Bucharest, December 2025 - Romania’s business registration landscape underwent a significant transformation in December 2025, with entrepreneurs showing a clear preference for simpler, more flexible business structures over traditional corporate forms. The data reveals a dramatic year-over-year surge in registrations, particularly for individual enterprises and limited liability companies, signaling a fundamental shift in how Romanians approach entrepreneurship.

PFA Registrations More Than Double Year-Over-Year

The most striking trend in December 2025 was the explosive growth of PFA (Persoană Fizică Autorizată) registrations, which more than doubled compared to December 2024. Romania recorded 3,650 PFA registrations in December 2025, representing a staggering 108.93% increase from the 1,747 registrations in the same month last year .

This surge in PFA registrations suggests entrepreneurs are increasingly opting for the simplicity and flexibility of individual authorized persons, particularly in service-oriented sectors. The PFA structure offers reduced administrative burden and tax advantages for small-scale operations, making it attractive for freelancers, consultants, and small service providers.

SRL Remains Dominant but Shows Slower Growth

Limited liability companies (SRL) continued to dominate the business landscape, accounting for 7,629 registrations in December 2025 . While this represents a solid 27.4% year-over-year increase from 5,988 registrations in December 2024, the growth rate was significantly lower than that of PFAs.

The SRL structure remains popular for businesses requiring limited liability protection and the ability to scale operations. However, the slower growth rate compared to PFAs indicates entrepreneurs may be weighing the administrative complexity of SRLs against their benefits, particularly for smaller ventures.

Individual Enterprises and Other Structures Show Mixed Trends

Individual enterprises (II) showed strong growth with 307 registrations in December 2025, up 67.76% from 183 in December 2024. This suggests continued interest in simple business structures for individual entrepreneurs.

However, more complex corporate structures showed less favorable trends:

• Individual firms (IF) declined by 19.35% year-over-year
• Commercial companies (CA) dropped by 42.86%
• Joint-stock companies (SA) showed modest 12.5% growth but remained rare with only 9 registrations

Regional Variations in Entity Preferences

The data reveals significant regional differences in entity type preferences. In Cluj County, which recorded 683 total registrations in December 2025, SRLs accounted for 461 registrations (67.5%) while PFAs represented 215 registrations (31.5%) . This suggests that in more developed economic regions like Cluj, entrepreneurs still favor the corporate structure of SRLs for their businesses.

The top counties by registration volume showed strong growth across the board:

• Bucharest: 2,683 registrations (+16.6% YoY)
• Cluj: 683 registrations (+64.58% YoY)
• Iași: 513 registrations (+95.06% YoY)
• Timiș: 595 registrations (+67.13% YoY)

Industry-Specific Entity Preferences

The industry breakdown reveals how entity type preferences vary by sector. The top industries for December 2025 were:

1. Transport and storage: 1,832 registrations (+55.78% YoY)
2. Wholesale and retail trade: 1,621 registrations (+3.25% YoY)
3. Professional, scientific, and technical activities: 1,088 registrations (+36.68% YoY)
4. Information and communications: 1,079 registrations (+59.85% YoY)
5. Manufacturing: 1,018 registrations (+226.28% YoY)

The manufacturing sector showed the most dramatic growth at 226.28% year-over-year, suggesting a potential resurgence in production activities. This sector likely favors SRL structures for liability protection and investment purposes.

Business Ecosystem Context: High Churn Rate

While registrations showed strong growth, the business ecosystem data reveals a challenging environment. December 2025 saw 11,632 new registrations but 15,924 business exits , resulting in negative net growth of -4,292 businesses.

The churn rate reached 136.9%, meaning for every 100 new businesses registered, approximately 137 businesses exited the market. This high turnover rate may explain the preference for simpler entity structures like PFAs, which are easier and less costly to establish and dissolve.

Moving Average Shows Stabilizing Trend

The 12-month moving average for business registrations stood at 12,790 in December 2025, slightly above the current month’s 11,632 registrations . This suggests that while December showed strong year-over-year growth, the overall trend remains relatively stable.

Conclusion: A Shift Toward Entrepreneurial Flexibility

The December 2025 data paints a picture of a Romanian business landscape undergoing significant transformation. Entrepreneurs are increasingly opting for simpler, more flexible business structures, with PFA registrations more than doubling year-over-year. This trend suggests a growing preference for low-overhead, agile business models that can adapt quickly to market conditions.

While SRLs remain the dominant entity type, their slower growth rate compared to PFAs indicates entrepreneurs are carefully weighing the trade-offs between corporate protection and administrative simplicity. The dramatic growth in manufacturing registrations and the continued strength of service sectors point to a diversified economic landscape where different entity structures serve different needs.

The high business churn rate underscores the challenging environment facing Romanian entrepreneurs, making the flexibility and lower costs of simpler entity structures particularly attractive. As the business landscape continues to evolve, these trends in entity structure preferences will likely shape Romania’s entrepreneurial ecosystem for years to come.