The deal procedure at a notary in Romania: how the day of the deal goes

The deal procedure at a notary in Romania: how the day of the deal goes

The day of the deal in Romania usually takes an hour to an hour and a half: the parties come to the notary with a complete set of documents, the notary reads out and explains the deed, the parties sign, payment is made, and the documents go off for registration in the land register. The difficulty lies not in the day itself but in preparing for it: a real estate sale and purchase agreement is valid only in notarial form, and the notary accepts any document in a foreign language only in a translation by a sworn translator. Below — what is prepared in advance, what is signed on the day of the deal, who attends, what the 3 ways to take part are, how long it takes and what the costs are made of.

How does the day of the deal at a Romanian notary go?

The day of the deal follows one scenario and consists of 6 steps: Preparing the documents, Sworn translation, Review by the notary, Signing the deed, Payment for the deal, Submission to the carte funciară. The first three steps are closed before the scheduled date — the parties appear in the notary's office when the set has already been assembled and checked. On the day itself, the notary establishes the parties' identities, reads the agreement aloud, explains its consequences, answers questions and only then invites them to sign. Each copy is signed in the notary's presence — you cannot take the agreement away and sign it at home. After signing, payment is made by the agreed method, and the notary submits the documents for registration. An agreement transferring ownership of real estate is valid only in notarial form: a deal on ordinary paper is null and void, whether or not the price has been paid.

Which documents are prepared before the day of the deal?

The set is assembled in advance and falls into 3 parts: the property's documents, the seller's documents and the buyer's documents.
For the property — a recent land register extract, the cadastral documentation, confirmation that there are no debts for utilities and owners' association fees, and the energy performance certificate.
For the seller — the title document and an identity document; for a company — the corporate documents and confirmation of the signatory's authority.
For the buyer — an international passport, a Romanian tax number, proof of the source of funds for the bank and, if the deal is not done in person, a notarized power of attorney.
A separate line — translations: every document in a foreign language must be translated into Romanian by a sworn translator authorized by the Ministry of Justice. The set is assembled weeks before the date, not the evening before.

Who attends the deal and what does the notary do?

4 parties are present in the office: the seller, the buyer, the notary and a sworn translator, if the buyer does not speak Romanian. A Romanian notary is a public official, not someone who just processes paperwork: they check the property against the land register, the seller's authority, the absence of third-party rights and encumbrances, establish identities, explain the content of the deed and are liable for this check. Under the law on notaries, a person who does not speak or understand Romanian must be given the opportunity to learn the content of the deed through a translator or an interpreter; this role is performed either by the notary themselves, if the language is their native one or they are authorized, or by a separate authorized specialist. If a foreign national states that their Romanian is good enough, they write this in their own hand, and the notary makes a note of it in the deed.

Three ways to take part: in person, by power of attorney, through a management company

You can take part in the deal in 3 ways, and in any of them the property is registered to you or to your Romanian company.

The first — in person: you come and sign the deed yourself, with a translator if needed.

The second — by power of attorney to a representative: the power of attorney is notarized, translated into Romanian by a sworn translator and contains a closed list of powers for this specific deal.

The third — through a management company acting under your power of attorney: it also takes over the property and goes on to manage it.

The choice of method affects only the preparation, not the result: the deed is the same, and the land register entry is the same. An important detail on timing: the power of attorney and its translation are prepared before a date is set with the notary; otherwise the date is postponed.

What if the documents arrive without a sworn translation?

The answer is harsh: the deal will not take place that day, and this is not one particular notary being picky. A notary may use a document in a foreign language only if it has been translated into Romanian by an authorized translator and the translator's signature has been certified; a translation made by an unauthorized agency or by the buyer themselves is not fit for a notarial deed. The picture is typical: a person flies in for one day, brings a passport, certificates and a power of attorney with a translation certified in their home country — and finds out at the notary's desk. The tickets, the hotel and the scheduled date are lost, the seller gets nervous, and meanwhile the deposit keeps running on its own deadlines.

The fix takes 4 steps.

Step 1 — the list: exactly which documents need translation and in what form is clarified with the notary before the trip, not on the day of the deal.

Step 2 — sworn translation: the documents are translated by a translator authorized by Romania's Ministry of Justice, and the signature is notarized.

Step 3 — a new date: the notary sets it once the set is complete, and by then it is a matter of days, not weeks.

Step 4 — insurance for the future: if coming a second time is impractical, the deal is moved to a power of attorney or to a management company — and then your physical presence stops being a bottleneck at all.

Prevention is simple: the list of documents and translations is agreed with the notary in writing 2–3 weeks before the date.

How long does the deal take and what are the costs made of?

The signing itself takes an hour to an hour and a half, while registering the entry in the land register takes a few business days in the ordinary course; the overall period from the set being ready to an extract in your name fits within a week or two. The costs are made up of 4 parts: the notary's fee under the national scale, the land register's registration fee, the services of a sworn translator and the translations of documents, and drawing up a power of attorney if the deal is not done in person. Under the general rule of the Civil Code, the costs of concluding the agreement are borne by the buyer unless the parties agree otherwise; the tax on income from the transfer of ownership is the seller's expense and does not concern the buyer.
The exact amounts depend on the property's price and are calculated by the notary in advance: you can and should request an estimate before the date is set, so that the day of the deal brings no arithmetic surprises.

What to understand before the day of the deal: the takeaway and the next step

There are 3 things to understand. The notarial form is not a formality but a condition for the deal to be valid. The day of the deal is the finale of the preparation, and anything not gathered in advance moves the date.
The right is secured by an entry in the land register under the land book rules — exactly what right you receive and from what moment is covered separately.

Start with a free compliance assessment — it is carried out before the deposit and commits you to nothing.
In the written opinion you receive a recommended bank, a list of documents for your source of funds, an assessment of the origin, the purchase structure and the way you will take part in the deal. And a straight answer: whether this structure suits you. The assessment may end in a reasoned refusal — that is a result of the work too.
Write to us — we will review your situation and get your set ready for the date.

Can a sale and purchase agreement be signed without a notary?

No: an agreement transferring ownership of real estate requires notarial form; otherwise it is null and void. A paid price and handed-over keys do not fix this — no right arises under such a document.

Do I need a translator if I understand Romanian?

If your command of the language is good enough for the deed to be executed only in Romanian, you state this to the notary and write it in your own hand, and the notary makes a note of it. In all other cases an authorized translator is present, and documents in a foreign language still need a sworn translation.

What happens right after the deed is signed?

Payment is made by the agreed method, you receive a copy of the deed, and the notary submits the documents for registration in the land register. The extract in your name is issued once the entry has been made.

Sergey Valentinovich Kononov — head of the consulting company Alliance Consulting (Constanța, Năvodari). More than 30 years of management experience; the company has run a licensed practice in Romania for four years and supports clients from the first consultation to receiving their documents. The company's licenses and documents are publicly available on the website.