Romania's Business Register, Q4 2025–Q1 2026: A Turning Quarter
Registration Volumes Climb as the Ecosystem Edges Back Toward Balance
The three-month window stretching from December 2025 through February 2026 tells a story of gathering momentum. Total company registrations across the quarter rose meaningfully compared to the same period a year earlier, exit volumes declined relative to prior benchmarks, and the business ecosystem’s health ratio — measuring new registrations against total exits — improved with each successive month. Beneath these broad headlines, however, a structural shift in how Romanians choose to formalize their businesses is quietly reshaping the composition of the national register.
Quarter at a Glance
Romania recorded 11,632 registrations in December 2025 , 11,075 in January 2026 , and 13,139 in February 2026 , for a combined quarterly total of 35,846 registrations. The equivalent period a year earlier — December 2024 through February 2025 — produced only 28,648 registrations (7,974 + 8,675 + 12,099), representing a quarter-on-quarter year-over-year increase of roughly 25%.
The monthly trajectory within the quarter follows a recognisable seasonal arc. December tends to see moderately elevated activity as entrepreneurs finalise filings ahead of the year-end. January typically dips as administrative capacity and entrepreneurial energy both pause after the holiday period. February then rebounds sharply, benefiting from renewed momentum and a slightly longer effective working month. This pattern held true in the current quarter, and the year-over-year gains were visible in all three months — though the magnitude of improvement varied considerably.
December 2025’s +45.9% gain over December 2024 was the most striking, partly reflecting how depressed December 2024 had been. January 2026 posted a robust +27.7% year-over-year increase , and February 2026 added a further +8.6% over February 2025 — a more moderate but still positive result against a prior-year month that had itself been relatively strong.
The Structural Shift: PFAs Surge, SRLs Retreat
The most consequential development within this quarter is not in total volumes, but in the composition of what is being registered. Across all three months, Persoane Fizice Autorizate (PFAs — sole trader/self-employed authorisations) have surged dramatically year-over-year, while Societăți cu Răspundere Limitată (SRLs — limited liability companies) have declined or grown only modestly.
In February 2026, PFA registrations reached 5,495 — a +67.1% increase over February 2025’s 3,289 . January 2026’s PFA tally was 4,455, up an extraordinary +92.1% year-over-year . December 2025 had similarly seen PFA registrations jump +108.9% compared to December 2024 .
By contrast, SRL formations have moved in the opposite direction or remained flat. In February 2026, SRL registrations fell to 7,032 — a -15.3% decline from February 2025’s 8,301 . January 2026 SRLs were only marginally higher year-on-year (+4.5%), while December 2025 SRLs did post a solid +27.4% gain over the low December 2024 baseline.
This shift is significant. PFAs require lower administrative costs and capital, and historically attract freelancers, micro-entrepreneurs, and individuals entering the labour market through self-employment. The sharp pivot toward PFA formation suggests that much of the new entrepreneurial activity in this quarter involves smaller-scale, individual ventures rather than formally capitalised companies. Whether this reflects changing tax incentives, a growth in gig-economy or freelance activity, or regulatory changes affecting PFA accessibility would require additional contextual data to determine — but the trend is consistent across all three months and represents a fundamental change from the prior year’s composition.
| Entity Type | Dec 2024 | Dec 2025 | Jan 2025 | Jan 2026 | Feb 2025 | Feb 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRL | 5,988 | 7,629 | 5,994 | 6,264 | 8,301 | 7,032 |
| PFA | 1,747 | 3,650 | 2,319 | 4,455 | 3,289 | 5,495 |
| II | 183 | 307 | 326 | 306 | 450 | 563 |
Business Exits: A Meaningful Improvement
The registration side of the ledger only tells half the story. The quarterly picture becomes considerably more nuanced — and more encouraging — when business lifecycle exits are brought into view.
December 2025 recorded 15,924 total business exits (suspensions + dissolutions + deregistrations), producing a churn rate of 136.9 — meaning exits outpaced registrations by roughly 37%. However, this represented a dramatic improvement over December 2024, which had produced 15,732 exits against only 7,974 registrations, for a punishing churn rate of 197.3 .
January 2026 followed a similar pattern: 13,761 exits against 11,075 registrations, a churn rate of 124.3 , down from January 2025’s 133.7 . Then February 2026 delivered the quarter’s most significant signal: 13,258 exits versus 13,139 registrations, for a churn rate of almost exactly 100.9 . The business ecosystem effectively reached near-equilibrium for the first time in months. A health ratio of 0.99 means exits barely outnumber entries — a stark contrast with December 2024’s 0.51 ratio .
