Changing Your Romanian SRL's Address in 2026 — What You Need to Know
Your Romanian SRL's lease is about to expire, the landlord is not renewing, or the business has outgrown the original address and you are abroad, unsure whether changing the registered office is a quick form or a bureaucratic ordeal. The answer depends on one question: are you moving within the same county, or to a different one? The first is straightforward. The second triggers a full re-registration that most foreign founders do not expect. This guide covers both, step by step, as the process works in 2026.
Why the Registered Office Is Not Just an Address
Every Romanian company has a registered office (sediu social). Think of it as the company's legal home. It is the address where ANAF sends tax notices, where courts deliver summons, and where any official correspondence arrives. It appears in the Articles of Association, on the Registration Certificate, and in every official document the company produces.
For foreign founders, the critical detail is that the registered office has an expiration date, specifically, the date when the underlying lease or use agreement expires. When that date passes without renewal, the Trade Register record becomes stale. ANAF periodically checks for this, and an expired registered office is one of the most common triggers for fiscal inactivity: a status that blocks your VAT deductions, freezes invoicing, and if left unresolved for 12 months can lead to the company being dissolved by operation of law.
In practical terms: if you know the current lease is ending and you are not renewing at the same address, treat the registered office change as urgent, not administrative.
Same County or Different County — Why It Matters
Romanian law draws a hard line between these two scenarios, and the distinction has real consequences for cost, timeline, and paperwork.
A same-county move — for example, from one Bucharest address to another, or from one building in Cluj-Napoca to another in the same county — is a standard Trade Register amendment. The company keeps its existing registration number (the J-number), stays registered at the same Trade Register office, and the whole process is done in a few days.
A cross-county move — for example, from Bucharest to Cluj, or from Timiș to Ilfov — is a different matter entirely. The law treats it as if the company is leaving one Trade Register and entering another. The company is deregistered from the old county's Trade Register and re-registered at the new county's office. It keeps its CUI (the tax identification number stays the same forever), but it receives a new J-number reflecting the new county code.
There is an additional complication with cross-county moves. Before Law 265/2022 came into force, company names were reserved at local (county) level. A name that was unique in Bucharest might not be unique nationally. When you move to a different county, the Trade Register performs a national-level name check. If an identically named company already exists in the destination county — or anywhere in Romania — you will be required to change the company name before the move can proceed. This is a scenario that catches foreign founders completely off guard, because nobody expects that moving the registered office could also mean changing the company name.
| Factor | Same County | Cross-County |
|---|---|---|
| CUI | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| J-number | Unchanged | New J-number issued (new county code) |
| Trade Register office | Stays the same | Deregistered from old, re-registered at new |
| Company name check | Not required | National-level check required — name conflict possible |
| Name reservation | Not required | May be required if name was reserved locally |
| ANAF competent office | Stays the same | Changes — tax file transferred to new county |
| Timeline | 3–5 business days | 5–10 business days |
| Our fixed fee | €370 | €370 |
The Legal Rules in Brief
Three laws govern this process. You do not need to read them — that is what the lawyer is for — but knowing they exist helps you understand why certain documents are required.
Law 31/1990 (the Companies Law) says the registered office is a mandatory part of the Articles of Association. Changing it requires a shareholders' decision.
Law 265/2022 (the Trade Register Law) sets out the filing procedure, the 15-day deadline, and the specific rules for cross-county moves.
Law 196/2018 (the Homeowners' Associations Law) creates the single biggest practical trap in this entire process: if the new registered office is in a residential apartment building, you need the written approval of the homeowners' association before the Trade Register will accept your filing. A valid lease is not enough. The landlord's consent is not enough. Without the association's sign-off on the specific ONRC form, the filing is rejected. We will come back to this in Step 2.
Step 1 — Secure the Right to Use the New Address
Before any corporate decision is made, you need a document proving that the company is legally entitled to use the new address as its registered office. The Trade Register accepts four types.
