How to bid for public tenders in Romania

Romania at a glance


Law	Law 98/2016 (public procurement), Law 99/2016 (utilities), Law 100/2016 (concessions), Law 101/2016 (remedies)
Implementing rules	HG 395/2016
Platform	SEAP/SICAP at e-licitatie.ro: mandatory registration, run by the Authority for Digitalisation of Romania
Regulator	ANAP, the National Public Procurement Agency
Direct purchase	Below RON 270,120 (goods, services) or RON 900,400 (works)
Foreign bidders	EU, EEA, GPA-covered, EU candidates and agreement partners
Guarantees	Bid up to 1%; performance up to 10%
Challenges	CNSC or the courts; 10 days (7 below EU thresholds)

Communication in procurement is electronic by default. Romania’s national recovery plan milestones run to August 2026, which drove a 2025–2026 surge in infrastructure, digital and renewable-energy tenders.

Thresholds and procedures

Direct purchase (achiziție directă), excluding VAT:

Value	What the buyer must do
Below RON 9,000	Can pay directly
Up to RON 140,000 (goods, services) / RON 300,000 (works)	A single offer can be used
Above RON 140,000 / RON 300,000	Consult at least 3 companies
Above RON 200,000 / RON 560,000	Use the SEAP electronic catalogue, or publish a notice on its website or SEAP
Up to RON 270,120 / RON 900,400	Upper limit for direct purchase

The simplified procedure (procedura simplificată) is mandatory between the direct-purchase limit and the EU thresholds. It starts with a notice in SEAP. Minimum bid periods are 10 days for goods and services (6 for simple goods) and 15 days for works.
EU thresholds from 1 January 2026:

Contract	Threshold
Works and concessions	RON 26,960,556 (€5,404,000)
Goods and services, central authorities	RON 698,460 (€140,000)
Goods and services, county and local authorities	RON 1,077,624 (€216,000)
Utilities, goods and services	RON 2,155,248 (€432,000)
Social and other specific services	RON 3,741,750 (€750,000)

Above the EU thresholds, open or restricted tenders are the rule. Other procedures, such as competitive negotiation and dialogue, need specific grounds. An open tender gets at least 35 days, or 30 with electronic offers, and can go down to 15 days in urgency.

Who can bid

Who counts as an eligible operator. Romanian law is stricter than most EU countries here. An economic operator must be established in:
- the EU or the EEA;
- a WTO GPA country, for contracts the EU’s GPA schedule covers;
- a country in the process of joining the EU;
- a country with another agreement obliging the EU to open procurement to it.
Everyone else is excluded. The law tells buyers to exclude bidders, consortium members, capacity providers and subcontractors that don’t fall in those groups.
- The EU Court’s Kolin ruling (2024) says the terms of access for companies from countries without an agreement are an EU matter, and buyers are now said to assess this case by case.
- If your country isn’t covered, check the tender documents and take local advice before investing in a bid. See how companies from outside the EU can bid for EU tenders.
EU-wide restrictions also apply:
- Chinese-origin companies are excluded from medical-device tenders of €5 million or more;
- EU sanctions bar contracts with Russian nationals, Russia-established entities and companies more than 50% Russian-owned. They also bar contracts where Russian subcontractors or suppliers exceed 10% of the value.
No local entity required. An eligible foreign company can’t be rejected just because Romanian law would expect a different legal form.

Registering on SEAP and bidding, step by step

Check eligibility for your company and your subcontractors: country group, the China measure and sanctions.
Get a qualified electronic signature for your legal representative or authorised signatory. Bid documents in SEAP must be signed with an advanced signature based on a qualified certificate.
Register on SEAP/SICAP (e-licitatie.ro). Registration is mandatory and free.
- Fill in the online form, and upload your home company-registration documents translated into Romanian. Some guidance says legalised translations, and others say an authorised translator is enough, so check the current SEAP manual.
- The operator validates requests manually, after which you install a digital access certificate valid for two years.
- Report any change in your registration data within 3 working days.
Find tenders in SEAP notices and on TED for EU-level procedures. For larger direct purchases, watch the SEAP electronic catalogue and buyers’ websites.
Download the documents from SEAP and ask questions in time. A challenge to the documents runs from their publication in SEAP.
Prepare your offer:
- the ESPD (DUAE), plus separate ESPDs from any third parties or subcontractors whose capacity you rely on;
- the technical proposal;
- the financial proposal;
- any bid guarantee. The notice sets the tender language, usually Romanian. Expect foreign documents to need Romanian translations.
Submit electronically in SEAP before the deadline, with every document signed.
Answer clarification requests promptly. If you rank first, provide updated evidence within 7 working days (extendable by 3).
The award decision is followed by a standstill of 11 days at or above the EU thresholds, or 8 days below (plus 5 if sent by non-electronic means).
Sign the contract and post the performance guarantee within 5 working days (extendable to 15).

The ESPD and evidence. The buyer must accept the ESPD as preliminary evidence. Supporting documents, when requested, are due within 5 working days. Buyers can’t ask for documents they can get free from a national database in any EU country.

