Have you ever wondered about the differences and similarities between CNP (Personal Identification Code) and NIF (Tax Identification Number) in Romania?

According to Romanian law, in order to carry out any commercial activity as an individual, it is necessary to be registered for tax purposes. In this context, there are three main types of identification numbers in Romania, each with their own particularities: the CNP assigned to Romanian citizens, the CNP for foreign citizens residing in Romania and the NIF issued by the tax authorities. Although the CNP and NIF identify people for administrative and tax purposes, they have distinct uses.

CNP for Romanian citizens

The personal identification number (CNP) is assigned to Romanian citizens and starts with 1 or 2 for those born between 1900-1999, and for those born between 2000-2099 it starts with 5 or 6.

CNP for foreign citizens residing in Romania

The CNP number is assigned to foreign citizens with the right of residence in Romania and starts with 7 or 8.

The NIF issued by the Tax Authorities

The NIF is the code that is issued by the Romanian Tax Authority and they usually start with 9.

Did you know that the Romanian CNP number is not randomly assigned to you and, in fact, you can read it?

The first digit of the CNP number indicates the gender of a person: 1, 5, 7 are issued for males, and 2, 6, 8 are issued for females.

The next two digits are usually your year of birth (ex: if your CNP number starts with 288 it means you are a female born in 1988).

The next two digits represent the month in which you were born, and the other two digits indicate the day.

The eighth and ninth digits represent the county in which you were born or, for foreign citizens, the county in which you were first enrolled. Each county has a specific code (ex: Bucharest has 40, District 1 in Bucharest has 41, District 2 is 42).

The next three digits are randomly allocated, and the last digit is a control digit.

There is a mathematical formula by which the validity of CNP can be verified. Most online systems in Romania make these calculations automatically and they issue a response on whether the CNP number is correct or not. The above-mentioned criteria for checking CNP numbers apply to Romanian citizens as well as to CNP numbers issued by the Immigration Authority (IGI). For numbers issued by the tax authority, for example NIF numbers, these rules are not applicable. The numbers issued by the tax authority start with the number 9 and are followed by several zeros, followed by the details of the person who holds the NIF number.

How can you identify your NIF number and how does it differ from a CNP number?

First of all, the NIF number is issued by the Romanian Tax Authorities (ANAF) and is usually issued for foreign citizens who do not have the right to live in Romania, but want to carry out economic activities. For example, they might want to buy property or they need to obtain a digital signature, but they don’t want to actually live in Romania long-term. Secondly, for the NIF number, you will need a tax curator, basically a proxy who is a Romanian citizen, a foreign citizen residing in Romania or even a Romanian company, and this person will guarantee that you will pay all your taxes in Romania.

For foreign citizens residing in Romania who receive the CNP from the General Inspectorate for Immigration, they do not need a legal curator or a tax curator or someone who will be responsible for their taxes. On the other hand, non-resident foreign citizens, who need the NIF number, will need the tax curator.

Another difference is that the CNP number is usually issued by the Immigration Authority (IGI) and has a certain validity even for Romanian citizens, as identity cards have a determined validity. This applies for the residency papers, themselves, not for the code CNP, which is offered for life. For example, even Romanians have ID cards with a certain expiration period. But for NIF numbers, the tax authority issues it and it has no validity period. There is a hierarchy between CNP numbers and also between CNP numbers and NIF numbers. Basically, if you have obtained a NIF number and then register as a foreign citizen residing in Romania, you must return to the tax authority and cancel that NIF number and associate it with your CNP.

The same applies even between CNP numbers: if you are a foreign citizen residing in Romania and you have a CNP, after obtaining Romanian citizenship, you must go to the Romanian Tax Agency and register the fact that your CNP number has changed, and all the taxes you paid as an expat during the process of obtaining citizenship will be linked to your Romanian CNP number.

So, for example, if you want to have a pension paid by the Romanian state, the Romanian authorities will know that you contributed while you were a foreigner, and these contributions will be considered as being paid by a citizen.