Research · What already exists in Romania

What already exists in Romania

This is desk research into the Romanian rules, guidelines and resources that what I call SDGR here (the proposal for a design system for public services) could build on. The situation described is as of 20 October 2026. Here you will find what the law provides, what already exists, what is missing and what it would mean for the project: the proposal would not start from scratch.

1. Map of the foundations

ADR is the Romanian Authority for Digitalisation, the government body responsible for digitalising public administration. The SGG is the central body that coordinates the Government's work. MIPE is the Ministry of Investments and European Projects. PNRR is the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

2. State symbols: the coat of arms and the flag

2.1 The flag: colours set by law since 2023

Law no. 75/1994, Annex 1, as amended by Law no. 176/2023 (Official Gazette (Monitorul Oficial) no. 550 of 20.06.2023). I checked the values in the official text.

Contrast is calculated using the WCAG formula (the international web accessibility guidelines).

• Until 2023, the law only gave colour names, with no codes.
• Displaying the flag „cu altă intensitate a culorilor” (“with a different intensity of the colours”) is a minor offence (HG no. 1157/2001, art. 24).
• The yellow cannot be used for text on white, only as decoration or as an accent on blue (contrast 8.6 : 1).
• The PNRR manual specifies the blue #0047AB for the web, which differs from the legal value RGB 0-43-127. The proposed system would use the legal values.

2.2 The coat of arms

• The law describes the coat of arms only in heraldic terms. There are no legal colour codes and no official vector file; the only official representation is the drawing in the Official Gazette.
• HG no. 687/1993: the coat of arms may only be reproduced from the official model (art. 6); otherwise it is a minor offence (art. 24). I found no rules for its use on websites.
• The proposed system would use the coat of arms only through the official logo of the Government, without redrawing it. I propose that the SGG and the National Heraldry Commission publish a vector file and rules for digital use.

3. The Government's visual identity (the SGG guide)

3.1 What it is

The SGG guide first appeared in 2017 and was revised in 2019. Version 2 dates from April 2022 and is available on identitate.gov.ro, where the official logo can also be downloaded. I found no act approving it. It is nevertheless used, for example in the DigiLocal model from 2024.

3.2 What it provides

I checked the 2022 PDF.

• The logo is the „singurul element care poate fi folosit în comunicarea vizuală care implică Guvernul” (“only element that may be used in visual communication involving the Government”). Minimum size 17.5 mm.
• Main colours: #004990 (contrast on white 8.9 : 1) and #58595B (7.0 : 1). Secondary: #0079C1 (4.7 : 1, borderline) and #D1D3D4 (backgrounds only).
• Fonts: Trajan Pro for the name of the institution, Trebuchet MS for everything else. Both have commercial licences.
• Web header: a 92 px bar, content at most 1,280 px wide, a 72 px logo, a “GOV.RO” link. The colour of the bar differs by level:

• Minimum menu: „Despre noi · Informații de interes public · Transparență decizională · Agendă publică · Contact” (“About us · Information of public interest · Transparency in decision-making · Public agenda · Contact”).

3.3 What the proposal would do with the guide

It would continue the SGG header (the same logo, colours and GOV.RO link), with the colours for each level as themes. Together with the SGG, it would propose a version 3 of the guide, with accessibility and a corrected colour for the prefectures. Trajan Pro would remain only in the logo; for the interface, a font with a free licence, with the SGG's agreement. The SGG would be part of the Steering Committee proposed for the system (The full proposal).

4. Visual identity for EU funds: the only one with binding force

MIPE Order no. 5744/2023 is mandatory for 2021–2027 projects with EU funding. It requires the EU emblem, the Government's logo and the programme's logo. It takes over, word for word, the logo specifications from the SGG guide. On websites, the logos must be visible „fără a fi nevoie de derulare (scroll) sau click” (“without the need to scroll or click”). The proposed system would offer an “EU-funded” pattern (in Romanian, „Finanțat din fonduri europene”) that complies with the order.

5. The mandatory structure of institutions' websites

5.1 The five mandatory sections

HG no. 123/2002, Annex 1 (checked), requires „minimum cinci secțiuni” (“at least five sections”): „Despre instituție” (“About the institution”), „Informații de interes public” (“Information of public interest”), „Transparență decizională” (“Transparency in decision-making”), „Contact” and „Integritate instituțională” (“Institutional integrity”). It also sets the file formats (budgets in .ods, .xml or .xls(x)).

5.2 Other mandatory rules

• HG no. 1085/2003, art. 6¹ (checked): „data ultimei actualizări fiind afișată pentru fiecare pagină” (“the date of the last update being displayed for each page”). The fine: 5,000–10,000 lei.
• The Administrative Code: local authorities' websites must have a „Monitorul Oficial Local” (“Local Official Gazette”) tab in the first row of the menu.
• ADR Decision no. 815/2022: an „Accesibilitate” (“Accessibility”) section on the home page (see §6).

5.3 What it would mean for the proposal

Website templates for a central institution, a local authority and a prefecture, automatically compliant with these rules, plus a “Last updated” component. A minimal template could come in stage 2 of the proposed implementation (The full proposal).

