Tax Identification Number in Romania: CUI, CIF and NIF Explained
> In Romania a company's tax identification number is its CUI, the cod unic de înregistrare. It is the fiscal identification code of a company registered at the trade register. An individual's number is the CNP or, without one, a NIF, unless they trade independently. The VAT number is RO plus the CUI. Only a VAT-registered company has one.
What is the tax identification number in Romania?
TIN, the tax identification number, is the umbrella word used on the European Commission's TIN portal. It is not a Romanian statutory term. Romanian law speaks of the cod de identificare fiscală (CIF, fiscal identification code). Every person or entity in a tax relationship receives one (art. 82(1) Fiscal Procedure Code). A company's VAT number is built on it, as the Romanian VAT number guide shows.
Only the central tax authority assigns a CIF unless a law provides otherwise (art. 81(2)). The CIF takes the form that fits the taxpayer. A company at the trade register has a CUI. A legal person or entity outside the register has a cod de înregistrare fiscală (fiscal registration code). An individual other than one trading independently has the cod numeric personal (CNP, personal numeric code). An individual without a CNP has the număr de identificare fiscală (NIF).
On our reading of art. 82(1), a TIN is therefore the CUI for a company. For an individual who has a CNP and does not trade independently, it is the CNP. For an individual with no CNP, it is the NIF. An individual trading independently has a fiscal registration code, or a CUI if registered at the trade register (art. 82(1)(b) and (c)). The CNP stays the code for income tax and contributions (art. 82(2)). The rest of this page sets these numbers side by side. It then turns to a buyer of an existing SRL (the Romanian limited liability company). We cover what the buyer keeps, receives and checks with ANAF (the tax authority) and ONRC (the trade register office).
CIF, CUI, CNP, NIF and the other Romanian numbers side by side
The table maps the usual TIN wordings to the Romanian numbers. The J number and the EUID are register identifiers, not tax numbers.
The Romanian identifier map
CIF, the generic term
CUI
company at the trade register
- Registration certificateprinted on
cod de înregistrare fiscală
entities outside the register
- Fiscal registration certificateprinted on
CNP
individual other than one trading independently
- Fiscal registration certificateprinted on
NIF
individual without a CNP
- Fiscal registration certificateprinted on
VAT number
RO plus the CUI
Register identifiers, not tax numbers
drawn apart, outside the CIF tree
- J number
- EUID
| Identifier | Issued by | Who has it | Where it is printed or checked | Article |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIF, cod de identificare fiscală | the central tax authority | every person or entity in a tax relationship; the generic term | in the forms of the next rows | art. 81(2) and 82(1) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| CUI, cod unic de înregistrare | ANAF, on the data the trade register sends | a company registered at the trade register; its tax code | registration certificate, business documents, free trade register data, Ministry of Finance lookup | art. 82(1)(b) Fiscal Procedure Code; art. 110 and 125 to 128 Law 265/2022 |
| cod de înregistrare fiscală, fiscal registration code | the tax authority | legal persons and entities outside the trade register, such as associations and foundations; not an SRL | the fiscal registration certificate | art. 82(1)(a) and 87(1) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| CNP, cod numeric personal | assigned under the special law | an individual other than one trading independently | the fiscal registration certificate, which shows the CIF | art. 82(1)(d) and 87(1) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| NIF, număr de identificare fiscală | the tax authority; the Ministry of Finance answers ONRC | an individual without a CNP, such as a non-resident shareholder or administrator | the fiscal registration certificate, kept at the tax office until collected | art. 82(1)(e) and 83 Fiscal Procedure Code |
| VAT number, cod de înregistrare în scopuri de TVA | assigned on VAT registration | a VAT-registered company only; RO plus the CUI | ANAF's VAT register, VIES | art. 318(1) Fiscal Code |
| J number, trade register number | the trade register, allocated nationally | each registered company; a register identifier, not a tax number | registration certificate, business documents, free trade register data | art. 7(2) and 110(1) Law 265/2022 |
| EUID, European unique identifier | structure set by an order of the Minister of Justice | each registered company; the identifier used between EU registers | registration certificate, free trade register data | art. 10 Law 265/2022; Regulation (EU) 2021/1042, Annex section 9 |
What is a company's tax code, the CUI?
