🏛️ Company formation

What Is a Romanian SRL? A Guide for Foreign Founders

An SRL (Societate cu Răspundere Limitată) is the Romanian limited liability company — the standard vehicle for doing business in Romania. It is a separate legal entity from its owners, which means your liability is, in principle, limited to your contribution to the share capital. For most foreign founders, this is the structure to choose.

What an SRL is

An SRL is a company in its own right: it can sign contracts, own assets, hire staff and hold a bank account under its own name. Because it is legally distinct from its shareholders, the business’s debts are the business’s — not yours personally (with limited legal exceptions). That separation is the main reason it suits anything beyond a small individual activity.

Key features for foreign founders

• 100% foreign ownership is allowed — no Romanian partner required.
• No residency in Romania is needed to own or run one.
• It can be formed remotely, in English, through a power of attorney.
• The minimum share capital is low and largely symbolic.
• It can have one or more shareholders and is run by an administrator (director).

How a Romanian SRL is taxed

An SRL can fall into one of two corporate tax regimes:

Regime	Rate	Notes
Micro-company	1% on turnover	Where eligible — turnover cap of €100,000 and at least one employee
Profit tax	16% on profit	Applies where the company does not qualify as a micro-company

On top of that, profits paid out to shareholders are subject to 16% dividend tax. If the company registers for VAT, the standard rate is 21%, with a reduced 11% rate on certain goods and services; VAT registration becomes mandatory above the threshold of RON 395,000 in turnover.

Important: these are 2026 figures, and thresholds and rates change periodically. Confirm the current rules — or ask us for an eligibility check — before relying on them. This article was last updated on the date shown above.

SRL vs other structures

The main alternative is a PFA (authorised individual / sole trader), which is simpler and cheaper but exposes your personal assets and is generally aimed at Romanian residents. For a side-by-side comparison, see SRL vs PFA in Romania. For almost every non-resident, the SRL wins on liability protection, foreign ownership and tax flexibility.

Setting one up

You don’t need to travel to Romania to incorporate. Read how to open a company as a non-resident, or let our partner lawyers and accountants handle the whole process for you.

Ready to start? We register your Romanian SRL remotely, in English, with the right tax setup from day one — see company formation in Romania.