Commercial and Company Document Translation for Romania

Romania is a market in which Turkish contracting, energy and manufacturing companies work intensively, and the way paperwork is organised there has been shaped by that volume. This page sets out the documents a company established in Türkiye will put before the Romanian trade registry office, its buyer or a tendering authority. The reverse direction, a Romanian company structuring itself in Türkiye, is a separate file.

Double approval: the authorised translator and the notary together

What sets Romania apart is that it wants the two layers of approval together. The translation is made by a translator authorised by the Ministry of Justice, and that translator’s signature is then attested by a notary. Only one of the two is not counted as sufficient in most official procedures. This resembles the practice in Türkiye, but on the Romanian side the requirements as to form are followed more strictly: the translation is bound to the original document or to an attested copy of it, the translator’s declaration is added, and the notarisation is entered on that set. Proceed on the same logic in a file prepared in Türkiye, and complete the chain of sworn translator’s signature, notarisation and apostille in full.

The trade registry office and what Turkish documents correspond to

Companies in Romania are entered with the national trade registry office, and the status certificate obtained from that register is the piece of paper asked for constantly in commercial life. Its counterpart in Türkiye is a recently dated certificate of activity from the trade registry directorate together with the notice in the Türkiye Trade Registry Gazette. The articles of association show the shareholding structure and the object of the business, and the signature circular shows the authority to represent. In the registration of a branch the parent company’s documents move to the centre, whereas in setting up a subsidiary the resolution of the founding shareholder’s competent organ comes into play. Consistency of company name and address across the documents is closely checked.

Layer	Who does it	Consequence if missing
Translation	Authorised translator	The translation is treated as invalid
Attestation	Notary	Not accepted in an official procedure
Apostille	Governor’s office / district governor’s office	The source of the document is not verified
Integrity of the set	The applicant	Loose pages come back

The file in contracting and energy tenders

Construction, infrastructure and energy tenders in Romania are one of the main sources of work for Turkish companies, and the document list for those tenders is a good deal thicker than a classic commercial file: work experience certificates, lists of technical personnel, an inventory of the machinery fleet, financial standing documents, and letters confirming that no tax or social security contribution debt is outstanding. Most of these documents are obtained from Turkish institutions and every one of them is subject to the chain of translation and approval. On work experience certificates it is critical that each work item be rendered by the right term; a wrong term can lead to the experience being treated as unrelated to the subject of the tender. Drawing up a term list in advance for files of this kind is far cheaper than dealing with an objection procedure afterwards.

Shipping paperwork does not go into the translation file

A large part of the trade between Türkiye and Romania runs by road and along the Black Sea route, and every shipment generates a thick file of paperwork. Almost none of that file reaches the translator’s desk. Proof of origin documents fall within the authority of the chambers, movement certificates are completed with the endorsement of the customs administration, and their forms are printed in more than one language. The invoice, the packing list and the transport document are drawn up in a foreign language to begin with. The chain of translation and attestation is meant for texts that place obligations on the parties: contracts, guarantees, powers of attorney, registry records and court paperwork. Companies that fail to draw the distinction set aside budget for translations that no institution expects, and stretch out their delivery schedule for nothing.

Site and staff assignment documents

For a Turkish contracting company that has won work in Romania, the commercial file carries on at the site. Notifications relating to the assignment of personnel, occupational health and safety documents, records of professional competence and subcontracting agreements are the items called for on site. Because contract texts place obligations directly on the parties they require a certified translation, while for training records and personnel lists a stamped translation is generally enough. If machinery and equipment are to be brought in, the ownership and conformity documents relating to them open a layer of their own. When the work programme is tight, starting the translation and approval steps before the contract is signed is the most practical way to avoid waiting at the site.

The power of attorney, and the most frequent ground for refusal

If you are going to run a registration, a tender or a court matter in Romania through your local representative, have the power of attorney drawn up before a notary, obtain its apostille, and only then have it translated; keep its scope narrow and support the authority with a current registry record. Romania is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; verify the current list of parties through HCCH. The most frequent ground for refusal is one of the two layers of approval being missing. Second comes the date of the document, and third a mismatch of terms in the work experience certificates. A bound and attested set is expected on delivery. You can send us your file through the quotation form, see the difference scope makes on the pricing page, and compare other markets in the country guide.

This page is intended as guidance; a country’s approval regime and the document format it asks for can be updated over time. Before you start a procedure, the safest course is to ask the relevant unit for written confirmation.