6. Accessibility: rules, a model statement, the current situation

• OUG no. 112/2018: an annual accessibility statement, a reply to reports within 30 days, fines.
• ADR Decision no. 815/2022 (checked) contains an official model statement in Romanian.
• ADR's 2025 monitoring: out of 1,379 websites, on desktop, 342 accessible (25%), 691 partially accessible, 346 inaccessible. The most common problems: invisible focus, contrast, fields without labels, images without alternative text.
• There are no accredited bodies for in-depth audits.
• The proposed system would offer the “Accessibility” page as a template. The most common problems would become acceptance criteria for the components (The full proposal, §8).

7. The .gov.ro domain

HG no. 1480/2008 (checked) makes .gov.ro mandatory only for central government, its devolved services and the prefectures. The 2025 list has 625 distinct subdomains, belonging to more than 200 institutions. Town halls use ordinary .ro domains. A banner with the text „Site-urile oficiale folosesc domeniul .gov.ro” (“Official websites use the .gov.ro domain”) would not fit them. I recommend that the SGG also offer .gov.ro to local authorities.

8. Plain language, the Romanian language, diacritics

• There is no official plain language guide yet. HG no. 358/2025 (measure AP4.4, checked) plans three steps, with the SGG responsible: a report on how the administration's language is perceived; a „Ghid pentru simplificarea limbajului utilizat de administrația publică” (“Guide to simplifying the language used by public administration”), in the first quarter of 2027; a memorandum, in the fourth quarter of 2027. The proposed content guide and the SGG guide could be the same document or two coordinated documents.
• Law no. 24/2000 requires legal acts with text that is „clar, fluent și inteligibil” (“clear, fluent and intelligible”) and the avoidance of neologisms where a common synonym exists. Law no. 500/2004 requires correct texts „conform normelor academice” (“in line with academic norms”) and, in art. 6, translations in characters „de aceleași dimensiuni” (“of the same size”).
• Ș and ț with a comma below are not explicitly required by any law or order; the keyboard standard SR 13392:2004 is voluntary. The proposed system would enforce them through fonts and text validation.
• Form of address: the MUD texts mix „tu” (the informal “you”) and „dumneavoastră” (the formal “you”). The proposed content guide should choose one, after research with users. I recommend the formal form, consistently, in the messages a public service sends to citizens.

9. Minority languages and Romanian Sign Language

The Administrative Code (art. 94, 195, 198) and HG no. 123/2002 (art. 12) require texts in the minority language where the minority makes up more than 20% of the population. Law no. 27/2020 recognises Romanian Sign Language. Hungarian would be legally justified from the first stage; video components would have subtitles and space for an interpreter.

10. Digital identity and payments: ROeID, Ghișeul.ro

• ROeID (checked): the button has the exact text „Conectare cu ROeID” (“Sign in with ROeID”), in four sizes, with files hosted by ADR. The rules follow from the protocol with ADR. The proposed system would integrate the component exactly as it is defined.
• Ghișeul.ro (the national online payment platform for taxes and fees): I found no public visual guide. OUG no. 7/2026 requires all administrative-territorial units (the local government units) to enrol by 25.08.2026. The payment pattern would be defined with the operator.

11. Legal and strategic grounds for the SDGR proposal

MDLPA is the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration. MEDAT is the Ministry of Economy, Digitalisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism.

12. Romanian precedents

MCTI was the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. MCID is the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation.

13. Reusable resources in Romanian

DTCG is the common format for design tokens of the Design Tokens Community Group.

14. What is missing

There is no: national design system with code; act approving the SGG guide; official vector file of the coat of arms; open fonts for the state's identity; plain language guide (planned for 2027); single official domain for local authorities; visual guide for Ghișeul.ro; accredited body for accessibility audits; law on ș and ț with a comma below.

15. What it would mean for the SDGR proposal: 12 decisions

1. The national colours from the law: #002B7F, #FCD116, #CE1126. The yellow only as an accent.
2. The base palette from the SGG guide: #004990 and #58595B.
3. Themes for each level, with the prefectures' colour corrected.
4. The SGG header, plus the official banner.
5. The banner text adapted to the domain rule.
6. An open font for the interface, with the SGG's agreement.
7. Website templates compliant with HG no. 123/2002, from stage 2.
8. The “EU-funded” pattern.
9. The „Conectare cu ROeID” (“Sign in with ROeID”) button and the Ghișeul.ro payment pattern.
10. The content guide coordinated with the SGG, with a single form of address.
11. The integration test in stage 1 would test the MUD code.
12. The SGG would join the Steering Committee, alongside ADR.

The hex codes are conversions of the official RGB values. The note “checked” shows that I read the point in the official text. This document is not legal advice.

Sources

• Legislation (the Legislative Portal)
• Official Gazette (Monitorul Oficial)
• The Government's visual identity guide
• The .gov.ro register
• Romanian Authority for Digitalisation
• ROeID: the integration guide
• Chamber of Deputies
• The MUD code

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