After two wars, in 101 to 102 and 105 to 106, Trajan turned Dacia into a Roman province. That is where Romanian's Latin core comes from.
Between 271 and 275 Aurelian withdrew the Roman army. Romanian is still a Romance language, kin to Italian and Spanish.
A letter from Neacșu of Câmpulung to the judge of Brașov, warning of Ottoman troop movements. Written in Romanian, in Cyrillic letters.
Under Article 13 of the Constitution, Romania's official language is Romanian. It is the language of the contract, the extract and the power of attorney.
Under Article 82 of Law 36/1995, notarial deeds are in Romanian. If you do not understand it, an authorised translator conveys the content.
A Latin language in the Balkans: the short answer
Romanian is a Romance language, in the same family as French, Italian and Spanish. Its roots go back to the Roman conquest of Dacia in AD 106 and to a Roman province that lasted roughly a century and a half, until Emperor Aurelian pulled out between 271 and 275. Today Romania is surrounded by Slavic languages and Hungarian, yet Romanian kept its Latin core. It was written in Cyrillic letters for centuries and only switched for good to the Latin alphabet in the 1860s.
Why should someone buying a flat in Bucharest care? Because this is the language of every document you will sign. Under the notaries' law, every notarial deed in Romania is drawn up in Romanian, and anyone who does not understand Romanian gets the content through an authorised translator or interpreter.
Put simply: Romanian feels "familiar" if you know Spanish or Italian, but your contract is written in it, and only an authorised translation turns it into a contract you actually understand.
The timeline: from Trajan to the notary's desk
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 101 to 102, 105 to 106 | Emperor Trajan's two wars against the Dacians and their king Decebalus | Smarthistory |
| 106 | Dacia becomes a Roman province | Roman Dacia, LEIZA |
| 113 | Trajan's Column in Rome tells the story of the wars in a spiral relief | Smarthistory |
| 271 to 275 | Emperor Aurelian withdraws the Roman army and administration north of the Danube | Roman Dacia, LEIZA |
| 1521 | The letter of Neacșu of Câmpulung, the oldest surviving dated text in Romanian, written in Cyrillic letters | Rador, 2021 (Romanian) |
| 1860s | The United Principalities replace Cyrillic with the Latin alphabet in official documents | Britannica: Romanian language |
| 1991 | Romanian Constitution, Article 13: the official language in Romania is Romanian | Constitution, Article 13 (Romanian) |
| 1995 to today | Notaries' Law 36/1995, Article 82: notarial documents are drawn up in Romanian | Law 36/1995 (Romanian) |
The story: a warning letter from 1521
In the summer of 1521 a man named Neacșu, in the town of Câmpulung at the foot of the Carpathians, wrote an urgent letter to the judge of Brașov, Hans Benkner. The content was pure intelligence: Ottoman troop movements along the Danube, and a warning that danger was coming. According to Romania's public radio, the letter was probably written at the end of June 1521. It was found in 1894 in the Brașov archives, where it is still kept.
What makes the letter famous is not the war but the language. It is the oldest surviving dated text in Romanian. And it is written in Cyrillic letters. In other words, even then there was a language here that was Latin at heart, written in the script of the Orthodox Church and the Slavic neighbours.
I like this story for a professional reason. The first document preserved in Romanian is a letter that says "check before it is too late". Five hundred years on, that is exactly what we tell every buyer.
How a Latin language survived in the middle of the Balkans
Trajan conquered Dacia in two wars, in 101 to 102 and 105 to 106. After the second war Dacia became a Roman province, with towns, roads, gold mines and settlers from across the empire. You can still see the story of those wars on Trajan's Column in Rome, dedicated in 113, and on a full-size copy in the Lapidarium of the National History Museum of Romania, on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest.
Roman rule north of the Danube did not last long. Between 271 and 275 Emperor Aurelian withdrew the army and the administration under pressure from invading tribes. What happened to the Latin-speaking population after the withdrawal is one of the most debated questions in the region's history, and I will not settle it here. The result is not in doubt: Romanian today is an Eastern Romance language, the only one of its kind that became a national language in Eastern Europe.
Many basic words come straight from Latin: casă (house, from casa), apă (water, from aqua), pâine (bread, from panis). Alongside them sits a thick Slavic layer, especially in the vocabulary of the church and the old administration, plus words from Greek, Turkish and Hungarian. The Romanian word for "yes", for example, is da.
From Cyrillic to Latin: the 1860s
For centuries Romanian was written in Cyrillic, and in the 19th century it went through a transitional, mixed alphabet. The final decision came in the 1860s, under Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who united Moldavia and Wallachia (more on that in the next episode). Sources give slightly different dates, between 1860 and 1862, depending on the stage and the principality. Since then Romanian has been written in Latin letters, with five special ones: ă, â, î, ș, ț.
That decision was not merely technical. It was a statement: we belong to Latin Europe. Anyone arriving in Bucharest today feels it at once, in street signs you can almost read without studying.
Romanian feels "familiar" if you know Spanish or Italian, but your contract is written in it, and only an authorised translation turns it into a contract you actually understand.
Why it matters when you buy a home
The contract is always in Romanian
Under Article 13 of the Constitution, the official language in Romania is Romanian. Under Article 82 of Notaries' Law 36/1995, the documents requested by the parties and all notarial procedure documents are drawn up in Romanian. Anyone who does not speak or understand Romanian receives the content through a translator or interpreter authorised by the Ministry of Justice, or through the notary personally if the notary is qualified to do so. Foreign-language documents submitted to the notary go on file with a Romanian translation.
