How to Apply for a Romanian Child Passport and Obtain Parental Consent

Can every Romanian child obtain a passport?

A Romanian child can obtain a pasaport simplu electronic, the ordinary Romanian electronic passport, when the legal conditions are satisfied.

The application is handled by the General Directorate for Passports through Public Community Passport Services in Romania and Romanian diplomatic missions or consular offices abroad.

The most important decisions are the child's age, who has parental authority, whether both parents consent, and whether the child has domicile in Romania or abroad.

For an ordinary electronic passport, the child must attend the application appointment. The passport authority captures a facial image and, for children aged 12 or older, fingerprints unless a recognised exception applies.

The first step is to prepare the correct age-specific checklist and establish the documents proving parental consent.

Which passport requirements apply to your child's age?

Romania separates child electronic passport applications into two principal age groups.

The age distinction for fingerprint collection and passport validity is 12 years, while the distinction between the two document checklists is 14 years.

A child aged 12 or 13 therefore follows the under-14 document checklist but normally provides fingerprints.

What documents are needed for a child younger than 14?

For a child with domicile in Romania who has not reached age 14, the General Directorate for Passports requires:

• Original Romanian birth certificate of the child.
• Valid original identity documents of the applying parent or parents, legal representative or authorised person.
• Payment evidence containing the transaction number, child's name, CNP and amount paid.
• Previous passport of the child, if one exists.
• Additional consent or authority documents when the application is not made jointly by both parents.

If both parents attend the passport service and give consent before the receiving official, a separate notarised consent declaration is not normally needed.

If one parent attends without the other, the attending parent must provide the other parent's authenticated consent or special power of attorney, unless a legally recognised exception applies.

The child must be present at the electronic passport appointment for facial image capture.

What documents are needed after the child turns 14?

Children aged 14 or older submit their electronic passport application personally, with the required parental consent.

The published checklist includes:

• Valid Romanian identity card or provisional identity card, in original.
• Original Romanian birth certificate.
• Parental consent declarations or an accepted legal substitute.
• Previous passport, if one exists.
• Payment confirmation identifying the child and transaction.
• Marriage certificate, where the minor is legally married and applies without parental consent.

The minor must attend the appointment personally. Facial image capture and fingerprint collection are part of the ordinary electronic passport procedure.

When the child's identity document is provisional or is a newer model that does not display the parents' names, the original birth certificate is especially important for establishing the relevant family information.

Do both parents need to attend?

No, not in every case. Both parents must normally consent, but that does not always mean both must physically attend the same appointment.

Where both attend, they can express consent directly before the passport official and present their valid original identity documents.

Where only one attends, the other parent's authenticated declaration of consent or special power of attorney may allow the application to proceed.

A single parent may also apply using an accepted legal document establishing that the other parent's consent is unnecessary or has been replaced by a court decision.

The passport authority examines the specific legal basis for the application. Merely stating that the other parent is unavailable is not equivalent to proving an exception.

Can one parent obtain the child's passport alone?

Yes, but the parent must establish the right to submit the application without both parents attending.

One parent attends with written consent

The other parent can provide a declaration agreeing to issuance of the child's passport or a special power of attorney authorising the attending parent.

In Romania, the document is authenticated by a notary public. Abroad, it may be authenticated by a Romanian diplomatic mission or consular office.

Where the declaration is made before a competent foreign authority, the official Romanian rules concerning apostilles, legalisation and translations must be satisfied.

The General Directorate for Passports states that a parental consent declaration or special power of attorney can be used for issuance of one passport for one child.

Do not assume that an old consent declaration can automatically be reused for multiple passport renewals.

One parent has sole parental authority

A parent who exercises sole parental authority under a qualifying final court decision may apply using that decision.

The passport authority also recognises qualifying older custody decisions and certain presidential ordinances (ordonanta presedintiala) that expressly authorise the parent to request the passport.

The exact wording and legal effect of the decision matter. A divorce judgment does not automatically establish sole authority to obtain the child's passport.

Foreign court judgments must satisfy the applicable Romanian recognition and enforcement requirements.

One parent is deceased

The surviving parent may apply using the original death certificate of the other parent, together with the remaining documents required for the child's age.

