On August 19, 2020, the Government of Romania issued the GEO 140, approved by Law 255/2020, which sets out the establishment of measures on the use of electronic documents in the fields of construction, architecture and urban planning.
Thus, the activity in the above-mentioned fields can continue as before, but considering the sanitary norms imposed and having, at the same time, 100% legal value.
The technical norms that will govern the use of electronic documents in constructions, architecture and urban planning will enter into force as of January 2021, in the first half of January. They set out how the qualified electronic signature applied to documents and documentation transmitted to public institutions can be requested, issued, verified or modified.
All documentation, from project, permits, to the receipt of the work, can be signed and sent electronically, much easier and faster, using the qualified certificate.
The qualified electronic signature is the only type of signature that, according to the European Regulation eIDAS 910/2014, is equivalent to the handwritten signature, so it has full legal coverage.
The issuance of permits, agreements, approvals and authorizations will be done electronically, as an alternative to their transmission on paper, hand signed and with professional stamp or initials, this change coming as a support for the activity of architects, builders, site managers, etc., following restrictions imposed by the SARS COV-2 pandemic.
Under the GEO 140/2020, the electronic signature can be used by architects, project auditors, technical experts, energy auditors for buildings, site managers in charge with the execution of works, professionals in landscaping and/or urban planning, in the field of monuments, individuals carrying out works in the filed of fire protection, in the design and /or execution of electrical and natural gas installations, those who perform specialized works in the field of cadastre, topography, geodesy, photogrammetry, remote sensing and cartography.
A very important thing to remember is that, according to GEO 140/2020, the qualified electronic signature takes the place of the handwritten signature and of the professional initial or the individual stamp, as the case may be.
