Is it legal to drive an “automatic” if you did your driving school on a car with a manual transmission?

Vehicles that drive on public roads are divided into two main categories, those with automatic transmission and manual ones. According to the Highway Code 2025, if you have done driving school on a car with a manual gearbox, is it legal to drive an automatic?

In Romania, most cars have an automatic gearbox. But with the opening of the car market to the West, more and more vehicles with automatic transmission were imported.

Thus, driving schools have also adapted and provide driving courses on cars with an automatic gearbox.

But if you’ve gone to ‘manual’ school, is it legal to drive an ‘automatic’?

Is it legal to drive an “automatic” if you did driving school on a “manual”?

Over time, road legislation has included several references to driving vehicles that do not have a manual transmission.

For example, in 2005 it was established that „if the candidate passes the practical test with a vehicle equipped with an automatic gear shift, this will be entered in the restrictions section of the driving license”. Which meant that said driver could not drive a manual transmission vehicle.

“Any license bearing this endorsement may only be used to drive a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission”it was also specified in the respective order.

Also, at the end of 2010, another rule set by the authorities allowed holders of an “automatic” license to drive a car with a manual transmission only after passing a practical test.

“Holders of driving licenses in which there are mentions regarding the right to drive motor vehicles with automatic transmission, who apply to obtain the right to drive motor vehicles with manual transmission of the same category, must take a new practical test, under the condition of presenting the document whose model is provided in annex no. 9, which certifies the performance, in a driving school, of at least 6 hours of practical driving of a vehicle with a manual transmission”it was specified in Order 268/12/2010.

However, none of these provisions were included in the new traffic law.

So, legally, even if you did your driving school in a manual transmission car, you can still drive an “automatic” car.