What is the cost of registering a business?

Costs for publication in the Official Gazette

The only "mandatory" fee for establishing a company is the publication cost in the Official Gazette, which is imposed by the Chamber of Deputies, as of the date of the article. Decision 18/2023.

The cost covers the expense for publication in the Official Gazette and is actually charged by them, not the Trade Register. Since the law mandates publication in the Official Gazette for the enforceability of your company (along with the Electronic Bulletin of the Trade Register), public institutions have agreed that the fee should be collected, by delegation, by the ONRC, even though the money does not ultimately reach them.

Publication fees, according to Decision 18/2023

The prices are listed on the page, so a company may, in theory, cost more than 128 RON for publication in the monitor, although this situation is exceptional, as what is published (the registrar's decision) often contains significantly fewer characters.

The fees charged by the Trade Register

In certain situations, you can benefit from specific services provided by the trade registry, in which case their service is chargeable, albeit at a modest fee.

Unlike the publication fee in the Official Gazette, these prices are not mandatory but optional, depending on whether you wish to collaborate with the trade register for assistance in registering or modifying your company.

These prices are set by the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the National Trade Register Office, the latest regulatory administrative act in this regard being ORDER no. 379/C of February 12, 2024, which can be viewed in image format below:

Price table for the assistance services provided by ONRC

The fees charged by lawyers

When it comes to accounting firms or lawyers, prices vary, and there is no standard fee for any type of service.

Moreover, registering a subsidiary of Apple Inc in Romania requires a deep understanding of corporate law, knowledge of certain elements of private international law, and an understanding of business needs.

It is entirely different to register a simple company based on the templates of constitutive documents proposed by the Ministry of Justice, or those that do not require special conditions, arbitration clauses, complex structures, etc.

Guideline on Minimum Fees

Finding a liberal profession, there is no definitive price established for any legal service.

Even so, the National Union of Bar Associations in Romania publishes aGUIDE TO MINIMUM FEES", establishing prices that have practically become the minimum in the profession."

Engaging in pricing below those established by this guide is viewed unfavorably by colleagues, which makes them largely mandatory, obviously with certain exceptions.

The minimum fee charged by lawyers for company registration:

Thus, according to the statute of the legal profession, you can expect a starting price of over 580 RON for registering your company.

The price is reasonable, but it is slightly higher than some offers from private suppliers.

1.7. Legal consultations, drafting of legal documents for transactions / civil contracts / supplementary acts / statutes and constitutive acts for the establishment of legal entities – hourly fee, but not less than 580 lei;

In our opinion, the price is reasonable as long as the lawyer spends the necessary time informing the beneficiaries and facilitating the registration of their company.

In the above situation, the price increases significantly, according to the statute, the prices being:

2.10 Actions and requests in the field of commercial companies regarding Law 31/1990 and other special laws:

a) application for intervention in the registration of documents/notes with ONRC – 2,030 lei;
b) complaint against the resolution of the ONRC Director – 2,030 lei;
c) actions regarding exclusion, withdrawal, dissolution, annulment of the GMS decision - 3,480 lei.

Practically, this could mean that your company will have to pay an additional 2030 RON if the registration of your company is halted due to a postponement, although we believe this paragraph is not commonly applied in practice by most lawyers.

The prices charged by specialized firms

Unlike law firms, where prices vary less due to this framework of minimum fees recommended, In the case of specialized companies, things vary much more.

Below, we have prepared a list of suppliers along with their respective prices. Each supplier has a link through which you can access their pricing page.

Price for company registration through Incorpo.ro:

Incorpo.ro operates on a subscription-based system, with companies registered for 50 EUR (covering publication costs and electronic signature), and subsequently paying a monthly subscription that provides features such as:

• Amendments in the commercial register
• Registered Office hosted at Incorpo.ro
• Assistance regarding companies from AI-incorporate.ro, Alexandra

Price for company registration through Startco.ro:

Startco.ro is the most popular platform for company registration and modifications, with prices to match.

In addition to company registration services, they also offer accounting and invoicing services, which you can learn more about here:

The services for hosting the registered office are offered by them for an annual fee of approximately 600 RON / year, from sediuvirtual.ro

Price for company registration through Aprobat.ro:

Another highly popular company is Aprobat.ro, which offers services similar to those of Startco.ro and incorpo.ro:

The updated prices can be viewed using the link below.

The registration fee for companies through Dosario.ro

Dosario is a newly registered platform based in Cluj-Napoca, offering a wide range of company registration and modification services.

The updated prices for registration through the platform can be accessed below: