BIM in Romania: Legal Status, Verifier’s Stamp, PTh and DE

English · Legislation checked on 2 October 2026. Companion: CATUC explained through practical examples.

A coordinated BIM model helps the team design and build. To use its information on site, the team also needs the required design documents, professional checks, signatures and authorisations. This guide explains how those requirements fit together in Romania.

This guide separates statutory requirements, official BIM regulations, contractual commitments and recommended information-management practices. It focuses on building projects; infrastructure, heritage, sector-specific requirements and transitional projects need their additional rules. The examples are hypothetical. Romanian legal terms are retained because the English explanations are not an official translation.

1. The legal framework: official does not always mean mandatory for every project

CATUC is the Codul amenajării teritoriului, urbanismului și construcțiilor, enacted by Law 169/2026, published in Monitorul Oficial 661 of 10 August 2026 and generally effective from 25 August 2026. Article 575 says application is not conditional on adopting secondary legislation. Articles 577, 582 and 583 nevertheless preserve particular earlier procedures and regulations. An old project must first be placed in the correct transitional regime. Official legislative record; promulgated Code, arts. 575–583.

RTC 8-2022, approved by Order 2221/2023, covers management and monitoring of BIM information. RTC 9-2022, approved by Order 2224/2023, covers tools for generating and managing construction data. They are officially approved technical regulations. Their orders define application to public pilot projects, anticipate further selection criteria for wider mandatory use, recommend application to other public projects outside that scope and address investments without state-budget funding where the initiator chooses BIM. The title “guide” does not make every provision unofficial; equally, publication does not make BIM compulsory for every building. Order 2221/2023, arts. 3–6; Order 2224/2023, arts. 3–6.

CATUC article 503(3) allows the collaborative BIM methodology for the authorisation project. Article 499(5) makes the concept-stage BIM check conditional on BIM having been selected in the preceding information-technology strategy. Article 408 recognises BIM protocols in project-specific contractual clauses. These provisions do not establish an unconditional mandate for all projects. Conversely, a tender, financing condition or contract can require specified BIM deliverables for a particular investment. Identify the actual requirement, applicable project category and date; a roadmap milestone alone is not proof of a universal obligation. Check for later rules before setting the requirements of a new procurement. CATUC, arts. 408, 499 and 503.

2. The verifier’s special stamp: the law expressly provides an electronic alternative

The building-design professional is generally the “verificator de proiecte atestat”; other regulated disciplines also use authorisation terminology. The verifier’s individual stamp identifies professional responsibility and scope. It is not an ordinary company stamp, a drawing-status label or the signature of a BIM coordinator.

Article 5 of OUG 140/2020 expressly names project verifiers and covers both written and drawn documentation prepared or verified by the listed specialists. It distinguishes physical copies, assumed through handwritten signature and individual stamp, from electronic copies, assumed through a qualified electronic signature replacing both. The operative wording includes: “ține loc atât de semnătură olografă, cât și de ștampilă individuală”. The legal basis for this option is article 5 of OUG 140/2020. OUG 140/2020, art. 5, official portal; copy published by the State Inspectorate in Construction, ISC.

That alternative has conditions. Under the implementing rules approved by Order 4134/3875/2020, article 3 requires professional certification and evidence of a valid right to practise when obtaining the certificate. Articles 13–14 specify professional attributes, including the verifier’s qualification, attestation identifier, scope and competent authority. Where one certificate covers several credentials, the document must identify the capacity in which it is signed. Article 22 requires PDF files with the prescribed PDF-signature specification, long-term validation and electronic retention. OUG 140/2020 article 13 also addresses verification of the qualified timestamp and integrity. Implementing rules, arts. 3, 13–14 and 22; OAR explanation.

Consequently, a pasted stamp image, an “approved” button, a scanned signature or an arbitrary electronic signature is not this statutory mechanism. Nor does a printed copy preserve the cryptographic evidence of the electronic original. Keep the signed original, validate the professional scope and signatures, and make the corresponding released documents available for execution. Changing the medium does not waive verification, the verification report or any required project content. The express PDF rule also means this mechanism should not be presented as automatic acceptance of an IFC or native model in place of the required documentation.

