The European Certificate of Succession is a single document, created by EU Regulation 650/2012, that proves your status as heir, legatee, executor or estate administrator with effect across the participating Member States. It lets a Romanian heir claim an account in Vienna or register a flat in Spain without a parallel local succession.
After a father's death, a family discovers that the succession does not end at the local notary. There remain a flat in Alicante and an account at a bank in Vienna — and the Austrian bank and the Spanish register do not understand the Romanian certificate of heir; they ask for "something recognised here." The good news: that "something" exists and was created precisely for this situation. The European Certificate of Succession (certificat european de moștenitor), governed by art. 62 et seq. of Regulation (EU) 650/2012, is designed to prove the capacity of heir, legatee, executor or administrator of the estate, with effect in all Member States in which the Regulation applies. It is, in practice, the European succession passport.
It coexists with the national certificate of heir (the one issued by the Romanian notary). It is not compulsory; you use it when you need to prove your rights in another Member State.
The United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark do not take part in the Regulation; third countries (the US, Switzerland) do not either. For assets there, the certificate is not recognised.
With the European Certificate, an heir proves their status directly in another Member State, without parallel local succession procedures.
Held with an institution in another Member State, by presenting the certificate, without a separate succession procedure in that state.
Located in another Member State, in the local land register.
If they are executor or administrator, in dealings with third parties in another Member State.
For the family in the example, the certificate obtained in Romania proves their status as heirs both at the Vienna bank and at the Spanish register — saving months of procedure and local representation costs. Without it, the same rights would have to be proved afresh in each state, through different domestic procedures. This is, in essence, its reason for being: the free movement of proof of the capacity of heir.
The certificate is issued by the competent authority of the Member State whose courts have jurisdiction over the succession — as a rule the state of the deceased's last habitual residence, or the state whose law was chosen. If the succession is settled in Romania, the Romanian notary issues both the national certificate and the European Certificate.
Identification of the deceased and of the issuing authority.
Identification of the heirs, legatees, executors or administrators and the share due to each.
The assets falling to a particular heir or legatee, as the case may be.
The powers of the executor or administrator, and the law applicable to the succession, with the elements on which it was determined.
The certificate enjoys a presumption of accuracy: the person mentioned in it is presumed to have the status and rights indicated, subject to no conditions or restrictions other than those stated. From this presumption flows the protection of third parties in good faith: anyone who pays or delivers assets to the person indicated in the certificate as entitled is protected, provided they acted in good faith on the basis of the certificate — even if it later turns out that matters stood otherwise.
The certificate is also a valid title for registering estate assets in public registers. One nuance is worth noting: the certificate has effect for registration, but the concrete means of registration remain those of the state where the property is located. A register may require, alongside the certificate, sworn translations, exact identification of the property according to local records, and the payment of fees. The certificate opens the door and removes the parallel succession procedure, but it does not override the technical rules of land publicity of the state where the asset is situated.
The original of the certificate is kept by the issuing authority; the parties are given certified copies. These copies have a limited validity of six months (art. 70(3) of the Regulation), with the expiry date shown on the copy.
The Court of Justice of the EU clarified the regime of this validity in a judgment of 1 July 2021: even if a copy indicated an "indefinite" validity, it has effect only for six months from issue; at the same time, a certified copy remains valid, for the procedure in which it was relied on, if it was valid at the time of initial submission, even if the six-month term expires during that procedure. In practice: do not obtain the copy "in advance" to keep it in a drawer — you request it when you actually need it.
The most common practical error is one of timing, not of law. The certified copy is valid for six months; if you obtain it too early, or let the foreign procedures drag on, you risk turning up at the bank or the register in another state with an expired copy and having to start again.
Request the certified copy when you are ready to use it, watch the expiry date written on it, and, if the foreign procedure is prolonged, ask in good time for a new copy. An instrument created to save months of procedure can, through a simple inattention to a deadline, become one more delay.