The composition of exits also shifted. In January and February 2026, dissolutions rose notably year-over-year (+51.6% and +30.8% respectively), while deregistrations — often reflecting the removal of older dormant entities — held roughly flat or declined slightly. Rising dissolutions can indicate that companies which had been trading through the prior period are now choosing to formally wind down, potentially reflecting cleaner business register maintenance rather than acute economic distress.
Industry Trends: Transport Leads, Commerce Cools
Transport and storage (Transporturi și depozitare) claimed the top spot in both January and February 2026, posting 2,045 and 2,396 registrations respectively . Year-over-year, the sector’s February 2026 figure represented a +33.8% gain over February 2025 . Transport has been a consistent driver of new registrations in Romania for several years, reflecting both the country’s growing role as a European logistics hub and a continuing influx of PFA-registered drivers into the sector.
Wholesale and retail trade — historically Romania’s largest registration category — fell to second place in February 2026 with 1,811 registrations, a -19.3% decline from February 2025’s 2,244 . This cooling is notable given the overall upswing in total registrations and may partly reflect the sectoral migration of activity toward transport and professional services.
Manufacturing (Industria prelucrătoare) stands out as a positive surprise, recording 800 registrations in February 2026 — a +46.8% year-over-year increase . Information technology and communications (IT&C) also grew, reaching 1,026 registrations in February (+14.1% YoY), consolidating Romania’s position as a destination for tech entrepreneurship. Professional, scientific and technical activities added a further 1,391 registrations in February (+8.5% YoY).
Cultural and recreational activities recorded a +34.4% YoY increase in February 2026 , while financial intermediation grew +36.2% , though both sectors remain comparatively small in absolute terms.
Regional Picture: Broad-Based Growth with Secondary Cities Standing Out
Bucharest continued to dominate registration volumes, recording 2,730 registrations in February 2026 and 2,706 in January 2026 , maintaining its position as the country’s principal hub for new business formation. Ilfov, Cluj, and Timiș followed as the next largest counties.
What is particularly notable this quarter is the growth recorded in secondary cities and regions. Vâlcea posted a +50.4% year-over-year gain in February , Sibiu +45.6% , and Dolj +39.5% . In January, Galați recorded a remarkable +119.3% year-over-year jump , and Constanța grew +59.6% in the same month . While individual monthly figures can be volatile for smaller counties, the breadth of growth across multiple non-capital regions suggests that the registration upswing is not confined to Bucharest and its metropolitan area.
The 12-Month Moving Average: A Steadily Rising Baseline
One of the clearest signals of structural improvement is the steady ascent of the 12-month moving average. By February 2026, the moving average reached 13,077 registrations per month , up from 12,990 in January 2026 and 12,790 in December 2025 . Each month of the quarter pushed the long-run average slightly higher, confirming that the recent gains are not simply noise but are lifting the underlying trend.
It is worth noting that February 2026’s actual reading of 13,139 registrations sits fractionally above the 12-month average — a relatively rare occurrence for a February, a month that has historically underperformed the annual mean.
Summary Assessment
The December 2025–February 2026 quarter presents a picture of measured but genuine improvement in Romanian business formation activity. Registration volumes are substantially higher than a year ago across all three months. The business ecosystem’s churn rate — which had been deeply negative through much of 2024 and early 2025 — has moved progressively toward balance, with February 2026 achieving near-parity between entries and exits for the first time in the observable trend. The 12-month moving average has risen consistently, suggesting the improvement has duration.
The major caveat is structural rather than cyclical. The growth in total registrations is being driven predominantly by PFA formations rather than SRL incorporations. PFAs represent a lighter form of business formalisation, and their proliferation, while positive for labour market participation and economic inclusion, differs in character from the expansion of limited-liability company formation, which typically signals more capital-intensive entrepreneurial activity. The simultaneous decline in SRL registrations in February — even as the overall count rose — is a trend worth monitoring in subsequent quarters.
On balance, Romania’s business register closed the first quarter of calendar 2026 in a notably healthier position than it entered the previous winter, with rising registrations, improving ecosystem ratios, broad-based regional growth, and a manufacturing sector showing unexpected momentum.