Order MDLPA 348/2026: the new attestation regulation for energy auditors

The Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA) has published a new regulation on the technical-professional attestation of building energy auditors, approved by the Minister's Order no. 348 of 24 March 2026. The text appeared in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 292 of 14 April 2026, and replaces the regulation approved in 2010.

Transition timeline

• 14 April 2026 — the order enters into force on the date of publication in the Official Gazette (art. 2 para. (1) of the order). On the same date the Order of the Minister of Regional Development and Tourism no. 2.237/2010 is repealed, except for art. 11 of the old regulation, the one on the training conditions (art. 7 of the order).
• 10 January 2027 (extended deadline) — art. 10 (general professional training) and art. 11 para. (3) (the completion date of the specialist course) of the new regulation were initially to enter into force 180 days after publication (art. 2 para. (1)); the deadline was extended to 10 January 2027 by Ord. MDLPA 1.209/2026 (Official Gazette no. 850 of 9 October 2026, art. 1). The deadline for repealing art. 11 of the old regulation was also extended to 10 January 2027 (art. 7 of the order; art. 2 of Ord. 1.209/2026).
• Until then — the conditions for general professional training (the diploma) remain those of art. 11 of the regulation approved by Order 2.237/2010 (art. 2 para. (2) of the order; deadline extended by Ord. MDLPA 1.209/2026).

What it replaces

Order 348/2026 repealed, as of 14 April 2026, Order no. 2.237/2010, which had approved the attestation regulation applied until then. The only old provision kept was art. 11 (the professional training conditions), whose repeal deadline was extended to 10 January 2027 (Ord. MDLPA 1.209/2026, art. 2). Attestations already granted are not cancelled: the order regulates how files in progress on the date of entry into force are settled (art. 3 and 4), while art. 6 of the order and art. 31 para. (1) of the regulation tie the renewal request to the expiry date of the card already issued.

Professional grades and the "construcții și instalații" speciality

The speciality "construcții și instalații" (buildings and installations) and the symbols AE Ici and AE IIci already existed in the 2010 regulation (art. 6); the new regulation (art. 5) keeps them and only changes the wording from "the specialities" to "the speciality". The two professional grades of building energy auditor are:

• professional grade I, speciality buildings and installations, with the symbol AE Ici;
• professional grade II, speciality buildings and installations, with the symbol AE IIci.

The competences differ substantially between the two grades. Grade I auditors may prepare energy performance certificates for all categories of buildings provided for by Law no. 372/2005 (whether they are being built, sold, rented or undergoing energy renovation), may carry out the energy audit activity with the related report for existing buildings undergoing renovation, and may draw up the nZEB compliance report. Grade II auditors have a narrower scope: they prepare energy performance certificates only for single-family houses and residential blocks being built, as well as for single-family houses and apartments in residential blocks that are sold or rented (art. 6 para. (2)). On sale or rental, grade II certifies the apartment, not the whole block.

Main conditions for attestation

To sit the attestation exam, an applicant must meet, cumulatively, the conditions set by the regulation: full legal capacity, a physical and mental health condition compatible with practising the profession (proved by a medical certificate), no relevant criminal record (proved by a criminal record certificate), general professional training and specific training in the field of building energy performance, as well as the required professional experience.

After 10 January 2027, general professional training is proved by a diploma as engineer, architect or urban planner (art. 10 of the new regulation), a graduate of an accredited higher education institution, in profiles related to construction, installations, energy management or architecture. Specific training is proved by a certificate of completion of a specialist course in the field of building energy performance, with a minimum duration of 80 hours. The minimum professional experience differs according to the grade sought: at least 5 years for attestation as energy auditor of professional grade I, and at least 3 years for professional grade II.

For those preparing for the exam, the deadline matters: after the expiry of the deadline extended to 10 January 2027 (Ord. MDLPA 1.209/2026), general professional training is checked under art. 10 of the new regulation (the profiles and specialisations listed there), and the specialist course must comply with art. 11 para. (3) — its completion date, shown on the certificate or attestation, cannot be earlier than the announcement date of the second-to-last attestation session organised and completed by MDLPA. Until then, for general training art. 11 of the regulation approved by Ord. 2.237/2010 applies: a diploma as engineer or architect, with at least one discipline with an energy connotation (without urban planners and without the requirement of the three disciplines from the new art. 10). The course of at least 80 hours is already judged under art. 11 para. (1) of the new regulation; after 10 January 2027 only the date condition of para. (3) is added. For the session of 9 January 2027, the general training regime of 2010 therefore applies. On 7 October 2026 MDLPA announced the attestation exam for 9 January 2027, in Bucharest (the exact location and time are announced at least 15 days in advance), with registration on the atestari.mdlpa.ro portal between 23 October and 20 November 2026.

Digitalisation of the procedure

The regulation provides that the exam registration request and the related file are uploaded exclusively through an electronic registration portal, made available by MDLPA and accessible on its website, in electronic format and in Romanian (art. 14 and art. 20). For auditors who are already attested, art. 5 of the order gave the ministry 60 working days from entry into force to make available the electronic portal for the documents for renewing the right to practise. Until it is made available, art. 6 allows the renewal request to be submitted on paper or by e-mail, at least 30 days and at most 90 days before the card expires. Before submitting, check on the MDLPA page "Atestări tehnico-profesionale" (Technical-professional attestations) the channel indicated by the ministry.

The attestation certificate, the individual stamp and the qualified electronic signature are personal and non-transferable. The qualified electronic signature replaces, under the law, both the handwritten signature and the application of the stamp, for documents prepared and submitted in electronic format.

What this means in practice for an auditor

For an auditor who wants to be attested for the first time, the main change is the full submission of the file through the electronic portal, with the choice of professional grade according to training and experience, at the exam for the speciality "construcții și instalații". Under art. 16 para. (1) of the regulation, the announcement of a session, with the exam date, the address of the registration portal and the interval for uploading requests, is published on the MDLPA page at least 60 calendar days before the exam. On the page "Atestări tehnico-profesionale", the section "Sesiune examen auditori energetici 09 ianuarie 2027" (Energy auditors exam session 09 January 2027) appeared on 7 October 2026; the announcement sets registration between 23 October and 20 November 2026.

For an auditor who is already attested, the regulation introduces a clear validity cycle for the right to practise — granted for a period of 5 years, with the possibility of successive renewal every 5 years (art. 30 para. (3)) — and a renewal request that must be submitted at least 30 days before the card expires, but no earlier than 90 days before that date (art. 31 para. (1)).

Through a dedicated annex, the regulation also introduces an activity register that each auditor must keep up to date, in editable electronic format, with data on each certificate prepared, the building concerned and the resulting energy class — a document attached, among others, to the file for renewing the right to practise.

Register of attested auditors

The regulation states explicitly, in the article governing data transparency, that the information on attested energy auditors — name, e-mail address, professional grade and speciality, the series and number of the attestation certificate, the issue dates and the end date of validity of the right to practise — is information of public interest, displayed on the website of the competent authority and permanently updated.

For auditors who want to generate energy performance certificates, audit reports and the compliance documentation for the new requirements quickly, the Zephren calculation program covers the workflow under Mc 001-2022 and the regulations in force.