National Union of Bar Associations of Romania – UNBR*

The recognition of the professional title of lawyer obtained abroad is carried out in accordance with Directive 98/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 to facilitate the permanent practice of the profession of lawyer in a Member State other than that in which the qualification was obtained as transposed into draw no. 51/1995 (art. 13, 90-105) and the Statute of the legal profession.

Foreign lawyers submit a standard application (http://www.unbr.ro/pagina-internationala/avocati-straini/) accompanied by the documents indicated in the Necessary Documents section, namely:

a) signed curriculum vitae;

b) passport-sized photo;

c) passport;

d) certificate (attestation) issued by the professional body or, as the case may be, by the public authority of the state whose citizen the applicant is, or, as the case may be, where he/she has residence or professional headquarters,

e) diploma issued by a university or university college, certifying the completion by the holder of a higher education cycle with a minimum duration of 3 years,

f) certificate of good standing issued by the competent professional authorities or a statement made before a competent authority in the applicant’s home or origin state,

g) declaration on the applicant’s own responsibility, representing his/her commitment not to carry out in Romania other activities apart from those of a lawyer or activities compatible with worthy exercising the legal profession;

In case of approval of the application by the Permanent Commission, the petitioner will be able to pick up the endorsement from the headquarters of the National Union of Romanian Bars - UNBR from the Palace of Justice, Splaiul Independenței no. 5 Sector 5 – Bucharest, (http://www.unbr.ro/contact/) only after completing the following formalities:

1) submission of the standard application in original and the documents provided at points a) and b)

2) submission of copies of the documents provided at points d), e) and f), with the original legalization made in the respective state and with an authorized translation into Romanian (made by a public notary from Romania or abroad), both within 3 months from the date of their issuance;

3) submission of the declaration from point g), given at a notary in Romania or at a Consular Office of Romania abroad;

4) payment into the account of the National Union of Romanian Bars of the amount of 3,000 lei (IBAN code: RO30BRDE410SV21199534100 B.R.D. - Academia Branch).

Based on the endorsement, the foreign lawyer can register for the examination to verify knowledge of Romanian law and the Romanian language (for those who have chosen this option) or can register on the roll of the bar in Romania where he/she has chosen to exercise the profession (those who have chosen the 3-year internship or have not opted to practice in Romanian law).

Those who have chosen the 3-year internship acquire the right to practice the profession only after completing the internship.

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Registration for the entrance exam to the legal profession (for obtaining the professional title of trainee lawyer) and for admission to the legal profession of persons who have passed the final exam in other legal professions (art. 17 of Law no. 51/1995 for the organization and exercise of the legal profession) is done by submitting a standard application by the person wishing to be admitted to the profession at the bar where he/she intends to practice.

The exam is held within the National Institute for the Training and Improvement of Lawyers (INPPA).

Registration for the exam is done on the basis of an examination regulation adopted by the UNBR Council, together with the date, assessment center, methodology, examination schedule, registration fee, topics, and bibliography, which will be announced in a widely circulated newspaper and on the UNBR (www.unbr.ro) and INPPA (www.inppa.ro) websites, at least 60 days before the date set for the exam.

The other details regarding the organization and conduct of the exam are included in the Examination Regulation.

IMPORTANT! According to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the UNBR no. 443 of 12 February 2026, the next session of the examination for testing knowledge of Romanian law and the Romanian language for foreign lawyers, registered in the Special Tables of Foreign Lawyers of the Bar Associations, in order to acquire the right to provide legal assistance in Romanian law, will take place on 7 and 8 May 2026, at the headquarters of the National Union of Bar Associations of Romania, in Bucharest, Sector 5, Splaiul Independenței no. 5. Standard registration applications can be submitted up to a maximum of 10 days before the date of the exam.

The examination for testing knowledge of Romanian law and the Romanian language for foreign lawyers, registered in the Special Tables of Foreign Lawyers of the Bar Associations, in order to acquire the right to provide legal assistance in Romanian law, is organized in accordance with the provisions of art. 13 para. (2) and art. 67 para. (1) letter a) and para. (3), 94 para. (2) and (3) of Law no. 51/1995 on the organization and practice of the legal profession, art. 32 letters f) and i) of the Regulation on the organization and functioning of the N.U.B.A. and the conduct of the meetings of the Council of the N.U.B.A., and Annex XXXI of the Statute of the Legal Profession (Methodology for the certification of the qualification of lawyer for registration in the table of a bar in Romania in the cases provided for in art. 13 and in chap. VII of Law no. 51/1995 for the organization and practice of the legal profession).

The examination is organized by the Standing Committee of the National Union of Bar Associations of Romania (UNBR), headquartered in the Palace of Justice, Splaiul Independenței no. 5, Sector 5 – Bucharest (https://www.unbr.ro/contact/), which decides depending on the number of foreign lawyers who have opted for this modality, and who have previously obtained the prior consent of the Standing Committee of the UNBR regarding the certification of the qualification of lawyer for registration in the bar.

Through the examination, knowledge of theory and practice in the application of Romanian law is tested by taking an exam that consists of written and oral tests, in Romanian, as follows:

a). written multiple-choice exam in the following subjects:
- organization and practice of the legal profession;
- civil law
- civil procedure law
- criminal law
- criminal procedure law;
b). oral exam, in the subjects of civil law, criminal law, and Romanian language knowledge.

The topics and bibliography for the exam are those provided in the REGULATION regarding the examination for testing knowledge of Romanian law and the Romanian language for foreign lawyers who request the right to provide legal assistance in Romanian law (Annex no. 2 to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the UNBR no. 443 of 12 February 2026), which was adopted and published 60 days before the start date of the exam.

The registration fee for the exam is 6500 lei and is paid into the UNBR account IBAN Code: RO30BRDE410SV21199534100 B.R.D. - Academiei Branch. The exam fee is set by the Examination Regulation, so it may differ from one exam to another.

Application forms are standardized and may be submitted only during the period between the publication date of the exam on the UNBR website and up to 10 days before the exam date at the UNBR headquarters, accompanied by a copy of the prior consent issued by the UNBR.

To pass the exam, the candidate must obtain an average grade of at least 7 (seven), provided that for each test, written or oral, the grade obtained is at least 6 (six).