Required documents for foreign citizens opening a Romanian SRL

What documents you actually need

The list of documents to register a Romanian SRL is shorter than most foreign founders expect, but the details matter, because the Trade Register checks that names, dates and addresses are consistent across every paper you submit. For a standard formation with one or two individual shareholders, the starting point is straightforward: valid identity documents, a few decisions about the company itself, and a registered office address. Most of what follows is about making sure those pieces fit together before anything is filed, which is exactly the kind of review that saves a rejected application later.

This page explains the documents to register a Romanian SRL for two very different situations: when the shareholder is a foreign individual, and when the shareholder is a foreign legal entity (another company). The requirements diverge significantly between the two, and mixing them up is one of the more common reasons a file gets sent back. If you are still deciding on structure, the overview on Romanian SRL for foreigners sets out who can be a shareholder and an administrator.

ID requirements for an individual foreign founder

When the shareholder is a private person, the ID requirements for a Romanian company are built around a single valid travel or identity document. A passport is accepted for all nationalities; an EU national ID card works for citizens of EU and EEA states. The document must be in date, and the spelling of your name must match across everything you sign, so it is worth confirming how your name appears before we draft anything.

For each foreign individual acting as a shareholder, administrator, or both, we typically collect:

• A clear copy of a valid passport or national ID
• Full name exactly as printed on that document
• Citizenship and current country of residence
• Date and place of birth
• Home address, plus a working phone number and email
• The role you will hold: shareholder, administrator, or both

In many standard cases this is enough to begin. Depending on your documents and the nationalities involved, some shareholders also need to sign certain papers in front of a notary or before a Romanian consulate, and where a signature is given abroad it may require an apostille or legalisation. We confirm which of these apply after document review, rather than assuming the heaviest version for everyone.

Required documents for a foreign legal entity shareholder

The required documents for a foreign founder change considerably when the shareholder is not a person but a company registered outside Romania. Here the Trade Register needs to see that the foreign entity legally exists, who is entitled to act on its behalf, and that the company has formally decided to become a shareholder in a new Romanian SRL. That is a heavier evidentiary file, and the documents almost always need to be translated.

For a corporate shareholder, the typical package includes:

• A recent registry extract (certificate of incorporation or equivalent) proving the foreign company is active
• Documents identifying its legal representative and that person's authority to sign
• A shareholder decision or board authorisation approving participation in, and the formation of, the Romanian company
• Certified Romanian translations, with apostille or legalisation where applicable

The individual who will physically sign or be appointed administrator still has to meet the ID requirements above, so a corporate setup combines both lists. Because translation and document-certification timelines sit largely outside our control, these cases run on a slightly longer schedule than a clean individual formation.

Details about the company itself

Alongside the personal and corporate paperwork, we need a few decisions about the SRL you want to set up. These are not "documents" you bring so much as choices you make, and having them ready speeds up drafting. You will be asked to provide three preferred company name options (the register approves one), the intended business activity and any CAEN codes you already have in mind, the share capital and how it is split between shareholders, who will serve as administrator, and whether you need us to provide a registered office. We can also note your accountant preference at this stage.

If you do not have a Romanian address, a registered office is available from €150/year, and a combined remote SRL with registered office package starts from €450. Formation on its own starts from €300. Every figure is a starting point: the final quote depends on your citizenship, your documents, the number of shareholders, whether translations are required, and whether the shareholder is an individual or a foreign legal entity. The full sequence is laid out on how it works.

Check your documents before we file

Before anything reaches the Trade Register, we review the whole file: that names match across documents, that scans are readable, whether translations are needed, whether a registered office is required, and whether the case looks standard or has a wrinkle worth flagging early. This review is where most problems are caught.

To get a quick read on your specific situation and the documents to register a Romanian SRL in your case, send us your citizenship, your current country of residence, whether you need a registered office, and the business activity you have in mind. Message us on WhatsApp or use the contact form and we will tell you exactly which documents apply to you and what the next step looks like.