Fishing Lake Permits and Taxes in Romania: 2026 Guide

"What paperwork do I need for a fishing lake?" has been asked on Romanian forums for more than ten years, and most of the answers online are out of date. Between 2024 and 2026 Romania changed its fishing law, its aquaculture law, the agency in charge of fisheries, its CAEN activity codes, its VAT rates and the micro-company tax. Below is a map of the paperwork for a sport-fishing lake in Romania, with a source for every point, as it stands in September 2026. If your lake is elsewhere in Europe, the categories are similar but the rules and authorities differ.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Laws and procedures change, and some implementing rules had not been published when we checked. Before you invest or file anything, check with the authority that issues the document and talk to a lawyer or an accountant. Last checked: 15 September 2026.

In short, a stocked lake used for sport fishing usually needs:

1. A legal form (sole trader, individual enterprise or limited company) with the right CAEN code, usually 9319.
2. A water management permit (aviz de gospodărire a apelor) for the works and a water management authorisation (autorizație de gospodărire a apelor) to operate, both from Apele Române, the national water authority.
3. For the works, an urbanism certificate, an environmental decision and, where needed, a building permit.
4. Removal from agricultural use, if the lake sits on agricultural land outside the built-up area.
5. An aquaculture registration, which the new aquaculture law provides for units used exclusively for recreational fishing.
6. Clarity on the animal health side with the county veterinary authority (DSVSA).
7. A classification certificate, if you rent cabins, rooms or camping pitches.
8. On the tax side, a cash register for cash or card payments, VAT registration above 395,000 lei a year, and RO e-Factura for invoices.

What changed since 2024

If you read about lake paperwork before 2025, much of it no longer applies:

• Fishing is now governed by Law 176/2024 on fishing and the protection of living aquatic resources, in force since June 2024. It replaced the fishing provisions of OUG 23/2008.
• Aquaculture has a new law, Law 206/2025 on aquaculture, in force since 7 December 2025.
• ANPA is being merged into a new authority. An emergency ordinance published on 31 December 2025 (OUG 92/2025) dissolves ANPA by merging it into the State Domains Agency, which becomes ANADSPA (the National Authority for the Administration of State Domains, Fisheries and Aquaculture). In September 2026 ANPA was still working under its own name (the recreational fishing order adopted that month names it as the permit issuer), so you may deal with either name.
• VAT has a 21% standard rate and a single 11% reduced rate since 1 August 2025. The exemption threshold rose to 395,000 lei on 1 September 2025.
• Micro-companies pay a single 1% rate from 2026, with a threshold of 100,000 euros a year.
• Dividends are taxed at 16% from 2026.
• CAEN codes are moving to Rev.3. The deadline for companies to update their codes at the Trade Register is 25 September 2026.

Sport-fishing lake or fish farm?

The first question is what kind of activity you run, because the aquaculture document depends on it.

Law 206/2025 distinguishes two documents:

• An aquaculture licence (licență de acvacultură), for commercial aquaculture, meaning producing fish for sale.
• An aquaculture registration (înregistrare de acvacultură), which, as the law defines it, gives the holder the right to use an aquaculture unit "exclusively for recreational fishing".

For a stocked lake where anglers pay to fish, the law therefore provides for the registration, not the licence. If you also sell fish commercially, ask the authority whether you need a licence.

What else the law says, in brief:

• Units are entered in a new register of aquaculture operators and units (ROUA). Registration requires proof of qualified staff, membership of a recognised professional organisation, or a contract with an authorised consulting centre.
• You may only keep the species listed in your registration or licence. New species need approval.
• You must keep technological records (stocking, feeding, harvesting), on paper or electronically.
• Running aquaculture without a registration or licence is fined 15,000 to 35,000 lei.

The law's implementing rules were due within 90 days of it coming into force. When we checked, we could not confirm they had been published, so neither the exact procedure, fees nor deadlines for existing lakes are clear. Ask ANPA directly what to file and by when.

Water: the water management permit and authorisation

Romania's Water Law (no. 107/1996) lists fish ponds, dams and reservoirs among works on water. For them:

• A water management permit (aviz de gospodărire a apelor) is needed before the works. Without it the works cannot be carried out.
• A water management authorisation (autorizație de gospodărire a apelor) is needed to operate.