The CUI is the CIF of a company registered at the trade register, so it is the company's tax code (art. 82(1)(b) Fiscal Procedure Code). ANAF assigns it on the data the trade register sends electronically, once the registration request is admitted (art. 125 and 126 Law 265/2022, 2022 text). The fiscal registration request is filed at the one-stop desk (biroul unic) of the trade register office.
The registration certificate issued by ONRC prints the J number, the CUI and the EUID (art. 110(1)). With the CUI, the certificate attests two things. The legal person acquired legal personality. It is on record at the trade register office and with the tax authority (art. 127(1)).
A company can hold a CUI and no VAT number, because VAT registration is a separate step. The rates are in the standard and reduced rates of Romanian VAT. This page states no rate.
What does a Romanian tax ID look like?
The law leaves the structure of the CUI to ANAF. It states no length and no check digit (art. 126(3) Law 265/2022, 2022 text).
As a VAT number the CUI carries the prefix RO (art. 318(1) Fiscal Code). ANAF's own web service on the RO e-Factura register takes the CUI as an integer.
The EU TIN online check validates only the structure of natural persons' TINs. It does not confirm that a TIN exists and cannot validate the formats used for legal entities (TIN on the Web). This page therefore gives no digit count, sample number or validation algorithm. The official texts we checked do not state them.
Where is a company's tax code printed?
Six places show a company's CUI. The first three are documents to ask the seller for.
- The registration certificate, which prints the J number, the CUI and the EUID (art. 110(1) Law 265/2022).
- Invoices, offers, orders, price lists and prospectuses, which carry the name, registered office and CUI (art. 128 Law 265/2022).
- Other documents used in commerce that come from the company. They carry its name, legal form, registered office, trade register number, the CUI and, for an SRL, its capital (art. 74(1), (3) Law 31/1990, text of January 2024). Cash-register receipts are excepted.
- Free public trade register data: J number, EUID, CUI, status and legal representatives (art. 12(1) Law 265/2022).
- The Ministry of Finance lookup, which takes the numeric CUI.
- ANAF's VAT register, searched by fiscal code.
Does a ready-made company keep its tax number after a sale?
On our reading, yes for the CUI. It is used for the company's whole existence (art. 127(2) Law 265/2022, 2022 text). It is withdrawn only when the legal person ceases to exist (art. 90(3) Fiscal Procedure Code). A share transfer changes the owners, not the company. This is our reading of those articles, not an ANAF statement.
A transfer binds third parties only from its entry in the trade register (art. 203(2) Law 31/1990, text of January 2024). ONRC then issues the certificate of registered changes (art. 110(2)). The J number may be reformatted at a later registered change, while the CUI stays. See the registration number at ONRC for this.
The VAT number is a different question. No text we checked says it survives a transfer, so this page does not promise it. For the VAT number, see the Romanian VAT number guide.
Planning to buy an existing company?
Send the seller's documents and the company's identifiers, and we go through them with you before you pay.
How do you check a Romanian company's tax ID before you pay?
Five public lookups, in this order. See how buying an existing company works in Romania for where they fit.
Collect the identifiers
Take the exact name, J number and CUI from the seller's registration certificate or from any invoice or offer. The law requires the CUI to be printed on invoices and offers (art. 128 Law 265/2022).
Match the trade register
The register's public data is free of charge. You can reach it through the registers' interconnection system, ONRC's website or its online services portal (art. 12(1)).
Find the CUI at the Ministry of Finance
The Ministry of Finance lookup shows registration data, filed declarations, records of arrears and six years of balance sheets. For the balance sheets, see the annual accounts of a Romanian company.
