The business register in Romania is the Registrul Comerţului (Trade Register), kept by the Oficiul Naţional al Registrului Comerţului — ONRC (National Trade Register Office), a public institution under the Ministry of Justice, through the trade register offices attached to the tribunals. Online services run through the ONRC portal, and the register is public by statute. Romania is unusual in keeping companies and sole traders — authorised natural persons, individual enterprises and family enterprises — in the same register.

The company registry in Romania

Romania rewrote its registry law in 2022. Legea nr. 265/2022 privind registrul comerţului (Law No. 265/2022 on the trade register), in force from 26 November 2022, repealed the 1990 trade register law and the related statutes and reshaped the system in three ways. First, the prior legality control is no longer performed by a judge but by a registratorul (registrar), a legal specialist within ONRC, and registration is effected by the registrar’s decision. Second, the register is kept in an information system and registration is carried out electronically, transposing the EU digitalisation directive. Third, publicity was reorganised, as described below.

The scope of the register is broad: it covers companies, European companies, cooperative societies, European cooperative societies, credit cooperative organisations, economic interest groupings and European economic interest groupings, together with their branches and the branches of foreign entities, and — expressly — persoane fizice autorizate, întreprinderi individuale şi întreprinderi familiale (authorised natural persons, individual enterprises and family enterprises), whose substantive regime is set by OUG nr. 44/2008. Entities receive a cod unic de înregistrare — CUI (unique registration code) on fiscal registration and a European unique identifier.

One practical note for researchers: the former portal address no longer exists and has been replaced by the ONRC services portal, so older links fail.

Legal forms that can be registered in Romania

Legea societăţilor nr. 31/1990 (Companies Law No. 31/1990) lists five company forms, to which the registry adds the cooperative, grouping, public and sole-trader categories:

  • Societate cu răspundere limitată — SRL (Limited liability company) — liability limited to the contributions, with a maximum of fifty associates. The minimum share capital requirement has been abolished, which is why the SRL is by far the most common Romanian form. The single-member variant, SRL cu asociat unic, has its sole associate exercising the powers of the general meeting.
  • Societate pe acţiuni — SA (Joint-stock company) — shareholders are liable only to the extent of their shares; the minimum share capital is RON 90,000, adjustable by the Government to the leu equivalent of EUR 25,000.
  • Societate în nume colectiv — SNC (General partnership) — partners bear unlimited, joint and several liability.
  • Societate în comandită simplă — SCS (Limited partnership) — the comanditaţi are unlimitedly liable while the comanditari answer only up to their contribution.
  • Societate în comandită pe acţiuni — SCA (Partnership limited by shares) — the same mixed liability, with the limited partners’ interests represented by shares; the minimum capital of the joint-stock company applies.
  • Societate cooperativă (Cooperative society), of the first and second degree, together with agricultural cooperatives and the European Cooperative Society — member-based entities.
  • Grup de interes economic — GIE (Economic interest grouping) and grup european de interes economic — GEIE (European Economic Interest Grouping) — members are generally unlimitedly and jointly liable.
  • Societate europeană — SE (European Company) — registrable through the holding, merger and subsidiary routes.
  • Sucursală a unei societăţi străine (Branch of a foreign company) — no separate legal personality; the foreign parent remains liable.
  • Regie autonomă (Autonomous public undertaking) and organizaţie cooperatistă de credit (Credit cooperative organisation) — state or locally owned economic operators and sectorally regulated credit unions.
  • Persoană fizică autorizată — PFA, întreprindere individuală — II and întreprindere familială — IF (Authorised natural person, individual enterprise and family enterprise) — the Romanian sole-trader forms under OUG nr. 44/2008, carrying unlimited personal liability subject to the rules on the business estate.

The reprezentanţă (representative office of a foreign company) is not among the entities listed for registration in the trade register and has no ONRC registration route; it should not be treated as a registrable trade-register form.

Information available from the Romanian business register

The Law states the rule in one line: the trade register is public. ONRC supplies, on request and at the requester’s expense, information and certificates — including negative certificates confirming that an act or fact is not registered — together with copies and certified copies of every filed document. Requests may be made at the counter, by post or courier, or electronically.

The information typically shown includes the name, the trade register number, the unique registration code, the European unique identifier, the legal form, the duration, the status of the company, its principal and secondary activities, the share capital, the directors, the associates or shareholders, the authorised activities, the representatives of branches and secondary offices, the auditors, and a set of indicators drawn from the annual financial statements. ONRC also publishes a substantial body of open data covering professionals, registered offices and, for branches, the member state of the parent, with decoding tables for company status and activity codes.

