CNP in Romania for foreigners: what it is, how to get one and where to find it

The CNP (cod numeric personal, personal numeric code) is the 13-digit number Romanian institutions use to identify a person in their records. Romanian citizens receive one at birth. Foreigners receive one from the General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) once they hold certain residence rights. This guide sets out what the primary texts say as of 14 October 2026.

What the 13 digits mean

The methodological norms approved by Government Decision (HG) 1375/2006 describe the CNP in Article 14. According to that text, the number has three parts, written as S AA LL ZZ JJ NNN C:

• S, one digit for sex and century of birth. The norms list 1 and 2 for men and women born 1900-1999, 3 and 4 for 1800-1899, and 5 and 6 for 2000-2099.
• AA LL ZZ, the date of birth: last two digits of the year, then month, then day.
• JJ, a code for the county or Bucharest sector where the person was born, or where they had their domicile or residence when the CNP was assigned.
• NNN, a serial number from 001 to 999 that separates people of the same sex born in the same place on the same day.
• C, a check digit. The norms say only that it is “assigned by computer” to catch swapped or replaced digits.

For foreigners, the first digit works differently. The norms implementing Law 122/2006 on asylum (HG 1251/2006, Annex 3) say the CNP on the identity document of refugees and people with subsidiary protection has 13 digits, “the first digit being 7 or 8, depending on the holder’s sex”. The same 7 (male) and 8 (female) convention is widely reported for other foreign residents. The official texts reviewed for this guide do not spell it out for ordinary residence permits, and none of them mentions a digit 9.

The JJ county code has also changed for new Romanian births. In a statement of 11 May 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) said that CNPs generated automatically by the new civil-status IT system (SIIEASC) carry “the single code 70 for any registration”, whatever the county of birth. So the county digits no longer reliably show where someone was born.

A purely fictional example shows the layout: 7 90 01 15 40 001 C. Here 7 means a male foreign resident, 900115 means a birth date of 15 January 1990, 40 is a placeholder county code, 001 is the serial, and C stands for the check digit. The number belongs to no one and is deliberately left incomplete. Its check digit is not worked out here, because the official norms do not publish the calculation.

How a foreigner gets a CNP

Non-EU nationals with a residence permit. Article 144^1(1) of Government Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 194/2002 on foreigners says IGI assigns a CNP to every foreigner whose temporary right of stay has been extended, or who has been granted long-term stay. The CNP is printed on the residence permit. The article does not distinguish by purpose of stay, so it applies equally to workers, students and family members once their right of stay is extended.

Workers on the new work visas. OUG 32/2026, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 335 of 27 April 2026, added paragraph (1^1) to the same article. Under it, foreigners granted a D/AM1 or D/AM2 long-stay work visa, or a long-stay visa for posting, receive a CNP from IGI. Romanian consulates write it on the visa sticker. These workers therefore get a CNP before they apply for a residence permit.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. Article 41(1) of OUG 102/2005 on free movement says every EU citizen and family member registered by the immigration authority receives a CNP, recorded on the document that proves residence in Romania. Under Article 41(2), cross-border workers covered by Regulation (EC) 883/2004 receive a CNP without being issued a residence document.

Short-stay visitors and other cases. Short-stay visitors are not given a CNP automatically. Article 144^1(2) of OUG 194/2002 allows the immigration authority to assign one to a foreigner without a right of stay, but only at the justified request of a public institution and only with the foreigner’s express consent. Article 144^1(3) allows a CNP, on request, for tolerated persons, and HG 898/2011 says asylum seekers’ temporary identity documents carry a CNP only where Law 122/2006 provides for it.

Where to find it

HG 898/2011 sets the content of the residence permit card. After its amendment by HG 363/2021, Annex 1 puts the CNP assigned by IGI in the “Remarks” (Observații) field on the front of the card, next to the purpose of stay or the right to work. The back carries the Romanian address, the place of birth and the machine-readable zone. For EU citizens, the CNP is on the residence document issued under OUG 102/2005. For D/AM1, D/AM2 and posting visa holders, it is on the visa sticker.

What it is used for

Article 108 of OUG 194/2002 says the residence permit proves the holder’s identity and address and attests the right of stay. In tax matters, an ANAF regional guidance document citing Article 82 of the Fiscal Procedure Code (Law 207/2015) explains that a non-resident who owes taxes or contributions in Romania and has no CNP is registered under a fiscal identification number (NIF) instead. The same ANAF guidance says that when a non-resident without a CNP opens a bank account, the bank asks the tax authority to assign a NIF (Article 83(4) of the code). It adds that company founders, shareholders or directors without a CNP get a NIF through the trade register.

When there is no CNP yet: the NIF

The ANAF guidance says a NIF is requested on form 030, the fiscal registration declaration for individuals without a CNP. The form is approved by ANAF Order 1699/2021, and ANAF Order 15/2026, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 17 of 14 January 2026, replaced its model. According to the same guidance, the form is filed on paper at the tax office, by registered post, or electronically through ANAF’s Virtual Private Space. It is filed with a copy of the passport (or the national ID card for EU citizens) and a document showing why the NIF is needed, such as an employment contract. Documents in a foreign language must come with certified Romanian translations.

For employees, the ANAF guidance says a non-resident hired on an employment contract is registered through the employer, who files for a NIF until IGI issues a document assigning a CNP. Once that document exists, the tax authority replaces the NIF with the CNP in its records, based on a form 030 or 700 filed by the employer. The guidance says a late form 030 can bring a fine of 500 to 1,000 lei.

Header photo: Legal Contract & Signature – Warm Tones by Blogtrepreneur, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.

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