of registration of the complete file.
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   7. Joint commission review

   The commission checks four criteria together: the specialty exists in Romania; the organisation, supervision, duration and curriculum are equivalent; the competences match those of a Romanian specialist certificate; and the title was issued by the competent authority. Shorter training in years can still pass if total training hours match. It may ask for more documents within 15 days of receiving the file.
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   8. Aptitude test or favourable opinion

   If all criteria are met, the commission sends its report to the CMR, which sends a favourable opinion to the Ministry. If not, the commission sets an aptitude test with theoretical and clinical or practical parts, each needing at least 7.00. One re-examination is allowed within 180 days.
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   9. Ministerial order and membership

   The Minister of Health approves recognition by order and notifies you and the CMR. You then apply to your territorial college for the CMR membership certificate, which completes your authorisation to practise as a specialist in Romania.
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    10. Appeal if refused

    You can challenge a refusal before the national appeals commission within 30 days of notification by the CMR. The commission sends its final decision to the Ministry within 30 days.

• Aptitude test (proba de aptitudini), third-country specialists

  Set by the joint commission when training is not fully equivalent. It has two components, theoretical and clinical or practical depending on the specialty, with topics from the current Romanian specialist exam. The pass mark is at least 7.00 in each component and an average of at least 7.00. Results go to you and the Ministry of Health in writing.

• Re-examination

  If you fail, you can ask the Ministry of Health once for a re-examination within 180 days of the first attempt, retaking both components. After 180 days no further re-examination is possible and the request is rejected without a right to challenge.

• Compensation measures under Law 200/2004

  In exceptional cases outside the main routes, the CMR guide describes an adaptation period of up to 3 years or a one-hour theoretical aptitude test on a syllabus given in advance. It says that for doctors, in most exceptional situations, the authority imposes the aptitude test rather than letting you choose.

• The CMR does not accept English tests for recognition or membership.
• For third-country specialist recognition, the norms require a certificate attesting knowledge of Romanian or a language passport, except for Romanian citizens.
• For the teaching and occasional practice approval, CMR Decision 13/2025 asks for professional language skills in Romanian at B1 (CEFR), from an organisation recognised by the Ministry of Education. This is not needed for occasional practice in mixed teams with Romanian doctors.
• Foreign-language documents need legalised Romanian translations.

Estimate your total cost

• Ministry of Health forwards your file to the joint commission: within 30 days of a complete file.
• Requests for additional documents: within 15 days of the commission receiving the file; a delay of more than 10 days past your deadline suspends the procedure.
• Decision on the request: within 90 days of registration of the complete file, extended by any suspension.
• Re-examination after a failed aptitude test: within 180 days.
• Appeal: within 30 days of notification of refusal; the appeals commission decides within 30 days.