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What registration costs
What It Costs to Set Up a Company in Romania: the cost question, answered on its own page.
Romania Company Register Search, Numbers and Extracts
Where each public lookup of a Romanian company sits, what it shows and leaves out, what the three numbers are, and what is free, paid or not public.
Short answer
Yes. The Romanian trade register is public (art. 11(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text) and kept by ONRC, the National Trade Register Office. A free data set is available online, and ONRC issues its own certificate of the registered data on request, at the requester's expense. ANAF and the Ministry of Finance run separate lookups, not the company register.
Opening a company rather than looking one up? See Romanian company registration. For the tax picture of a registered company, read our corporate tax overview.
Is the Romanian company register public?
Yes. The trade register (registrul comerțului) is public, and it is a public service of general interest, kept by ONRC (Oficiul Național al Registrului Comerțului) in an IT system (art. 4(1), 6(1) and 11(1) Law 265/2022). Every rule quoted here is the 2022 text of that law, which replaced Law 26/1990. Law 222/2023 later amended it, and its content was not read.
The register has three parts (art. 7(1)): companies and similar legal persons with their branches; cooperatives; and authorised natural persons with individual and family enterprises. Entries bind third parties from the date they are entered, or from publication where the law so provides (art. 46(1), 2022 text). The register number, the CUI and the EUID are explained in the section on the three numbers.
The statute names eight states of a company, and the list is not closed (art. 3(1)(i), 2022 text):
- In operation (în funcțiune)
- Dissolved (dizolvată)
- In reorganisation
- In liquidation
- Insolvent
- Bankrupt
- In temporary interruption of activity
- Struck off (radiată)
Where can you search a Romanian company for free?
Each lookup has its own keeper and search keys. ONRC's channels and the EU portal belong to the company register; the lookups of ANAF, the National Tax Administration Agency, and of the Ministry of Finance are separate tax-side registers.
| Lookup | Kept by | What you enter or receive | What it shows | Cost or status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONRC website and online portal (the free data set) | ONRC | The portal's own search fields | Name and legal form, seat, register number, EUID, CUI, state, website, legal representatives | Free (art. 12(1), 2022 text) |
| EU e-Justice portal (BRIS) | The EU, with the national registers | At least one country, then the company name or the registration number (harmonised criteria; the portal may offer more) | At least the registration number, EUID and status | Free minimum; other documents at no more than administrative cost |
| Electronic Trade Register Bulletin | ONRC | Consulted online | The registrar's decision on a new legal person, within at most 3 working days of registration | Publishing and consulting are free (art. 15(4)) |
| Monitorul Oficial (the Official Gazette) | The Official Gazette | For Part IV: e-mail on the day of publication to subscribers, post after printing against an order, or an electronic copy on order | The extract of the registration decision: founders and administrators with country, town and county, capital, CUI, EUID, register number | Publication is mandatory (art. 16, 2022 text); the law names no Part for this extract |
| ANAF VAT register | ANAF | The fiscal code and a validation code | Whether the company is registered for VAT (art. 316 Fiscal Code) | Public register |
| ANAF register of inactive or reactivated taxpayers | ANAF | The fiscal code, or the taxpayer name | Inactive or reactivated status | Public (art. 92(11) Fiscal Procedure Code) |
| Ministry of Finance lookup | Ministry of Finance | The numeric unique identification code, or name and county | Registration data, declarations filed, six years of balance sheets, arrears records | Free lookup |
| ONRC open data on data.gov.ro | ONRC, published on data.gov.ro | A data set published as files | Files on firms, seat, state, legal representatives, authorised activities, branches in other Member States | Licence CC BY 4.0; set dated 9 January 2026 |
The ONRC website and portal and the e-Justice portal could not be opened when this guide was prepared, so it gives rules and data fields, not screens or account steps.
Who keeps what
Company record
The company register
The register
ONRC; the J number and the EUID; the free data set (art. 12(1)); the Bulletin (art. 15); certificates on request (art. 11(1))
The EU portal
BRIS; e-Justice as the European access point (art. 9)
Outside the company register
ANAF
Assigns the CUI (art. 126(2)); the VAT register; the register of inactive taxpayers (art. 92(11) Fiscal Procedure Code); web services
The Ministry of Finance
Declarations filed; six years of balance sheets; arrears records
Open data
The ONRC data set, CC BY 4.0
Articles are those of Law 265/2022, 2022 text, unless another act is named.
What does the free ONRC data set show?