They are issued by Apele Române, its river basin administrations or its county water management systems, depending on competence. Apele Române's guide explains the file, which includes the urbanism certificate and the environmental decision.

The authorisation procedure is set by Order 3147/2023. For fish ponds, ponds and local reservoirs of up to 5 million cubic metres, the file also describes the stocking formula, feeding, harvesting method and the measures that stop non-native fish reaching other waters.

Two common situations:

• The lake already exists but was built without a permit. The works can be authorised retrospectively under OUG 52/2023, based on a water management technical assessment.
• The lake has a dam or embankment that holds water. Dam safety is governed by OUG 244/2000, and dam holders are directly responsible for safe operation. For small dams, approvals can be issued by the regional water units based on a certified expert's opinion. Ask Apele Române whether your embankment falls under these rules.

Environment: the screening decision and environmental permit

Law 292/2018 on environmental impact assessment lists intensive fish farms and dams or installations that hold water long term among the projects that go through screening. For projects the law covers, works cannot start without the screening decision or environmental agreement.

The penalties are serious, with a fine of 7,500 to 15,000 lei for individuals and 50,000 to 100,000 lei for companies, plus the obligation to demolish the works and restore the land. Refusing to demolish is a criminal offence.

For operation, environmental permits follow the procedure in Order 1798/2007. The aquaculture law says extensive aquaculture needs no environmental authorisation. Whether your sport-fishing lake needs an environmental permit depends on what you do there, so ask your county environmental protection agency.

Land and buildings

• The urbanism certificate from the town hall is the starting point for any works. It tells you which other permits you need.
• The building permit. Law 50/1991 requires a permit for, among other things, excavation works and setting up camps of tents, cabins or caravans. Ask the town hall what applies to digging, pontoons and cabins.
• Agricultural land outside the built-up area. Under the Land Law (no. 18/1991), fish ponds can be built on class III to V agricultural land outside the built-up area, with the land taken out of agricultural use and a fee paid to the land improvement fund.

Animal health

EU animal health law (Regulation (EU) 2016/429) requires aquaculture establishments to be registered with the competent authority, in Romania the DSVSA, before they start, unless they are approved. The regulation lets member states exempt from approval ponds where fish are kept only for recreational fishing. We could not confirm how Romania applies that exemption, and the national registration rule is now ANSVSA Order 10/2024, which replaced Order 16/2010. Ask your county DSVSA to confirm what applies to your lake.

If you sell fish or food (fried fish, a restaurant, a shop), you also need food-safety registration with the DSVSA.

Company and CAEN code

You can operate as a sole trader (PFA), an individual enterprise or a limited company (SRL). The choice changes your taxes (below) and your liability, so decide with an accountant.

The CAEN activity code for a sport-fishing lake is, in Rev.3, 9319 "Other sports activities n.e.c.", which includes managing reserves for sport fishing. Related codes:

• 0322, freshwater aquaculture, if you produce fish;
• 5520, holiday and other short-stay accommodation, for cabins and bungalows;
• 5530, caravan parks, campsites and camps.

If you already have a company, check that your codes are updated to Rev.3 by 25 September 2026.

Taxes in 2026

In brief, and with the advice to do the sums with an accountant:

• Micro-company (SRL): 1% of revenue. The main conditions are at least one employee and revenue below the equivalent of 100,000 euros a year, plus conditions about shareholders. Above the threshold, 16% profit tax applies from the quarter in which you crossed it.
• Dividends: 16% for dividends distributed from 1 January 2026.
• Sole trader (PFA): 10% income tax, the health contribution (CASS, 10%) and, above a certain income, the pension contribution (CAS, 25%).
• VAT: the standard rate is 21% and the reduced rate 11% (food, accommodation including camping pitches, restaurants). Access to sports facilities is not on the reduced-rate list, so a fishing fee is in principle taxed at 21%. We found no ANAF position specific to fishing fees. Fish sold as food is at 11%; whether fish kept by anglers is invoiced separately or as part of the fishing fee is a question for your accountant.
• VAT threshold: 395,000 lei of turnover a year. You must apply for VAT registration no later than the date you exceed it.
• Cash register: anyone who collects cash or card payments directly from the public must use an electronic fiscal cash register and issue fiscal receipts (OUG 28/1999). We found no exemption for fishing fees. Payments taken only by bank transfer fall outside this obligation.
• RO e-Factura: mandatory for invoices to companies since 2024 and to individuals since 2025, except simplified invoices. From 2026 invoices must be submitted within 5 working days.
• Local taxes: building and land taxes are set by the local council. If the lake is on public land under a concession or lease, you owe the land tax.

