In brief
In Romania you can check a developer without asking them anything: the ONRC trade register, the financial statements on the Ministry of Finance website, the ANAF list of debtors, the courts portal, the insolvency bulletin and the plot's land book extract at ANCPI. Most of the checks are free and require only the company's name and its CUI. The check tells you about the past, so it goes alongside verifying the track record, written questions to the developer and the protections of Law 207/2025 for down payments.
Key takeaways
- 1Check the company that signs the contract, by its CUI, not the brand name. In Romania it is common for each project to be set up in a separate SRL.
- 2Company financial statements are open to the public on the Romanian Ministry of Finance website, free of charge: turnover, profit or loss, equity and employees.
- 3ANAF publishes every quarter a list of companies with tax debts above the threshold (Article 162 of the Fiscal Procedure Code).
- 4An online land book extract from ANCPI costs 20 lei and shows who owns the land, what is charged and whether the building permit has been registered.
- 5For every previous project the developer mentions, ask for the name of the company that built it and its CUI, and check them in the same registers.
- 6A verbal answer is a promise; a written answer, as an annex to the contract, is an undertaking.
Israelis who look at a project in Romania are usually impressed by the renderings, the presentation and the meeting with the developer. The information that really matters can be obtained without the developer being involved: in Romania, far more than is customary in Israel, company data, lawsuits, tax debts and insolvency proceedings are open to the public.
This guide explains what you check yourself, how to interpret the findings, how to verify track record and references, and which questions to ask the developer before signing. We wrote about general warning signs and about what happens to the down payment when a developer collapses in separate guides.
What do you need before you start checking a developer in Romania?
Two details, and a developer who works transparently will provide them without hesitation:
- The full legal name of the company that signs the contract. Not the project name and not the group name. Very often a separate company (SRL) is set up for each project, and that is the one to check.
- CUI (Cod Unic de Înregistrare), the company's fiscal identification number. It appears in the contract, on invoices and usually also at the bottom of the company's website.
- If a plot has already been identified: the cadastral number or the land book (Carte Funciară) number.
Company financial statements are open to the public on the Romanian Ministry of Finance website, free of charge: turnover, profit or loss, equity and employees.
Which official registers do you check, and what do you look for in each?
| What you check | Where | Cost | What to look at |
|---|---|---|---|
| The company's existence and status | ONRC, the trade register | Identification data free; a full status certificate for a fee | Active, in liquidation or struck off; date of incorporation; owners and directors |
| Financial statements | The Romanian Ministry of Finance website | Free | Turnover, profit or loss, equity, employees |
| Tax debts | The ANAF list of debtors | Free | Whether the company appears on the quarterly list, and for what amount |
| Lawsuits | portal.just.ro, and for the High Court scj.ro | Free | Cases to which the company is a party, and their subject |
| Insolvency | The ONRC BPI bulletin, and also through the European e-Justice portal | Basic search free | Liquidation or reorganisation proceedings |
| The plot and the permit | Online ANCPI land book extract | 20 lei, as of October 2026 | Registered owner, charges, registration of the building permit |
- ONRC. The basic data is free: name, registration number, CUI, county and status. Owners, directors and registered capital appear in a status certificate (certificat constatator) or in a paid report.
- Ministry of Finance. You type in the CUI and get data from the financial statements of recent years. In Israel the statements of a private company are not open to the public; in Romania they are.
- ANAF. Under Article 162 of the Fiscal Procedure Code, the tax authority publishes every quarter the companies whose tax debts exceed set thresholds, including the amount of the debt.
- The courts. You search by party name and see a list of cases, subjects, dates and decisions. Search also by the owners' names and by their previous companies.
- BPI (Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolvență, the insolvency proceedings bulletin) is published by ONRC, and you can search it by name or CUI.
- ANCPI. In the extract, check that the company selling to you is the registered owner of the land, what is recorded in Part III, and whether the building permit has been registered, as the law requires before works begin.
How do you interpret the findings without being an accountant?
| Finding | Usually routine | A reason to stop and ask |
|---|---|---|
| A young company | A recently formed project company, that is how the market works | No information on the owners and on what they built before |
| Low or zero turnover | Before handovers, in a project company | The parent company and previous companies also show no activity |
| Equity | Positive or explained | Negative equity in the parent company or in previous companies of the same owners |
| Lawsuits | A single collection claim by a supplier | Many claims by buyers over late handover or cancelled contracts |
| Tax debts | The company is not on the list | The company is on the debtors' list: a must-ask question before a down payment |
| Charges in the extract | A mortgage to the bank financing the construction | A seizure, or a registered owner who is not the seller |
| Insolvency | No entry | Open proceedings, or previous companies of the owners that collapsed or closed quickly |
Registers tell you about the past. A developer with clean statements can run into difficulties, and a developer with no history can be reliable. Build quality, after-handover service and the treatment of buyers do not appear in any register. So the self-check is a first layer, not a substitute for an independent lawyer, a visit to previous projects and a conversation with people who live in them.
How do you check track record and buyer references?
The rule is simple: a track record that cannot be verified without the developer is not evidence. "We have years of experience" without the names of projects and companies is not an answer.