The 2022 text lists seven fields in the free set (art. 12(1)(a)-(g)); Law 222/2023 added one more, content unread.
- Name and legal form
- Registered seat
- Trade register number, EUID and CUI
- State of the company
- Website
- Legal representatives, and whether they act jointly or separately
- Branches opened in another Member State, with name, number and EUID
The set is available through the EU interconnection system, on the ONRC website or in its online portal (art. 12(1)). Public personal data on shareholders, administrators and officers are limited to name, date and place of birth, citizenship and state of residence, as are copies issued to requesters, except to entities with legal access (art. 13(1)-(2), 2022 text).
None of this means anonymity: legal representatives are in the free set, and the Monitorul Oficial extract names founders and administrators with country, town and county (art. 16). The statute lists fields, not search keys, so a shareholder-name search is not promised.
Can you search a Romanian company on the EU portal?
Yes. The Romanian register is part of BRIS, the EU system interconnecting business registers, and the European access point is the e-Justice portal (art. 9(1)-(3) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). ONRC may also set up optional access points once the Minister of Justice approves them (art. 9(6)).
For a founder company seated in another EU state, ONRC obtains its legal representatives, powers and status through BRIS (art. 72(4)).
What the EU rules say about the portal:
- A search needs at least one country; the harmonised criteria are the company name and the registration number, and the portal may offer more (Regulation (EU) 2021/1042, Annex section 11)
- The free minimum includes the registration number, EUID and status (art. 19 Directive (EU) 2017/1132, as replaced by Directive (EU) 2019/1151)
- Fees for other documents may not exceed administrative cost; for documents with a fee, online payment by widely used means such as cards must be possible (Annex section 12)
The portal's own pages could not be opened when this guide was prepared, so no screen is described.
What are the J number, the CUI and the EUID?
Three numbers identify a Romanian company, each with its own issuer. The VAT code is a separate status.
| Number | What it is | Who issues it | Where it shows | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J number (număr de ordine în registrul comerțului) | The register number, allocated nationally from the central register and restarting at 1 each year in the 2022 text | The register | Registration certificate, free data set, Monitorul Oficial extract, commercial documents | Art. 7(2) Law 265/2022; art. 74(1) Law 31/1990 |
| CUI (cod unic de înregistrare, unique registration code) | The fiscal code of a trade-register company; its structure is set by ANAF and every IT system that processes data on registered professionals uses it | ANAF, on the data ONRC sends | Registration certificate, free data set, every invoice, offer and order | Art. 126, 127(2) Law 265/2022; art. 74(1) Law 31/1990 |
| EUID (identificator unic la nivel european, European unique identifier) | The identifier used between EU registers; four elements at EU level (ISO 6523); Romania's structure is approved by order of the Minister of Justice | The register | Registration certificate, free data set | Art. 10 Law 265/2022; Annex section 9 Regulation (EU) 2021/1042 |
| VAT code | A separate status requested from the tax authority. Where it is requested together with the trade register application, it is valid from the date of registration at the trade register (norms to art. 316(11)(a)); in other cases the start date follows the same norms | ANAF | The ANAF VAT register | Art. 316 Fiscal Code and its norms |
For the register number the statute fixes only national allocation and a yearly restart (art. 7(2), 2022 text). The EU structure of the EUID has four elements: country code, domestic register, registration number in it and an optional verification digit (Annex section 9). The registration certificate shows all three numbers (art. 110(1), 127(1)).
This guide gives no format for the J number or a Romanian EUID: strings quoted on private websites rest on neither the statute nor the Minister of Justice order, which was not read. The VAT number and the tax-code family have their own guides, linked at the end.
How do you find a company's registration number from its name?
Five steps, from the company's own papers to a cross-check between two sources.
Read the company's own papers · the counterparty
Its invoice, offer or order must state the name, legal form, seat, register number and CUI, and an SRL also its share capital (art. 74(1) and (3) Law 31/1990, January 2024 text).
Search the ONRC data set · ONRC
Look the company up in the ONRC free data set. It returns the register number, EUID and CUI (art. 12(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). The statute lists what the set returns, not which search keys it takes.
Search the EU portal · e-Justice
Select Romania, then search by the company name or by the registration number in the Romanian register (the harmonised criteria) (Annex section 11, Regulation (EU) 2021/1042).
Check the tax-side lookups · ANAF and the Ministry of Finance
ANAF's register of inactive taxpayers is searchable by taxpayer name, and the Ministry of Finance lookup by name and county.
