# How to open a water and sewerage company in Moldova: water supply, sewerage and wastewater treatment, septic tank emptying

Water and sewerage are a public service: the networks belong to the localities, and a private company can operate them only under a delegated management contract. This page starts with water supply, where an ANRE licence is required only for operators with more than 10,000 inhabitants in their service area, and any abstraction of water for sale requires an environmental permit for special water use. Then come sewerage and wastewater treatment, with the same licence and a permit for discharges, and septic tank emptying, which needs no licence but runs on an environmental permit and has had its own rules since February 2026.

## In brief

- **CAEM codes:** 36.00 and 37.00
- **Licence:** ANRE (only above 10,000 inhabitants in the service area)
- **Share capital:** No minimum (public networks cannot be contributed to capital)
- **Independent entrepreneur:** Not applicable (no class in section E is on the list)

## Water operator, own well or water delivered by tanker: the ANRE licence above 10,000 inhabitants

An ANRE licence is required only for an operator that provides the public service in an area with more than 10,000 inhabitants. It is granted to legal persons, for five years, within five working days. The networks remain the locality’s property, and the company operates them under a delegated management contract. Any abstraction of water for sale requires an environmental permit for special water use, and abstracting, treating and distributing drinking water requires a sanitary operating authorisation.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 36.00 | Water collection, treatment and supply | Abstracting water from rivers, lakes and wells, treating it and distributing it through pipes or by tanker, including process water for industry and irrigation canals. Long-distance transport of water through pipelines is under 49.50. |
| 42.21 | Construction of utility projects for fluids | Drilling artesian wells and building water mains, sewer networks, pumping stations and treatment plants. This is construction work, under the rules for construction companies, not those for operators. |
| 11.07 | Manufacture of soft drinks; production of mineral waters and other bottled waters | Bottled water is not water supply but manufacturing. Abstracting groundwater for bottling requires reserves that have been surveyed and approved, and a subsoil use permit. |

- **Licence: Licence to provide the public water supply and sewerage service** — National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), valid for 5 years. An operator whose service area has more than 10,000 inhabitants, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. It is granted to legal persons, resident or non-resident. The conditions: the previous year’s financial statements or, for a new company, a bank statement; the list of public assets it operates; qualified staff; the technical opinion on the metrological assurance of water metering; the delegated management or concession contract, specifying the service area; and documents on drinking water quality. ANRE checks the registration through the interoperability platform and decides within 5 working days. If the company does not produce the delegated management contract, ANRE may withdraw the licence.
- **Authorisation: Environmental permit for special water use** — Environment Agency, valid for 6 years; 12 years for a long-term permit. Any abstraction of surface water or groundwater, other than for the needs of one’s own household with installations of up to 0.2 litres per second, including for drinking water, process water or food processing, and any discharge of wastewater into a water body. The application is filed electronically. The applicant posts a notice at the town hall, and the Environmental Protection Inspectorate, the National Agency for Public Health, the National Food Safety Agency and the Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources give their opinions within 10 working days. For groundwater, the file includes the town hall’s consent. The application is examined within 25 working days. A 12-year permit is issued if the applicant invests in a dam or in a facility for treating and supplying drinking water.
- **Authorisation: Sanitary operating authorisation** — National Agency for Public Health, valid for 5 years. Abstracting, treating and distributing drinking water. The application is filed with the regional public health centre, with the title deed or lease and the list of activities. It is issued within 10 working days, for 5 years or for the term of the lease, if that is shorter. The same agency approves the programme under which the operator monitors water quality.

**Who buys it:** The town hall or the inter-municipal development association that delegates the service, and then the households, institutions and businesses in the service area, under a supply contract. Where there is no network, drinking water is delivered by tanker, and factories also buy process water for washing, dilution or cooling.

**What is different about the money:** ANRE approves licensed operators’ tariffs under its own methodology; the local council approves the others’ every year. Water and sewerage for housing are zero-rated for VAT, that is, exempt with the right to deduct input VAT. The water tax is 0.3 lei per cubic metre abstracted, but it is not paid on water supplied to households, public authorities and budget-funded institutions.

