Romania Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Romanian Business

TL;DR. Romania’s National Trade Register Office (ONRC) is the official registry for all commercial entities, accessible at onrc.ro and recom.ro. Basic company searches are free. Certified extracts (certificate constatator) cost RON 30-90 (~USD 7-20). The site has partial English. Romania integrates with EU BRIS for cross-border company data access. Romania is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026.

What is the official Romania business registry?

Romania’s commercial registration system is administered by the Oficiul National al Registrului Comertului (ONRC), the National Trade Register Office, which operates as a public institution subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. The ONRC maintains a network of 41 territorial trade register offices (one per county plus Bucharest) and consolidates national data through its online portal at onrc.ro and the public search portal at recom.ro.

The statutory basis is Law No. 26/1990 on the Trade Register, as extensively amended, and Law No. 265/2022 on the Trade Register and amending various regulations, which brought Romania’s register framework closer to EU Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS) requirements. The ONRC covers: societate cu raspundere limitata (SRL, private limited), societate pe actiuni (SA, joint-stock), societate in nume colectiv (SNC, general partnership), societate in comandita simpla (SCS, limited partnership), societate in comandita pe actiuni (SCA), branch offices of foreign companies, and individual entrepreneurs (PFA, Persoana Fizica Autorizata).

The ONRC also maintains the trade register records for Individual Enterprises (Intreprindere Individuala) and Family Enterprises (Intreprindere Familiala). All categories have mandatory registration requirements before commencing commercial activity.

Romania’s ONRC integrates with the EU BRIS network, allowing basic Romanian company data to be queried through the European Business Register portal in a cross-border format.

What can you search?

Free searches at recom.ro (no account required):

• Company name (full or partial, Romanian characters supported)
• Unique Registration Code (CUI / CIF, Codul Unic de Inregistrare), the primary entity identifier
• Trade Register Number (J number, Numarul de ordine in Registrul Comertului), format J[county code]/[sequence]/[year]
• Registered seat municipality or county

Free results include:

• Company name, legal form, CUI, J number, date of registration, registered seat, status (active, dissolved, in insolvency)
• Registered address
• CAEN (activity classification) codes for declared business activities
• Basic officer data available on the public data card

Paid certified extracts include:

• Certificat constatator (certificate of findings, current state): the full current registered data including officers, associates, capital, and activity codes
• Extras de Registru (register extract): official certified extract for presentation to third parties
• Copies of specific filed documents (articles of incorporation, shareholder resolutions)

Data in recom.ro is updated on a registration-event basis, typically within 1-5 business days of the territorial office processing a filing.

How much does it cost?

RON/USD conversion used: 1 RON = ~USD 0.22 (approximate, May 2026; verify at point of purchase). Paid services are ordered through the ONRC’s online portal at portal.onrc.ro. Payment accepts credit card and bank transfer. Foreign credit cards (Visa, Mastercard) are accepted. No Romanian bank account or national identity document is required for ordering.

The ONRC also offers an expedited service for certificate issuance (urgenta), which carries a higher fee but reduces processing time.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No local Romanian identity document or Romanian company registration is required for basic searches.

The recom.ro portal is fully open for company searches and data card viewing without any account. To order certified extracts or official documents through the ONRC’s online portal, account registration is required. Account creation at portal.onrc.ro accepts international email addresses and does not require a Romanian CNP (personal identification number) for foreign buyers ordering commercial certificates.

Some functionalities on the ONRC portal require authentication through Romania’s national eID system (ROeID), but certified extract ordering for foreign buyers can be completed with a standard account and international credit card payment.

Is the website in English?

Partial. The onrc.ro and recom.ro portals have English navigation options, but company records are in Romanian. The search interface, field labels, and status descriptions translate when the English option is selected. Company names, addresses, and purpose descriptions remain in Romanian.

Romanian uses Latin script with specific diacritical marks (a, a, i, s, t and their lowercase forms). Name searches typically work without diacritics, but precise lookups should use correct Romanian characters.

The EU BRIS portal provides English-language access to basic Romanian company data (name, CUI, status, registered seat) without navigating the Romanian portals. This is the most accessible starting point for foreign buyers who do not read Romanian.

What’s the turnaround time?

For free searches at recom.ro, results are instant. The portal returns company data in real time.