Confirm you have the right entity · you
Compare legal form, seat and CUI across two sources. For many CUIs at once, ANAF's web service, described below, returns the trade register number with each.
Opening a Romanian company instead of looking one up? Talk to us about the registration route.
What do the ANAF and Ministry of Finance lookups show?
These are separate public lookups, not the company register, and what they report follows which taxes a foreign-owned Romanian company pays.
ANAF VAT register
Searched by fiscal code with a validation code (art. 316 Fiscal Code). VAT registration is a separate status, though it can be requested with the trade register application.
ANAF register of inactive or reactivated taxpayers
Public and posted on ANAF's website (art. 92(11) Fiscal Procedure Code); searched by fiscal code or by taxpayer name.
Ministry of Finance lookup
Registration data, declarations filed, six years of balance sheets and arrears records, by unique identification code or by name and county. Figures come from the annual statements filed with ANAF; see what a small Romanian SRL files every month and year.
ANAF web services
The synchronous service for the VAT and inactive registers takes at most 100 CUIs per request and one request per second per client, and returns the trade register number (ANAF web services page, instructions of 4 February 2025).
The balance-sheet trap
ANAF's separate financial-statements web service publishes indicators only for 2014 to 2019 (instructions of 20 January 2021), so it is not a route to recent accounts.
What an arrears list leaves out
Our reading: absence from the arrears records says nothing about smaller debts. The tax attestation certificate (certificat de atestare fiscală) attests a taxpayer's tax position, but a person other than a public authority handling the taxpayer's own application (art. 69(4)) gets it only with the taxpayer's express and unequivocal consent (art. 160(1) Fiscal Procedure Code, current wording).
What is a certificat constatator and how is it requested?
On request, at the requester's expense and in Romanian, ONRC issues information and certificates of the registered data (certificat constatator; plural certificate constatatoare), certificates that an act or fact is not registered, and copies and certified copies (art. 11(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). The Fiscal Code norms on excise authorisations name it as the document showing share capital. The provisions cited here name no validity period and no rule on acceptance by banks, notaries or courts.
A request is filed and answered like this (art. 11(2)-(3), 2022 text):
- At the counter, by post or courier, or electronically
- With a copy of the identity document, unless the request carries a qualified electronic signature
- ONRC issues it electronically, signed and sealed, or on paper
- The price is a ministerial tariff, capped at the administrative costs of issuing, register development and maintenance included (art. 11(7)); the current order was not read, so no figure is given
CECCAR reported an ONRC announcement that the cash desks of ONRC and the county offices would stop operating from 15 October 2026. ONRC's own announcement was not read, so this guide does not say how to pay.
Directive (EU) 2025/25 adds an EU Company Certificate that all Member States must accept as sufficient evidence of the company's incorporation at the time of issue. Transposition is due by 31 July 2027 and the measures apply from 31 July 2028, so it is not Romanian law today.
What is restricted or not public?
Public does not mean complete. The table shows who can see what, and what limits it.
| Item | Who can see it | What limits it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The free data set | Anyone, through the ONRC website and portal and the EU system | The fields listed in art. 12(1), 2022 text | Art. 12(1) Law 265/2022 |
| Personal data of shareholders, administrators and officers | Anyone, in the public data and in copies of filed documents | Limited to name, date and place of birth, citizenship and state of residence | Art. 13 Law 265/2022 |
| The Monitorul Oficial extract | Anyone who obtains the issue that carries it | Publication is mandatory (2022 text); it names founders and administrators with country, town and county | Art. 16 Law 265/2022 |
| The beneficial-owner register | Supervisory and judicial authorities; reporting entities applying customer due diligence; any person or organisation that shows a legitimate interest | The last category needs online registration and an administrative fee | Art. 19(8), (82) Law 129/2019 |
| The tax attestation certificate | The taxpayer; public authorities in the cases of art. 69(4); another person only with the taxpayer's consent | The consent must be express and unequivocal (current wording) | Art. 160(1), 69(4) Fiscal Procedure Code |
ONRC keeps the beneficial-owner register provided for by Law 129/2019, part of the EU system interconnecting those registers (art. 17(1) and 18(1) Law 265/2022). This guide does not call it public or anonymous and describes no ONRC fee; for its rules, see beneficial ownership of a Romanian company.
On 22 November 2022 the Court of Justice held invalid the EU rule making such information accessible in all cases to any member of the general public (joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20).
How soon does a new company appear in the register?
