Company registration in Romania for foreigners

Company registration in Romania at a glance

Company registration in Romania means entering a new company in the Trade Register, the public registry run by ONRC (Oficiul Național al Registrului Comerțului). For almost every foreign founder the company is an SRL, the Romanian limited liability company. Once the registrar approves the file, the company exists, receives its unique registration code (CUI) and can start trading.

The short version:

• Who can register: foreign individuals from inside or outside the EU, with or without Romanian residence. A foreign company can also be a shareholder.
• What you need: a passport, your home address, two or three name options, a description of the business, a registered office in Romania and the share capital.
• Who files: the founder, a representative with a notarised power of attorney, or a Romanian lawyer acting under a lawyer's mandate.
• What it costs with us: a fixed €490 for eligible standard cases, including the registered office for 12 months and the ONRC fee.

The rest of this guide explains each step and the points where foreign founders' files usually need extra care.

Who can register a company in Romania

Romania does not require a company owner to be Romanian, to live in Romania or to hold an EU passport. A foreign individual can usually be the only shareholder of an SRL and also its administrator, the person who manages and represents the company. Citizens of EU and non-EU countries follow the same legal route. What changes from one country to another is the identity document that is accepted and whether any document needs translation or legalisation.

A foreign company can also own a Romanian SRL. That file is more demanding: the registrar needs proof that the foreign company exists and that the person signing for it has authority to do so. Our page on a Romanian SRL with a foreign legal entity shareholder explains what that involves.

Two limits are worth knowing from the start. Registering a company does not by itself settle immigration questions, such as a visa or a residence permit, and it does not open a bank account. Those are separate processes with other authorities and institutions, and we do not handle them.

Why most foreign founders register an SRL

The SRL (societate cu răspundere limitată) is the Romanian equivalent of a limited liability company, often called an LLC abroad. The shareholders' liability is limited to the capital they contribute, the company can have from one to fifty shareholders, and it can be owned by individuals, companies or both.

The minimum share capital for a new SRL is RON 500, roughly €100. It is the company's own money, not a fee, and it is recorded in the articles of association together with how the shares are split between the shareholders. If the company's annual net turnover later exceeds RON 400,000, the capital has to be raised to RON 5,000.

A foreign company can also operate in Romania through a branch. For an individual founder, and for most small groups of founders, the SRL is the simpler and more common route. Our overview of the Romanian SRL for foreigners compares the practical points.

What you need before registration

Most delays in company registration in Romania come from preparation, not from the registry itself. Before drafting starts, the following should be settled:

• Identity: a valid passport for each shareholder and for the administrator. EU citizens can often use a national ID card instead.
• Home address: the full address where you live, written exactly as it will appear in the documents.
• Company name: two or three options in order of preference. The Trade Register checks that the name is available and reserves it before the file is submitted.
• Business activity: a plain description of what the company will actually do. It is translated into CAEN codes, the Romanian activity classification, with one main code and any secondary ones. You can explore them in English with our CAEN code search.
• Registered office: every SRL needs an address in Romania where it is legally domiciled. If you do not have one, a registered office in Romania can be included with the formation.
• Structure: who holds the shares, in what proportion, and who will be administrator.

The required documents page sets out the usual checklist in more detail.

The registration steps

A standard registration follows the same sequence every time:

1. Case check. You describe the activity and the structure, and the case is confirmed as standard or flagged for extra documents.
2. Name reservation. The chosen name is checked and reserved with the Trade Register.
3. Drafting. The articles of association (act constitutiv), the shareholder and administrator declarations, the information on the company's beneficial owner and the registered office documents are prepared in Romanian.
4. Signing. The shareholders sign the articles of association and the administrator signs the declarations. If another person has to sign in your name, a power of attorney is needed. Our guide to the power of attorney in Romania explains when that is the case and what form it must take.
5. Filing. The file is submitted to the Trade Register. The law limits who may sign and file a registration request: the founders themselves, a representative holding a notarised power of attorney, or a lawyer acting under a lawyer's mandate. When the file is lawyer-led, the lawyer files and answers any request for corrections from the registrar.
6. Registration. Once the registrar approves the file, the company is entered in the Trade Register and receives its registration certificate with the CUI. You receive the certificate, the articles of association and a certificat constatator, the official extract describing the company.

If you need a Romanian VAT number from the start, say so at the beginning so it can be requested together with the registration.

How long it takes

The timeline has two parts. Preparation depends on how quickly the documents and details are ready and on whether anything needs translation. The registry step depends on the Trade Register's workload at the time of filing. For that reason we do not promise a fixed number of days before the file is ready. Our note on the Romanian SRL formation timeline explains what moves the dates.

After the company is registered

Registration is the start of the company's obligations, not the end. A Romanian company keeps accounts and has tax filing obligations from the start, so it needs an accountant. It also needs a bank account for its payments, which the founder applies for directly with the bank of their choice. Our after-incorporation checklist lists the usual next steps.

What company registration in Romania costs

For an eligible standard case, meaning one individual shareholder, one administrator and an ordinary activity that does not need a licence, the fixed €490 package covers the formation, lawyer-led representation at the Trade Register, a registered office for 12 months and the ONRC fee, in one payment.

Other options are listed on the prices page. Formation only starts from €300, with the registered office and ONRC fee separate. Changes to an existing company start from €200. Files with several shareholders, a foreign company as shareholder or a regulated activity are quoted separately after review. For a complex structure, the optional detailed Case Review gives you a written assessment before you choose.

Check your case

If you choose SRLulTau.ro to handle the formation, the same dedicated contact coordinates your document list, agreed fees and next steps until the filing is completed. The collaborating Romanian lawyer handles legal preparation and Trade Register representation.

The quickest way to know how company registration in Romania will work for you is to describe your business. Send us your citizenship and the activity you plan on WhatsApp, and we will tell you whether your case fits the standard package and which documents to prepare.