This guide is the checklist behind a Romanian bid: every document and step, in the order a tender asks for them, with who can lawfully do each one. For how Romanian procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, who may bid, how bids are assessed, challenges), see How to bid for public tenders in Romania.
Before you bid
1. A qualified electronic signature for the person who signs. Each file you put into SEAP carries an electronic signature based on a qualified certificate. It comes from an EU qualified trust service provider; Romanian providers include certSIGN, DigiSign, Trans Sped and AlfaSign.
- Who does it: the signature is personal to your legal representative or to your authorised signatory, who obtains it and keeps it. A lawyer acting for you as împuternicit signs with a qualified signature of their own.
- From abroad: EU qualified certificates are valid under eIDAS.
2. Your company’s SEAP/SICAP account (e-licitatie.ro). Every procedure run in SEAP requires it, and it costs nothing. The system is operated by the Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania (ADR).
- The automatic route: a Romanian company that SEAP finds in the ONRC trade register downloads the request the system generates, signs it with its legal representative’s qualified certificate and uploads it. This is quick.
- Manual validation: every other company. No time is published for it.
- Once approved, your company receives a SEAP digital access certificate, valid for 2 years. Changes to your company data must be notified to SEAP within 3 working days.
- Who does it: the form (general data, user account, addresses) can be completed for you. Your legal representative signs the request with their own qualified certificate, and the administration account and the access certificate belong to your company.
- From abroad: manual validation, using your home registration documents in Romanian translation together with a legalised copy.
3. Authorised translations and legalised copies, for a foreign company. SEAP’s manual validation needs your registration documents in Romanian, and bid documents usually need Romanian translations too. A traducător autorizat, authorised by the Ministry of Justice, translates them; a notar public legalises the copies where needed. It takes days. You provide the originals. Non-EU public documents may also need an apostille, where asked.
With your bid
4. The DUAE. Your self-declaration on exclusion grounds and selection criteria, filled in through SEAP’s DUAE service. It is free, takes about 1 day to complete and serves that one procedure. Every subcontractor, and every third party whose capacity you rely on, files a separate DUAE. Buyers must accept the DUAE as preliminary evidence, so certificates wait until the buyer asks for them.
- Who does it: it can be completed for you; your legal representative or împuternicit signs it with a qualified signature.
5. The declarations every bid carries.
- Conflict of interest (Law 98/2016, arts. 59–60): you confirm that no conflict of interest exists with the buyer’s decision-makers listed in the tender documents. Required in all procedures.
- EU sanctions (Regulation 833/2014, art. 5k): in above-threshold procedures, you confirm there are no Russian nationals or entities involved, and no Russian subcontractors or suppliers above 10%.
- Cost, time and validity: free, prepared the same day, valid for that procedure.
- Who does it: both are drafted for you; your signatory signs them with a qualified signature.
6. The împuternicire, when someone other than the legal representative signs. A power of attorney from your legal representative authorising another person, for example an avocat, to sign the DUAE and the offer. It can be ready the same day, and is valid for what it states.
- Who does it: it can be drafted for you; your legal representative signs it with a qualified signature. If the tender documents require it, a notary authenticates it.
- From abroad: translated into Romanian, and legalised or apostilled if required.
7. The participation guarantee (garanția de participare), only where the tender requires one. Up to 1% of the estimated value, as a guarantee letter (scrisoare de garanție) from a bank in Romania or another state, or surety insurance from an insurer authorised in Romania or the EU. The issuer charges its own market fee and needs 1–5 business days. The guarantee is issued in your company’s name, must cover the bid validity period and is uploaded with an electronic signature. You apply and pay for it. Foreign bank letters are accepted.
8. Submitting in SEAP. The DUAE, declarations, technical and financial offer and any guarantee go in electronically, each signed with a qualified signature, before the deadline. Submission is free. Every file can be prepared and checked for you; the holder of your company’s SEAP account uploads and submits with its own access certificate.