The statute gives terms, not a promise. They are the 2022 text and bind the registrar, not RomaniaRegist.
The statutory sequence for a new company
The decision
The application is registered, then the registrar decides
Who acts: The registrar
Term: one working day, counted from the last requested document where documents are requested (art. 105(1), 107(1))
The entry
The entry in the register follows the decision
Who acts: The register
Term: at most 24 hours after the decision (art. 107(3))
Legal personality
The company acquires legal personality from the moment the entry is actually made (art. 107(4))
Who acts: The company
Publication
The decision appears in the Bulletin
Who acts: The Bulletin
Term: within at most 3 working days of registration (art. 15(3))
The fiscal code
The CUI is assigned on the data ONRC sends (art. 126(2))
Who acts: ANAF
2022 text; terms, not promises.
The decision · the registrar
The registrar decides on the documents within one working day of the application's registration or the last requested document (art. 105(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text; art. 107(1)); where information must come through BRIS, the registrar may grant a term (art. 105(4)).
The entry · the register
The entry in the register is made at most 24 hours after the registrar's decision ordering it (art. 107(3)).
Legal personality · the company
The company acquires legal personality from the moment the entry is actually made (art. 107(4)).
Publication · the Bulletin and the gazette
The decision appears in the free electronic Bulletin within at most 3 working days of registration (art. 15(3)-(4)). The Monitorul Oficial extract is a mandatory legal procedure (art. 16).
The fiscal code · ANAF
ANAF assigns the CUI on the data ONRC sends (art. 126(2)). A VAT code is a separate request and status (art. 316 Fiscal Code and its norms).
In September 2024 the Government adopted an emergency ordinance because registration had run into major difficulties (OUG 109/2024, preamble). A company registered days ago may therefore be missing from some sources. This guide gives no time of its own.
What can a register search not tell you?
A record shows what is registered, not what it means for a deal, and absence from one list says nothing beyond that list. This guide gives no legal opinion and no tax advice. Who does what:
- A legal opinion on what an entry means for a deal is lawyer work unless the law provides otherwise (art. 3(1)(a) and (2) Law 51/1995).
- What an ANAF result means for a tax position, answers to ANAF in a procedure and appeals are tax consultancy, for a tax consultant on the CCF register, the Chamber of Tax Consultants (art. 3(1)(a), (e), (f) OG 71/2001).
- Bookkeeping, payroll and tax returns done for clients are reserved to CECCAR members, the expert and authorised accountants (art. 21(1) and 43(1) OG 65/1994; art. 10(3) Law 82/1991); a company's own department may keep its books (art. 10(2) Law 82/1991).
From our practice
When we file a registration and it is entered, the founder receives the registration certificate, which shows the register number, the CUI and the EUID (art. 110(1), 127(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). Treat that certificate as the first reference and compare any lookup against it.
Official sources
The main texts behind this page, in the wording named beside each.
- Law 265/2022, 2022 text: the register, free data, certificates, terms
- Directive (EU) 2019/1151: the free EU minimum and the fee cap
- Regulation (EU) 2021/1042: EUID structure, EU portal search, online payment
- ANAF register of VAT payers: search by fiscal code
- ANAF register of inactive taxpayers: search by fiscal code or taxpayer name
- ANAF web services page: the synchronous service and the financial-statements service
- Ministry of Finance lookup: registration data, filings, balance sheets, arrears
- ONRC open data on data.gov.ro: the data set dated 9 January 2026
- Law 129/2019, ONPCSB consolidated text: who may consult the beneficial-owner register
- Court of Justice judgment of 22 November 2022: public access to beneficial-owner data held invalid
- Fiscal Procedure Code, ANAF consolidation: art. 69(4), 92(11) and 160(1)
- OUG 109/2024: the preamble on registration difficulties
Frequently asked questions
Does the Romanian register show who owns a company, and can anyone see its beneficial owners?
The free data set names the legal representatives (art. 12(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text), and the Monitorul Oficial registration extract names founders and administrators (art. 16). Beneficial owners sit in a separate ONRC register, open to authorities, reporting entities doing due diligence and, after online registration and a fee, persons with a legitimate interest (art. 19(8), (82) Law 129/2019).
Is a founder's home address public in the Romanian register?
The statute limits the public personal data on shareholders, administrators and officers to name, date and place of birth, citizenship and state of residence (art. 13 Law 265/2022, 2022 text). The Monitorul Oficial registration extract gives founders' and administrators' country, town and county (art. 16), and legal representatives are in the free data set. This guide promises no anonymity.