For certified certificates (certificat constatator) ordered online through the ONRC portal:

• Standard processing: 1-3 business days
• Urgent processing (urgenta): same day or next business day (higher fee applies)

Electronic certificates are delivered to the portal account and carry a qualified electronic signature. Paper-certified extracts are available for collection at the territorial office or by registered mail.

Processing time at territorial offices may vary. Bucharest tends to be slower than smaller county offices due to volume. For time-sensitive compliance needs, the urgent processing option is recommended.

Is there an API?

No public API is available for the ONRC’s company register as of May 2026. The ONRC does not offer a documented programmatic interface for third-party queries.

The National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) at anaf.ro provides a free online VAT number validation API that returns basic company status and VAT registration details. This is a useful alternative for basic CUI validation at scale.

Romania’s Ministry of Digitalization has published some business data as open datasets through data.gov.ro, but these are periodic bulk exports rather than live query services.

For programmatic access to Romanian company data, the options are: third-party data providers with normalized Romanian registry databases, or EU BRIS cross-border access for basic name and status queries.

What you legally cannot do

The ONRC’s terms of use and Romanian and EU law impose limits on data reuse. For the broader due diligence framework applicable across multiple jurisdictions, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

• Automated bulk scraping of recom.ro or the ONRC portal is prohibited. The systems implement CAPTCHA and rate limiting. Systematic replication of register data through portal interfaces is not permitted.
• GDPR constraints on personal data: Directors, shareholders, and individual entrepreneurs appearing in register entries are protected under EU GDPR as implemented in Romanian law (Law No. 190/2018 on GDPR implementation measures). Reusing their personal data for marketing, contact lists, or unauthorized processing is not a valid legal basis.
• Certified certificate use: Certified documents from the ONRC carry the office’s electronic seal. Presenting altered or unauthenticated documents as ONRC-certified creates liability under Romanian law.
• Commercial resale of certificates: Redistribution of ONRC-certified certificates must acknowledge the ONRC as the source. Presenting certificates as independently produced or as the issuing authority’s product is not permitted.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• CUI is the primary anchor identifier. The CUI (Codul Unic de Inregistrare) is an 8-digit code assigned at registration and used across all Romanian government systems, including the ANAF tax authority. The CUI preceded by “RO” constitutes the VAT number (CIF) for VAT-registered entities. Always verify the CUI directly from the register rather than from documents supplied by the counterparty.
• J number for court tracking. The J number (Numarul de ordine, format J[county code]/[sequence]/[year]) identifies which territorial registry office holds the original filing and when it was registered. Knowing the J number (e.g., J40/12345/2015 for a Bucharest company) allows you to route document requests to the correct territorial office.
• Status field: “Inregistrat” vs. “Radiat”. Active companies show status “Inregistrat” (registered). Companies undergoing voluntary dissolution show “Dizolvat.” Struck-off companies show “Radiat.” Companies under insolvency proceedings show “Insolventa” or “Faliment.” Insolvency proceedings are published in the Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolventa (BPI), accessible at buletinul.ro.
• SRL vs. SA disclosure levels. An SRL (Societate cu Raspundere Limitata) is the most common entity for Romanian SMEs. All SRLs and SAs are required to file annual financial statements with the Ministry of Finance (available at mfinante.gov.ro). Filed accounts are publicly accessible, which gives meaningful financial visibility into Romanian companies of all sizes.
• ANAF validation for tax compliance. The ANAF portal at anaf.ro allows free validation of CUI/CIF and confirmation of VAT registration status. This is a rapid check for invoice verification separate from the ONRC company search.
• EU BRIS for initial screening. Before navigating the ONRC portal, the EU BRIS portal in English is a quick way to confirm basic company name, status, and CUI for a Romanian counterparty.
• Romania is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. Romania is a FATF member and has implemented EU 5AMLD and 6AMLD. For current status, see fatf-gafi.org.