Filed with the competent authority (in Romania, the notary public handling the succession), by any interested person — heir, legatee, executor, administrator.
Civil-status records, the will, any matrimonial agreements, evidence relating to the assets — as to the link with the deceased and the composition of the estate.
The authority verifies the elements and, if the conditions are met, issues the certificate, with certified copies for the parties. The timeframe varies with complexity.
Issued by the Romanian notary, it suffices for assets and procedures in Romania — settling the succession, registering domestic real estate, dealings with Romanian banks.
The instrument for assets in other Member States — the account in Austria, the flat in Spain.
The two complement each other. In a succession with assets in Romania and in other Member States, it is common to need both. The heirs' shares recorded in the certificate reflect, for assets in the country, the forced heirship of the reserved heirs.
For a material error (a spelling mistake, an inexact date), the issuing authority corrects the certificate, on request or of its own motion.
If it is established that the certificate does not correspond to reality, the issuing authority amends or withdraws it. Those who received copies are informed.
During a challenge, the effects may be suspended, and the issue of new copies stopped. Decisions are subject to appeal in the issuing state.
These safeguards explain why the presumption of accuracy is solid but not absolute: it holds so long as the certificate has not been amended, withdrawn or suspended.
If there is a genuine dispute between heirs over status or shares, the certificate does not resolve it — it reflects an uncontested situation. The dispute is settled by the ordinary means, and issue may be suspended.
It proves the status of heir, but does not exempt you from the estate-tax obligations of each state. Taxes remain national, and double taxation of successions is possible.
Nor in the UK, Ireland or Denmark. For assets there you need the local instruments, including where they are held through trust-type structures.
Assets inherited from abroad may also trigger reporting obligations in Romania — see the asset declaration and the regime for real estate held in another state.
The cost of issue in Romania consists of the notarial fee, set under the fee scale, to which fees for certified copies and translations may be added, as the case may be. The concrete amount is not fixed: it depends on the value and complexity of the succession and is confirmed with the notary handling the file, when the procedure opens.
The succession is settled in Romania (if habitual residence was here or Romanian law was chosen). The Romanian notary issues the European Certificate, with which the heirs register their title in the Spanish register, without a parallel procedure in Spain.
The Austrian bank asks for proof of status in a form it recognises. The European Certificate, in a valid certified copy, unlocks access to the account, under the protection of the presumption of accuracy.
In both cases, obtaining the certificate presupposes that the succession falls within the jurisdiction of the Romanian authorities — as a rule because the deceased had their habitual residence here, or because they chose Romanian law by will. Correctly determining this jurisdiction, under the rules of Regulation 650/2012, is the first step, and one often overlooked.
It depends on where the assets are. For assets and procedures in Romania, the national certificate suffices. For assets in other Member States (accounts, real estate), the European Certificate spares you parallel local succession procedures. It is not mandatory, but in successions with a cross-border element within the EU it is, as a rule, the most efficient instrument.
The notary public handling the succession. The same authority that issues the national certificate of heir also issues, on request, the European Certificate, provided the succession falls within the jurisdiction of the Romanian authorities under Regulation 650/2012.
Because the parties receive certified copies, and these are valid for six months from issue (art. 70 of the Regulation), with the expiry date written on the copy. The original stays with the issuing authority. If the term approaches and you still need the document, request a new copy. Ask for the copy when you are ready to use it, not long before.
No. It proves the status of heir, but does not touch taxation. Inheritance taxes remain national, and the state where the asset is located applies its own rules. The tax coordination of a cross-border succession is done separately, taking account of possible double taxation.
Informational material, updated 18 July 2026. It does not constitute legal or tax advice; individual situations must be analysed case by case.
An initial discussion clarifies whether the succession falls to the Romanian authorities, whether a European Certificate is the right instrument, and how to coordinate the national and cross-border steps — before a foreign bank or register turns you away.