Home › Registration Guides › Romania
Central portal, but no vendor registry — you qualify per tender

How to register as a government contractor in Romania

Romania runs a mandatory national electronic procurement system known as SEAP (Sistemul Electronic de Achizitii Publice), which since April 2018 operates on the SICAP technical platform at e-licitatie.ro. To submit a bid, an economic operator must be enrolled ('inrolat') on SEAP/SICAP and hold a qualified digital certificate for electronic signature. There is no standing national vendor 'approval' beyond this enrollment: eligibility is asserted per tender via the European Single Procurement Document (DUAE / ESPD), a self-declaration completed for each procedure, with full supporting documents demanded from the winning (or selected) bidder. The system is overseen by the National Agency for Public Procurement (ANAP), which formulates policy, issues standardized tender documentation and guidance, and performs ex-ante control.

Central portal, but no vendor registry — you qualify per tender
There is no standing vendor registry to pre-register with. You create a free account on the central tender portal for access, then prove your eligibility separately for each tender via a self-declaration (the ESPD / European Single Procurement Document). Below is exactly how.

Official portal

SEAP/SICAP (Sistemul Electronic de Achizitii Publice)

Agentia Nationala pentru Achizitii Publice (ANAP) - National Agency for Public Procurement

Go to portal ↗

Who can register

Foreign companies eligibleNo local entity required to bid

No Romanian subsidiary or branch is required. Romanian procurement law and the EU framework guarantee non-discrimination: any economic operator, irrespective of nationality, may participate, and EU/EEA-established firms compete on equal terms without a local entity. Foreign bidders prove eligibility by their home-country professional/legal registration rather than a Romanian company registration. HOWEVER two practical, non-negotiable frictions exist for a foreign firm: (1) all official registration documents proving legal existence in the home country must be submitted translated into Romanian by an authorized translator; and (2) procedures are conducted in Romanian, so bids and declarations are prepared in Romanian. A foreign operator does NOT normally need a Romanian fiscal code (CUI/CIF) merely to enroll and bid, but may enter its home-country VAT/registration ID; a Romanian NIF/tax identifier can become relevant only if a contract is won and Romanian tax obligations are triggered (verify per tender/contract).

Step-by-step: registering in Romania

1

Obtain a qualified digital certificate (qualified electronic signature)

Before enrollment can be completed, obtain a qualified digital certificate ('certificat digital calificat') / qualified electronic signature from a qualified trust service provider on the EU Trusted List (eIDAS Reg. (EU) 910/2014). The qualified electronic signature enables automatic validation of the SICAP account and is required later to sign and submit bids. An eIDAS-qualified certificate issued in any EU/EEA member state is recognized in Romania.

official link ↗

Required:
  • Qualified digital certificate / qualified electronic signature compliant with eIDAS Reg. (EU) 910/2014
  • Identity and legal-representation documents of the certificate holder
2

Create the bidder ('ofertant') account on e-licitatie.ro (SEAP/SICAP)

Go to e-licitatie.ro, select bidder registration ('inregistrare ofertant'), accept the terms, choose the entity type, and complete the form with company details, legal-representative information and contact address. The system issues a username, password and PIN. A qualified electronic signature is used to validate the account.

official link ↗

🔒 Sign up to see the 4 required document(s) for this step.
3

Submit enrollment documents and pass SEAP validation

Complete enrollment ('inrolare'). If the identifier matches the SEAP database (typical for Romanian CUI/CIF holders) validation can be automatic and immediate. For an operator NOT registered in Romania, or without matching data, the request enters a manual approval flow: a human SEAP operator verifies the uploaded documents, and additional documents or clarifications may be requested to prove identity and legal representation. Foreign companies must upload copies of the official documents attesting professional/legal registration in their country of residence, translated into Romanian by an authorized translator. Manual validation takes at least 2 business days (longer if documentation is incomplete). On approval an access certificate (.pfx) is delivered by email.

official link ↗

🔒 Sign up to see the 3 required document(s) for this step.
~2 day(s)
4

Find opportunities and read the tender documentation

Search opportunities in SEAP/SICAP. Contracting authorities must publish in SEAP for procedures above the direct-procurement limits, and above-EU-threshold contracts are also published to TED (Tenders Electronic Daily). Illustrative 2026 EU/OJEU thresholds cited by legal guides are ~RON 705,819 for supplies/services and ~RON 27,334,460 for works (thresholds are revised biennially - reconfirm current figures). Download and read the tender documentation (documentatia de atribuire) for the specific procedure, which sets conditions, deadlines and required evidence.