The surviving parent's own identity document and the child's civil-status documents are also required.

A legal representative or authorised person applies

Romanian rules permit applications by a legal representative or a person holding a qualifying special power of attorney.

The applicant must provide the legal representation document or authenticated power of attorney, as applicable.

Authorisation to act for the child must be distinguished from the underlying parental consent required for passport issuance.

Can you apply when the other parent refuses to agree?

Not through an ordinary one-parent application without a recognised legal basis.

The General Directorate for Passports states that disagreements about parental consent, or situations where a parent cannot express their will, must be resolved through the competent court.

The relevant judicial decision must replace the missing parental consent or otherwise establish the applying parent's authority under the passport rules.

A court may issue a qualifying final judgment or presidential ordinance, depending on the circumstances.

For example, if separated parents share parental authority and one refuses to consent, the other should not assume that residence of the child with them is enough. The court must resolve the disagreement where no other recognised exception applies.

A decision replacing consent for one passport does not automatically authorise unlimited future renewals. The passport authority requires express judicial wording where successive passport issuance is intended.

Where can the absent parent sign consent?

The correct authentication route depends on where the parent signs the declaration.

• In Romania: before a Romanian notary public, or directly before the passport official when the parent attends.
• At a Romanian consulate: before the competent Romanian consular authority.
• Before a foreign authority: with the applicable apostille, legalisation or treaty-based exemption and required Romanian translation.

For documents issued in countries participating in the Hague Apostille Convention, the applicable apostille rules must be observed.

Documents issued in countries covered by relevant bilateral assistance treaties may benefit from the exemptions provided by those treaties.

Where neither an apostille convention nor a relevant treaty exemption applies, the official Romanian rules may require superlegalisation.

Foreign consent declarations and relevant foreign court decisions must also be accompanied by the required legalised Romanian translation.

Check the exact document requirements before the appointment, particularly when the other parent lives abroad.

Does the child have to attend the passport appointment?

Yes. For an ordinary electronic passport application, the child's presence at the receiving office is mandatory.

The passport authority captures the child's facial image during submission.

Children under 12 are exempt from providing fingerprints. Children aged 12 or older normally provide fingerprints, subject to recognised exceptions where fingerprint collection is physically impossible.

This means parents cannot ordinarily complete the child's electronic passport application entirely on their own, even when both agree.

The separate temporary passport procedure has different photograph and attendance arrangements in certain cases, but temporary passports are subject to additional eligibility restrictions.

How much does a Romanian child passport cost?

The domestic fee for an electronic passport is 265 RON, including VAT.

The tariff applies to children as well as adults and has been in force since 1 August 2025.

Accepted domestic payment channels include:

• Ghiseul.ro.
• CEC Bank cashiers.
• CEC Bank SelfPay payment stations.

Retain the payment document or transaction confirmation identifying the child, including the CNP and amount paid.

A notarial consent declaration or power of attorney may involve additional costs that are not part of the passport fee.

Applications submitted through Romanian diplomatic missions or consular offices abroad follow the applicable consular fee rules.

Where do parents submit the application?

In Romania, applications are received by Public Community Passport Services.

Parents can arrange appointments using the official MAI ePasapoarte service.

The appointment is a scheduling step, not an online submission of the complete passport application.

At the appointment, the child attends with the relevant parent, parents or authorised person. The authority checks the original documents and captures the child's biometric data as applicable.

Romanian citizens abroad can use eConsulat to select the appropriate electronic passport service for a minor.

The consular service distinguishes children under 14 from those aged 14 or older, and children domiciled in Romania from those domiciled abroad.

Choose the checklist corresponding to the child's actual domicile status rather than relying on a generic child passport document list.

How quickly will the child's passport be issued?

The official processing periods for electronic passports depend on the submission and collection arrangements.

The General Directorate for Passports separately reports that applications submitted and collected in Romania are currently processed in up to approximately 5 working days, with possible increases to 10 working days during busy periods.

These shorter operational figures are not guaranteed delivery dates.

There is no separate paid express-processing surcharge for an ordinary electronic passport.