How publication works after the 2022 reform

The reform did not abolish publication in the fourth part of the official gazette; it created a parallel channel. ONRC publishes, of its own motion and within three working days, the registrar’s decision or the court decision on incorporation and registration — including for the sole-trader forms — and the decisions on any other registrations, in the Buletinul electronic al registrului comerţului (Electronic Bulletin of the Trade Register) on the ONRC services portal. Publication in and consultation of that bulletin are free of charge. The official gazette continues to publish the extract of the incorporation decision, decisions where a court expressly so orders, and shareholder resolutions and amending acts where the law requires it.

Annual financial statements are filed with the tax administration rather than with the trade register, and can be looked up free of charge by unique registration code through the Ministry of Finance service, which returns identification data, filed fiscal declarations, balance sheets for recent years and outstanding budget obligations.

What is restricted

The Registrul beneficiarilor reali (Register of Beneficial Owners), kept by ONRC, has been closed to the general public. Legea nr. 86/2025, in force from 26 May 2025, amended Legea nr. 129/2019 so that access is granted only to supervisory and control authorities, judicial bodies and the financial intelligence office; to reporting entities applying customer due diligence; and to any natural or legal person who can demonstrate a legitimate interest in accessing beneficial ownership information. This is Romania’s legislative response to the Court of Justice judgment in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20. Two outputs exist: the current beneficial owners of a legal person and a historical report. ONRC’s own web page on the register still describes the earlier regime of access for any person subject to registration and a tariff, so the statute rather than the website should be treated as controlling.

Personal data — national identification numbers, home addresses and identity document data — are excluded from public disclosure, and all issuance of information, certificates and publications is expressly subject to data protection legislation.

Documents that can be obtained from the register

  • Certificat constatator (Registry status certificate) — the central Romanian registry document, showing the current status of the entity with the data listed above. A negative variant certifies that a given act or fact is not registered. Used to prove existence, powers and authorised activities for banks, tenders and counterparties. A dedicated variant is issued for health insurance purposes, showing a person’s capacity within a professional entity.
  • Furnizare informaţii (Information supply) — extracts of registered data supplied on request at the counter, by post or courier, or electronically.
  • Copii şi copii certificate ale actelor (Copies and certified copies of filed documents) — any filed instrument or part of it, in the form in which it was filed; used as evidence in court and for due diligence.
  • Certificat de înregistrare (Registration certificate) — issued on incorporation and carrying the unique registration code, alongside the European unique identifier that identifies the entity across the EU.
  • Verificare disponibilitate şi rezervare firmă (Name availability check and reservation) — the mandatory step preceding incorporation, with a separate route for the sole-trader forms and a parallel service for emblems.
  • InfoCert — the electronic issuance service for status certificates and information supplies, sealed with a qualified electronic seal, automated and available at any time without operator intervention.
  • Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolvenţă — BPI (Insolvency Proceedings Bulletin) — publication and information services, copies of published documents and summaries, all through the ONRC portal.
  • Situaţii financiare (Financial statements) — obtained from the Ministry of Finance public lookup rather than from the trade register.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the business register in Romania called?

The Registrul Comerţului (Trade Register), kept by the National Trade Register Office under the Ministry of Justice through the trade register offices attached to the tribunals.

What changed with Law No. 265/2022?

From 26 November 2022 the prior legality control passed from judges to registrars within ONRC, the register became fully electronic, and a free electronic bulletin was created alongside continuing publication in the official gazette.

Are sole traders in the same register as companies?

Yes. Authorised natural persons, individual enterprises and family enterprises are registered in the trade register alongside companies, cooperatives and groupings.

Is there a minimum share capital for a Romanian SRL?

No. The minimum capital requirement for the limited liability company has been abolished. The joint-stock company requires RON 90,000.

Which document proves a Romanian company’s status?

The certificat constatator, which sets out the current registered data, and which also exists in a negative form certifying that an act or fact is not registered.

Can I look up beneficial owners of Romanian companies?

Only on demonstrating a legitimate interest. Since 26 May 2025 access is limited to authorities and judicial bodies, to reporting entities carrying out due diligence, and to persons who demonstrate a legitimate interest.

Sources

Keywords

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