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Tax Identification Number in Romania (CUI, CIF, NIF, CNP)
Which Romanian tax number is which, how a foreign founder's NIF is requested and how to check one.
Short answer
Romania has no single tax ID. The statute gives every taxpayer a fiscal identification code (CIF): the CUI for a company registered at the Trade Register, the CNP for an individual who is not self-employed, or a NIF for an individual without a CNP. ANAF assigns the CUI, the Ministry of Finance the NIF. The VAT code is separate.
A VAT code is a separate registration, decided by ANAF (the National Tax Administration Agency), whatever tax number a company holds. The steps to get a Romanian VAT number are on their own page.
What is the tax identification number in Romania?
Every person or entity in a tax legal relationship registers and receives a fiscal identification code, the CIF (cod de identificare fiscală), under art. 82(1) of the Fiscal Procedure Code. Unless a law says otherwise, only the central tax organ assigns it, on the registration declaration (art. 81(2)).
A company registered at the Trade Register (ONRC) has a CUI (cod unic de înregistrare). An individual has a CNP (cod numeric personal), also the fiscal code for income tax and social contributions (art. 82(2)). An individual without a CNP has a NIF (număr de identificare fiscală). The register number and the EUID (European unique identifier) on the registration certificate are trade-register identifiers, not tax numbers (art. 110(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text).
Which code belongs to whom
Romanian tax codes
The tax codes, by kind of person
Company registered at the Trade Register
CUI, which is its CIF (art. 82(1)(b)), assigned by ANAF on the data ONRC sends
Legal person outside the register
Fiscal registration code from the tax organ (art. 82(1)(a))
Individual other than a self-employed one or a liberal professional
CNP, assigned under a special law; for a foreigner with the qualifying right of stay, by IGI
Individual without a CNP
NIF from the tax organ
VAT code
Prefix RO, a separate registration
Not tax numbers
The register number and the EUID
Fiscal Procedure Code art. 82(1); Law 265/2022, 2022 text, for the register number and the EUID.
The Romanian codes in the statute's words. Sources: Fiscal Procedure Code, consolidated to OUG 38/2026; Law 265/2022, 2022 text.
| Term | Who has it | Assigned by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIF, cod de identificare fiscală | Every person or entity in a tax legal relationship | The tax organ registers the taxpayer and gives the code | Art. 82(1) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| CUI, cod unic de înregistrare | A company registered at the Trade Register | ANAF, on the data ONRC transmits | Art. 82(1)(b) Fiscal Procedure Code; art. 126(2) Law 265/2022, 2022 text |
| Fiscal registration code, cod de înregistrare fiscală | A legal person or association not registered at the Trade Register | The tax organ | Art. 82(1)(a) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| CNP, cod numeric personal | An individual other than one carrying on an independent economic activity or a liberal profession (art. 82(1)(c) gives those a fiscal registration code, or the CUI if registered at the Trade Register) | Assigned under a special law; for a foreigner with the qualifying right of stay, by the immigration inspectorate (IGI) | Art. 82(1)(d) Fiscal Procedure Code; art. 1441 OUG 194/2002 |
| NIF, număr de identificare fiscală | An individual without a CNP, in practice the non-resident founder, shareholder or administrator | The tax organ; the Ministry of Finance on request | Art. 82(1)(e) and art. 83 Fiscal Procedure Code |
| VAT code, cod de înregistrare în scopuri de TVA | A person registered for VAT | A separate registration, with the prefix RO; see the section on the VAT number | Art. 318(1) Fiscal Code |
What is a Romanian company's CUI, and where does it come from?
The CUI comes at the end of a short chain. Law 265/2022 is quoted below from its 2022 text, which Law 222/2023 later amended.
The constitutive act · the founders
The act names an individual founder with a CNP or its national equivalent, and a legal-person founder with its register number and/or CUI and EUID (art. 81 Law 31/1990, January 2024 text).
The fiscal request · ONRC
The fiscal registration request is filed with the Trade Register application, and ANAF assigns the CUI only on conditions tied to the registration (art. 125 Law 265/2022, 2022 text).
The assignment · ANAF
ANAF assigns the CUI on the data ONRC transmits (art. 126(2)). Its structure is set by ANAF, not by the statute (art. 126(3)).
The certificate · ONRC
The registration certificate shows the register number, the CUI and the EUID (art. 110(1)) and attests that the legal person has acquired legal personality (art. 127(1)).
