The Romanian government provides provisions detailing how we can name the business so you can save yourself from the cumbersome process of name rejection in registration. In this article, you will get to know how to choose the name of the company in Romania.
Company name structure by law
Law binds companies to name their business in certain ways that comply with the law. Otherwise, certain words need approval from authorities. Following are laws on how to name your business.
Art. 38 of Law no. 26/1990 specifies that new companies must differ from the existing ones. No one would want his company to be confused with another. It may mislead clients and partners, damage the company’s reputation and future business revenues. The same law prohibits the registration of a company that contains the following words:
- stiințific
- academie
- academic
- universitate
- universitar
- școală
- școlar
Company name requirements in Romania
Name reservation is necessary in the process of a business incorporation. In case of rejection, it’s a good idea to have 2 backup names. The company name should be unique on a nationwide level and be substantially different from any company name already registered.
The following lists of words do not differentiate your name from others at all:
- import-export
- import
- export
- service limited
- service
- limited
- international
As specified in order no.2594/2008 the name of company is distinctive when the following are met:
- consists of a name that is not generic or usual.
- not identical or similar to other companies previously registered in the trade register.
The registration of a company name that contains the words “national”, “Romanian”, “institute” or contains derivatives, words, and phrases characteristic of the central public authorities can only be approved by the consent of the General Secretariat of the Government.
According to art. 29 para. (4) of Order no. 2594/2008, a company name shall not represent the following attributes:
- articulation of words (names that sound similarly in speech are forbidden)
- changing the order of the words that became part of a registered or reserved company;
- doubling of one or more letters or figures that have become part of a registered or reserved company;
- adding or removing adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, numbers, punctuation, and other similar features, having a vague meaning;
- abbreviations that are not likely to change the meaning of the name;
- use of different words from a semantic point of view, despite phonetically identical;
- use of abbreviations of the words that are part of a registered or reserved company;
- use of symbols equivalent to letters and words, for example, @, #,%, etc;
- use / non-use of diacritics;
- addition, deletion, or replacement of a part of the registered or reserved name, if the addition, deletion, or replacement does not change the meaning of the company or the use of the words “group”, “holding”, “company”, “trust”, “com”, “trans” or alike.
Difference between Brand name and trademark registration
As defined in Law no. 84/1998 on trademarks and geographical indications in art. 2, the trademark is any sign, such as words, including names of persons, designs, letters, figures, colors, or figurative elements.
The trademark also includes the shape of a product, product packaging, or sounds that distinguish the goods or services of one enterprise from others. Be represented in such a way as to enable the competent and general public to know clearly and precisely that it belongs to the enterprises.
In short, the role of a trademark is to identify and individualize the products or services offered by an enterprise. When you register your company name with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM), it becomes a registered trademark.
Company brand name in Romania
The brand, on the other hand, is a combination of tangible and intangible attributes, represented by a business that creates and influences the value of a business. In other words, the brand is the first step in the process of creating a brand, becoming a brand only after you have implemented your sales and marketing strategies and defined a range of consumers. In terms of milk consumption, we can use exemplary brands such as Fulga or Zuzu. The company aims to customize its product and services.
While the company name appears on invoices, contracts, and other official corporate documents, representing the name you chose for the company, the brand is its image.
And now we come back to the above idea when the word “school” or “academy” cannot be used, but they are constantly on the market. That’s because you shall not register these words in the name, but you can do it as a brand.
Let’s take 2 examples:
- The Joie de Vivre dance school is managed by JDV Events SRL.
- STEP IT Academy, an academy of programming courses, is managed by IT STEPS INTERNATIONAL SRL.
Language
The name of the company must be written in Latin characters.
Firstly, a company name must not be confused with the name of the company already registered in the trade register.
Secondly, any other language can be used in the name, especially English (consulting, advocacy, privacy, advisory, etc.). However, accents cannot be used (such as in French).
Name structure according to type of the company
Law no.26/1990 defines rules for company name according to its type. Full list of company types incl. legal entities, sole traders and other organizations is available on our website.
Corporation
- Art. 35. The joint-stock company or limited partnership consists of its name, which distinguishes it from other companies, and will be accompanied by the full written mention “joint-stock company” or “SA” or, as the case, “limited partnership”.
- Art. 36. The limited liability company consists of its name, to which may be added the name of one or more partners and will be accompanied by the full written statement “limited liability company” or “SRL”.
Sole trader (PFA)
For sole traders rules are very similar to what we can see in other European countries. A sole trader name must include the name of the owner. Art. 31. (1) for sole trader, the signature of a sole trader, a person, and the name of the trader written in full or the initial of his first name. It is really necessary to clearly state the nature and the extent of the trade, and mention the role of the trader in the business.
Example: there is Ion Ionescu. It’s a common name. We must first put the father’s initials, whose name is Florin. And we will have Ion F. Ionescu. But still, that’s not enough. Ion works in software, and we can put Ion F. Ionescu Software PFA.
Family association
For family association, the name of the business plus the name and signature of family members involved in the trade. The word “family association” is also written in full with the name.
Name structure with legal personality organization
Partnership
- Art. 32. – The company name of a general partnership must include the name of at least one of the partners, with the mention “general partnership”.
- Art. 33. – The signature of a limited partnership must include the name of at least one of the limited partners, with the mention of “limited partnership” written in full.
Domain name for company website
The domain is a 2–3-character group that provides information about a website’s category.
For example, an educational site will end with “edu” while a commercial site will end with”.com”. This also applied to regionally located sites where they end up with a code that represents the code of that country. Romania has “ro” as its domain, “es” is specific to Spain, and “IT” for Italy.
The registration of a domain name grants a right to use that name on the company’s official website. That website is used for publishing various information, presentations, offers, advertisements, or commercial transactions.
The concept of “domain” is defined in Law no. 365/2002 on electronic commerce as “an area of a computer system, owned as such by a person or legal person or a group of persons for processing, storing or transferring data”.
Company name registration Service
Company name registration is included in all our service packages. We do it as the first step in the registration process. See details of company registration in Romania.