Read the ANAF registers
Check the CUI in ANAF's VAT register, the RO number in VIES, then the inactive-taxpayer register and the arrears list. The list leaves out debts under a ceiling (100,000 lei for ordinary legal persons). Absence from it is no proof of no arrears.
Ask for the tax certificate
The buyer may request it for the transfer (art. V Law 239/2025). It is issued within at most 3 working days and used within up to 30 days (art. 158(5)). See the ANAF tax certificate page. Also order the ONRC extract, the certificat constatator.
Before you pay
- 1
The CUI
from the seller's documents
- 2
The trade register's public data
- 3
The Ministry of Finance lookup
- 4
ANAF's VAT, inactive and arrears registers
with VIES for the RO number
- 5
The tax certificate
The arrears list is published as at the end of each reporting quarter and leaves out debts under a ceiling (100,000 lei for ordinary legal persons), so a company missing from it is not thereby free of arrears.
The tax certificate is issued within at most 3 working days and used within up to 30 days.
How does a foreign individual get a Romanian NIF?
A foreign tax identification number in Romania is the NIF of an individual without a CNP. Four routes are listed here, not ranked. A fifth route is in art. 82(3). It lets the income payer ask the tax authority for the code of an individual without a CNP. This applies where the individual's only income is taxed at source, with the tax withheld final.
| Route | Who requests | When | Answer | Article |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Through the trade register | the county trade register office, to the Ministry of Finance | for a non-resident individual who is a founder, member, shareholder or administrator: on incorporation, a share transfer, the appointment of new legal representatives, a capital increase admitting new members | on the day itself or at the latest the next day; no second NIF for a person already registered for tax | art. 83(1) and (2) Fiscal Procedure Code |
| Through a bank | the bank | a non-resident individual opens an account or rents a safe-deposit box | within 5 days of the request | art. 83(4) |
| Through a notary | the notary | at the notary's request, for a non-resident without a code | not stated in the article | art. 83(4^1) |
| Form 030 | the individual, to ANAF | registration, changes and deregistration of an individual without a CNP | channel and term for a non-resident not stated on the forms page | ANAF forms page |
What a NIF is not, and what happens to it later
Four points clear up the usual mix-ups.
A NIF is not a tax residence
No text we checked equates the two. One VAT risk criterion (Annex 6 pt. 5.1) turns on a foreign administrator without Romanian tax residence and capital below 45,000 lei. It does not turn on holding a NIF. That figure is not an SRL's minimum capital.
A NIF is not the company's CUI
The NIF belongs to an individual without a CNP and the CUI to the company (art. 82(1)(b) and (e)). A foreign buyer may hold a NIF while the company keeps its own CUI.
A NIF gives way to a CNP
If the holder later gets a CNP, the tax authority replaces the NIF by it and carries the tax information over. Earlier tax acts stay valid (art. 82(1)(e)). The registration under the NIF is then deregistered, by the deregistration declaration of form 030 (ANAF forms page).
The certificate and the fee
The holder's fiscal registration certificate waits at the tax office until the holder or an attorney collects it (art. 83(2)). No stamp duty applies to it (art. 87(2)), and art. 83 itself names no fee.
How is the NIF requested when a company is bought?
Where the NIF sits in an SRL share transfer. The joint order of ANAF and the Ministry of Justice sets the notification procedure. It was published in the Official Journal on 12 October 2026 (Order ANAF 1137/2026 and Ministry of Justice 1967/C/2026). This page does not summarise it.
The lawyer drafts the acts
A Bar-registered lawyer drafts the transfer deed, the shareholders' resolution, the new administrator's appointment and the updated articles (art. 3(2) Law 51/1995). The parties sign.
ANAF is notified
The company, the seller or the buyer notifies ANAF within 15 days of the transfer. A CECCAR accountant or a lawyer acting for them may notify instead (art. V Law 239/2025). Since OUG 13/2026 this covers any SRL member's shares. We prepare the file.
