UIT code validity in RO e-Transport is 5 calendar days from the date declared for the start of the transport, and 15 calendar days for intra-community acquisitions and the operations named in art. 2 pt. 9 letters g) and j) of OUG 41/2022. A separate deadline governs filing: at most 3 calendar days before the declared start date, and no later than the moment the vehicle moves. The code cannot be extended. A transport that overruns is invalidated and needs a new declaration.
Three periods, three different clocks
Most timing mistakes come from mixing up periods that measure different things.
| Period | Length | Measured from | What it governs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing window | 3 calendar days | Backwards from the declared start date | How early you may declare |
| Hard deadline | — | The vehicle setting in motion, or presentation at the border | How late you may declare |
| Code validity | 5 calendar days | The declared start date | How long the transport may take |
| Extended validity | 15 calendar days | The declared start date | Intra-community acquisitions and art. 2 pt. 9 g) and j) operations |
| ANAF retention | 60 days | The response | How long you can retrieve the evidence |
Two of these run from the declared start date, not from the day you filed. Declare on Monday for a Thursday departure and the validity still begins on Thursday. Nothing is lost by filing early, and one thing is gained: time to react if the declaration is rejected. Which movements need a declaration in the first place is a separate question, answered in the RO e-Transport overview.
Why 15 days, and who gets them
The longer validity exists because an intra-community acquisition is a movement the Romanian declarant does not fully control. The goods leave a warehouse in another member state on a schedule set by a foreign supplier and a foreign carrier, and a Romanian buyer declaring a Tuesday arrival can find the truck leaving on Thursday.
Five days would produce invalidated codes on routine deliveries from Rotterdam or Milan. Fifteen absorbs a delayed loading, a ferry crossing and a weekend.
Which operations fall under letters g) and j) of art. 2 pt. 9 is a question the legal text does not answer plainly, and the practice among advisers is not settled. Where an operation is not clearly an intra-community acquisition, the prudent reading is 5 days, with a redeclaration planned if the transport slips. Declaring a longer validity than the operation supports is an error inside the declaration itself, not a spare margin.
What “5 calendar days” means on a Friday
Calendar days include weekends and public holidays. A code with a declared start date of Friday expires at the end of Tuesday, whatever happens over the weekend, and a driver stopped on Wednesday morning is carrying an expired code.
Work backwards through a realistic week.
- Monday. The declaration is filed for a Thursday departure. The code arrives; the status check confirms acceptance.
- Thursday. The truck leaves. Validity runs Thursday through Monday.
- Friday. Loading at the second address is delayed by a day.
- Monday. Delivery completed, inside the validity. Confirmation sent.
Move that delay by 48 hours and the transport finishes on Wednesday, outside the code. At that point the code is not merely stale. Under art. 3 para. 18 of Order 1.337/1.268/2024, the transport is invalidated and a new UIT code is required — obtained before the vehicle moves again, not after arrival.
What to do when a transport runs late
There is no extension button, so the sequence matters.
- Recognise it before the code expires, not after. The decision has to be made while the truck is still moving under a valid code.
- Stop the vehicle at a safe point if the code will lapse mid-route. Continuing on an expired code is what a check finds.
- File a new declaration with a realistic start date, at most 3 calendar days ahead, describing the remaining movement.
- Get the new code to the driver before the vehicle moves again.
- Deal with the old declaration. It stays in the record as invalidated; it is not deleted retrospectively.
The alternative — arriving late on a dead code and hoping — carries the full penalty for an undeclared transport, including the confiscation of the countervalue of the goods. The amounts and the 15-day appeal route are in the guide on RO e-Transport fines and appeals.
The deadline nobody plans for: 60 days of evidence
Art. 6 of Order 1.337/1.268/2024 gives ANAF a 60-day retention period for the responses to your messages. After 60 days, the signed XML, the acceptance and the error list are gone from the source, and the only record is yours.
This deadline matters at exactly the wrong moment. A roadside check in March produces a report; the complaint, the hearing and the request for evidence run into May; and the ANAF response proving the declaration was accepted before departure has passed out of retention. Nothing warns you. Download the responses as they arrive, or use a system that stores them, and treat the 60 days as a hard archiving deadline rather than a technical footnote.
Where the standard advice fails
“Declare three days ahead.” Three days is the earliest permitted, not a requirement. The obligation is to declare before the vehicle moves. Filing early is free; filing late is not.
“The code is valid for five days from issue.” From the declared start date. A code obtained on Monday for a Friday transport is valid Friday to Tuesday, not Monday to Friday.
“International transport gets 15 days.” Only intra-community acquisitions and the art. 2 pt. 9 g) and j) operations do. Exports, intra-community supplies and imports do not.
“We will correct the dates if it slips.” A correction keeps the same code and the same validity clock, and is only possible before the vehicle moves. Once the truck is on the road, dates are closed; only the vehicle can still change, and that procedure is in the guide on changing the vehicle on a UIT code.
“Confirmation has a deadline.” It does not, in the punitive sense. The transport counts as confirmed when the code expires without one. Send it anyway for the dated record — the mechanics are in the guide on correcting, deleting and confirming a UIT declaration.
The filing mechanics behind all of these, including how ANAF validates in two stages, are in the guide on how to get a UIT code in Romania.
Sources: OUG 41/2022 on legislatie.just.ro; ANAF’s RO e-Transport guide (2025); Order ANAF/AVR 1.337/1.268/2024, Official Gazette 597 of 27 June 2024.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a UIT code valid?
Five calendar days from the date declared for the start of the transport, under art. 11 para. 2 of OUG 41/2022. For intra-community acquisitions and the operations named in art. 2 pt. 9 letters g) and j), the validity is 15 calendar days. The period runs from the declared start date, not from the moment the code was issued.
When can I file the e-Transport declaration?
At most 3 calendar days before the date declared for the start of the transport, and no later than the moment the vehicle is set in motion or presented at the border crossing point. Three days is the earliest, not the target. The binding deadline is departure, and a declaration filed after the wheels turn is late whatever the calendar says.
Which transports get 15 days instead of 5?
Intra-community acquisitions, and the operations listed in art. 2 pt. 9 letters g) and j) of OUG 41/2022. The longer period recognises that goods arriving from another member state have a less predictable arrival window. If your operation is not clearly one of these, treat the validity as 5 calendar days and plan accordingly.
Can I extend a UIT code?
No. There is no extension mechanism in RO e-Transport. Under art. 3 para. 18 of Order 1.337/1.268/2024, a transport that is not completed within the validity period is invalidated and a new UIT code must be obtained. Declare the transport again with the new start date and give the driver the new code before the vehicle moves again.
Does a correction restart the validity?
No. The 5 or 15 days run from the declared start date in the declaration, and a correction keeps the same code and the same clock. If the corrected start date moves outside what the original declaration allowed, you are describing a different transport and should declare it as one, with a new code.
What happens if I never confirm the transport?
Under art. 5 of Order 1.337/1.268/2024, the transport is confirmed after completion, and if no confirmation is sent by the time the UIT code expires, the transport is considered confirmed. Sending the confirmation anyway gives you a dated record of arrival written into ANAF's system, rather than one assumed by expiry.
How long can I retrieve the ANAF response for a declaration?
Sixty days. Art. 6 of Order 1.337/1.268/2024 gives ANAF a 60-day retention period for the responses to your messages, including the signed XML and any errors. After that, the only record of what you declared and when ANAF accepted it is the copy you saved. Download responses as they arrive rather than at audit time.