official link ↗

🔒 Sign up to see the 1 required document(s) for this step.
5

Complete the DUAE (ESPD) self-declaration for the tender

For each procedure, complete the DUAE (Documentul Unic de Achizitie European / European Single Procurement Document). Under Law 98/2016 and Law 99/2016 the DUAE is mandatory for economic operators participating in award procedures (as tenderer, candidate, third-party supporter or subcontractor) and is completed directly within SEAP/SICAP. It is a self-declaration of suitability, capacity and absence of exclusion grounds; only the tenderer whose bid is selected is later required to submit the underlying supporting certificates. Foreign-issued certificates can be checked by the authority via eCertis.

official link ↗

🔒 Sign up to see the 2 required document(s) for this step.
6

Submit the bid electronically, signed with the qualified certificate, by the deadline

Prepare the offer and required declarations in Romanian, sign electronically with the qualified digital certificate, and submit through SEAP/SICAP before the deadline. The qualified electronic signature is required to submit bids. Foreign-language supporting documents must be accompanied by authorized Romanian translations as specified in the tender documentation. Remedies against authority decisions can be filed with the National Council for Solving Complaints (CNSC) under Law 101/2016.

official link ↗

🔒 Sign up to see the 3 required document(s) for this step.

Get the full Romania playbook

Create a free GlobalGov account to unlock the required-documents checklist for every step, common pitfalls, insider tips, renewal reminders, and live Romania opportunities matched to your business.

Create free account

Cost, timeline & legal basis

Cost

Enrollment and use of SEAP/SICAP (e-licitatie.ro) is free of charge. The main direct cost is a qualified digital certificate / electronic signature from a commercial eIDAS trust service provider (annual/biennial fee; exact amount not verified from official sources). Authorized Romanian translation of home-country registration documents is an additional cost.

Typical timeline

~2 days

Legal framework

Legea nr. 98/2016 privind achizitiile publice (public procurement), transposing EU Directive 2014/24/EU; Legea nr. 99/2016 (utilities/sectoral, Directive 2014/25/EU); Legea nr. 100/2016 (concessions, Directive 2014/23/EU); Legea nr. 101/2016 (remedies, establishing the National Council for Solving Complaints / CNSC). Implementing norms are set by government decisions (e.g. HG 395/2016). ESPD/DUAE per Reg. (EU) 2016/7; qualified e-signatures per Reg. (EU) 910/2014 (eIDAS); foreign certificates checked via eCertis. Sources: https://anap.gov.ro/ro/en/home/ ; https://iclg.com/practice-areas/public-procurement-laws-and-regulations/romania

Common pitfalls & restrictions

There is no one-time national 'vendor approval' - each tender must be qualified separately via the DUAE. A foreign operator's biggest delay risks are: (1) enrollment falling into the manual SEAP validation flow (at least 2 business days, longer if documents are incomplete or not properly translated); and (2) failing to provide authorized Romanian translations of home-country registration documents. A qualified digital certificate is mandatory before you can validate the account and submit bids - do not leave it to the last minute. Procedures and bids are in Romanian. A DUAE that is misrepresented or cannot be backed by supporting documents can cause exclusion.

Find live Romania opportunities

GlobalGov tracks open tenders and historical awards for Romania. Explore the market and search live opportunities:

📊 Romania market overview 🔎 Search live Romania opportunities

Sources & verification

This guide is grounded in official sources, last verified 2026-07-21.

SEAP/SICAP is Romania's mandatory national electronic procurement system operated at e-licitatie.ro; bidders must be enrolled and hold a qualified digital certificate to submit bids — https://www.e-licitatie.ro/
ANAP (National Agency for Public Procurement) formulates/implements procurement policy, issues standardized documentation and guidance, and performs ex-ante control; manages the electronic platform — https://anap.gov.ro/ro/en/home/
Legal framework Law 98/2016, 99/2016, 100/2016, 101/2016 transposing EU Directives; non-discrimination guarantees equal access to non-Romanian suppliers with no requirement for a local entity; ESPD completed in SEAP per procedure; foreign certificates validated via eCertis; TED publication above EU thresholds — https://iclg.com/practice-areas/public-procurement-laws-and-regulations/romania
SICAP enrollment steps: create bidder account, qualified electronic signature validates the account; foreign companies must submit home-country registration documents translated into Romanian by an authorized translator; manual validation takes at least 2 business days; access certificate delivered as .pfx — https://alfasign.ro/cum-te-inrolezi-sicap-licitatii/
DUAE/ESPD is mandatory under Law 98/2016 and 99/2016 for economic operators (tenderer/candidate/third-party supporter/subcontractor) participating in award procedures — https://www.sn-seap.ro/european-single-procurement-document-espd/
Operators not registered in Romania / without matching data enter a manual SEAP operator approval flow; digital certificate download page is cds.e-licitatie.ro — https://cds.e-licitatie.ro/
This guide summarizes official requirements for general information and can change. Always confirm current requirements on the official portal before acting. GlobalGov is not affiliated with any government procurement authority.