## Sewer network or treatment plant: the same licence, an environmental permit and a discharge permit

Public sewerage follows the rules for water supply: a delegated management contract from the locality and an ANRE licence above 10,000 inhabitants. The network and the treatment plant run on an environmental permit, and discharging treated wastewater into a river or lake also requires the special water use permit, with analyses carried out by an accredited laboratory. The operator sets the conditions on which businesses discharge into the network and applies surcharges when they exceed them.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 37.00 | Sewerage | Operating sewer networks and treatment plants, for domestic and industrial wastewater, rainwater and swimming pool water. Unblocking drains inside buildings is under 43.22. |
| 39.00 | Remediation activities and other waste management services | Cleaning up soil, groundwater and surface water at the site of pollution, for example after an accidental spill. Purifying water for supply stays under 36.00. |

- **Licence: Licence to provide the public water supply and sewerage service** — National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), valid for 5 years. An operator whose service area has more than 10,000 inhabitants, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. It is granted to legal persons, resident or non-resident. The conditions: the previous year’s financial statements or, for a new company, a bank statement; the list of public assets it operates; qualified staff; the technical opinion on the metrological assurance of water metering; the delegated management or concession contract, specifying the service area; and documents on drinking water quality. ANRE checks the registration through the interoperability platform and decides within 5 working days. If the company does not produce the delegated management contract, ANRE may withdraw the licence.
- **Authorisation: Environmental permit for special water use** — Environment Agency, valid for 6 years; 12 years for a long-term permit. Any abstraction of surface water or groundwater, other than for the needs of one’s own household with installations of up to 0.2 litres per second, including for drinking water, process water or food processing, and any discharge of wastewater into a water body. The application is filed electronically. The applicant posts a notice at the town hall, and the Environmental Protection Inspectorate, the National Agency for Public Health, the National Food Safety Agency and the Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources give their opinions within 10 working days. For groundwater, the file includes the town hall’s consent. The application is examined within 25 working days. A 12-year permit is issued if the applicant invests in a dam or in a facility for treating and supplying drinking water.
- **Authorisation: Environmental permit** — Environment Agency, valid for 6 years. Wastewater collection and treatment, class 37.00, including sewer networks, treatment plants and septic tank emptying, is on the list of activities with a low environmental risk in the Law on industrial emissions, with no capacity threshold. The application is filed at the Environment Agency’s one-stop shop with a technical file: a description of the installation and its capacities, the emission sources and how they are monitored, and the measures for the waste it generates. The Agency responds within 15 days and drafts the permit within 60 days at most.

**Who buys it:** Households and businesses connected to the network, factories that discharge industrial wastewater under an acceptance agreement, housing developments and industrial parks with their own treatment plant, and septic tank emptying companies that discharge at the plant.

**What is different about the money:** The sewerage and treatment tariff is approved by ANRE or the local council, as the case may be, and a regional operator applies a single tariff across its whole area. Surcharges for exceeding the permitted concentrations go into the development fund for the sewerage system. Factories whose wastewater does not meet the operator’s conditions build their own pre-treatment plants.

## Septic tank emptying and portable toilet company: no licence, but an environmental permit and volume records since 2026

Septic tank emptying needs no licence, but as class 37.00 it runs on an environmental permit. Since 5 February 2026, holding tank owners must have a contract with an emptying company, and sludge from septic tanks and individual treatment plants may be removed only by specialised companies. The company takes the wastewater to a treatment plant, keeps records of volumes or fits its tankers with meters and GPS, and reports quarterly to the operators it has contracts with.

| Code | Activity | What it means in practice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 37.00 | Sewerage | Emptying and cleaning septic tanks, cesspools and sewer manholes, transporting wastewater by tanker and servicing chemical toilets are in the same class as treatment plants. |
| 38.11 | Collection of non-hazardous waste | Collecting household rubbish, construction waste and recyclables is a different activity, with a different class and different rules. Street sweeping and washing are under 81.29. |

- **Authorisation: Environmental permit** — Environment Agency, valid for 6 years. Wastewater collection and treatment, class 37.00, including sewer networks, treatment plants and septic tank emptying, is on the list of activities with a low environmental risk in the Law on industrial emissions, with no capacity threshold. The application is filed at the Environment Agency’s one-stop shop with a technical file: a description of the installation and its capacities, the emission sources and how they are monitored, and the measures for the waste it generates. The Agency responds within 15 days and drafts the permit within 60 days at most.