Guarantees and payment

Bid guarantee (garanția de participare):
- optional for the buyer; where required, at most 1% of the estimated value;
- accepted forms:
  - bank transfer;
  - a guarantee letter from a bank in Romania or another country;
  - surety insurance from an insurer authorised in Romania or the EU;
  - cash, under RON 5,000.
- the buyer can’t impose a particular bank or insurer.
- it’s kept if you withdraw your offer, fail to post the performance guarantee or refuse to sign. Otherwise it’s returned within 3 working days.
Performance guarantee (garanția de bună execuție):
- at most 10% of the contract price excluding VAT;
- it can be built up through retentions from invoices, starting at no less than 0.5%;
- it’s mandatory except for some supply and service contracts below the EU thresholds.
No SME discount. Small firms used to get 50% off guarantees and turnover requirements, but that was abolished in 2016.
Payment: public buyers must pay within 30 days of the invoice or acceptance. Up to 60 days is allowed only exceptionally, if expressly stated and justified. Late payment accrues statutory interest.

How bids are evaluated

Award criteria: best price-quality ratio (cel mai bun raport calitate-preț), best cost-quality ratio, lowest cost, or lowest price.
Lowest price is allowed only below the EU thresholds (and in some negotiated procedures). Above them, quality, cost or life-cycle elements are required, and environmental factors are expected where a contract has a life-cycle environmental impact.
Unusually low prices. The buyer must ask you to justify an apparently abnormally low price, which the implementing rules define as below 80% of the estimated value. It can reject your bid only if the evidence doesn’t justify it, and must reject it if the price breaches environmental, social or labour obligations. Have a price build-up ready.
No domestic price preference. SMEs benefit from lots, joint bids and relying on others’ capacity.

Challenging a decision

Two routes:
- the CNSC (National Council for Solving Complaints), then the Court of Appeal;
- or directly to the Tribunal, then an appeal to the Court of Appeal. Filing at both counts as giving up the CNSC route.
Deadline: 10 days at or above the EU thresholds, or 7 days below, counted from the day after you learn of the act.
The CNSC bond (cauțiune): 2% of the estimated value, posted within 5 days of filing or the challenge is rejected. It’s returned no earlier than 30 days after the decision becomes final. It’s capped at:

Contract value	Challenge before the bid deadline	Challenge after it
Below EU thresholds	RON 35,000	RON 88,000
At or above EU thresholds	RON 220,000	RON 2,000,000

Speed: the CNSC decides within 20 days of receiving the file, extendable by 10. Its decisions can be challenged at the Court of Appeal within 10 days.
The court route: stamp duty of 2% of the estimated value instead of the bond. The Tribunal must decide within 45 days.
Suspension: the procedure isn’t suspended automatically, though the CNSC can order a suspension. But the buyer can sign the contract only after the CNSC upholds the result and the standstill has passed. A contract signed earlier is void.

What changed in 2025–2026

May 2024: an emergency ordinance (OUG 52/2024) amended the procurement laws. It tightened emergency negotiated procedures, among other changes, so check current rules for those.
May 2025: a National Green Procurement Programme for 2025–2030 was approved.
30 June 2025: the EU excluded Chinese-origin companies from medical-device tenders of €5 million or more.
Each EU sanctions package (the 21st in August 2026): ANAP issues a notification.
1 January 2026: new EU thresholds in RON. Romania’s own direct-purchase limits are unchanged.
August 2026: national recovery plan milestones fell due.
9 September 2026: the European Commission proposed a single EU Public Procurement Act, which ANAP has welcomed. It’s a proposal only.

Live Romanian tenders

Questions

Can a non-EU company bid for Romanian public tenders?

It depends on your country. Romanian law admits companies established in the EU or EEA, in WTO GPA countries for covered contracts, in EU candidate countries, or in countries with another EU procurement-access agreement. Other companies, including as subcontractors or capacity providers, are to be excluded under the law’s text, although the EU Court’s Kolin ruling has made how this applies less settled. Chinese-origin bidders are excluded from medical-device tenders of €5 million or more, and Russia-linked companies are barred.

Do I need a Romanian company or branch to bid in Romania?

No. An eligible foreign company can bid directly, and can’t be rejected just because of its legal form. But you must register on SEAP/SICAP with your home registration documents translated into Romanian, and sign bids with a qualified electronic signature.

What are Romania’s procurement thresholds in 2026?

Direct purchase below RON 270,120 for goods and services and RON 900,400 for works. A simplified procedure from those limits up to the EU thresholds. Open or restricted tenders published in the EU’s Official Journal from RON 698,460 (central goods and services), RON 1,077,624 (local authorities’ goods and services) and RON 26,960,556 (works).

How big are bid and performance guarantees in Romania?

The bid guarantee, if the buyer asks for one, is at most 1% of the estimated value. The performance guarantee is at most 10% of the contract price excluding VAT, posted within 5 working days of signature. Guarantee letters from foreign banks are accepted. SMEs no longer get a discount on guarantees; it was abolished in 2016.

How do I challenge a Romanian tender decision?

Within 10 days at or above the EU thresholds, or 7 days below, from the day after you learn of the act. At the CNSC you must post a 2% bond within 5 days (capped at RON 35,000–88,000 below the thresholds and RON 220,000–2 million above); in court you pay 2% stamp duty instead. The contract can’t validly be signed until the CNSC upholds the result and the standstill has passed.

Is lowest price allowed in Romanian tenders?

Only below the EU thresholds (and in some negotiated procedures). Above them, the award must include quality, cost or life-cycle elements. If your price is well below the buyer’s estimate, expect a mandatory request to justify it.

Sources

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.