The use · the company
The company uses the CUI with third parties for its whole existence (art. 127(2)) and prints it on business documents (art. 74(1) Law 31/1990, January 2024 text). An invoice shows the VAT code or, as the case may be, the fiscal identification code (art. 319(20)(d) Fiscal Code); on our reading, a company outside VAT invoices under its bare CUI.
Is the CUI the same as the Romanian VAT number?
No. The CUI is the company's fiscal code (art. 82(1)(b) Fiscal Procedure Code). The VAT code is a separate code with the prefix RO (art. 318(1) Fiscal Code). A company's VAT number is RO plus its fiscal code: that is this guide's reading of both articles, not a quoted rule. Rates and thresholds are set out in VAT in Romania, and a claim for a VAT refund in Romania is a separate VAT procedure.
The EORI number, the customs identifier, is RO followed by the CUI for a company seated in Romania, according to the Romanian Customs Authority. The procedure is on the page for EORI registration with Romanian customs.
What is a NIF, and who gets one?
An individual without a CNP receives a NIF from the tax organ (art. 82(1)(e) Fiscal Procedure Code). In practice that is the founder, member, shareholder or administrator who lives abroad. A non-resident individual is anyone who does not meet the residence conditions, and also a foreign national with diplomatic or consular status in Romania, certain foreign officials and employees, and their family members (art. 7 pt. 27). A resident meets at least one condition: a domicile in Romania; the centre of vital interests there; presence for more than 183 days in total in any 12 consecutive months ending in the calendar year concerned; or being a Romanian citizen working abroad as an official or employee of Romania in a foreign state (art. 7 pt. 28 Fiscal Code). Which one a given founder is, is a tax-residence question for a CCF tax consultant.
The NIF is a person's number, not the company's and not a VAT code. None of the provisions cited here makes a NIF a condition for signing, banking or being a director; they only have the registrar and the bank request one when it is missing (art. 83(1) and (4)).
How does a non-resident founder get a NIF?
Usually the registrar makes the request, not the founder. For every non-resident individual named in the constitutive act as founder, member, shareholder or administrator, it sends the Ministry of Finance a NIF request, again on a share transfer, a new legal representative or a new member admitted at a capital increase (art. 83(1) Fiscal Procedure Code).
The registrar route to a NIF
The constitutive act
It names a non-resident individual as founder, member, shareholder or administrator
The NIF request
The registrar sends the Ministry of Finance a NIF request, again on a share transfer, a new legal representative or a new member admitted at a capital increase
Who acts: Registrar
The NIF is assigned
The Ministry assigns the NIF unless the person is already registered for tax
Who acts: Ministry of Finance
ONRC is told
The Ministry answers ONRC
Who acts: Ministry of Finance
Term: on the day of the request or at the latest the next day (art. 83)
The certificate is kept
The tax organ keeps the certificate until the taxpayer or the representative collects it
Who acts: Tax organ
Art. 83 Fiscal Procedure Code.
Four ways a non-resident individual's NIF is requested (Fiscal Procedure Code, current text).
| Route | Trigger | Who requests | Answer and term | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registrar | Registration of the company; also a share transfer, a new legal representative, a new member admitted at a capital increase | The registrar, for every non-resident individual founder, member, shareholder or administrator | The Ministry of Finance assigns the NIF unless the person is registered, and answers ONRC on the day of the request or at the latest the next day | Art. 83(1), (2) |
| Bank | Opening an account or renting a safe-deposit box for a non-resident individual without a NIF, or for a legal person without a fiscal code | The bank, to the central tax organ | The Ministry assigns the NIF (for a legal person, the fiscal registration code) and answers the bank within 5 days of the request | Art. 83(4) |
| Notary | A non-resident without a code, for the notary's statutory duties | The notary | The central tax organ registers the person; the procedure is set by an order of the ANAF President; no term is stated | Art. 83(41) |
| Payer of income | A non-resident whose only income is taxed at source with final withholding | The payer of the income | The tax organ may assign the code on the payer's request (art. 82(3), (9)); the certificate is issued within 10 days of the request (art. 87(1)) | Art. 82(3), (9); art. 87(1) |
A person can also declare directly on form 030, with copies of the supporting documents (art. 82(10)), on a form supplied free of charge (art. 86); the certificate is then due within 10 days (art. 87(1)). This guide does not state where a non-resident files it or with which documents. The registrar route runs inside the company registration itself, including one under a power of attorney: see remote company registration in Romania.
Where is the NIF certificate collected, and can someone collect it for you?
The practical question is where the certificate sits and who may pick it up.
