New amendments to the internship law

What does the Internship Law (Law No. 176/2018) stipulate?

Law No. 209/2025 amending and supplementing Law No. 176/2018 on internships was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 1133 of December 8, 2025. This law provides important clarifications on how internship programs are conducted in Romania. The amendments concern both the rights of interns and the obligations of employers.

The law regulates how organizations can accept interns, the rights and obligations of the parties, and the conditions for conducting internship programs.

Key elements of the law

• Internships are conducted on the basis of an internship contract, which is distinct from an employment contract.
• The maximum duration of an internship program is 6 months.
• The intern may receive an allowance, set by the host organization.
• The intern carries out activities under the guidance of a coordinator.
• At the end, the intern may receive an internship certificate and, in some cases, professional credit points.

Changes in December 2025 (Law No. 209/2025)

• Increase in the maximum number of interns
The maximum number of interns that an organization can have at any one time increases from 5% to 10% of the total number of employees.
• Introduction of the right to paid rest days
For the first time, interns receive paid rest days in proportion to the duration of the internship program.

For small companies, this limit means that they can only have one intern for every 10 employees, which requires much more careful planning of internship programs. If the intern does not use these days during the program, no financial compensation is granted at the end of the internship.

Conclusion

The December 2025 changes bring two major changes:
• Organizations can have twice as many interns as the previous limit.
• Interns get paid days off, which is a big step toward making internships more like protected jobs.

These adjustments aim to make internship programs more attractive and balanced for both organizations and young people. Internships thus become a real tool for transitioning from school to the labor market, rather than just a disguised form of temporary work.