Permits for opening a restaurant in Romania: what you need, in what order
Most of the time lost opening a restaurant in Romania does not go on paperwork itself, but on doing the steps in the wrong order: signing a lease before checking whether the premises can be authorised at all, or waiting on a document that does not exist. This guide puts the permits in the order they are actually obtained, says which are mandatory and which are not, and gives a realistic interval to opening day.
Before any permit: the premises decide
The right order starts before the first application. Premises that cannot be properly connected to utilities, have no separate waste route, or cannot accommodate the required food-handling circuits will not be authorised, however many documents you file.
Check the designated use in the building's paperwork, the utility connections, whether a circuit separating clean from dirty goods is possible and, for a production kitchen, the extraction flue. A consultant or designer who has been through the DSV procedure can tell you in a few hours whether the space is viable.
A lease signed before that check is the most expensive mistake on this list. The rent starts running and the permit may never arrive.
The DSV authorisation — the one that matters most
The sanitary-veterinary authorisation, issued by the Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety Directorate, is the central piece. Without it, the city hall does not issue the operating permit.
It is filed against the activity's CAEN code — 5610 for restaurants — and the authorisation fee for that class is 392 lei. The file generally requires the company documents, the lease, a drawing of the technological flow, proof of waste-collection and pest-control contracts, plus staff training records.
The technological flow is the part people underestimate. It is not a drafting formality: it describes how goods, staff and waste move through the space so that their paths do not cross. If the drawing does not convince, you go back to the premises, not to the paperwork.
DSP checks, but issues no restaurant permit
This is the most widespread confusion. Many people search for a "DSP permit for a restaurant" and cannot find one, because for food service no such authorisation exists.
The Public Health Directorate verifies compliance with hygiene and public health norms and can issue notices or opinions, but the operating permit itself comes from the city hall, on the basis of a file in which DSV plays the leading role.
In practice: do not wait on a document from DSP as a precondition for opening. Make sure instead that the premises and the procedures would survive a DSP inspection, which can arrive any time after you open.
Fire safety
Not every food-service space needs a formal fire-safety authorisation — the threshold depends on floor area, capacity and the building's characteristics. Many small restaurants fall outside the obligation to obtain one.
That does not mean you have no obligations. Fire-protection norms apply regardless: extinguishers checked and in date, an evacuation plan posted, escape routes kept clear, staff trained and the training recorded.
Have a specialist confirm how your specific premises are classified before assuming either way. The difference between "I don't need an authorisation" and "I don't need to comply" is the difference between a fine and a tragedy.
The environmental permit: only above a threshold
For restaurant activity under CAEN code 5610, the environmental permit becomes mandatory only for premises with a capacity of more than 100 seats.
Below that threshold you do not need one — but you remain bound by waste-collection contracts, used cooking oil management and, where applicable, a grease trap. Those are required in the DSV file anyway.
If you are planning a seasonal terrace that pushes the seat count over the threshold in summer, deal with it from the start, not in July.
How long it realistically takes
The procedures that run in parallel — DSV, fire safety where applicable, the other approvals — take around 30 days. The operating permit from the city hall adds roughly another 30 days once your file is complete.
Together, that is about two and a half months from a complete file to legally opening. The interval assumes no requests for corrections, which rarely holds on a first attempt.
Plan your works and your hiring against that interval, not the optimistic one. A restaurant with staff on payroll and rent being paid, waiting on a document, burns money in the worst possible way.
What comes immediately after the permits
A fiscalised cash register connected to ANAF, the ability to take card payments, a menu that meets allergen information obligations, working-hours records for staff. All of these apply from your first day of trading, not from your first inspection.
The part that is easiest to solve if you think about it up front is the system: choose software that covers the till, the digital menu, stock and e-invoicing, and you will not have three suppliers blaming each other when something does not line up.
Regulations change, and requirements differ between city halls and between premises. Use this guide to know what to ask, not as a final checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a DSP permit for restaurants in Romania?
No. For food service the Public Health Directorate does not issue an operating authorisation. DSP verifies hygiene compliance, but the operating permit comes from the city hall, and the central document in that file is the sanitary-veterinary authorisation from DSV.
How much does the DSV authorisation cost?
The authorisation fee for activities under CAEN code 5610 Restaurants is 392 lei. On top of that come the file's own costs: the technological flow drawing, waste-collection and pest-control contracts, and staff training.
Do I need an environmental permit for a restaurant?
Only if the premises have a capacity of more than 100 seats. Below that threshold it is not mandatory, but obligations on waste collection, used cooking oil and a grease trap still apply.
How long until I can legally open?
The parallel procedures at DSV, fire safety and the other institutions take roughly 30 days, and the city hall's operating permit another 30 or so — about two and a half months in total, if no corrections are requested.
What comes first, the lease or the permits?
Checking the premises. A space that cannot be authorised does not become authorisable through paperwork, and the rent runs from the day you sign. Check the designated use, the utilities, whether separate circuits are possible and the extraction before signing.