Before you start

Residence permit and an IDNP
Your foreign licence, valid, with a Romanian translation
A Moldovan medical certificate from an authorised clinic
Proof of your Chișinău address

Step-by-step

1
Establish whether an agreement covers your licence
Moldova has mutual-recognition treaties with Israel, Türkiye, Lithuania, France, Albania and Italy, and a declaration of intent with Germany for transcription. If your country is on that list the exchange proceeds without an exam; if not, you sit the Moldovan theoretical test and possibly the practical. This determines whether you are planning for weeks or for months.
OnlineWho: You
2
Submit the standard form and wait for the answer before paying anything
ASP examines a standard form (cerere-tip) about your foreign licence and returns a decision on whether it can be exchanged and on what terms. Everything else — medical certificate, translation, fees — follows that answer. Doing it in the other order is how people pay for a medical they did not need yet.
In personWho: You
3
Get the medical certificate and the translation
The medical is from a clinic authorised for driver examinations and includes a basic psychological screen, which surprises people. The licence needs a Romanian translation. Neither is expensive; both are prerequisites and neither can be done retrospectively.
In personWho: You
4
Choose your speed on the fee ladder
ASP prices the licence by turnaround: MDL 440 at 20 working days, MDL 880 at 10, MDL 1,320 at 5, MDL 1,760 at 3, MDL 2,200 at one working day, and MDL 2,640 same day. Same-day service is offered in Chișinău only, which is one of the few genuine administrative advantages of living in the capital.
In personWho: YouMDL 440–2,640
5
Surrender the foreign licence and expect it to go home
The original is taken on exchange. ASP has a separate published procedure for remitting a surrendered foreign licence back to the issuing authority, so assume you are giving it up rather than keeping both. Moldovan citizens are in any case permitted only one driving licence.
In personWho: You
6
Get an international permit if you drive across borders
ASP issues the international driving permit (DLI) as a separate service. It is a translation of your Moldovan licence, not a licence, and it only works alongside the national one. Worth having if you drive to Romania or Ukraine regularly.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence and its Romanian translation
Residence permit and IDNP
Medical certificate from an authorised clinic
Proof of Chișinău address
Completed cerere-tip and proof of fee payment

Things most newcomers don’t know

The exchange question has exactly one right answer and it is not on any forum.

Moldova's recognition arrangements cover a short, specific list of countries. Everyone else sits the national examination in Romanian. Because the list is short and unintuitive — France and Italy yes, Spain and Poland not — the only reliable move is to file the standard form with ASP and read the answer, before spending anything on medicals or translations.

Source: Public Services Agency (ASP)

Same-day licence production exists only in Chișinău, and that is true of several ASP services.

ASP publishes a six-rung fee ladder from 20 working days at MDL 440 down to same-day at MDL 2,640, and the fastest rung is marked as available in the capital alone. People who move out to Ialoveni or Străşeni for cheaper rent and then need a document urgently discover this at the counter. It is a small thing that generalises: the capital is where the fast lane of Moldovan bureaucracy is.

Source: Public Services Agency (ASP)

Owning a car in Chișinău is optional in a way it is not in most of the region.

The municipal bus and trolleybus network reaches all five sectors and the suburbs on a single MDL 273 monthly pass, and the city is compact enough that most of Centru is walkable. Against that, the road surface outside the main boulevards is poor, winter clearance is patchy, and parking in the centre is contested. Most newcomers who buy a car here do it for weekends in the country, not for the commute.

Source: community-reported

Do not assume a Moldovan-registered car is straightforward to take east.

Vehicle movements across the administrative line into the left-bank territory involve a de facto authority Moldova does not control, with its own permits and its own view of insurance. Rental agreements frequently exclude it outright. Read the contract before planning a drive to Tiraspol, and do not assume Moldovan road insurance follows you across.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Paying for a medical and a translation before ASP has answered whether your licence can be exchanged at all.
Assuming a licence from a large EU country is exchangeable — the agreements cover a short and unintuitive list.
Expecting to keep the original foreign licence after the exchange.
Planning a same-day licence from outside Chișinău, where that rung of the ladder is not offered.
Driving a rental across the administrative line without checking whether the agreement permits it.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.