**Who buys it:** Houses and businesses in localities without sewerage that have septic tanks, holding tanks or individual treatment plants; sewerage operators, for their manholes and collector sewers; building sites and event organisers, who rent portable toilets.

**What is different about the money:** Discharge at the treatment plant is allowed only under a contract with the sewerage operator. Owners enter their individual system in the town hall’s register, with the emptying intervals, and the Environmental Protection Inspectorate checks the emptying and discharge contracts during inspections.

## How the sector got here

- **5 February 2026 — Government Decision no. 508/2024, regulation on individual wastewater collection and treatment systems.** Owners of holding tanks must sign a contract with an emptying company, and sludge from septic tanks and individual treatment plants may be removed only by specialised companies. Emptying companies must keep records of volumes or fit their tankers with meters and GPS, and report quarterly to sewerage operators. Individual systems are prohibited where public sewerage already exists.
- **25 April 2026 — Water Law no. 272/2011, amended by Law no. 53/2026.** Producing and supplying reclaimed water for irrigation in agriculture becomes a special water use. To obtain the permit, the applicant also submits a risk management plan for water reuse and a contract with an accredited laboratory.
- **30 May 2026 — Subsoil Code no. 246/2024.** The new Subsoil Code replaces the 2009 code. Groundwater for drinking water supply is authorised without surveying and approving the reserves, while for other uses it is abstracted from aquifers with approved reserves. Water for bottling follows the rules for mineral resources.
- **1 January 2029 — Law no. 182/2019 on drinking water quality.** The deadline by which drinking water producers and operators draw up their drinking water safety plans. The plans are coordinated with the National Agency for Public Health and approved by the local public authority.

## How big the market is

For 2025, 393 companies in water collection and distribution and in wastewater collection and treatment filed financial statements: 364 in the first activity and 29 in the second. Together they had 6,278 employees and sales revenue of 2.13 billion lei. The wastewater division is small: 182 employees, and only one of its 29 companies has ten or more employees.

The average gross wage in water collection and distribution was 13,781 lei in the fourth quarter of 2025, below the economy-wide average of 16,355 lei. In wastewater collection and treatment it was 18,666 lei.

## Who owns the networks and how a private company gets in

The public water supply and sewerage service is set up and organised by the local authorities. Water mains, sewer networks and treatment plants are public property of the locality or the state: they cannot be sold or pledged, and they cannot be contributed to the capital of a company, not even one founded by the town hall.

The local council chooses between direct management, through an entity of its own, and delegated management, under a contract with an operator. The law allows operators with private or mixed capital, and a newly founded company takes part in the procedure on the same terms as an existing one. The contract is awarded by public tender or by direct negotiation, under a framework procedure approved by the Government, and bids are assessed on the operator’s professional and financial guarantees and its performance indicators. Direct award is reserved for operators whose capital is entirely public.

An interested company can take the first step: the law requires the local authority to approve a feasibility study within six months of receiving a proposal from an interested investor. The contract lasts as long as needed to recoup the investment, but no more than 49 years. Assets built under the investment programme in the contract belong to the public domain and are handed over to the locality by the end of each year of operation, and the operator recovers its investments through depreciation or through the concession fee.

The ANRE licence comes on top of the contract rather than replacing it, and it is required only for operators with more than 10,000 inhabitants in their service area. Licence holders pay ANRE quarterly regulatory fees of up to 0.3% of their revenue from the service. The operator, with or without a licence, is by the law’s definition a legal person.

### Investment in water operators needs prior approval

Operating water and sewerage infrastructure is a domain of importance for state security. Anyone acquiring control or a qualifying holding in an operator, or signing a concession or public-private partnership contract in this domain, must obtain approval from the Council for the Examination of Investments of Importance for State Security before investing. The rule applies to every investor, Moldovan or foreign, and the €1 million threshold that applies in other domains does not apply here. The Council decides within 45 days of receiving a complete application, and if you are not sure whether your investment falls under the law, you can ask it: the reply comes within 10 working days.

