Bucharest, April 2026 — Romania opened 2026 with a striking acceleration in new business activity. The first quarter of 2026 — January through March — recorded a combined 38,652 total registrations , compared to 33,386 across the same three months in 2025 — a year-on-year increase of roughly 15.8% for the quarter as a whole. The headline growth, however, masks important structural shifts: a dramatic reorientation toward sole-trader formations, a cooling in incorporated company (SRL) registrations, and an ecosystem where business exits continue to exceed new entries every month.

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A Quarter of Three Acts: January Surges, February Consolidates, March Peaks

The quarter unfolded in a clear ascending pattern. January 2026 came in at 11,075 registrations , up 27.7% year-on-year — the sharpest YoY gain of the quarter. February climbed to 13,139 , a more moderate 8.6% above February 2025 . March rounded out the quarter with 14,438 registrations , a 14.5% year-on-year gain and the single highest monthly total for the period.

This January–March ramp-up is not unusual — Q1 typically follows a seasonal curve as entrepreneurs who deferred formations over the December holiday period file at the start of the new calendar year, with activity accelerating as the quarter progresses. What makes Q1 2026 distinct is that the absolute volumes in January, February, and March all exceeded their 2025 counterparts, and the March figure of 14,438 compares favourably against the 12-month moving average of 13,229 , suggesting momentum above the recent trend line.

For context, the 12-month moving average itself has been rising: it stood at 12,990 in January , edged up to 13,077 in February , and reached 13,229 by March — a steady upward drift compared to the same moving average of 10,098 recorded in March 2025 . That long-run acceleration points to a genuine structural lift in formation activity, not merely a one-month spike.

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The PFA Revolution: The Quarter’s Defining Structural Story

No trend defined Q1 2026 more clearly than the explosive growth of PFA (Persoană Fizică Autorizată — authorised natural person) registrations. Across each month of the quarter, PFA formations surged dramatically year-on-year:

• January 2026: 4,455 PFAs vs. 2,319 in January 2025 — +92.1%
• February 2026: 5,495 PFAs vs. 3,289 in February 2025 — +67.1%
• March 2026: 5,806 PFAs vs. 3,591 in March 2025 — +61.7%

By March, PFA registrations accounted for 40.2% of all monthly registrations, up from 28.5% in March 2025. This shift reflects a structural reorientation rather than a coincidental blip — it is consistent across all three months and is accelerating. The PFA model, which carries lower administrative and capital requirements than the limited liability SRL format, appears to be attracting entrepreneurs, freelancers, and service providers at a markedly higher rate than in the prior year.

This PFA surge comes alongside a concurrent softening in SRL (Societate cu Răspundere Limitată) formations. In January 2026, SRL registrations grew modestly — 6,264 compared to 5,994 in January 2025, a gain of just 4.5% . In February and March, SRLs actually declined year-on-year: February saw 7,032 SRLs vs. 8,301 a year prior (−15.3%) , and March recorded 7,932 vs. 8,511 (−6.8%) . The aggregate picture, therefore, is one in which the headline growth in total registrations is almost entirely a PFA story: the formal incorporated entity market is actually contracting slightly while sole-trader activity expands sharply.

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Industry Trends: Transport and Manufacturing Lead; Retail Softens

Across the quarter, Transport and Storage maintained its position as Romania’s most active sector for new registrations. January brought 2,045 transport-related formations , rising to 2,396 in February and 2,419 in March . The March total represents a 41.5% increase over March 2025 , and January’s gain of 45.3% was similarly pronounced. Transport has now displaced the traditionally dominant Retail and Trade sector as the top formation category — a noteworthy reordering.

Manufacturing (Industria Prelucrătoare) delivered some of the most striking growth rates of the quarter. January’s 672 registrations represented a 94.8% year-on-year increase . February’s 800 entries were 46.8% above the prior year , and March’s 798 came in 54.4% higher . While these absolute numbers remain modest relative to service sectors, the consistent triple-digit and near-triple-digit growth across all three months is notable. Agriculture also exhibited strong momentum: March’s 403 formations were up nearly 49.8% YoY .

By contrast, Wholesale and Retail Trade — historically Romania’s top sector — posted declines in February (−19.3% YoY) and March (−11.5% YoY) . Real estate showed a similar pattern, with March registrations down 5.4% year-on-year . Health and Social Assistance also cooled, declining 20.7% in March .

IT and Communications remained a consistent growth sector across the quarter, with January recording a particularly strong +65.9% YoY gain , though the pace moderated to +14.1% in February and +21.5% in March . Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities grew consistently in all three months, reinforcing a pattern of service-sector breadth.