For a comparison with neighboring registries, see the Hungary Company Search Guide for the Cegbírosag system.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

The partial-English interface and Romanian-language company records create friction for foreign buyers. Practical alternatives include:

• EU BRIS portal: Basic company name, status, and CUI for Romanian companies is available in English through the European Business Register network. Free, no account required. Does not deliver certified extracts.
• ANAF VAT validation (anaf.ro): Free tool to validate CUI and VAT status. Useful for invoice compliance; does not replace full ONRC verification.
• Aggregator search: OpenCorporates indexes Romanian ONRC data but lags official records. Not suitable for compliance-grade verification.
• Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolventa (BPI) (buletinul.ro): Free public search for insolvency proceedings against Romanian companies. A recommended additional check for any Romanian counterparty.

Local data suppliers

• Coface Romania (coface.ro). Credit insurance and commercial information provider with a dedicated Romanian market product. Covers SRL, SA, and other entity types with credit opinions, financial summary reports, and payment behavior assessments.
• Dun and Bradstreet Romania (dnb.com). D-U-N-S numbered profiles for Romanian companies, integrated with D&B’s global counterparty database. Useful for multinationals requiring Romania within a global supplier risk program.
• Informatie si Consultanta (iSolvency / infocompany.ro). Romanian-market specialist credit information provider covering ONRC data, insolvency proceedings, tax compliance status from ANAF, and litigation data. Targeted at Romanian-market due diligence needs.

Use ONRC for the authoritative registry extract. Use a commercial credit bureau when you need payment behavior, financial risk scoring, or integrated insolvency monitoring.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access Romania’s ONRC register directly?

Yes. The recom.ro public search portal is accessible worldwide without a Romanian identity document or local address. Basic company searches and data card views are free and require no account. Certified certificates (certificat constatator) can be ordered online through the ONRC portal by foreign buyers using international credit cards, though account registration on the portal is required for ordering.

What is the CUI number in Romania?

The CUI (Codul Unic de Inregistrare) is an 8-digit unique registration code assigned to every commercial entity registered in Romania at the time of registration. It is the primary identifier used across all government systems, including the ONRC trade register and the ANAF tax authority. When the entity is VAT-registered, the VAT number is the CUI prefixed with “RO” (e.g., RO12345678). Always verify the CUI directly from the ONRC or ANAF to confirm it belongs to the entity in question.

What entity types are registered with the ONRC?

ONRC registers: SRL (private limited), SA (joint-stock), SNC (general partnership), SCS (limited partnership), SCA (limited partnership with shares), branches of foreign companies, Individual Entrepreneurs (PFA), Individual Enterprises (II), and Family Enterprises (IF). Cooperatives and other specific forms are also registered. All commercial entities conducting business in Romania require ONRC registration before commencing activity.

Does Romania have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Yes. Romania established a UBO register (Registrul beneficiarilor reali) under Law No. 129/2019 for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing, implementing EU 5AMLD. Romanian companies (SRL, SA, and most other commercial forms) are required to file UBO information with the ONRC. The UBO register is maintained by the ONRC and is accessible to obliged entities (banks, auditors, notaries) and to persons with legitimate interest. Romania’s 5AMLD implementation aligns with FATF Recommendation 24 and the EU 6AMLD framework on UBO transparency. The ONRC provides public access to UBO data subject to identity verification of the requester.

How current is the ONRC data?

ONRC data is updated on a registration-event basis, typically within 1-5 business days of the territorial office processing a filing or amendment. The recom.ro portal reflects the current state of the register as maintained by the 41 territorial offices. For very recent changes (last 1-5 business days), there may be a processing lag. The Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolventa (BPI) is updated more frequently for insolvency-related events.

Is Romania on the FATF grey list?

No. Romania is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. Romania is a FATF member and has transposed EU 5AMLD and 6AMLD into national law. Romania also participates in MONEYVAL mutual evaluations. For the current list of monitored countries, see fatf-gafi.org.

What is the difference between the ONRC register and ANAF tax filings?

The ONRC trade register records company formation, structure, officers, and status. The ANAF manages tax filings, VAT registration, and financial statement submissions. Romanian companies submit annual financial statements through ANAF; these are publicly accessible at mfinante.gov.ro. ANAF tax compliance records (outstanding liabilities, tax certificates) are accessible through ANAF portals and require either the company’s consent or a formal legal request.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: Oficiul National al Registrului Comertului (onrc.ro, recom.ro), National Agency for Fiscal Administration (anaf.ro), Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolventa (buletinul.ro), FATF (fatf-gafi.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.