Romanian company by industry: guides for foreign founders

Start with the activity

A Romanian company is registered with the activities it will carry out. Those activities decide more than a line in the articles of association. They shape which codes the company declares, whether a licence or product authorisation is needed before trading, what kind of address the business needs and how the accountant sets up tax and VAT.

The formation itself follows the same steps for every founder, as our guide to company registration in Romania explains. The guides below cover what changes from one industry to another.

Guides by industry

Selling on online marketplaces

For sellers who want a Romanian company to trade on eMAG, Allegro, Cdiscount, Amazon or other marketplaces.

• Typical codes: retail by product, from 47.1 to 47.8 (for example 47.71 clothing or 47.40 computers and phones), wholesale in division 46 when selling to businesses.
• Key point: 47.91 and 47.92 are for platforms that intermediate sales, not for sellers who own the goods.
• Guide: Romanian company for marketplace sellers.

Software development and IT services

For developers, contractors and small teams invoicing clients from a Romanian SRL.

• Typical codes: 62.10 computer programming, 62.20 IT consultancy and systems management, 62.90 other IT services, 63.10 hosting and cloud infrastructure.
• Key point: publishing your own software product is 58.29, not 62.10.
• Guide: IT and software company in Romania.

Business and technology consulting

For management consultants, interim managers and advisers.

• Typical code: 70.20 business and other management consultancy.
• Key point: IT consultancy is 62.20, and legal, accounting and tax advice are regulated professions with their own codes.
• Guide: Consulting company in Romania.

Real estate and construction

For investors who buy, let or develop property through a company, real estate agencies and construction companies.

• Typical codes: 68.11 buying and selling own property, 68.12 development for sale, 68.20 lets of a year or longer, 55.20 short-stay accommodation, 68.31 agencies, 41.00 building construction.
• Key point: a Romanian SRL can own land even when its shareholders are from outside the EU, but agricultural land outside towns has its own rules.
• Guide: Buy, rent or develop property in Romania through an SRL.

Solar and battery storage projects

For developers and investors that hold energy projects through a Romanian project company (SPV).

• Typical codes: 35.12 electricity from renewable sources, including solar; 35.16 electricity storage, including batteries; 35.15 electricity trade.
• Key point: we form the SPV and handle its corporate changes; ANRE licensing, grid connection and permits are work for energy specialists.
• Guide: Romanian SPV for solar and battery storage projects.

How activity codes work

Romania classifies activities under CAEN Rev. 3, in force since 1 January 2025. It follows the EU classification NACE Rev. 2.1 code for code, so the English NACE notes describe exactly what each Romanian code covers.

• One main activity. Every SRL declares one main code: the activity expected to bring in most of the revenue.
• Secondary activities. The company can add further codes for other activities it will really carry out. A short list that matches your contracts works better than a long one.
• Four-digit codes. Romanian documents write the codes without the dot, so 62.10 appears as 6210.

Many English-language guides still quote codes from the previous classification. Check any code before you rely on it. Our CAEN code search in English shows the current codes with their included and excluded activities.

If your company already exists and its registered activities no longer match the current classification or your real business, the codes can be updated through a company change. See changing CAEN codes for a Romanian SRL.

What the codes do not settle

Declaring an activity code does not grant a licence, a product authorisation, a VAT number, a bank account or a residence permit. Those come from other authorities and institutions, and we do not handle them. Each industry guide says which of these steps apply to that sector and who deals with them.

Price

For an eligible standard case in any of these industries (one individual shareholder, one administrator and an activity that needs no 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. Other cases, including energy SPVs, are quoted separately after review. See the prices page.

Your industry is not listed?

Most activities follow the same formation route. Describe your business on WhatsApp in a few plain sentences:

• what the company will sell or do, and for whom;
• where the work or the stock will be;
• who will own and manage the company.

We will tell you which codes fit, whether the activity needs anything beyond the Trade Register and whether your case is standard.