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Regional Picture: Capital Region Leads, Growth Spreads Outward

Bucharest remained the undisputed epicentre of new business formation. In January, the capital recorded 2,706 registrations , surging 54.8% above January 2025 . February held steady at 2,730 , and March climbed to 3,578 , up 16.8% year-on-year .

Ilfov — Bucharest’s suburban ring — continued to rank second nationally, with March registrations of 980 , up 21.6% from a year earlier . The Bucharest-Ilfov corridor together accounted for a significant portion of total national activity.

Beyond the capital, the growth was notably broad-based in Q1. Timiș grew 34.7% in March , Iași was up 32.4% , and Argeș rose 33.8% . Smaller counties such as Olt posted even more striking rates — +41.4% in March — though from a lower base. The geographic spread of growth beyond the traditional urban hubs is a structurally positive signal.

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The Ecosystem Challenge: Exits Still Outpace Entries

The registration surge must be read alongside a sobering picture on the business exit side. In all three months of Q1 2026, total business exits — combining suspensions, dissolutions, and deregistrations — exceeded new registrations, resulting in negative net growth each month.

Month	Registrations	Total Exits	Net Growth	Health Ratio
January 2026	11,075	13,761	−2,686	0.80
February 2026	13,139	13,258	−119	0.99
March 2026	14,438	15,609	−1,171	0.92

(Sources: get_business_ecosystem_health for each month’s registrations, total_exits, net_growth, health_ratio)

February came closest to balance, with a health ratio of 0.99 — effectively a near-equilibrium between entries and exits. January was the weakest month, with a health ratio of just 0.80 and exits exceeding registrations by 2,686 .

The composition of those exits also shifted meaningfully year-on-year. Dissolutions — a more formal and typically irreversible termination — increased sharply. January 2026 saw 5,403 dissolutions , up 51.6% from January 2025’s 3,564 . February’s 5,663 dissolutions were 30.8% above the prior year . March’s 5,295 were up a more moderate 11.6% , suggesting the dissolution wave may be moderating.

Deregistrations — the final removal from the trade register — remained elevated but broadly stable year-on-year: January’s 6,312 were essentially flat versus 2025’s 6,327 ; March’s 8,743 represented only a 2.7% increase . On the positive side, suspensions declined in March 2026 — falling 8.7% year-on-year to 1,571 — which, if it reflects a genuine improvement in business viability, is an encouraging sign heading into Q2.

It is worth noting that high deregistration volumes in Q1 often reflect administrative clearances of dormant or shell companies that had been inactive for extended periods, rather than acute business failures — a distinction that matters when interpreting churn data.

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Year-on-Year Summary: A Quarter of Genuine but Uneven Growth

Comparing Q1 2026 directly against Q1 2025, the headline message is clear growth — 38,652 total registrations versus 33,386, a +15.8% increase. Yet within that headline, the picture is nuanced:

• PFA formations drove the vast majority of the year-on-year gain, roughly doubling in January and rising by two-thirds or more across February and March.
• SRL registrations — the more capital-intensive limited liability format — declined in February and March relative to Q1 2025, though January held modest gains.
• The business exit environment worsened slightly year-on-year in Q1 2026, with dissolution volumes rising notably in January and February. The churn rate across each month of 2025’s Q1 — 133.7% in January 2025 , 100.0% in February 2025 , and 118.8% in March 2025 — was not dramatically better than Q1 2026’s figures, confirming that Romania’s business ecosystem has consistently operated with exits outpacing entries for some time.

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Conclusion: Growth, But With Caveats

Romania’s first quarter of 2026 produced its highest registration volumes in recent years, with meaningful year-on-year gains across all three months and a 12-month moving average continuing to trend upward. The geographic spread of growth — from Bucharest and Ilfov to Timiș, Iași, Argeș, and beyond — adds breadth to the headline numbers. Strong momentum in transport, manufacturing, IT, and professional services points to a diversifying sectoral base.

The key structural caveat is that total new formations across the quarter remained dominated by the PFA format, raising questions about the depth of capital commitment involved in the new-formation surge. The simultaneous decline in SRL registrations suggests that formal corporate entrepreneurship is not keeping pace with the PFA wave. Meanwhile, the persistent negative net growth — exits outpacing registrations in every month — confirms that Romania’s business register continues to undergo significant churn, as older and dormant entities are cleared while new, primarily sole-trader registrations fill the pipeline.

Taken together, Q1 2026 tells a story of genuine, broad-based expansion in new business formation — but one whose long-term significance will depend on whether the PFA-driven growth translates into durable economic activity and whether the elevated pace of business exits moderates in the quarters ahead.