Where the certificate is kept
Under the current text the certificate is issued together with the registration and kept by the tax organ until the taxpayer or the representative collects it (art. 83(2) Fiscal Procedure Code). Art. 83(3) is repealed.
Why older advice is wrong
The 2016 text had the trade register office deliver the certificate to the company. That wording is superseded: advice that the registrar delivers the NIF certificate is old advice, not the rule.
Collecting it through a representative
A taxpayer may act through a representative (împuternicit), who files the power of attorney in the original or a certified copy (art. 18(1) and (2)). Foreign power-of-attorney formalities are not covered here.
No fiscal domicile in Romania
A taxpayer with no fiscal domicile in Romania who must file declarations here designates a representative with one (art. 18(4)), except, among others, an EU or EEA resident (art. 18(5)). For a non-resident without a permanent establishment, the tax organ may send the certificate's content electronically (art. 83(5)).
Is your company still to be registered from abroad? We prepare and file the registration under a power of attorney.
What is a CNP, and when does a foreigner receive one?
The CNP is the individual's counterpart of the CUI, and it later replaces a NIF.
The individual's fiscal code
The CNP is the code of an individual other than a self-employed one or a liberal professional, assigned under a special law (art. 82(1)(d) Fiscal Procedure Code); for individuals' income tax and social contributions it is the fiscal code (art. 82(2)).
How a foreigner receives one
IGI assigns a CNP to a foreigner whose temporary right of stay was extended or who was given long-term residence, and writes it on the residence permit; a foreigner granted a D/AM1 or D/AM2 long-stay visa receives it on the visa sticker (art. 1441(1), (11) OUG 194/2002, IGI consolidation valid on 27 April 2026, as amended by OUG 32/2026). On the justified request of the public institutions concerned, and only with the foreigner's express consent, the immigration authority may assign one even without a right of stay (art. 1441(2)). No permit or CNP is promised.
What the constitutive act needs
The act names an individual founder by CNP and, where applicable, its equivalent under national law (art. 81 Law 31/1990, January 2024 text). A foreign founder therefore does not need a CNP to appear in it.
When a CNP replaces a NIF
The tax organ replaces the NIF with the CNP and carries the tax information over; earlier acts stay valid (art. 82(1)(e)). Form 030 is also the deregistration declaration when a CNP is assigned.
Which forms and deadlines apply to fiscal registration?
These forms and terms are the authorities' own, not a provider's promise.
- Form 010 is the declaration of Romanian legal persons, associations and entities without legal personality (ANAF forms page).
- Form 020 is for individuals who hold a CNP and form 030 for individuals without one, other than individuals carrying on an independent economic activity or a liberal profession, who file a separate form.
- A legal person files the declaration within 30 days of its legal establishment (art. 82(6)(a) Fiscal Procedure Code). For a company registered at the Trade Register the fiscal registration request travels with the ONRC application (arts. 125 and 126 Law 265/2022, 2022 text); whether art. 82(6)(a) requires anything separate on top of that is not confirmed here.
- It comes with copies of the supporting documents, on a free form (art. 82(10), art. 86).
- The certificate of fiscal registration is issued within 10 days of the filing, with no extrajudicial stamp duty (art. 87).
- Later changes are notified within 15 days (art. 88(1)); for Trade Register persons, only fiscal-vector changes go to ANAF (art. 89).
- A company keeps its CUI after a share transfer: art. 127(2) Law 265/2022 (2022 text) has the CUI used for the whole existence of the company, and art. 90(3) Fiscal Procedure Code withdraws a company's code ex officio when the legal person ceases to exist, which a share transfer does not cause. The provisions cited here do not say whether a NIF changes on a share transfer or whether a seat move changes any code.
Does a Romanian tax ID have a fixed format?
The structure of the CUI is set by ANAF, not by the statute (art. 126(3) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). This guide prints no digit count, no check-digit rule and no example number, because no ANAF text giving one was found. The format and the check of a NIF and of a CNP are likewise not stated.
What answers the question "is this number real" is a lookup, not arithmetic: the next section lists the free ones. The register number and the EUID on the registration certificate are different identifiers.
How do you check a Romanian tax number?
All of these checks are free and open to anyone. The Ministry of Finance company lookup reaches a company that VIES and the VAT-payer register do not, such as one not registered for VAT. Enter the unique identification code, digits only, without RO; it returns registration data, six years of balance sheets and arrears records.