A lease agreement is the most common. It must name the company (or the administrator acting on its behalf) as the tenant and must either explicitly permit use as a registered office or at minimum not prohibit it. It does not need to be notarised. If the landlord is an individual, the lease must be registered with ANAF under the Fiscal Code (this is the landlord's obligation, but you should verify it, because an unregistered lease can create problems downstream). Pay attention to the lease duration — the Trade Register records the expiration date, and ANAF watches it.
A free-use agreement (contract de comodat) is common when a shareholder or director makes their own property available to the company at no charge. It must be in writing and must state that the premises can be used as a registered office.
Property ownership works if the company itself owns the building. A copy of the land registry extract (extras de carte funciară) is sufficient.
A registered office service agreement — essentially a sublease from a provider of virtual office or registered office services — is treated identically to a lease for Trade Register purposes.
Whatever document you use, the address must be real and physical. P.O. boxes are not accepted. ANAF conducts periodic inspections, and finding that the address does not correspond to an actual, accessible premises is a fiscal inactivity trigger.
Step 2 — The Homeowners' Association Approval
This step applies only if the new address is in a residential apartment building that has a homeowners' association under Law 196/2018. If the premises is in a commercial building, a standalone house, or a building without an active homeowners' association, you can skip this step entirely.
If it does apply, you need the association's president to sign the ONRC standard approval form. This is a specific form — a general letter from the association will not be accepted. The form confirms that the association consents to the change of destination of the apartment from residential to commercial or office use.
In practice, this can be the slowest part of the entire process. Association boards often meet only once a month. Some associations are reluctant to approve any commercial activity in a residential building. And in older buildings, the association may be inactive or its leadership may be difficult to contact.
If the approval cannot be obtained, there is no legal workaround. The only solution is to choose a different address — either in a commercial building (where no association approval is needed) or through a registered office service provider that operates in premises where all approvals are already in place.
Our advice to foreign founders is straightforward: before you sign a lease on a new address, confirm whether the building has a homeowners' association and whether they will approve your use. Doing this after signing the lease and discovering the association refuses is an expensive and frustrating mistake.
Step 3 — The Shareholders' Decision
With the new address secured and (if applicable) the homeowners' association approval in hand, the shareholders must formally approve the move. The resolution should specify the current address, the new address in full (street, number, building, floor, apartment, city, county, postal code), the article of the Articles of Association being amended, and should authorise someone — typically the administrator or a lawyer — to handle the Trade Register filing.
For a multi-member SRL, the resolution is adopted by the General Assembly of Shareholders. The change of registered office is an amendment to the Articles of Association, which requires the votes of shareholders representing the majority of the share capital, regardless of whether the move is within the same locality or to a different one. The administrator cannot decide the relocation unilaterally — the administrator's role is limited to executing the decision once the shareholders have approved it, which includes signing the new lease or use agreement on behalf of the company and filing the amendment with the Trade Register. Even in cases where the Articles of Association grant the administrator broad management powers, the decision to change the registered office remains a matter reserved to the shareholders under Law 31/1990.
For a single-member SRL, the sole shareholder issues a written decision.
No notarisation is required. Foreign shareholders can sign the resolution abroad with a simple wet-ink signature. No apostille, no consular legalisation.
Step 4 — Prepare the Documents
Here is exactly what goes into the filing package.
For a same-county move:
The registration form (Cerere de înregistrare mențiuni — the standard ONRC amendment form). The shareholders' resolution or sole shareholder's decision. The sworn declaration regarding operating conditions at the new address (Declarația pe propria răspundere — another standard ONRC form, confirming that the company meets the legal requirements to operate at the new premises). The document proving the right to use the new address (lease, comodat, ownership extract, or registered office service agreement). The updated Articles of Association, incorporating the new address — this must be a complete, consolidated version, not just an addendum. The homeowners' association approval on the ONRC form, if the building requires it. A power of attorney, if the filing is handled by other representative.
For a cross-county move:
Everything listed above, plus the proof of name availability and reservation (if the company's name was not originally reserved at national level).
Step 5 — File with the Trade Register
The filing must be submitted within 15 days of the shareholders' resolution.
For a same-county move, you can submit to the Trade Register office where the company is currently registered — or, under Law 265/2022, to any Trade Register office in Romania.
