Law 50/1991 has been repealed. What applies now
Since 25 August 2026, construction works are no longer authorised under Law 50/1991 but under the Urbanism Code. See what replaced each rule, and what happens to a file opened before that date.
Check which rules apply to you
The urbanism code applies from 25 August 2026. If you already have an urbanism certificate issued before that date, the approvals it requires follow the rules in force when it was issued.
Your application will follow the new rules (CATUC), in force from 25 August 2026.
This result is indicative only. The exact rules for your file are determined by the issuing town hall.
If you came here looking for Law 50/1991, you are looking for a law that is no longer in force. It was repealed in full on 25 August 2026, when the Urbanism Code (Law 169/2026) entered into force. This page shows what took over each rule you were looking for and, more importantly, which rules apply to your own file, depending on when you opened it.
What was repealed, exactly
The Urbanism Code (Law 169/2026) was published in Official Gazette no. 661 of 10 August 2026 and entered into force 15 days after publication, on 25 August 2026. On that same date, art. 576 para. (3) repeals:
- Law no. 50/1991 on authorising the execution of construction works, republished, in full.
- Order no. 839/2009, which had approved the implementing rules for Law no. 50/1991.
- Law no. 350/2001 on spatial planning and urbanism.
- Order no. 233/2016, the implementing rules for Law no. 350/2001, except annexes 4, 5 and 6.
- From Law no. 10/1995 on quality in construction: art. 1-9, art. 11-40 and art. 42-44. The rest of that law remains in force.
Wherever other legislation refers to the repealed provisions, the reference is deemed to be made to the Urbanism Code.
What took over each rule
Almost everything you were looking for in Law 50/1991 also exists in the Urbanism Code, under a different article and sometimes under a different name.
- The building permit: art. 259. The demolition permit: art. 302.
- The urbanism certificate, its content and its validity: art. 253 and art. 257.
- DTAC, the technical documentation for authorising construction, is now called PAC, the project for authorising construction. Its content and role are unchanged.
- Works that may be carried out without a permit: there are now three distinct regimes rather than a single list of exceptions, with the simplified notification sitting between them.
- Regularisation: art. 301 introduces the regularisation permit, the instrument for works carried out without a building permit or in breach of one.
- Offences and fines: art. 357, at levels far above those in the old law.
- Extending the urbanism certificate: art. 257 para. (17). Extending the execution period of a permit: art. 310 para. (5).
- The modification permit, for changes of brief arising during works already authorised: art. 293. It had no equivalent in the old law.
Your file: which law applies
The date matters more than the text of the law.
- Procedures for drafting, endorsing and approving urbanism documentation started before 25 August 2026 remain subject to the law in force when they were initiated. The initiation date is the date on which the administrative act starting the procedure was brought to the knowledge of third parties.
- Urbanism certificates issued before 25 August 2026 keep their validity. The endorsements they require are issued under the rules in force on the date the certificate was issued, even if you apply for them now.
- A building or demolition permit issued on the strength of such a certificate may be issued by the authority competent when the certificate was issued, or by the one competent under the new code where competence has changed in the meantime (art. 582 paras. 4 and 5).
- A file opened after 25 August 2026 falls entirely under the Urbanism Code, even though the implementing rules have not been issued yet: entry into force was not conditional on secondary or tertiary legislation.
Why Law 50/1991 is still everywhere
Legal portals keep the text of repealed laws, because it stays relevant to legal situations that arose before the repeal. That does not mean the law still applies to a new file.
In practice, any guide, form template or article written before August 2026 describes a procedure that is no longer in force. The signs that you are reading something outdated are DTAC used as the current name, references to Order no. 839/2009 as applicable rules, and maximum fines in the thousands of lei rather than the hundreds of thousands now set out in art. 357 for building without a permit.
What has not changed yet
The Urbanism Code assumes a standard application form for the urbanism certificate (art. 257 para. 2), but the new model had not been approved when this page was published. Note what the law actually carries over: art. 583 para. (1) keeps in force Government decisions adopted under the repealed acts, not ministerial orders, and forms F.1 and F.8 are annexes to a ministerial order. In practice city halls continue to accept the existing forms, but confirm the required model with the issuing authority before you file.
The complete list of endorsements and agreements required for building is set, under art. 257 para. (5), by order of the minister responsible for spatial planning, urbanism and construction, which had not been issued when this page was published. Until then, the list that applies to your case is the one in your own urbanism certificate.
Issuing authorities are in any case required to update their rules and procedures within 120 days of the Code being published (art. 583 para. 4), so the models may change in that window.
How AutoRize helps
- Every AutoRize guide is written to the Urbanism Code, not to Law 50/1991.
- Generate the applications on the F.1 and F.8 forms, filled in with your project data.
- See the endorsements, fees and deadlines for your case under the rules that apply now.
- If your file was opened before 25 August 2026, check above which regime still applies to you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Law 50/1991 still in force?
No. It was repealed in full on 25 August 2026 by art. 576 para. (3) letter b) of the Urbanism Code (Law 169/2026), published in Official Gazette no. 661 of 10 August 2026. Its implementing rules, approved by Order no. 839/2009, were repealed on the same date.
I hold a permit issued under Law 50/1991. Is it still valid?
The Urbanism Code does not expressly end permits issued earlier, and your permit runs on the terms written into it; confirm those with the issuing authority. What art. 582 para. (4) does expressly provide is that urbanism certificates issued before 25 August 2026 remain valid, and the endorsements they require are issued under the rules in force on the date the certificate was issued, even if you apply for them after the new code entered into force.
Which law applies to my file?
It depends on the type of procedure. For urbanism and spatial-planning documentation, meaning PUG, PUZ and PUD, art. 582 para. (1) keeps the law in force when the procedure was initiated, and the initiation date is the date on which the administrative act starting it was brought to the knowledge of third parties (art. 582 para. 6). For a permitting file, art. 582 paras. (4) and (5) apply: a urbanism certificate issued before 25 August 2026 stays valid, and the permit is issued on the endorsements that certificate required, under the rules in force when it was issued.
Where are the building permit rules now?
In the Urbanism Code: art. 259 for the building permit and art. 302 for the demolition permit, art. 253 and art. 257 for the urbanism certificate, art. 301 for the regularisation permit, and art. 357 for offences and fines.
Does DTAC still exist?
The name does not. The technical documentation on which a building permit is issued is now called PAC, the project for authorising construction. Its content and role are unchanged.
Do the implementing rules of Law 50/1991 still apply?
No. Order no. 839/2009, which approved the implementing rules for Law no. 50/1991, was repealed on the same date, 25 August 2026. The Urbanism Code was not made conditional on new rules being issued: it applies from the date it entered into force, even though the secondary legislation has not been published yet.
Useful pages for the same dossier
See what applies to your file
Start free, no card, and generate your urbanism certificate application under the rules in force now.