The change is filed at ONRC
The legal representative or an authorised person files the change (mențiune) within 15 days of the act (art. 43(1) Law 265/2022). The registrar decides within one working day (2022 text). With arrears, a guarantee and ANAF's agreement are shown there.
ONRC sends the NIF request
With that filing, ONRC asks the Ministry of Finance to assign a NIF to the non-resident buyer or new administrator (art. 83(1)).
The Ministry assigns the NIF
It tells ONRC on the day itself or at the latest the next day (art. 83(2)). A person already registered for tax gets no second NIF.
The entry binds third parties
The transfer binds them from its ONRC entry (art. 203(2) Law 31/1990), and ONRC issues the certificate of registered changes. The company's CUI stays the same.
The certificate waits
The NIF holder's fiscal registration certificate stays at the tax office until collected.
Changes are declared
For a company registered at the trade register, changes to its identification data are made under the trade register law (Fiscal Procedure Code). The ONRC entry therefore carries them. Only changes to the tax vector are declared to ANAF, within 15 days (art. 88(1)).
After the purchase: what the tax code and the NIF are used for
Once the company is yours, three points matter. The wider picture is in the Romanian tax system.
Online identification with ANAF
Legal persons identify themselves to ANAF online only with qualified certificates (art. 80(1)(a)). The CUI is the identifier the information systems use for a registered company (art. 127(2) Law 265/2022, 2022 text).
A representative for a non-resident taxpayer
A non-resident with filing duties in Romania appoints a Romanian representative, unless one of three exceptions applies. The first is residence in the EU or EEA. The second is residence in a state with a tax-cooperation instrument with Romania. The third is electronic contact with ANAF under art. 79 (art. 18(4)-(5)).
Foreign documents in a Romanian filing
Foreign official documents keep their original form where a treaty or an EU rule removes the formality. Otherwise an apostille (other Hague Convention states) or superlegalisation applies. A legalised Romanian translation always applies (art. 76 Law 265/2022, 2022 text).
Official sources
Each statement above rests on one of these. Law 31/1990 (text of January 2024), Annex 6 to the VAT norms and Law 51/1995 are cited by name only.
- Fiscal Procedure Code, consolidated to OUG 38/2026: CIF, NIF, certificate.
- Law 265/2022 on the trade register, 2022 text: CUI, certificate, filings.
- Fiscal Code, consolidated to Law 170/2026: the RO prefix.
- Law 239/2025: the 15-day notification and the tax certificate.
- OUG 13/2026, Monitorul Oficial no. 181 of 9 March 2026: the notification's scope.
- ANAF forms page: form 030.
- Ministry of Finance lookup: a company's data by CUI.
- ANAF VAT register: searched by fiscal code.
- ANAF register of inactive taxpayers: inactive taxpayers.
- ANAF arrears list: debts and their ceilings.
- VIES: the EU check of a VAT number.
- TIN on the Web: the EU TIN check and its limits.
Frequently asked questions
What is the tax code for Romania?
For a company registered at the trade register, it is the CUI, the cod unic de înregistrare. It is the company's fiscal identification code under art. 82(1)(b) of the Fiscal Procedure Code. An individual's tax code is the CNP or, without one, a NIF, unless they trade independently. A VAT-registered company has a VAT number too, RO plus the CUI.
What is my TIN in Romania?
TIN is the umbrella word used on the European Commission's TIN portal, not a Romanian statutory term. On our reading of art. 82(1), it is the CUI for a company. For an individual who does not trade independently, it is the CNP or, without one, the NIF. The fiscal registration certificate must show the CIF.
CUI or CIF: what is the difference?
CIF is the generic term for any taxpayer's fiscal identification code, and the CUI is one of its forms. For a company registered at the trade register, the CIF is the CUI. An individual's CIF is the CNP or, without one, the NIF, unless they trade independently. Entities outside the trade register receive a fiscal registration code (art. 82(1)).
