In brief

  • Law No. 165/2026 substantially amends the Administrative Code: it introduces new “senior” professional grades (levels 2-4) for class I executive civil servants, extends the incompatibility and conflict-of-interest regime to contractual staff, and gives the National Agency of Civil Servants new powers to manage contractual staff.
  • A deputy mayor’s term of office now counts as work experience and experience in the field of study, and a final finding of incompatibility becomes an explicit ground for ending certain local elected officials’ terms.
  • It concerns civil servants, contractual staff in public administration, local elected officials (deputy mayors), and the public authorities/institutions that must update job descriptions and staff structures by staggered deadlines (30 September 2026, 1 January 2027, 31 December 2028, 31 December 2030).
Act: Law No. 165/2026 amending Government Emergency Ordinance No. 57/2019 on the Administrative Code
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) No. 651 of 6 August 2026
In force from: 9 August 2026 (most provisions; some have staggered deadlines, see below)

Parliament has adopted a sweeping amendment to the Administrative Code, through Law No. 165/2026, which introduces new career grades for civil servants, extends integrity rules to contractual staff in public administration, and gives the National Agency of Civil Servants a new role in managing that staff. The law, promulgated by Decree No. 716/2026 and published in the Official Gazette of Romania No. 651 of 6 August 2026, amends Government Emergency Ordinance No. 57/2019 on the Administrative Code through 52 amendment points, plus detailed transitional provisions (Articles II-XI) and two new annexes (future Annexes 12 and 13 to the Administrative Code).

Among the changes with direct impact on citizens who interact with public administration: a deputy mayor’s term of office now counts as work experience and experience in the field of study; a final finding of incompatibility becomes an explicit ground for ending certain terms of office; and contractual staff in public administration (not just civil servants) gain, for the first time at this level of detail, explicit obligations regarding conflicts of interest and incompatibilities, with disciplinary sanctions for violations.

The rules introduced then did not last two months: Law no. 186/2026 retroactively cancels the incompatibilities imposed on contractual staff in the administration.

What it changes in practice

For class I executive civil servants, the law introduces three new levels of the “senior” professional grade (levels 2, 3 and 4), obtainable through a competition or promotion exam, with additional seniority requirements and general competencies rated at the maximum level in the annual evaluation. The number of posts that can be converted to these senior levels is capped at 20% (levels 2-4 combined) and 8% (level 4) of the total posts approved at the level of the budget authorizing officer.

For contractual staff in public administration, the law introduces a complete classification and an integrity regime similar to that of civil servants: the obligation to file asset and interest declarations (if they fall within the situations under Law No. 176/2010), a ban on conflicts of interest, the obligation to abstain and inform the line manager, and disciplinary sanctions for breaching these rules. The National Agency of Civil Servants receives new powers to draft policy, endorse competency frameworks, and monitor and statistically analyse contractual staff.

For public authorities and institutions, the law imposes a staggered compliance timetable: by 30 September 2026 for drafting competency frameworks for certain categories of positions, by 1 January 2027 for updating job descriptions and converting class I expert/inspector posts without inspection and control duties into class I advisor posts, by 31 December 2028 for specific civil service positions under special statutes, and by 31 December 2030 for the new competition rules under Annex 12 to enter into force.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

  • Seniority for deputy mayors: a deputy mayor’s term of office now counts as work experience and experience in the field of study (new Article 152(9)); this was not explicitly provided for before.
  • New ground for ending a term of office: a final finding of incompatibility through an evaluation report or a final judgment becomes a separate item under Article 244(8), alongside the other grounds for ending terms of office covered by that article.
  • New professional grades: “senior levels 2, 3 and 4” are introduced for class I executive civil service positions, obtainable through a competition or promotion exam, capped at 20% and 8% respectively of approved posts.
  • Contractual staff, under explicit integrity rules: for the first time, the Administrative Code fully details the duties, incompatibility and conflict-of-interest regime, and types of liability of contractual staff, partially aligning it with the civil servant regime.
  • New powers for the National Agency of Civil Servants: the Agency now has an explicit role in policy, endorsement, monitoring and programme development for contractual staff, not just civil servants.
  • New accessibility rules for competitions: detailed procedures are introduced for candidates with disabilities in recruitment competitions (extra time, sign language interpreters, Braille or large-print materials, accessibility facilities), through the new Annex 12 to the Administrative Code.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • Explicitly recognising a deputy mayor’s term as seniority removes an ambiguity that affected local elected officials’ professional careers after their term ended.
  • Extending integrity rules to contractual staff closes a grey area where these people, despite working in public administration, did not have integrity obligations as clear as those of civil servants.
  • The new senior professional grades offer an additional career path for experienced civil servants, without requiring them to move into management positions.
  • The accessibility procedures for candidates with disabilities in recruitment competitions represent a concrete step toward a more inclusive public sector.

What remains a problem

  • The volume and complexity of the changes (52 amendment points plus extensive annexes) creates a considerable administrative burden for public authorities, which must update job descriptions and staff structures within relatively short deadlines.
  • The law introduces several different transitional deadlines (30 September 2026, 1 January 2027, 31 December 2028, 31 December 2030), which can create confusion about what applies and from when, especially for smaller authorities without dedicated legal departments.
  • The strict caps on senior professional grade positions (20% and 8%) may limit promotion-based motivation in institutions with large staff and strong competition for these positions.

Practical advice

  1. If you are a class I executive civil servant, check with your institution whether and when competitions or promotion exams for the new “senior 2-4” grades will be organised, keeping in mind that some procedures only become applicable from 1 January 2027.
  2. If you are contractual staff in public administration, inform yourself about your new obligations regarding conflicts of interest and incompatibilities, since violating them is now an explicitly sanctionable disciplinary offence.
  3. If you work in HR at a public authority or institution, note the key deadlines: 30 September 2026 (competency frameworks for certain positions), 1 January 2027 (updating job descriptions and converting class I expert/inspector posts), 31 December 2028 (positions under special statutes), and 31 December 2030 (new competition rules under Annex 12).
  4. If you are a candidate with disabilities applying to a public administration recruitment competition, request reasonable accommodation of the competition conditions through the application form, under the new procedure detailed in Annex 12 to the Administrative Code.

Frequently asked questions

What is Law No. 165/2026, in brief?
A sweeping law amending the Administrative Code (GEO 57/2019) in 52 points, introducing new professional grades for civil servants, an extended integrity regime for contractual staff, and new powers for the National Agency of Civil Servants.
Does anything change for current or former deputy mayors?
Yes. A deputy mayor’s term of office now explicitly counts as work experience and experience in the field of study, under the new Article 152(9) of the Administrative Code.
What changes for contractual staff in public administration?
The law explicitly sets out their categories, role, duties, incompatibility and conflict-of-interest regime, and types of liability, partially aligning them with the rules applicable to civil servants, including the obligation to declare assets and interests for those in situations covered by Law No. 176/2010.
From when do the changes apply?
Most provisions enter into force upon publication of the law, but some have staggered deadlines: certain promotion and competency-verification procedures apply from 1 January 2027, and the new competition rules under Annex 12 to the Administrative Code only enter into force on 31 December 2030.
Why is the full text of the law not reproduced in this article?
The law has 52 amendment points plus transitional provisions and two extensive annexes (competition rules with accessibility procedures for candidates with disabilities, and general competency frameworks in table form), totalling over 200,000 characters. We reproduced in full the preamble and the first amendment points with direct impact on the general public, and summarised the rest above. The full text is available in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 651 of 6 August 2026.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 651 of 6 August 2026 48 pages PDF, 243 KB the act starts on page 2

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.