3. What statutory verification checks

CATUC articles 440–445 link the general verification regime to consequence classes. CC1/NVP1 places responsibility on the designers without mandatory independent project verification. CC2/NVP2 involves independent qualitative checking: inputs, assumptions, constructability, drawings, completeness and fundamental requirements. CC3/NVP3 adds quantitative checks of calculation models, calculations and consistency between calculations and drawings. CC4/NVP4 adds an independent parallel calculation and the extended checks specified in article 444. The designer determines the class under article 370 and the applicable classification rules; floor area alone is not a substitute for classification. Specific procedures, including notification, have their own provisions.

Article 445 identifies PAC, PTh and DE as verification stages and requires a technical verification report. This is distinct from checking clashes or required properties in a model. Software may flag a duct crossing a beam; the responsible professionals still assess the design and satisfy the applicable legal duties. For listed monuments, additional specialist credentials apply. CATUC, arts. 370 and 440–445.

4. PAC, PTh, DE and BEP are different deliverables

PAC — Proiect pentru autorizarea construirii — supports the authorisation decision. PTh — Proiect tehnic de execuție — develops the technical and economic solutions used to execute the authorised works. DE — Detalii de execuție — develops the information needed to build, assemble and coordinate those solutions. BEP — BIM Execution Plan, or plan de execuție BIM — explains information-management arrangements. Despite the similar word “execution”, a BEP does not replace PTh or DE.

Article 506 allows the technical-design stage to proceed in one or two phases, depending on project scale and characteristics. A package adequate for obtaining a contractor’s tender may still need further execution details. Article 513 bases execution on PTh, compliance with the authorisation and the applicable technical approvals. The required scope must be translated into a deliverable register, with an author, reviewer, issue date and applicable discipline for each item. That register is a recommended management method, not an extra statutory project stage. CATUC, arts. 503–513.

5. PTh written content: article 508(2)

The written PTh includes:

• The architecture memorandum on siting and relationships with neighbours.
• A description of functions, circulation, access and flows.
• The room/function area schedule with built, gross, floor and usable areas.
• Discipline memoranda explaining structural and building-services solutions.

The package also needs:

• Calculation notes and calculation briefs.
• A proposed construction programme.
• Specifications — caiete de sarcini — covering materials, workmanship and acceptance requirements.

The economic documents include the estimated overall investment budget based on quantities by investment object and work category, comparison with the earlier financial envelope, and the general estimate. Check the cost documents against the complete list in article 508(2), including letters j and k. It also calls for updated maintenance and operating cost estimates where applicable.

The lifecycle documents include the monitoring programme during construction and the first ten years of operation, plus the behaviour-monitoring design specifying measurements, equipment and frequency. Article 508(2)(m) assigns preparation of that latter design to the monitoring-works provider using the designer’s programmes. Responsibility for these items should be allocated expressly when commissioning the project. CATUC, art. 508(2).

6. PTh drawings: architecture, structure and services

Architecture — article 508(3)

• The site plan.
• Dimensioned plans of every level.
• Furnished and equipped plans.
• Fire-safety provisions.
• Sections.
• Façades showing materials/finishes and colours.
• Setting-out plan.
• Significant details.
• Exterior/interior 3D images.

The text specifies accuracy corresponding to stated scales: site plans at 1:250, 1:500 or 1:1000; general plans commonly 1:100 or another appropriate scale; significant details at 1:50 or more detailed. A requirement for 3D images does not itself require a structured BIM model.

Structure — article 508(4)

• Excavation and excavation-support plans.
• Foundation plans and characteristic details.
• Protection of neighbouring buildings in the influence zone.
• Formwork or assembly plans for distinct levels identifying geometry and materials.
• Characteristic sections.
• Construction/montage sequence and handling information where the designer considers it necessary.