Is the official extract the only proof of a company's details that banks and notaries accept?
Not on the provisions cited here. The Fiscal Code norms on excise authorisations refer to the ONRC certificat constatator as showing a company's share capital, but the provisions cited give no rule on acceptance by banks, notaries or courts, or on a validity period. The body that asks for the proof says which document it requires.
Is an ONRC extract free, or what does it cost?
The free data set costs nothing (art. 12(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). A certificate is issued at the requester's expense at a tariff set by order of the Minister of Justice and capped at the administrative costs of issuing, register development and maintenance included (art. 11(1), (7)). This guide prints no figure, because the current order was not read.
Can I see a Romanian company's financial statements for free?
The Ministry of Finance runs a free lookup that shows the balance sheets of the last six years, with declarations filed and arrears records, selected by the unique identification code or by name and county. Its figures are extracted from the annual statements filed with ANAF. ANAF's own balance-sheet web service covers only 2014 to 2019.
Is the Romanian company register public?
Yes. The trade register is public (art. 11(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text) and kept by ONRC (art. 6(1)). A free data set is available on the ONRC website, in its online portal and through the EU interconnection system (art. 12(1)). Certificates and copies are issued on request, at the requester's expense.
Where can I search the Romanian company register for free, and is there an English version?
The ONRC data set (website and online portal) is free, as is the minimum on the EU e-Justice portal. ANAF's registers are public, the Ministry of Finance lookup is free and the data.gov.ro files carry an open licence. Certificates are issued in Romanian (art. 11(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text); an English interface was not read, so none is claimed.
How do I find a Romanian company's registration number and CUI if I only know its name?
Look the company up in the ONRC data set, which returns the register number, EUID and CUI (art. 12(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text), or search the EU portal by name. Cross-check with ANAF's inactive-taxpayer register (by name) or the Ministry of Finance lookup (by name and county). Company invoices state both numbers (art. 74(1) Law 31/1990, January 2024 text).
What is the difference between the CUI, the J number and the EUID of a Romanian company?
The J number is the trade register number, allocated nationally and restarting at 1 each year in the 2022 text (art. 7(2)). The CUI is the fiscal code ANAF assigns on the data ONRC sends (art. 126(2)). The EUID identifies the company between EU registers (art. 10). The registration certificate shows all three (art. 110(1)).
Can I search a Romanian company through the EU business registers (BRIS, e-Justice)?
Yes. The Romanian register is part of BRIS; the e-Justice portal is its European access point (art. 9 Law 265/2022, 2022 text). A search needs at least one country; the harmonised criteria are company name and registration number, and the portal may offer more. The free minimum includes the registration number, EUID and status. Portal screens were not read.
What does a certificat constatator show, and how do I order one from abroad?
It is ONRC's certificate of the registered data, issued in Romanian on request and at the requester's expense (art. 11(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). A request may be filed at the counter, by post or courier, or electronically, with an identity-document copy unless it carries a qualified electronic signature (art. 11(2)-(3)). Portal steps and price are not described here.
Who can see the register of beneficial owners?
Supervisory and judicial authorities, reporting entities applying customer due diligence, and any person or organisation that can show a legitimate interest, the last after online registration and payment of an administrative fee (art. 19(8), (82) Law 129/2019). The Court of Justice held on 22 November 2022 that unrestricted public access is invalid.
How do I check whether a Romanian company is VAT-registered or inactive?
Search ANAF's public VAT register by fiscal code, entering the validation code, and its register of inactive or reactivated taxpayers by fiscal code or by name (art. 92(11) Fiscal Procedure Code). VAT registration is a status separate from registration at the trade register. These are ANAF lookups, not the company register.
What do the statuses in the register mean (active, dissolved, in liquidation, suspended)?
The statute names eight states: in operation, dissolved, in reorganisation, in liquidation, insolvent, bankrupt, in temporary interruption of activity and struck off (art. 3(1)(i) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). Suspended is not among them, but the list is not closed. The provisions cited here give no definition of each state, so this guide defines none.
How soon after registration does a new company appear in the register?
The registrar decides within one working day of the application's registration or the last requested document (art. 105(1), 107(1), 2022 text); the entry follows at most 24 hours later (art. 107(3)); the Bulletin carries it within 3 working days of registration (art. 15(3)). Terms, not promises: a 2024 emergency ordinance followed registration difficulties, so a new company may be missing.