How long is a Romanian child's passport valid?

The validity period depends on the child's age when the passport is issued.

• Under 12 years: 3 years.
• 12 to under 18 years: 5 years.

The age threshold for validity is 12, not 14.

For example, a child aged 13 follows the under-14 application checklist but receives an electronic passport with the five-year validity period applicable from age 12.

A new passport application must be submitted when the document expires or needs replacement under the applicable rules.

What if your child lives outside Romania?

Children whose domicile is abroad may require a passport showing the foreign country of domicile, known as a CRDS passport.

The CRDS application has additional requirements concerning the child's foreign domicile, parental domicile and, where necessary, the other parent's agreement to the child's domicile abroad.

Consent to issue a passport and consent to establish a child's domicile abroad are distinct legal questions.

The separate Helpydo guide on Romanian passports with domicile abroad explains the foreign-domicile category.

For a child born abroad, ensure that the Romanian birth certificate and CNP requirements are satisfied before relying on the Romanian child passport checklist.

What if the child needs to travel urgently?

Romania provides a separate temporary simple passport procedure for qualifying urgent or exceptional circumstances.

It is not a general fast-track replacement for the ordinary electronic passport.

Temporary passports are not issued for exclusively tourist travel.

For certain urgent travel involving a minor's studies, official competitions or essential medical treatment, the temporary passport rules include specific provisions concerning the absence of time to obtain the other parent's consent.

Those provisions do not automatically apply to an ordinary electronic passport application.

See the separate Helpydo guide to temporary Romanian passports in urgent situations before choosing that procedure.

Is the passport enough for a child to leave Romania?

Not necessarily. Issuance of a child's passport and permission for the child to cross Romania's border are separate legal matters.

A valid passport confirms the child's travel document status. The conditions under which a Romanian minor may leave Romania depend on the circumstances of the journey and the applicable border rules.

Do not assume that the parental consent used to obtain the passport automatically satisfies every consent requirement for a later journey.

Before departure, consult the Romanian Border Police's current rules for minors travelling with both parents, one parent or another accompanying adult.

Also verify the destination country's entry requirements.

What can delay or prevent the application?

• Missing parental consent: one parent attends without the other parent's authenticated declaration or a recognised legal substitute.
• Assuming divorce removes consent requirements: the actual parental authority established by the court decision controls.
• Missing original birth certificate: the Romanian child passport checklists require it.
• Using the wrong age checklist: children aged 14 or older must present their own valid identity document.
• Bringing a child without the required parent or representative: the relevant applicant and consent rules must be satisfied.
• Using an improperly authenticated foreign declaration: apostille, legalisation and translation requirements may apply.
• Reusing an old consent declaration: the official rules limit a declaration to one passport for one child.
• Confusing passport issuance with travel permission: border-crossing requirements must be checked separately.
• Choosing the Romanian-domicile checklist for a CRDS child: foreign domicile creates additional requirements.

What if the application is incomplete or parental consent is disputed?

If a required document is missing, obtain the correct original, authenticated declaration or legal representation evidence before resubmitting the application.

If the problem concerns the other parent's refusal or inability to consent, the passport authority's official instructions require resolution through the competent court unless an existing legal exception applies.

Where a court has replaced the other parent's consent, check that the decision expressly authorises passport issuance and satisfies the applicable finality requirements.

If the child has incorrect personal data recorded in the Romanian register, the separate Helpydo guide to correcting personal data in Romania's persons register may help identify the appropriate rectification route.

The reviewed official child passport instructions do not establish one special appeal deadline for every possible refusal. If a formal decision is issued, obtain its reasons and follow the applicable legal remedy.

Which official service should parents use?

The General Directorate for Passports publishes the definitive electronic passport document checklists for minors under 14 and minors aged 14 or older.

In Romania, use MAI ePasapoarte for appointments and the chosen Public Community Passport Service for submission.

Abroad, use eConsulat and select the service matching the child's age and domicile.

Before attending, confirm the child's original birth certificate, identity documents, parental consent, any court decision or legal representation document, previous passport and payment evidence.

For questions about the official passport procedure, the General Directorate for Passports provides public information through its contact service.