The question looks simple and has a short answer in article 251. The part that explains why two neighbouring communes behave differently sits elsewhere in the code.
The procedure, step by step, is on the building permit page. This looks only at who signs at the end of it.
The rule, and its three exceptions
Article 251 says building and demolition permits are issued by the local public administration authorities. It then lists the exceptions, all under special laws:
- special-purpose constructions, issued by the SNAOPSN institutions;
- works for national transport infrastructure, issued by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure;
- projects of common interest in the energy field, issued by the Ministry of Energy.
Article 247 adds a procedural nuance: issuance is by central or local authorities as the case may be, under a differentiated procedure for three types, buildings, engineering works and amenajări.
What happens where there is no arhitect-sef
This is where it starts to be felt at the counter. Article 126 paragraph (6) deals with communes, towns and municipalities that cannot fill the arhitect-sef post and that do not belong to an inter-community development association set up to jointly provide urban planning services and the issuing of urbanism certificates and building permits.
In that case the arhitect-sef’s duties are carried out by a permanent public servant within the arhitect-sef institution, a graduate of the continuing professional training courses in spatial planning, urbanism and construction authorisation.
Two conditions, not one. A vacant post does not trigger the rule on its own: whether the locality belongs to an inter-community association counts as well.
Why it matters for your dossier
Because it explains a difference beneficiaries usually put down to goodwill: the same documentation, two town halls, two experiences. The competence to issue is the same; who exercises it is not always.
Article 118 shows the other face of the same coin: the county-level arhitect-sef proposes issuing the approval for urbanism documentation initiated precisely in the localities that cannot fill the post.
What we ask before filing
Who exercises the arhitect-sef’s duties in that locality, and whether it belongs to an inter-community association. The answer does not change the documents in the dossier, but it changes a realistic expectation about timelines. What the code standardises and what stays local is in what the code standardises, and the route the approvals take is in the single approval commission.
This article is analysis, not legal advice. The provisions cited are from Legea 169/2026, published in Monitorul Oficial no. 661 of 10 August 2026. Check your own situation with the issuing authority.