Which free check answers which question, checked on 13 and 14 October 2026.
| Question | Tool | Entered as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does this company exist, what is its status, its filings, balance sheets and arrears? | Ministry of Finance company lookup | The unique identification code, digits only, no RO | Ministry of Finance |
| Is this company a VAT payer under art. 316? | ANAF register of VAT payers | The fiscal code | ANAF register |
| Is this company flagged inactive? | ANAF register of inactive or reactivated taxpayers | The fiscal code | ANAF register |
| Is this VAT number valid in any Member State? | VIES | The VAT number | VIES |
| Is the structure of this TIN valid? | European Commission TIN check | The TIN; confirms structure only | European Commission |
The Commission's TIN check does not confirm a person's identity, nor whether the TIN exists or was allocated, and it validates only the structure of a natural person's TIN. No public lookup of a person's NIF or CNP was found. To check the VAT number itself, see how to check a Romanian VAT number.
What does "TIN" mean in the EU, and how does it relate to the Romanian numbers?
In EU usage the TIN is the number a tax administration uses to identify a taxpayer. Read with art. 82(1), that is the CUI for a Romanian company, the CNP for an individual who has one and the NIF for an individual who has none: this is the guide's reading, not a quoted rule. The European Commission publishes TIN country sheets with national contact points on its TIN portal; this guide cites nothing from the Romanian sheet.
Art. 3051(2) Fiscal Procedure Code has Romania require that the NIF issued by the Member State of residence is reported by the reporting entity. On our reading, for a founder resident in another EU state, that is the home-country TIN, not a Romanian NIF, so a bank may ask for it. The rule on the bank's side is not covered here, and this guide does not decide which number to give.
What can a provider do about a tax number?
A tax number is assigned by the authorities, never issued or sold by a provider. RomaniaRegist is a trust and company service provider notified to ONPCSB under Law 129/2019, so its registration work is anti-money-laundering regulated, and it acts only under the client's power of attorney (art. 18(1) and (2) Fiscal Procedure Code).
What a provider can do
- Assemble the identity documents the constitutive act needs.
- File the registration application at ONRC, where the registrar requests the NIF.
- Collect the issued certificate of fiscal registration under the client's power of attorney, if the client authorises it.
- Keep the client informed of the authorities' own terms.
What a provider cannot do
- Assign, issue or promise a number or a time.
- Answer ANAF during a procedure, file an appeal or give a tax opinion: tax consultancy (art. 3(1)(a), (e), (f) OG 71/2001) for a CCF tax consultant, a lawyer or the client's accountant.
- Keep books or prepare returns: that is CECCAR work (art. 21(1), 43(1) OG 65/1994; art. 10(3) Law 82/1991).
- Draft a bespoke deed: that is work for a partner Romanian lawyer (art. 3(1)(c), 3(2) Law 51/1995).
From our practice
At RomaniaRegist a founder's file follows one order: we assemble the identity documents the act needs, file the registration and, if the client authorises it, collect the issued certificate under the client's power of attorney. Tax-residence and ANAF questions go to the client's tax consultant or accountant.
Official sources
- Fiscal Procedure Code, consolidated to OUG 38/2026: fiscal codes, NIF routes, certificate, terms
- Law 31/1990, January 2024 text: founders' data, CUI on business documents
- Law 265/2022, 2022 text: the registration certificate, assignment and structure of the CUI
- Fiscal Code, consolidated to Law 170/2026: residence, VAT code prefix, invoices
- Romanian Customs Authority, EORI: the EORI of a company seated in Romania
- ANAF forms page: forms 010, 020 and 030
- OUG 194/2002, IGI consolidation valid on 27 April 2026: the CNP of a foreigner
- Ministry of Finance company lookup: free check by unique identification code
- ANAF register of VAT payers: free search by fiscal code
- ANAF register of inactive taxpayers: free search by fiscal code
- VIES: validation of a VAT number of any Member State
- European Commission TIN check: structure check and country sheets
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay someone to get a Romanian tax identification number as a foreigner?
No one but the authorities can issue the number: the tax organ assigns a NIF (art. 82(1)(e)), in practice the Ministry of Finance on the registrar's or a bank's request. The registration form is supplied free of charge (art. 86) and the certificate carries no extrajudicial stamp duty (art. 87(2)). A fee, if any, is for someone's filing work.
Do I need a NIF to be a shareholder or director of a Romanian SRL, or to open a company bank account?
The provisions cited here give no rule that a NIF is a precondition for either. The statute has the registrar request a NIF for every non-resident individual founder, member, shareholder or administrator (art. 83(1)), and a bank request one when it opens an account for a non-resident who lacks it (art. 83(4)). How a given bank behaves is not covered.
