Romania's New eID Card Includes a Free Electronic Signature: What Employers and HR Teams Need to Know

Romania's new electronic identity card (cartea electronică de identitate, or CEI) is more than a replacement for the old paper-laminated ID. Its chip carries a digital certificate for an advanced electronic signature, issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) at no extra cost. Any holder can now sign a PDF from a phone or laptop without buying a separate signature certificate from a commercial provider.

For HR teams that still print, sign, scan and email employment paperwork, this is a practical shift. A growing share of the Romanian workforce now holds a CEI, which means more employees and candidates can sign documents remotely with a signature that Romanian law treats as equivalent to a handwritten one.

The shift has limits, though. An advanced signature is not a qualified signature, it does not replace a notary, and it does not help most of the foreign nationals Romanian employers hire. This guide explains what the CEI signature can and cannot do in an employment and mobility context.

What the CEI signature is

The CEI chip stores digital certificates for authentication and for electronic signature. The signature certificate is issued by the MAI and, under the CEI legislation, is valid for a maximum of five years. When a holder signs a document with it, the signature is linked to their identity and protects the document against later changes.

Romania's electronic signature framework is now set by Law No. 214/2024, which entered into force on 8 October 2024 and replaced Law No. 455/2001. Law 214/2024 aligns Romanian rules with the EU eIDAS Regulation (No. 910/2014) and recognises three levels of electronic signature:

• Simple electronic signature, the most basic form, with limited evidential weight
• Advanced electronic signature, which uniquely identifies the signer and detects any later change to the document
• Qualified electronic signature, an advanced signature created with a qualified device and backed by a qualified certificate from an accredited trust service provider

Under the legislation on the CEI (Government Emergency Ordinance No. 97/2005 on the records, domicile, residence and identity documents of Romanian citizens, as amended), documents signed with the MAI advanced signature certificate have the same legal effect in Romania as documents signed by hand.

How holders sign documents

There are two ways to use the CEI signature.

On a phone, the holder installs ROeID, the official app developed by the Romanian Authority for Digitalisation (ADR). The process is:

• open the PDF signing function in the app and select the document
• enable NFC on the phone if needed
• enter the six-digit CAN code printed on the identity card
• hold the card against the phone so the chip can be read
• enter the six-digit signature PIN set when the card was issued
• confirm and save the signed document

On a computer, the holder needs a card reader compatible with the CEI and the ISO/IEC 7816 standard, built in or connected by USB, plus the free IDPLUGMANAGER application from the MAI HUB portal. The document is then signed in a compatible PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, by selecting the certificate on the card and confirming with the PIN.

No printer, scanner or paid certificate is needed in either case.

Using it for employment contracts

Romania has allowed electronic signature of individual employment contracts since Law No. 208/2021, which approved GEO 36/2021 and amended Article 16 of the Labour Code (Law No. 53/2003). The rules that apply to contracts and addenda signed electronically include the following:

• the contract may be concluded, amended, suspended or terminated using an advanced or qualified electronic signature
• the employer cannot require a candidate or employee to sign electronically; it is the employee's choice
• both parties must use the same type of signature, so one side signing electronically while the other signs by hand is not accepted
• electronically signed documents must carry an electronic timestamp and the employer's qualified electronic seal
• the employer must archive them in line with the rules on electronic archiving
• labour inspectors must accept electronically signed contracts during inspections without asking for paper copies

The CEI makes the employee side of this much easier. Before, a new hire who wanted to sign electronically usually had to buy a certificate. Now any CEI holder already has an advanced signature in their wallet. The employer still has to set up its own side properly: a compatible signature for the company representative, a qualified seal and timestamp, and an electronic archive. Without that, a contract signed by the employee on ROeID is only half done.

Where the CEI signature falls short

The most common mistake is to treat every electronic signature as interchangeable. Several situations call for something different.

• Procedures that require a qualified signature. Some filings with public authorities, including certain tax and trade register procedures, expressly require a qualified electronic signature. The MAI advanced certificate does not meet that requirement.
• Acts that require authentic form. Documents that must be authenticated by a notary, such as a property sale or certain powers of attorney, still need the notary.
• Use outside Romania. The equivalence with a handwritten signature is set by Romanian law. Under eIDAS, only a qualified electronic signature is automatically treated as equivalent to a handwritten signature in every EU member state. For documents used in another country, for example in an intra-group posting or a cross-border assignment, check what the receiving authority or counterparty will accept.
• Foreign documents. A CEI signature does not replace the apostille or consular legalisation that foreign civil status records, diplomas and police certificates need before they can be used in Romanian immigration filings.

What it means for foreign hires

The CEI is issued to Romanian citizens. Non-EU nationals working in Romania hold residence permits issued by the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI), and EU citizens hold registration certificates. Neither gives the holder the free MAI signature certificate.

In practice, employers will likely run two parallel tracks. Romanian employees can sign onboarding documents, addenda and internal declarations with their CEI. Foreign employees will need either a certificate bought from a commercial trust service provider or a handwritten signature. Because the Labour Code requires both parties to use the same type of signature, the employer must be able to handle both tracks for each contract.

The CEI rollout is a useful prompt for HR teams to review their document workflows: which documents must stay on paper, which can move to electronic signature, and which need a qualified rather than an advanced signature.

How Nestlers Group Supports Compliant Onboarding in Romania

Nestlers Group's Payroll and HR Compliance team helps employers set up onboarding workflows that meet the Labour Code rules on electronic contracts. That covers contract and addendum templates, REVISAL registration, the employer-side signature, seal and timestamp requirements, and archiving that will stand up to a labour inspection. Where a workforce mixes Romanian CEI holders and foreign nationals, the team maps which documents each group can sign and how.

For non-EU hires, our Work Permit and Visa Support team prepares and files D/AM1 and D/AM2 applications through WorkinRomania.gov.ro, including the bilingual employment contract required under Order 655/2026. Our Immigration Advisory team checks which foreign documents need an apostille or legalisation before submission, so that what is signed digitally in Romania is not held up by paperwork that still has to come from abroad.

Sources: Law No. 214/2024 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions; Government Emergency Ordinance No. 97/2005 on the records, domicile, residence and identity documents of Romanian citizens, as amended; Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 (eIDAS); Law No. 208/2021 approving Government Emergency Ordinance No. 36/2021 and amending the Labour Code (Law No. 53/2003); the MAI HUB portal and the ROeID application published by the Romanian Authority for Digitalisation; WorkinRomania.gov.ro and Order No. 655/2026 on the bilingual employment contract.