Chișinău Turns 590: What We Celebrate on 14 October and Why Companies Start Here

Tomorrow, 14 October, Chișinău celebrates its feast day. In the old-style Orthodox calendar it is the day of the Protection of the Mother of God, the city’s protector. For the people who live here, it means a fair in the centre, families out walking along Ștefan cel Mare Boulevard and concerts into the evening.

This year there is one more reason to celebrate. It is 590 years since the city’s name first appeared in a document.

We work in Chișinău, and almost every file we prepare ends up at an address here. So we wanted to write about the city with more than good wishes: with the figures that show why the capital is where more companies are set up than anywhere else in the country. And at the end, a gift that lasts a week.

Why 14 October, and what happened in 1436

The two dates are often confused, so they are worth separating.

17 July 1436 is the date of the first written mention. In a charter, Ilie and Ștefan, the rulers of Moldavia, confirm the boyar Oancea’s estate on the Bâc river (Chișinău City Hall). It is the first time the place’s name is written down, and the 590 years are counted from this date.

14 October is the feast day. The city chose to celebrate its day on the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, and that is the date everyone knows (Europa Liberă).

Between 1436 and today, the village on the banks of the Bâc became a market town, then a provincial capital in the 19th century, with the straight streets and stone-built quarters that still form the historic centre. After 1991 it became the capital of an independent state. Today it is where almost every economic decision in Moldova is made.

Chișinău in figures, 2026

Indicator	Value	Source
Residents, municipality of Chișinău	720,100 (29.9% of the country’s population)	2024 census, NBS
Residents, city of Chișinău	567,000 (23.5%)	2024 census, NBS
Active businesses	41,091 (+6.9% on 2023)	2024, DGECT Chișinău
Share of SMEs	99.1% of companies	2024, DGECT Chișinău
Sales revenue	MDL 496.9 billion — 74.3% of the national total	2024, DGECT Chișinău

The figure that matters most is the last one. About a quarter of the country’s population lives in Chișinău, yet companies here account for three quarters of all company sales in Moldova. This is where the big clients are, along with the banks’ head offices, the ministries and the agencies that issue permits. It is also where the people are: the accountants, lawyers, developers and translators a new company needs from its first month.

And the pace has picked up. For years the number of companies in the capital grew by 1–3% a year. In 2024 it jumped by 6.9%, which means more than 2,600 new companies in a single year.

Why register your company in Chișinău

You don’t have to. A company can be registered anywhere in Moldova, and the file goes to the Public Services Agency whatever the district. For most founders, though, Chișinău is the natural choice, for very practical reasons.

The banks have their head offices here. The institutions a company deals with in its first year, from the State Tax Service to the agencies that issue licences, are a few trolleybus stops from one another. For a foreign founder, the international airport is right on the edge of the city, so the one trip you need for the bank can be a short one.

If you don’t have an office, there is no need to rent one just to have a registered address. A legal address in Chișinău covers registration and official correspondence, and the company can operate remotely.

Why choose us

Because we do this every day, in this city, and we know where a file gets stuck before it does.

An SRL (the Moldovan limited liability company) is usually registered in about three working days once the file is complete. Our prices are published on the site, service by service, so from the start you know what you pay us and what is paid separately in state fees. We work in Romanian, Russian and English, and for foreign founders we do everything remotely: the IDNP, the power of attorney, the registration. You only need to come to Moldova once, for the bank, and we come with you for that too.

In practice, we take care of:

• choosing the legal form: SRL, sole proprietorship or Freelance
• checking and reserving the company name
• the memorandum of association, the articles of association and the founding decision
• the CAEM codes that fit your activity, so there are no surprises with licences or at the bank
• a legal address in Chișinău
• filing with the Public Services Agency and collecting the certificate with the IDNO
• an IDNP for foreign founders and directors, obtained remotely
• the electronic signature and opening a bank account in lei, euro or dollars
• joining Moldova IT Park, if your activity qualifies
• accounting from the first month, done by licensed accountants

Once you send your request, you get a number and an access code to track your file. You don’t need to call to find out where it stands.

14% off, from 14 to 20 October

City Day is on the 14th, so the discount is 14%. And so that it isn’t a one-day offer you only hear about once it’s over, it runs for a full week.

From 14 to 20 October 2026, the code CHISINAU14 gives you 14% off registration packages and one-off corporate services:

Service	Standard price	With CHISINAU14	What you save
Starter package	MDL 2,000	MDL 1,720	MDL 280
Business package	MDL 6,000	MDL 5,160	MDL 840
Gold package	MDL 12,000	MDL 10,320	MDL 1,680
IDNP for foreign founders	MDL 3,000	MDL 2,580	MDL 420
Electronic signature	MDL 3,000	MDL 2,580	MDL 420
Bank account opening	MDL 2,000	MDL 1,720	MDL 280
Joining Moldova IT Park	MDL 2,000	MDL 1,720	MDL 280
Concierge Platinum	on request	14% off the quote	14% of the fee

The other one-off services in the list of corporate services, from name reservation to a change of director, are discounted the same way. State fees remain separate, as always, and monthly and annual subscriptions, meaning accounting, corporate secretarial services and the legal address, are not part of the offer.

Mention the code wherever you contact us: on the form, by email, on WhatsApp or by phone. You pay nothing upfront to secure it. All that matters is that your request reaches us by 20 October.

How to start

First, check whether the name you want is free. It takes a few seconds with the company name checker. Then fill in the registration form, enter CHISINAU14 and send it.

If you’d like to see the whole process beforehand, we’ve described it step by step in our guide to registering an SRL. Founders who are not from Moldova will find the extra steps in our guide for foreign founders.

Happy birthday, Chișinău

We hope our city stays the place where people arrive with an idea and leave with a company. To those who live here, a happy feast day, with sunshine in Valea Morilor park and guests at the table. To those who have moved far away, reasons to come back, even if only to start a business. And to those who have been thinking about starting their own company for a long time, the push to stop putting it off.

Happy birthday, Chișinău. 590 looks good on you.

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The population figures come from the final results of the census of 8 April 2024, published by the National Bureau of Statistics. The figures on businesses refer to 2024, the last full year reported by the Directorate General for Economy of Chișinău City Hall.

The CHISINAU14 discount is valid for requests received between 14 and 20 October 2026 inclusive, applies to the fee for registration packages and one-off corporate services, and cannot be combined with other offers. State fees and monthly or annual subscriptions are not covered by the discount.