For a cross-county move, the filing goes to the Trade Register office of the new county. That office handles both the registration in the new county and the coordination with the old county for deregistration. You do not need to file anything separately at the old county's office.
Filing can be done online through the ONRC portal (with a qualified electronic signature), by post, or in person. For foreign founders without a Romanian digital signature, we file on your behalf with a power of attorney.
The registrar is required to process the application within one business day of receipt. In practice, a same-county move is resolved in 3–5 business days. A cross-county move takes 5–10 business days because of the inter-office coordination.
The resolution approving the change is published in Part IV of the Official Gazette. The publication fee is RON 152 per manuscript page (VAT included), and a standard registered office change resolution fits on one page.
Step 6 — What to Update Afterwards
The Trade Register filing is the legal milestone, but several downstream updates are needed to keep the company fully operational.
ANAF receives the address change automatically from the Trade Register. Verify in the Spațiul Privat Virtual (SPV) within 5 business days that the update has propagated. For a cross-county move, the competent ANAF office changes — all future tax correspondence will come from the new county's ANAF, and you should confirm that your tax file has been transferred.
The bank needs to see the updated Certificat Constatator reflecting the new address. For a cross-county move where the J-number changed, the bank may need to update its records more extensively. Allow 5–10 business days.
Invoicing and accounting software must reflect the new address from the date of the Trade Register resolution. Every invoice issued after that date must show the current registered office.
Counterparties — landlords (both old and new), major clients, suppliers, lenders — should be notified. Some contracts include address-change notification clauses with specific deadlines. Review your material contracts before assuming no action is needed.
Licences and permits that reference the registered office address must be updated with the issuing authority.
Your website, letterhead, email signatures, stamps, signage, and Google Business Profile all need to reflect the new address.
Costs
| Cost Item | DIY (Gov. Fees Only) | Lawyer-Assisted Fixed Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Official Gazette publication | ~RON 152 | Billed separately |
| Lease / title document review | You verify | Included |
| Homeowners' association approval | You obtain | Included |
| Shareholders' resolution drafting | You draft | Included |
| Updated Articles of Association | You draft | Included |
| Trade Register filing and follow-up | You file | Included |
| ANAF and bank coordination guidance | — | Included |
| Notarisation / Apostille | Not required | Not required |
| Total (estimated) | ~RON 152 (~€30) | €370 fixed fee + gov. fees |
Mistakes We See Repeatedly
Not obtaining the homeowners' association approval. The most frequent cause of rejection. A valid lease does not substitute for it. If the building has an association, the ONRC form is mandatory.
Letting the old lease expire before filing the change. This creates a window where the company has no valid registered office. ANAF can flag it. The correct approach is to file the change before the old lease expires, not after.
Forgetting the name check on a cross-county move. Companies incorporated before Law 265/2022 may have names that were verified only at county level. Moving to a new county triggers a national check, and if the name is taken, you must resolve the name conflict before the move can proceed.
Submitting only the lease, without the sworn declaration. The Trade Register requires both the lease (or equivalent) and the ONRC standard sworn declaration about operating conditions. One without the other means rejection.
Not updating ANAF records after a cross-county move. While the Trade Register notifies ANAF automatically, verify that the transfer of your tax file to the new county's ANAF office actually happened. A mismatch between your Trade Register address and your ANAF-registered address delays refunds, VAT processing, and any pending fiscal procedures.
Does the CUI change when the registered office moves?
Can the administrator decide the move without a shareholders' vote?
Can the entire process be handled remotely?
What happens if I do nothing and the lease expires?
Can I use a residential apartment as the registered office?
Can I combine this with other amendments?
How We Help
We handle registered office changes for foreign-owned SRLs as a standard part of our corporate secretarial services. We review the lease documentation, draft the resolution and updated Articles of Association, manage the homeowners' association approval where needed, file the complete package with the Trade Register, and coordinate the downstream updates with ANAF and the bank. If the company needs a new address altogether, we provide registered office services in Bucharest in premises where all approvals are already in place — no homeowners' association delays, no lease expiration risks.