## Water supply: the licence, the water use permit and the sanitary authorisation

For the ANRE licence, the company submits its financial statements or, if it is new, a bank statement, the list of public assets it operates, proof of qualified staff, the technical opinion on water metering, documents on drinking water quality and the delegated management contract specifying the service area. ANRE decides within five working days, and the licence is valid for five years throughout the country. Tariffs of licensed operators are calculated by the operator under ANRE’s methodology and approved by ANRE within 60 days. Below the 10,000-inhabitant threshold, the operator sets its tariffs every year and the local council approves them.

The licence does not cover the water itself. Any abstraction from rivers, lakes or underground that goes beyond household use needs the environmental permit for special water use, from the Environment Agency. The applicant posts a notice at the town hall, and anyone with objections can send them within 15 days. The permit is issued within 25 working days, for six years, or for 12 years if the applicant invests in a facility for treating and supplying drinking water.

Abstracting, treating and distributing drinking water also require the sanitary operating authorisation, and the producer monitors water quality under a programme approved by the National Agency for Public Health. The quality requirements are the same however the water reaches the consumer: through the network, from the source or from a tank. Delivery by tanker also falls under 36.00. By 1 January 2029, producers and operators must draw up their drinking water safety plans.

### Artesian wells

In localities where the public system fully meets consumers’ demand for water, drilling new wells and using existing ones are prohibited, except where the town hall gives its consent: for a back-up source for a facility of strategic importance, or when the operator cannot cover the whole demand. Groundwater for human consumption may be used only where there is no public system supplied from surface water. Since 30 May 2026, the new Subsoil Code allows groundwater for drinking water to be authorised without surveying and approving the reserves.

Whoever abstracts water pays the water tax, of 0.3 lei per cubic metre, calculated from the meter or, without a meter, from standard abstraction rates. The tax does not apply to water supplied to households, public authorities and budget-funded institutions. The return is filed and the tax paid every six months, by the 25th of the month after each half-year.

For housing, including holiday homes, water and sewerage are zero-rated for VAT. How VAT works in other cases is explained in our guide to [taxes and fees in 2026](/en/blog/taxes-fees-2026).

## Sewerage and wastewater treatment

Public sewerage follows the same rules as water supply: a delegated management contract, a licence above 10,000 inhabitants, and tariffs approved by ANRE or the local council. In villages, the law allows only water supply to be organised, provided wastewater is collected in individual systems.

Sewer networks and treatment plants run on an environmental permit from the Environment Agency, valid for six years: wastewater collection and treatment is on the list of activities in the Law on industrial emissions that require one, with no capacity threshold. A treatment plant that discharges into a river or lake also needs the environmental permit for special water use. The application also includes a description of the treatment process, the composition of the pollutants and the accreditation certificate of the company’s own laboratory or the contract with an accredited laboratory. Sludge from the plants is treated and disposed of under the environmental protection rules.

The operator controls what enters its network. A business discharges wastewater into the sewer only on the basis of the connection approval, the acceptance agreement and the contract. The operator examines the file within 20 days, and the agreement is valid for up to two years. Businesses with artesian wells also submit the special water use permit. If a factory’s wastewater exceeds the permitted concentrations, the operator applies surcharges and the factory builds a pre-treatment plant. Discharging wastewater without a contract counts as an unauthorised connection.

## Septic tank emptying since 5 February 2026

The regulation approved by Government Decision no. 508/2024 made emptying an obligation for the owners of individual systems. Anyone with a holding tank must sign a contract with an emptying company, and sludge from all individual systems, including small treatment plants, may be removed only by specialised companies. The systems are entered in the town hall’s register, with the emptying intervals, and the Environmental Protection Inspectorate checks the emptying and discharge contracts during inspections.

The emptying company takes the wastewater to a treatment plant and the sludge to a compliant sludge treatment plant. It keeps a register of the volumes and of the collection and discharge points, or fits its tankers with volume meters and GPS reporting and tracking systems. It sends the data every quarter to the sewerage operators it has contracts with, and they pass it on to the town halls and the inspectorate on request.