Typical reinforcement, connection or assembly details at tender stage are qualified by their relevance and contractual requirement in letter h; this does not remove the subsequent DE requirements.

Building services — article 508(5)

• Equipment layouts.
• External site network plans.
• Riser diagrams.
• Functional schematics.

The first two are specified at accuracy appropriate to 1:100. Coordination must still establish how services occupy real spaces and interact with the structure and architecture. CATUC, art. 508(3)–(5).

7. DE content: article 509

Written DE

• Technical specifications.
• Material schedules and technical data sheets.
• A construction programme updated with the contractor.
• The final works-cost estimate based on quantities, within the previously agreed value where applicable.
• The revised general estimate, where applicable.

Architectural DE

• Detailed plans, sections and façades.
• Bay and stair details.
• All construction details necessary for execution.
• Opening and ceiling plans.
• Finish and joinery schedules.
• Coordination sections.

The prescribed levels of accuracy range from 1:100/1:50 for general detail documentation to 1:20, 1:10, 1:5 and 1:2 for construction details as appropriate. A generic model-detail label cannot replace this project-specific information.

Structural DE

• Reinforcement, connection and erection drawings for the main and secondary structural elements.
• Nonstructural anchors and structural/nonstructural interfaces.
• And, where applicable, ground improvement, earth-mass or bank stabilisation, dewatering, monitoring networks, fabrication and erection sequences, technological equipment and measuring/control equipment installation.

Building-services DE

• Coordination plans.
• Shaft details.
• Detailed system diagrams.
• Layouts and details for systems or equipment interacting with the structure and finishes.

Article 509(6) separately addresses technical-room equipment layouts and installation details: where equipment has already been procured they are prepared then; otherwise they are developed during stage 5. Agree their delivery dates before the affected work starts. CATUC, art. 509.

8. Worked example: the model has changed, but the execution drawing has not

Assume a hypothetical CC2 building. A coordinated model revision R06 moves a service opening in a structural wall, while drawing S-104 revision R05 and its supporting calculation remain the verified release. A closed coordination issue is not evidence that R06 has acquired the verification and authorisation status of R05.

The responsible designers assess the change, revise the affected technical material and determine the applicable verification and authorisation route. Articles 293 and 510 distinguish local technical changes and changes affecting the authorisation; article 445(5) separately qualifies the verifier’s responsibility for site instructions, with exceptions for strengthening and historic-monument buildings. Classify each change before issuing it and record whether verification is required.

A useful release record identifies the exact model revision, affected drawings, calculations and specifications, applicable verification report, signatures, designer/beneficiary decisions and any modification authorisation. Superseded information remains traceable. The team then issues a consistent package to the contractor. These recordkeeping recommendations help prove which design was used; they do not create a new approval authority. CATUC, arts. 293, 445(5) and 510.

9. What research adds — and what it cannot establish

Ullah, Witt and Lill’s 2022 study of Tallinn’s BIM-based permitting initiative used seven interviews and identified technological, organisational and legal influences on adoption. Its value here is the distinction between possessing model software and having an organisation capable of reviewing models. One qualitative case cannot establish Romanian administrative practice or a universal time-saving percentage. The BIM-Based Building Permit Process: Factors Affecting Adoption.

Soliman-Junior and colleagues’ 2021 study of a UK primary-healthcare facility examined how subjective requirements constrain automated compliance checking. It supports careful allocation between automated checks and professional judgement. It does not establish Romanian law or show that all regulatory requirements can be checked by software. Automated compliance checking in healthcare building design.

The practical deliverable is therefore a coordinated and legally usable body of information: models where required or agreed, complete prescribed documents, applicable verification and a traceable construction release. A project’s contract should make those deliverables and their precedence explicit. For PAC, site organisation, handover and the permitting routes, continue with CATUC explained. For information-management planning, see BIM Execution Plan and Document Control.

Legal information: This article provides general information, not legal advice. For important decisions, check the current law and consult a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction. Project-specific technical requirements should also be checked with the responsible professionals.