Do I have to apply for the NIF myself, or does the trade register do it?
Usually the registrar sends the Ministry of Finance a NIF request for each non-resident individual founder, member, shareholder or administrator in the act, again on a share transfer, a new legal representative or a new member admitted at a capital increase (art. 83(1)). A bank (art. 83(4)) and a notary (art. 83(41)) can too; form 030 is the direct declaration.
Where is the NIF certificate collected, and can someone collect it for me?
Under the current text the tax organ keeps the certificate of fiscal registration until the taxpayer or their representative collects it (art. 83(2)); the older rule that the register office delivers it is repealed (art. 83(3)). A representative (împuternicit) files the power of attorney in the original or a certified copy (art. 18(2)).
How long does a NIF take?
Only the authorities' own terms are stated. The Ministry of Finance answers the registrar on the day of the request or at the latest the next day (art. 83(2)), answers a bank within 5 days (art. 83(4)), and the tax office issues the certificate within 10 days of a filing (art. 87(1)). No provider can promise a time.
Is the CUI the same as the CIF, and the same as the Romanian VAT number?
The CIF is the generic fiscal identification code (art. 82(1)); for a company registered at the Trade Register it is the CUI (art. 82(1)(b)). The VAT code is a separate code with the prefix RO (art. 318(1)). A company's VAT number is RO plus its fiscal code: this guide's reading, not a quoted rule.
What happens to my NIF if I move to Romania and get a CNP?
The tax organ replaces the NIF with the CNP and carries over the tax information registered under the NIF; acts communicated before the replacement stay valid (art. 82(1)(e)). Form 030 is also the deregistration declaration when a CNP is assigned. Whether and when you receive a CNP is for the immigration inspectorate, IGI.
Does a foreign company that owns shares in a Romanian SRL need a Romanian tax number?
The cited provisions give no rule for the shareholding. Art. 83(1) names non-resident individuals only; art. 83(4) has a bank request a code for a legal person without one when opening an account. The act records a legal-person founder by register number and/or CUI and EUID (art. 81 Law 31/1990, January 2024 text). A CCF tax consultant answers the rest.
What is my TIN in Romania?
It depends on the person. A company registered at the Trade Register uses its CUI; an individual who is not self-employed and has a Romanian personal numeric code uses the CNP; one without a CNP has a NIF (art. 82(1)). If you hold none, your TIN is the one your home country issued: this guide's reading of the EU term.
What is the tax code for Romania?
Romania has no single tax code. The statute's generic term is the fiscal identification code, the CIF (art. 82(1)); it takes the form of the CUI for a company, the CNP for an individual who is not self-employed, or a NIF for an individual without a CNP. The VAT code is a separate code starting with RO (art. 318(1)).
What is a CNP number in Romania?
The CNP (cod numeric personal, personal numeric code) is an individual's personal code, and for income tax and social contributions it is the fiscal code (art. 82(2)). IGI assigns it to a foreigner whose temporary right of stay was extended or who was given long-term residence (art. 1441(1) OUG 194/2002, IGI consolidation valid on 27 April 2026).
Is a TIN number the same as a social security number?
No. A TIN is the number a tax administration uses to identify a taxpayer; in Romania it is the CUI, the CNP, the NIF or, for some legal persons and self-employed individuals, the fiscal registration code. Whether another country's social security number is accepted on a form is for the form's issuer. This guide covers Romanian numbers only.
How do I find my tax identification number, or a foreign tax ID number?
A company's CUI is on its registration certificate (art. 110(1) Law 265/2022, 2022 text) and on its business documents (art. 74(1) Law 31/1990, January 2024 text). A foreigner's CNP is on the residence permit or, for a D/AM visa, the visa sticker (art. 1441 OUG 194/2002). For another country's TIN, the European Commission publishes country sheets with national contact points.
How do I check a Romanian company's CUI, and why does VIES not find my Romanian company's number?
Enter the CUI, digits only, in the Ministry of Finance company lookup, or the fiscal code in ANAF's registers. VIES validates VAT numbers of any Member State, and a company not registered for VAT has a CUI but no VAT number (art. 319(20)(d)). This guide gives no other cause for a failed VIES search.
Which number do I give my home bank or tax office: my home TIN or a Romanian NIF?
That depends on what the bank or office asks for, and this guide does not decide it. Art. 3051(2) has Romania require that the NIF issued by the Member State of residence is reported by the reporting entity, so a bank may ask for your home TIN. This is analysis: the rule on the bank's side is not covered here.