If you’re in line for award
Certificates are asked for only from this point, and only when the buyer requests them. You then have 5 working days to supply them. A buyer can’t ask you for a document it can get free of charge from a national database in any EU country.
| Document | Issued by | Who handles it | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificat constatator (registration, representatives, CAEN activities, CUI) | ONRC, the National Trade Register Office | Ordered online on the ONRC portal, the same day; can be ordered for you where ONRC allows third-party requests | Must be current when you give evidence | — |
| Certificat de atestare fiscală (no state-budget tax debts) | ANAF | An accountant requests it through ANAF’s SPV under your mandate | Must be current | Grant the SPV mandate |
| Certificat fiscal (no local tax debts) | The local council’s tax directorate, at the city hall | Requested from the city hall | Must be current | — |
| Cazier judiciar of the company and of its legal representatives and management | Romanian Police | Each person, and the company, obtains their own, online or in person; through an împuternicit where allowed | Must be current | Obtain it |
| Financial evidence (financial statements, turnover, bank letters), if the tender asks | You and your bank | An accountant compiles it, in days | — | Request the bank letter |
| Similar contracts (recomandări, procese-verbale de recepție), if the tender asks | Your previous clients | Compiled for you; free; days to weeks | — | Obtain the certificates from your clients |
| ISO quality or environmental certificates, if the tender asks | A certification body accredited by RENAR or another EA member | The body audits you | 3 years, with surveillance audits | Undergo the audit |
Before the contract
The performance guarantee (garanția de bună execuție), where the contract requires one. Up to 10% of the contract price excluding VAT, from a bank or insurer, issued in your company’s name for the contract term. It is posted within 5 working days of signature, a period that can be extended to 15. You sign it; it takes days to arrange.
The contract is signed after the standstill period by your legal representative or your împuternicit.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified electronic signature | An EU qualified trust service provider issues it | Your signatory obtains and keeps it |
| SEAP registration | The form is completed for you | Your legal representative signs the request; your company keeps the access certificate |
| Translations and legalised copies | An authorised translator; a notary | Provide the originals |
| DUAE and declarations | Prepared for you | Your legal representative or împuternicit signs |
| Împuternicire | Drafted for you; authenticated by a notary where required | Your legal representative signs |
| Participation and performance guarantees | A bank or insurer | Apply, pay and sign |
| Upload and submission in SEAP | Every file prepared and checked for you | Your account holder uploads and submits |
| Certificat constatator | Ordered online | — |
| ANAF tax certificate | An accountant, through SPV | Grant the SPV mandate |
| Cazier judiciar | Each person, or an împuternicit where allowed | Obtain it |
| Financial evidence | An accountant | Request bank letters |
| References from previous clients | Compiled for you | Obtain the certificates |
| ISO certificates | An accredited certification body | Undergo the audit |
| Challenge (contestație) to the CNSC | An avocat, under your împuternicire | Sign the împuternicire; post the bond |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Avocat | The bars, under the Uniunea Națională a Barourilor din România (UNBR) | Sign offer documents as your împuternicit with their own qualified signature, where the documents allow; file challenges (contestații) to the CNSC or the courts; certify identity and signatures on acts within their professional powers |
| Notar public | UNNPR; Ministry of Justice | Legalise copies and translations for SEAP’s manual validation of foreign companies; authenticate împuterniciri and declarations |
| Traducător autorizat | Ministry of Justice | Authorised Romanian translations of foreign registration documents and certificates, often then legalised by a notary |
| Expert contabil, consultant fiscal or auditor financiar | CECCAR; Camera Consultanților Fiscali; ASPAAS | Obtain the certificat de atestare fiscală through ANAF’s SPV under mandate; prepare financial statements and turnover data; audit (auditors only) |
| Bank or insurer | National Bank of Romania; ASF | Issue participation (up to 1%) and performance (up to 10%) guarantees, as a scrisoare de garanție or asigurare de garanții |
| Certification body | RENAR, or another EA-member accreditation body | Issue the ISO certificates used as capacity evidence |
If your company is from abroad
An eligible foreign company doesn’t need a Romanian company or branch to bid; who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for public tenders in Romania. For the paperwork:
- SEAP registration: manual validation with your home registration documents, translated into Romanian, plus a legalised copy.
