Costaș, Negru & Associates are pleased to present a legislative amendment of significant practical importance regarding how certain civil status applications may be filed.
Law No. 120 of 3 July 2026, published in the Official Gazette No. 550 of 3 July 2026, amended Article 591 of the republished Law No. 119/1996 on civil status records.
Prior to this amendment, Law No. 119/1996 provided, in several procedures, that certain applications could be submitted either in person or through a representative authorised by a special power of attorney.
In practice, this wording often led to the interpretation that a lawyer could not file such applications based solely on a lawyer-client authorization, a separate notarized power of attorney was also required.
By adopting Law No. 120/2026, the legislature intervened precisely in order to clarify this issue.
The new wording of Article 591 of Law No. 119/1996 expressly provides that the applications referred to in Article 41, paragraphs (1)–(6) and (11)–(16), in Article 413(1), Article 4117(2), Article 44(1), (12), (2), and (4), Article 46(2), Articles 47 and 48, as well as Article 54 (13) may also be submitted through a lawyer authorized by the holder, the holder’s legal representatives, or the entitled persons, as the case may be, based on a power of attorney issued in accordance with Law No. 51/1995 and the Statute of the Legal Profession.
Therefore, the amendment does not affect the substantive requirements applicable to civil status records. The rules governing the transcription of records, the registration of annotations, name changes, and the reconstruction or subsequent issuance of civil status records remain unchanged. The competent authority will continue to verify compliance with all legal requirements.
What has changed is the way in which a complaint can be filed with the competent authority and, above all, the means by which a lawyer can prove his or her authority to represent a client.
While administrative practice used to focus exclusively on the special power of attorney, the new legislation expressly recognizes the possibility of based on a lawyer’s power of attorney.
Applications may therefore also be submitted through a lawyer in the following procedures:
- Article 41, paragraphs (1)–(6) and (11)–(16) – Transposition into Romanian civil status registers of civil status documents issued by foreign authorities;
- Article 413(1) – Application for an administrative name change;
- Article 4117(2) – Application for the registration of a surname or given name translated into another language or written in accordance with the spelling rules of that language, including the applicant’s native language;
- Article 44, paragraphs (1), (12), (2), and (4) – Registration of entries concerning changes in civil status, surnames, or first names, including changes or corrections made abroad, as well as entries concerning the matrimonial regime chosen before foreign authorities;
- Article 46(2) – Registration of the name adopted as a result of the establishment of filiation;
- Article 47 – Registration of entries concerning the termination, annulment, or nullity of an adoption, based on a final court decision;
- Article 48 – Registration of entries regarding the termination of marriage due to death, judicial declaration of death, annulment, nullity, or divorce;
- Article 54(13) – Applications for the reconstruction or subsequent issuance of civil status records, in certain cases provided for by law.
In such situations, the requirement for a special notarized power of attorney turns a simple administrative procedure into a cumbersome, costly, and difficult process.
From this perspective, the practical implications of the change are particularly significant for people living abroad, who frequently seek specialized legal assistance to complete administrative procedures related to civil status documents.
However, the exercise of a lawyer’s mandate was, in certain situations, restricted by an excessively formalistic administrative interpretation, under which the authorities made the acceptance and processing of requests contingent upon the presentation of a special power of attorney, without recognizing the lawyer’s power of attorney as a sufficient instrument of representation.
Law No. 120/2026 introduces a coherent and practical solution: for the procedures expressly listed by the legislature, the interested person has two main avenues of representation.
The first is representation through an ordinary agent, based on a special power of attorney. The second is representation through a lawyer, based on a lawyer’s power of attorney.
The distinction between the two instruments is important. A special power of attorney is the notarised deed by which the principal authorises another person to represent them for the purpose of carrying out specific and clearly defined acts. A lawyer’s power of attorney, however, is the instrument specific to the legal profession, by which the lawyer proves, in dealings with third parties, the mandate granted under the legal assistance agreement.
From this perspective, the legislative amendment does not grant attorneys a completely new right. Under Law No. 51/1995 and the Statute of the Legal Profession, attorneys already had the right to represent clients before public authorities. What Law No. 120/2026 does is remove any doubt regarding civil status records and prevent restrictive administrative interpretations.
It should be emphasised that a lawyer’s power of attorney does not replace the assessment of the legality of the application. The civil status authority is not required to approve an application merely because it is submitted through a lawyer. It will continue to verify whether the statutory requirements are met and whether the supporting documents are sufficient. The amendment concerns procedural access to the authority, not the merits of the application.
The rationale behind this legislative intervention is one of simplification and legislative coherence. The legislature sought to reduce excessive formalism, facilitate citizens’ access to civil status procedures and align Law No. 119/1996 with the legal framework governing the legal profession.
Under this amendment, the lawyer’s power of attorney is expressly recognised as a sufficient instrument for submitting the relevant applications through a lawyer.
The special power of attorney does not cease to exist. However, it can no longer be regarded as the sole instrument of representation in the procedures listed in Article 59 1 of Law No. 119/1996.
This article has been prepared, for the Blog of Costaș, Negru & Asociații, by Ms. Sabina Maerean from the Arad Bar Association.
Costaș, Negru & Asociații is a law firm with offices in Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, and Arad, providing legal assistance, representation, and consultancy across various practice areas through a team of 16 lawyers and consultants. Details regarding legal services and the team composition can be found at https://www.costas-negru.ro. All rights to materials published on the firm’s website and social media channels belong to Costaș, Negru & Asociații; reproduction is permitted solely for informational purposes and subject to correct and complete citation of the source.