How do I obtain a Romanian tax identification number?
The trade register office requests a NIF with the filing when a non-resident individual becomes a founder, member, shareholder or administrator. It is answered on the day itself or at the latest the next. Other routes are a bank (within 5 days), a notary's request, or ANAF form 030. We could not confirm form 030's channel or term for non-residents.
What does a Romanian tax ID look like?
The law leaves the structure of the CUI to ANAF. It states no length and no check digit. ANAF's own web service takes the CUI as an integer. As a VAT number, the CUI carries the prefix RO. This page gives no digit count for the CUI or the NIF, because the official texts we checked do not state one.
Is the CUI the same as the J number?
No. The J number is the trade register number. The CUI is the tax code. The EUID is the identifier registers use between them. The registration certificate prints all three (art. 110(1) Law 265/2022). Only the CUI is a tax number. The J number and the EUID identify the company in the register.
Does a ready-made company keep its tax number after I buy it?
On our reading, the CUI stays. It is used for the company's whole existence and withdrawn only when the legal person ceases to exist. A share transfer changes the owners, not the company. The VAT number is a separate question that this page does not promise, because no text we checked says it survives a transfer.
Do I, as a foreign buyer, need a Romanian tax number?
If you are a non-resident individual who becomes a shareholder or administrator, the trade register office sends the Ministry of Finance the NIF request with the transfer filing. The Ministry assigns the NIF unless you are already registered for tax, and tells ONRC (art. 83(1)-(2) Fiscal Procedure Code). This states the rule. It does not assess your own situation.
Where is the CUI printed?
The registration certificate prints it, with the J number and the EUID. Every invoice, offer, order, price list and other business document of the company prints it too. It also appears in the free public data of the trade register. The Ministry of Finance lookup and ANAF's VAT register also search by it.
How do I find and check a Romanian company's tax ID before buying?
Take the name, J number and CUI from the seller's documents and match them with the free trade register data. Then look the CUI up at the Ministry of Finance. Search it in ANAF's VAT, inactive and arrears registers, and check an RO number in VIES. The arrears list has a ceiling, so the tax certificate gives the fuller picture.
Is a NIF the same as Romanian tax residence?
No text we checked equates them. The NIF is a registration number for an individual without a CNP (art. 82(1)(e)). A VAT risk criterion speaks separately of an administrator who is a foreign citizen without Romanian tax residence. This is analysis, not a rule on residence. It does not decide where anyone is tax resident.
What happens to my NIF if I later get a CNP?
The tax authority replaces the NIF by the CNP and carries over the tax information recorded under it. Tax acts issued and communicated before the replacement stay valid (art. 82(1)(e) Fiscal Procedure Code). The NIF registration is then deregistered, by the deregistration declaration of form 030 on the ANAF forms page.
Does the fiscal registration certificate cost anything?
No stamp duty applies to fiscal registration certificates (art. 87(2) Fiscal Procedure Code). Art. 83 names no fee for assigning a NIF. That is our reading of the article, not a tariff statement. For a NIF holder reached through ONRC, the certificate waits at the tax office until the holder or an attorney collects it.
Can I validate a Romanian company tax ID in the EU TIN checker?
No. The EU TIN online check validates only the structure of natural persons' TINs. It does not confirm that a TIN exists or has been allocated. It cannot validate the formats used for legal entities. Use VIES for a VAT number. Use the Romanian registers, such as the Ministry of Finance lookup, for a CUI.
Do I need a Romanian representative to file my own Romanian returns?
A non-resident taxpayer with filing duties appoints a Romanian representative, unless an exemption applies. The exemptions are residence in the EU or EEA, residence in a state with a tax-cooperation instrument with Romania, or electronic communication with ANAF under art. 79 (art. 18(4)-(5)). This states the exemptions and advises no case. A person's own position is for a tax consultant.
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