In practice: the Romanian text is the one that counts. A bilingual version is convenient, but if the two columns differ, you want to find out before signing, not after. That is why an independent lawyer who reads Romanian should review the Romanian text, not just the translation.
Your name in Latin letters
A Hebrew (or any non-Latin) name is transliterated once, in your passport. From then on, every document in Romania should use exactly the same spelling: your tax ID (NIF), bank account, power of attorney, contract and land register entry. "Moti" and "Motti" are two different people to a system that looks for an exact match. The simplest rule: copy your name from the passport page, letter by letter, onto every form.
The letters ș and ț
Romanian distinguishes s from ș and t from ț. In addresses, street names and village names it matters: the village where we build is spelled Balotești, but on websites, forms and older databases you will also find Balotesti and older forms of the letters with a different mark underneath. When you search for a property, a company or a court file in an online database, try several spellings, with and without the marks.
Words you will meet in the documents
Here the Latin roots work in your favour. Most of the terms in a purchase are easy to recognise, even without studying Romanian:
| In Romanian | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|
| contract de vânzare-cumpărare | Sale-purchase contract | Signed before a notary, as a notarial deed (act autentic) |
| antecontract | Preliminary contract | The commitment before the sale itself |
| carte funciară | Land register | The record that decides who the owner is |
| extras de carte funciară | Land register extract | Order a fresh one before any payment |
| proprietar | Owner | The name must match the contract and passport |
| procură | Power of attorney | If someone signs on your behalf |
| notar public | Notary | Drafts the deed and checks the parties |
The word proprietar, for example, is very close to the Italian proprietario and the Spanish propietario. That closeness is pleasant, but it is no substitute for a professional reading: in a legal document, one word can change the meaning of an entire clause.
Documents from abroad go through two steps
A foreign document used in Romania, such as an Israeli power of attorney or certificate, usually needs an apostille and an authorised Romanian translation. We set out the process in the apostille and documents guide and in the article on powers of attorney in Romania.
What this means for you as a buyer
- The Romanian text governs. Ask for the Romanian draft in advance and have an independent lawyer check it.
- An authorised interpreter at the signing. If you do not understand Romanian, the notary must ensure you understand the content through an authorised interpreter or translator. Do not rely on "a friend who speaks Romanian".
- One spelling of your name. Exactly as in your passport, on every document: NIF, bank, power of attorney, contract. How to get a NIF is in the article on the tax ID.
- Search under several spellings. With and without ș and ț, when you check a property, developer or court file online.
- Foreign documents: apostille and translation. Plan this before the flight, not on signing day.
- Read the extract. A land register extract is in Romanian, and with a little help you can read it. The extract guide walks through it line by line.
Frequently asked questions
Is Romanian close to Slavic languages?
Not at its core. Romanian is a Romance language, in the family of Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. It has many Slavic words, but its basic grammar and core vocabulary are Latin. If you speak Spanish or Italian, you will understand simple signs and notices fairly quickly.
Can I sign a property contract in Romania in English?
The notarial deed itself is drawn up in Romanian, under Article 82 of Notaries' Law 36/1995. You can have it in two columns, Romanian and a foreign language, with the Romanian text first, and if you do not understand Romanian you receive the content through an authorised translator or interpreter.
Who counts as an authorised translator in Romania?
A translator or interpreter authorised by the Romanian Ministry of Justice. Under the notaries' law, a notary can also fill the role if the foreign language is their mother tongue or they are authorised as a translator. It is best to arrange the translator in advance with your lawyer.
Why must my name be identical on every document?
Because the bank, the tax authority, the notary and the land register identify you by the name and number on your documents. A different spelling on one document can delay a bank transfer or a registration and require a correction. The safest approach is to copy your name from the passport, exactly.
Where in Bucharest can I see the story of Dacia and Rome?
At the National History Museum of Romania, on Calea Victoriei, which keeps a full-size copy of Trajan's Column in its Lapidarium. Check the museum's website for what is open before you go.
The bottom line
Romanian is a living remnant of Rome in the middle of the Balkans, which is why it feels close to anyone who knows a Latin language. But "close" is not "understood". The contract, the extract and the power of attorney are written in Romanian, and they are what counts. Smart buyers treat the language like any other check: an authorised translator, an independent lawyer and one spelling of their name.
If you are planning a purchase and want to know which documents you will need and when, book a half-hour call with me and we will build the list together.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources: Smarthistory: Column of Trajan · LEIZA: Roman Dacia, creation of the province · Britannica: Romanian language · Britannica: Dacia · Rador: Neacșu's letter, 500 years, 29.6.2021 (Romanian) · TVR Info: 500 years since the first text in Romanian (Romanian) · National History Museum of Romania: Trajan's Column (Romanian) · Romanian Constitution, Article 13 (Romanian) · Notaries' Law 36/1995 (consolidated), Article 82 (Romanian) · Law 36/1995 (legislatie.just.ro) (Romanian)
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. The rules are correct as of 17 October 2026. Before signing, consult an independent lawyer.
The series: a history lesson
- From Rome and Dacia: why Romanian is a Latin language (you are here)
- Three principalities and two unions: 1859 and 1918
- Nationalisation and restitution: why land claims still exist
- The rise and fall of Ceaușescu
- 1989 and the move to a market economy
- The EU and Schengen
- Faith, holidays and business
- The Jews of Romania and the bond with Israel
- Bucharest, "Little Paris"
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
