Medical certificate for employment, driving licence or school

It depends on what you’ll use it for: for employment you need the fitness certificate (fișa de aptitudine) from occupational medicine; for school or nursery, a medical certificate from your medic de familie (family doctor); for a driving licence, a medical certificate from an authorised practice. These are three different documents, issued by different doctors, with different rules and costs — and they cannot replace one another.

Below you’ll see exactly which one you need, where to go, who pays, and how long it’s valid.

1. The certificate from your family doctor (school, collective settings, administrative use)

The family doctor issues medical certificates attesting to your state of health as recorded at the practice: for enrolling a child in a collective setting (nursery, kindergarten, school), for practising certain amateur sports, or for various administrative requirements.

• For insured children, the medical certificate needed for enrolment in collective settings is free at the family doctor — it’s a service covered by CAS (the national health insurance house).
• The basis for medical care of preschoolers, pupils and students is Order 653/2001.
• Validity: usually whatever the educational institution requires (often annual or at the start of the school year).

What such a certificate usually contains: the patient’s details, a note that they are registered with the practice, any relevant chronic illnesses, and, where applicable, a statement that there are no contraindications for the intended activity (sport, collective setting). You request it directly at the practice where you’re registered, and for adults, outside covered services, it may be paid.

Note: for adults, a certificate “from the family doctor” does not stand in for fitness for work. The legal document for employment is the occupational-medicine examination (below).

2. The fitness certificate from occupational medicine (employment)

Before starting work, every employee undergoes the pre-employment medical examination, concluded with the fitness certificate (fișa de aptitudine) signed by an occupational-medicine doctor (medic de medicina muncii).

• It is an employer’s obligation, and the cost is borne by the employer, not you.
• It is done at hiring, then periodically (usually annually) and when resuming activity, under HG 355/2007 on worker health surveillance and Law 319/2006 on occupational safety and health.
• The result can be: fit, conditionally fit, temporarily unfit or unfit for the respective job.
• It is done at an occupational-medicine practice with which the employer has a contract.

In practice: don’t ask your family doctor for a “fit for work certificate” for employment — the employer sends you to occupational medicine.

3. The medical certificate for a driving licence

To obtain or renew a driving licence you need a medical certificate attesting that you meet the health standards for the desired category.

• It is issued at an authorised practice/unit for this purpose (authorisation from the DSP — the Public Health Directorate), for a fee.
• The standards are set by Order of the Ministry of Health 1162/2010 on the physical and mental abilities required to drive a motor vehicle.
• Besides the medical examination, you also need a separate psychological assessment, from an authorised psychology practice.
• Validity varies depending on the category and your medical situation (some categories require periodic re-examination).

Special cases

• Competitive sport: registered athletes need a sports-medical clearance (aviz medico-sportiv) from a sports medicine practice, not a simple certificate from the family doctor.
• Students: for dormitory accommodation or enrolment, the university may require a medical certificate; check in advance which form they accept.
• Resuming activity after long sick leave: on returning after an incapacity longer than a certain period, occupational medicine may require a medical check on returning to work, again at the employer’s expense.
• Licence renewed for medical reasons: if the licence was medically restricted, the re-examination is again done at the authorised practice, by the term written on the document.

In short: which document, for what

• Child at school/nursery → certificate from the family doctor (free for insured children).
• Employment → fitness certificate from occupational medicine (paid by the employer).
• Driving licence → medical certificate at an authorised practice + psychological assessment (for a fee).
• Amateur sport / administrative use → certificate from the family doctor.

Common mistakes

• Confusing the family doctor’s certificate with the fitness certificate: for employment, the second is what counts.
• Turning up at the employer with a “fit for work” certificate from the family doctor — the employer can refuse it, because the law requires occupational medicine.
• Forgetting the psychological assessment in the driving-licence file.

How to check

Costs, forms and validity periods can change. Before you go:

• for children, ask the family doctor which certificate the school requires and confirm it’s free;
• for employment, ask the employer for the referral to occupational medicine;
• for a driving licence, first call an authorised practice and check which category you need and what the psychological assessment involves.

Sources

• Order of the Ministry of Health 653/2001 on the medical care of preschoolers, pupils and students
• HG 355/2007 on worker health surveillance
• Law 319/2006 on occupational safety and health
• Order of the Ministry of Health 1162/2010 on the physical and mental abilities required to drive a motor vehicle
• National Health Insurance House (CNAS) — cnas.ro