- For every previous project the developer mentions, ask for the name of the company that built it and its CUI, and check them in the same registers.
- Who actually builds. Ask for the name of the main contractor and its CUI, and check it too. Find out who is responsible under the contract for defects discovered after handover.
- A conversation with a buyer. A buyer's phone number is personal data, and under Article 6 of the GDPR passing it on requires a legal basis, in practice consent. So ask the developer to ask a buyer whether they are willing to speak to you.
A buyer the developer chose for you will, naturally, be a satisfied buyer. Do not ask whether they are satisfied. Ask questions whose answer is a fact: what they received in writing and what they were only told; to which account they transferred the payments and whether that account appears in the contract; whether they had their own lawyer, what the lawyer asked to see and whether it was provided; and what surprised them in the process.
A developer with no delivered project: what protects your money?
A developer with no history is not necessarily a red flag, but it is a reason to check more. In an off-plan project, the main protection is the structure of the transaction, and this has been written into law since 11 December 2025. Under Law 207/2025, whose rules have appeared since 25 August 2026 in Article 422 of the Planning and Construction Code (Law 169/2026):
- A reservation agreement is limited to 5% of the price and to 60 days.
- The preliminary contract is signed only before a notary, and only after the building permit has been registered in the land book and there is a land book extract for the unit. The notary files it for registration on the same day or the next business day.
- Down payments go into a separate bank account, dedicated to building the project. The law does not limit the total of down payments, but it limits spending from the account: up to 25% of the price at the structure stage and up to 20% at the building services stage.
- Using down payments for another purpose carries a fine of 1% of the previous year's turnover.
A developer who does not present a registered permit, a land book extract for the unit and a dedicated account has answered the most important question for you.
Which questions should you ask the developer, and how do you verify each answer?
Five questions worth asking every developer, in every country, and getting a written answer to, preferably as an annex to the contract:
| The question | A good answer | A red flag | How to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| In whose name will the property be registered, and when? | In your name, under a final contract before a notary, on a defined date | "It's a formality, don't worry", or registration in the company's name with no date | An up-to-date land book extract and a local lawyer who is independent of the seller |
| Who is responsible for the property after handover? | An identified party, and if a management service is offered, a written contract with response times and a contact person | "There will be a management company", with no name | A written contract, not a statement made at a meeting |
| Who explains the Romanian contract to you? | A lawyer who represents only you, and key documents in translation | "The contract is standard, there's nothing to check" | A translation of a key document before you commit |
| Does the price include everything? | A written breakdown: VAT, notary, registration, utility connections, and what is not included | "We'll settle the details later" | A cost table with a "not included" column, as an annex to the contract |
| Who do you contact when something goes wrong? | A name, a phone number and a commitment to a response time | "There's a call centre" or "just email us" | The contact person and response time are written into the contract |
On the first question, Israelis have an additional point: a non-EU citizen does not register land directly in their own name, and in a villa the land is usually held under a registered Superficie right. And when the developer suggests that their lawyer accompany you, remember that the developer's lawyer represents the developer.
What to do before signing?
Before a reservation agreement or a preliminary contract, you should have printouts from all six registers, an up-to-date land book extract of the plot, the registered permit, the details of the dedicated account and written answers to the five questions. We go through the findings with Israeli buyers, turn them into questions for the developer and review the contract, together with lawyers and notaries licensed in Romania, who carry out the checks and actions under local law.
This article is general information, current as of October 2026, and is not legal advice for a specific case. Findings in public registers require professional interpretation and do not replace a legal review by an independent lawyer before signing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to check a Romanian company?
Most checks are free: financial statements on the Ministry of Finance website, cases on portal.just.ro, the ANAF list of debtors and a basic search of the insolvency bulletin. An online land book extract from ANCPI costs 20 lei, and a full status certificate from ONRC is paid.
I don't read Romanian. Can I still check?
In most cases, yes. The registers are built from fixed fields, and automatic translation in the browser is enough to understand a company's status, turnover and number of cases. The legal meaning of a case or of an entry in the land book extract should be verified with a local lawyer.
I found lawsuits against the developer. Is that a reason to walk away?
Not necessarily. Almost every active company has lawsuits. Check the subject, the number and the other party: many claims by buyers over delays or cancellations are a warning sign, a single collection claim by a supplier usually is not.
Whom should I check: the project company or the parent company?
Both. The project company signs with you, and its ownership of the land should appear in the land book extract. The parent company and the owners tell you about experience and stability. Also check previous companies of the same owners and the main contractor.
The developer has not yet delivered any project. Should I stay away?
Not necessarily, but check more. In such a case it is especially important that the permit is registered, that there is a land book extract for the unit, that the preliminary contract is notarial and that down payments go into a dedicated account under Law 207/2025.
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- ONRC, the Romanian trade register, and the insolvency proceedings bulletin (BPI)
- Romanian Ministry of Finance: company information and financial statements
- ANAF, the Romanian tax authority
- Romanian courts portal
- High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania (ICCJ)
- European e-Justice portal
- ANCPI, the National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration
- Portal legislativ: Law 207/2025 and Law 169/2026
- EUR-Lex: GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679
The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.