CAEN codes in Romania: how to choose them and how many you can have

Updated 14 September 2026 · 8 min read · The Start4 team

CAEN codes in Romania tell the Trade Register, the tax office and your bank what your company does. Revision 3 has 651 classes, has been in force since 2025 and is aligned with the European NACE Rev. 2.1. You pick one primary code and up to 8 secondary ones; pick them badly and the file slows down or you get stuck at the first authorisation.

What CAEN codes are and why Rev. 3 matters

CAEN stands for Clasificarea Activităților din Economia Națională, the Romanian classification of economic activities: a list in which every activity has a 4-digit code. When you set up an SRL you declare the codes in the articles of association and in the registration application; they then appear on the registry certificate and define your object of activity for every institution you deal with.

Rev. 3 is the version in force since 2025. It has 651 classes and follows the structure of NACE Rev. 2.1, the European classification, so a Romanian code corresponds exactly to a code in any other EU country. That matters for intra-EU invoicing, for statistics and for banks, which compare the declared activity with the movements on the account.

If you are used to UK SIC codes, be careful: SIC 2007 is built on the older NACE Rev. 2, so British lists are one revision behind. Map from NACE Rev. 2.1, not from SIC.

The practical consequence: many numbers on old lists circulating online no longer exist or now mean something else. Custom software development is no longer 6201 but 6210; building construction moved to 4100; restaurants to 5611. A file submitted with a code from the previous revision comes back with remarks, and you lose days.

Primary and secondary codes: how many you can have

One primary code and up to 8 secondary ones: that is how we work at Start4 and what we recommend to anyone opening remotely. The primary code is the activity that brings in most of your revenue; the secondary ones cover what you will actually do in the first year or two.

The primary code is not a formality. The statistics institute classifies you by it, the tax office uses it for some tax regimes, and the bank reads it when opening your account and when reviewing your incoming payments. If you declare consulting as primary and only collect money from online sales, you will get questions.

Do not pad the list just in case. Every extra code is an activity for which you declare, on your own responsibility, that you meet the legal conditions; some need licences and complicate registration. You need few codes, chosen well. You can add more at any time through a change at the Trade Register.

How to read a CAEN code: section, division, group, class

A CAEN code has 4 digits and reads from general to specific. The section is a letter (J for information and communication, M for professional, scientific and technical activities), the division is the first 2 digits, the group the first 3, the class all 4. Only the class goes into the documents.

Example: 6210. Section J, division 62 (IT services), group 621, class 6210 (custom software development). A code ending in 0 is usually the only class in its group; one ending in 9 is the residual category of other activities not elsewhere classified and is used only when no more precise class fits.

Why it matters: searching for a code by keyword often returns several neighbouring classes. Read the explanatory note of the class, not just its title. The notes say what each class includes and excludes and show exactly where borderline activities go, such as the difference between writing software and selling it as a product.

The mistakes that get a file rejected or block you later

The most frequent mistake: the code on the registration application does not match the object of activity in the articles of association. The registry checks line by line; a single mismatched code means the file comes back for corrections.

• A code from the old revision. Any number that does not exist in Rev. 3 blocks the application.
• An activity that needs prior authorisation, declared as if it were free: security, gambling, financial services, travel agency, temporary staffing, pharmacy, medical services. You can list the code, but you cannot operate without the licence, and for some the registry asks for the approval before registration.
• An activity that cannot be run through an ordinary SRL: banking, insurance, professions organised in their own bodies such as lawyers and notaries. These codes have no place in the articles of an SRL.
• The registered office declared as the place of activity for something that needs compliant premises (food production, restaurant, medical practice), when the office is really a domiciliation address.

All of this is checked before filing, not after. When a lawyer files under power of attorney, as we do, the check is his job. See also the documents you need to open a company in Romania.

The CAEN codes most used by companies opened remotely

Most of our clients open service companies: IT, consulting, marketing, e-commerce. The table collects the codes we use most often under Rev. 3, with the notes that matter at filing.

For e-commerce, Rev. 3 changed the logic: there is no longer a separate code for selling online. You choose the code of the product you sell, whatever the channel: physical shop, own website or marketplace. If you sell clothing, the code is retail sale of clothing; if you sell several categories, non-specialised retail.

Authorisation at the office or at third parties: what you declare per code

At registration, for each code you declare where the activity takes place: at the registered office, at a secondary office, at third parties (on clients' or beneficiaries' premises) or, for now, nowhere. It is a declaration on your own responsibility and replaces, at registration, the prior inspection by the health, veterinary, environmental and labour authorities.

For a service company opened remotely, the right choice is almost always at third parties or at beneficiaries: you work from home, from another country or at the client's, and the registered office is a correspondence address. Declaring at the office for a domiciliation address means you vouch that the premises meet operating conditions, which they do not.

Codes you do not activate now can stay in the articles as activity not carried out. You authorise them later, with a new declaration, when you actually start them. Simple rule: you invoice only on authorised codes.

Adding a CAEN code or changing the primary one after formation

Codes can be changed at any time through a change at the Trade Register: add secondary codes, remove some, change the primary one or authorise codes already listed. It is not an exception; it is the most common amendment companies request in their first years.

The procedure: the decision of the sole shareholder or the general meeting, updated articles of association, the authorisation declaration for the new codes and the application to register the amendment. Changing the primary code goes through the same documents; on top of that, tell your accountant, because it can affect your tax status.

Through the company changes service at Start4 our lawyer files under power of attorney, so you need no electronic signature for amendments either. Our advice: do not open with an empty list to see later; put in from the start what you know you will do and add the rest when it comes.

How we choose CAEN codes at Start4

In the platform you have the whole Rev. 3 list, all 651 classes, with search by keyword or by code and a filter by sector. You choose the primary and secondary codes directly in the formation form, and the system will not let you enter a code that does not exist.

Before filing, the lawyer checks the list: the match with the object of activity in the articles, the activities that need prior authorisation and the place of activity declared for each code. The file goes to the Trade Register under power of attorney; you sign nothing electronically.

Registration takes 3–7 working days from signing the documents. The packages are Start at €399, Business at €699 and Premium at €999, with the 152 lei ONRC fee included. Details on the open an SRL in Romania page, in the complete guide and in the FAQ.

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