How to open a company in Romania: the complete 2026 guide

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

How to open a company in Romania, in practice: reserve the name, sign the deeds, file with the Trade Registry and receive the tax number within 3–7 working days. You do not need residency, a trip to Bucharest or an electronic signature of your own. Below are the steps in order, the documents, the costs with real figures and what to do in the first week after registration.

Who can open a company in Romania: foreigners and non-residents

Anyone of legal age can open a company in Romania, whatever their citizenship or country of residence. Opening a company in Romania as a foreigner works on the same terms as for a Romanian citizen: a valid ID card or passport and a registered office on Romanian territory. Residency is required neither of the shareholder nor of the director, and one person can be both.

Setting up from abroad works like setting up from Bucharest, with one practical difference: you do not sign at a counter. The file is submitted to the Trade Registry electronically and signed digitally by whoever files it. If you give a lawyer a power of attorney, the electronic signature is theirs, not yours: you sign the power of attorney and the deeds in ordinary form.

A foreign director has one extra step after registration: a Romanian tax identification number (NIF), which banks and the tax agency ANAF ask for. It is obtained separately and is included in the Business and Premium packages.

SRL, PFA or something else: what to choose

For almost any business that intends to grow, the answer is the SRL, the Romanian limited liability company. It is liable with its own assets, can have one or several shareholders, hires staff, takes investors and can be sold. The minimum share capital is 500 lei from 1 January 2026 (Law 239/2025).

The PFA, the authorised natural person, is the sole-trader option: 10% income tax plus CAS and CASS social contributions, calculated on thresholds tied to the minimum wage. The price of simplicity is unlimited liability: PFA debts are your personal debts, and many activities require a proven qualification in the field.

The 2026 tax regime of an SRL is often what decides: micro-company status at 1% on revenue up to €100,000 a year, provided the company has at least one full-time employee (or a director on a mandate contract); above the ceiling it moves to 16% profit tax from the quarter in which the ceiling is exceeded. The 3% rate has been abolished. Dividends are taxed at 16% from 2026. The conditions are set out in our guide to Romanian micro-company tax in 2026.

Romanian SRL formation: the steps in order

There are five steps, in this order:

1. Name reservation at the ONRC, the Trade Registry. You check that the name is free and reserve it; prepare three alternatives so you do not repeat the step.
2. Company deeds: the articles of association (actul constitutiv), the shareholders' and director's declarations, the specimen signature and the power of attorney for whoever files.
3. Registered office: proof of the premises (land registry extract, lease or loan-for-use agreement) or a registered office hosting contract.
4. Filing the file electronically and paying the 152 lei fee.
5. Registration certificate with the CUI, the tax number, together with the ruling and the registry extract (certificat constatator). From here the company exists.

Activity codes are chosen at step 2 and deserve care: Romania uses CAEN Rev. 3, with 651 classes; you list one main code and up to 8 secondary ones. Our guide to CAEN codes and how to choose them keeps you away from a main code that needs prior authorisation.

Documents you need

For an SRL whose shareholders are individuals the documents are few, but every one of them has to be in order:

• ID card or passport of every shareholder and of the director;
• proof of the name reservation;
• articles of association signed by all shareholders;
• declarations by the shareholders and the director that they meet the legal conditions;
• proof of the registered office: title deed, lease or loan-for-use agreement, or a hosting contract;
• power of attorney, if the file is submitted by a lawyer or another person.

If a shareholder is a foreign company, add its certificate of incorporation and the resolution to take part, translated and legalised. The full list, document by document, is in our guide to the documents to open a company in Romania.

What it really costs

The compulsory cost paid to the state is small: the ONRC fee of 152 lei covers registration and publication in the Official Gazette. The 500 lei share capital is not a cost but the company's own money: 30% is paid in within 3 months of registration and before trading starts, the rest within 12 months, into a bank account in the company's name, which is mandatory.

The real difference is what surrounds registration: the office, if you do not have one, and accounting, which a company pays from its first month. The full calculation, with examples, is in our guide to the cost of opening a company in Romania.

How long it takes

Between 3 and 7 working days from signing the deeds to the registration certificate. The Trade Registry works on a complete file: if something is missing you get a postponement and the clock restarts once you have completed it.

Your part takes minutes: the shareholders' details, the choice of CAEN codes, the signature. What stretches the timeline comes earlier: a name refused at reservation, an incomplete office contract or an expired passport.

The first week after registration: bank, ANAF, VAT, e-Factura, accounting

The company exists, but cannot trade yet. In the first week, in this order:

• Company bank account, into which you pay the share capital. The bank asks for the registration certificate, the articles and the director's documents.
• SPV at ANAF: the tax agency's virtual private space, through which you file returns and receive tax correspondence.
• Tax regime: check that you meet the micro-company conditions, first of all the full-time employee or the director's mandate contract.
• VAT (TVA): registration is compulsory above 395,000 lei of revenue, optional from day one if you work with VAT-registered businesses. The rates are 21% standard and 11% reduced.
• e-Factura: invoices must go through the national e-invoicing system, so you need invoicing software connected to it.
• Accounting: a contract with an accountant from the first month, not from the first invoice.

The single control register and, if you sell within the EU, an intra-community VAT number complete the list. The other recurring questions are answered in our FAQ.

Mistakes that get the file rejected

Almost every rejection has the same cause: a file that is incomplete or inconsistent, not unlawful. What we see most often:

• a name too close to an existing one, or containing protected words;
• an object of activity written with codes from the old CAEN, or a main code that needs prior authorisation;
• an office contract without the owner's or the residents' association's consent, where required, or one that has already expired;
• an expired ID, or a name spelt differently in the articles and in the passport;
• declarations signed by someone other than the person declaring;
• an incomplete power of attorney for the person filing.

Every rejection means a new filing and lost days. That is why we check the file before filing, not after.

How Start4 does it: set up a company in Romania remotely, by power of attorney

You enter the details online, choose the CAEN codes with our help, sign the deeds and a power of attorney; Start4's lawyer signs electronically and files. You need neither an electronic signature nor a trip to Romania. Within 3–7 working days you receive the registration certificate.

The Start package, €399, covers formation when you already have an office, registry fees included. Business, €699, adds a registered office for 12 months, the NIF for a foreign director, the choice of tax regime, VAT, e-Factura and a 30-minute call with the accountant. Premium, €999, adds a lawyer on the file, contracts and 3 months of assistance. For structures with foreign corporate shareholders, Foreign Investor starts at €1,490 on quotation.

After formation we stay with the company: a registered office at €130 a year, accounting at €99, €149 or €249 a month and company changes when you move the office or change shareholders or the object of activity. Start from open an SRL in Romania.

Frequently asked