Septic tank emptying needs no licence, but it is still wastewater collection, class 37.00, so the company runs on an environmental permit from the Environment Agency, valid for six years.

New septic and holding tanks cannot be placed just anywhere: individual systems are prohibited where public sewerage already exists, and holding tanks and systems of up to 10 cubic metres per day must be at least 15 metres from buildings. The installations must meet the SM EN 12566 standards for small wastewater treatment plants and are installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and they are commissioned by a committee that includes the town hall, the owner and the installation company.

## Wells and networks are built by a construction company

Drilling artesian wells and building water mains, sewer networks and treatment plants are construction work, class 42.21, not the operator’s activity. The company that carries them out has certified site managers and is entered in the State Register in the field of construction. The [construction company](/en/industries/construction-company) page explains how to register and which works need a building permit.

## Which legal form to choose

The operator of the public water supply and sewerage service is, by law, a legal person, and the ANRE licence is granted only to legal persons. In practice, that means an SRL (limited liability company) or a joint-stock company. The regulation on septic tank emptying refers to specialised companies, without requiring any particular legal form.

The independent entrepreneur regime is not an option: no class in section E appears on its list of activities.

We handle the choice of CAEM codes, the articles of association, the filing at the Public Services Agency and the opening of the bank account. For a water and sewerage company, we also prepare the applications for the ANRE licence and for the water use and sanitary authorisations, and for a foreign company entering the market we register the Moldovan company or subsidiary. We can take over the accounting, with separate records for each regulated activity, from the first month. What each service includes is set out on the [corporate services](/en/corporate-services) page.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do you need an ANRE licence to supply water to a village?

Only if more than 10,000 people live in your service area. Below this threshold, the operator works without a licence, but its tariffs are approved every year by the local council, and the law on the service and ANRE’s regulations apply all the same. To abstract the water you still need an environmental permit for special water use, and for drinking water, a sanitary operating authorisation.

### Can a private company run a locality’s water supply system?

Yes, through delegated management. The law allows operators with private or mixed capital, and a newly founded company takes part on the same terms as an existing one. The contract is awarded by public tender or by direct negotiation, for no more than 49 years, and the networks remain public property. Direct award is reserved for operators whose capital is entirely public.

### Can a company drill its own artesian well?

Where the public system fully meets consumers’ demand for water, drilling new wells and using existing ones are prohibited without the town hall’s consent. Consent is given for a back-up source for a facility of strategic importance, or when the operator cannot cover the whole demand. Then comes the environmental permit for special water use, and you declare the water you abstract for water tax.

### Is VAT charged on water and sewerage?

For housing, including holiday homes, water supply and sewerage are zero-rated for VAT, whoever manages them. The supplier does not charge VAT on the invoice but deducts the VAT it pays on its purchases. The water tax, of 0.3 lei per cubic metre, is paid by whoever abstracts the water, and water supplied to households and public institutions is exempt.

### What does a factory need to discharge wastewater into the sewer?

It must obtain the connection approval and the wastewater acceptance agreement from the operator and sign the sewerage contract. For a new facility, the file includes the design approved by the Environmental Protection Inspectorate, the layout of the sewerage and pre-treatment, and the composition of the wastewater. The operator replies within 20 days, and the agreement is valid for up to two years.

### Do you need a licence for a septic tank emptying company?

No, but you do need an environmental permit: wastewater collection and treatment, class 37.00, is on the list of activities that require one. Since 5 February 2026, septic tank emptying has also had its own rules: owners of holding tanks must have a contract with an emptying company, which takes the wastewater and sludge to a treatment plant, keeps records of volumes and locations or fits its tankers with meters and GPS, and reports quarterly to the sewerage operator.

### Can a company with a foreign founder operate a water and sewerage system?

Yes. The ANRE licence is granted to resident and non-resident legal persons. Operating water and sewerage infrastructure is, however, a domain of importance for state security: control or a qualifying holding in an operator, as well as a concession or public-private partnership contract in this domain, needs prior approval from the Council for the Examination of Investments, whoever the investor is.

Choosing the CAEM codes, drafting the constitutive documents and filing with the Public Services Agency are part of the registration service.