- Company record: your home register extract in authorised Romanian translation, instead of the certificat constatator.
- Tax: your home-country tax certificate. You need a Romanian CUI/CIF only if Romanian tax obligations arise.
- Criminal records: home-country equivalents of the cazier judiciar, in authorised translation.
- Financial evidence and references: your home documents, translated.
- Signature: an EU qualified certificate under eIDAS.
- Împuternicire: translated, and legalised or apostilled if required.
- Guarantees and ISO: foreign bank letters are accepted, and so are equivalent certificates.
Pitfalls
- Check your subcontractors’ and supporters’ countries, not only your own. Bidders, subcontractors and capacity providers from countries Romanian law doesn’t admit are to be excluded.
- Sign every file. Each bid document must carry an electronic signature based on a qualified certificate.
- Never hand over your SEAP access certificate or your qualified signature. Anyone who signs for you does it with their own signature, under an împuternicire.
- Tell SEAP about changes within 3 working days. Any change to your company data has to be notified.
- Start foreign registrations early. Manual validation has no published time, and it needs translations and legalised copies first.
- Keep the 5 working days in mind. Have the ONRC, tax and criminal-record certificates within reach before the buyer asks.
- The guarantee issuer is your choice. The buyer can’t impose a particular bank or insurer.
Doing it with askTender
In Romania, named extra users on SEAP aren’t confirmed, so you log in and press submit yourself, in a guided session with askTender. Everything before that is prepared for you: the askTender Desk prepares the DUAE, the declarations and the împuternicire, assembles the technical and financial offer and coordinates the certificates and translations; askTender Partners, such as an avocat, an expert contabil, a notary or an authorised translator, do the steps their licence covers. You sign only what the law reserves to you: the SEAP registration request, the împuternicire and, with your own qualified signature, the bid documents.
Questions
Which documents do I submit with a bid in Romania?
The DUAE, Romania’s version of the European Single Procurement Document, with a separate DUAE for each subcontractor and each company whose capacity you rely on; your technical and financial offer; a conflict-of-interest declaration; in above-threshold procedures, an EU sanctions declaration; an împuternicire if someone other than your legal representative signs; and a participation guarantee where the tender requires one. Every file carries a signature based on a qualified certificate.
Do I need a qualified electronic signature to bid in Romania?
Yes. Every bid document filed in SEAP is signed with an electronic signature based on a qualified certificate, from an EU qualified trust service provider. Foreign companies can use an EU qualified certificate under eIDAS. A lawyer or other împuternicit who signs for you uses their own qualified signature, never yours.
How do I register on SEAP?
Registration is mandatory and free. A Romanian company that SEAP finds in the ONRC trade register downloads the request the system generates, has its legal representative sign it with a qualified certificate and uploads it. Other companies, including foreign ones, go through manual validation with their registration documents in Romanian translation and a legalised copy. You then receive a digital access certificate valid for 2 years.
Which certificates does the winning bidder provide?
Only when the buyer requests them, within 5 working days: the ONRC certificat constatator, the ANAF certificat de atestare fiscală and the local certificat fiscal showing no tax debts, and the cazier judiciar for the company and its legal representatives. Financial evidence, references from previous clients and ISO certificates follow if the tender asks for them.
Can my accountant obtain the tax certificate for me?
Yes. An expert contabil or consultant fiscal can request the certificat de atestare fiscală through ANAF’s SPV under a mandate you grant. The local tax certificate comes from the city hall.
Sources
- Law 98/2016 on public procurement (CNSC consolidated text)
- HG 395/2016 implementing norms: guarantees (CNSC consolidated text)
- Law 101/2016 on remedies and the CNSC (CNSC consolidated text)
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.