The main sources, all published by ANAF, the tax authority, are Law 141/2025 for VAT rates and dividends, OG 22/2025 for the VAT threshold, and OUG 89/2025 for the micro rate. How all of this plays into a lake's profit is in our fishing lake profit model.

Online bookings and DAC7

If you take bookings through a platform, DAC7 comes into play. It is an EU directive that Romania transposed into its Fiscal Procedure Code through OG 16/2023. DAC7 creates no new tax. It requires platforms to report to ANAF, by 31 January of the following year, the income of sellers who took bookings through them, and to send those sellers the same information.

For that report, the platform asks for your name, address, tax number (personal CNP or company CUI) with the issuing country, VAT number if you have one, trade register number for companies, date of birth for individuals, and bank account. The details are in ANAF's DAC7 guide. That is why LakeBooking asks for your tax details before your lake goes live. It is not our formality but a legal duty of every platform.

Do anglers need a state fishing permit at your lake?

Law 176/2024 applies to natural aquatic habitats. The state recreational fishing permit is defined as the document that attests the right to fish in those natural habitats. For private fish ponds, the law does not expressly require the state permit, and fishing follows the rules set by the lake's operator.

There is one nuance. The law counts natural ponds and lakes without hydrotechnical installations, and reservoirs, among natural habitats. If your lake could fall into one of those categories, ask ANPA for written confirmation. The angler's side is covered in our guide to fishing permits in Romania.

Taking over a public lake

If you want to run a lake or pond in the public domain, concessions of public property last at most 49 years, and town halls lease public property through public auctions (Administrative Code). For aquaculture in reservoirs, the aquaculture law provides for concession contracts. Durations and conditions vary from case to case, so read the tender documents carefully.

Summary table

After the paperwork, the bookings

Once your paperwork is in order, next comes the part that brings in money, the anglers. Listing on LakeBooking is free, with no subscription, and you enter your DAC7 tax details once, in your account. The angler pays a 10% booking fee online, included in the price, and you collect the other 90% at the lake. If you like, you can ask us on the page for lake owners to build the listing for you.

Rather start straight away? Create your host account. For the booking side, read how to cut no-shows.

Frequently asked questions

What paperwork do I need to open a fishing lake in Romania? Usually you need a company or sole trader registration with CAEN code 9319, the water management permit and authorisation, the urbanism certificate and environmental paperwork for the works, an aquaculture registration, clarity with the DSVSA on animal health, and a cash register for cash or card payments. Cabins also need a classification certificate.

Do I need an aquaculture licence for a sport-fishing lake? Law 206/2025 provides an aquaculture registration, not a licence, for units used exclusively for recreational fishing. The licence is for commercial aquaculture. ANPA can tell you the procedure and deadlines for existing lakes.

What CAEN code does a fishing lake use? In CAEN Rev.3, code 9319 "Other sports activities n.e.c.", which includes managing reserves for sport fishing. Add 5520 for cabins and 5530 for camping. Existing companies must update their codes to Rev.3 by 25 September 2026.

What VAT applies to fishing fees? In principle the 21% standard rate, because access to sports facilities is not on the reduced-rate list. Accommodation and food are at 11%. VAT only applies if you are VAT-registered, which is mandatory above 395,000 lei a year.

Do I need a cash register at my lake? If you take cash or card payments directly from anglers, most likely yes, because the law requires a cash register for services paid that way by the public, and we found no exemption for fishing fees. Confirm with your accountant.

Do anglers need a state fishing permit on a private lake? The state permit is defined for natural aquatic habitats, and for private fish ponds the law does not expressly require it. If your lake could count as a natural lake or a reservoir, ask ANPA for written confirmation.

Why does LakeBooking ask for my tax details? Because of DAC7, booking platforms must report to ANAF, by 31 January, the income of hosts who took bookings through them. It is not a new tax.