Where to find a reliable tradesperson in Moldova: recommendations, 999.md, local groups, Google Maps or request platforms, and how to compare quotes
In Moldova you can find a reliable tradesperson (meșter) through recommendations, on 999.md, in local groups, on Google Maps, through renovation firms or on request platforms, but no channel guarantees quality. Trust comes from checks you can run yourself, for free, as of October 2026: the company in the Public Services Agency register (the “Verifică IDNO” service), the electrician in ANRE’s list (152 names on 9 October 2026), photos of real jobs, a written estimate and staged payments. Below: the channels compared, a request template, first-call questions and red flags.
Contents
In short
- No channel guarantees quality: channels give you names; checks tell you whom to hire.
- Get at least 3 quotes on the same description and compare the estimates line by line, not the totals.
- Check for free: the company with the Public Services Agency’s “Verifică IDNO” (up to 5 searches a day), the electrician in ANRE’s list (152 names on 09.10.2026).
- Walk away from a deposit over 50% “for materials”, cash without a contract, an estimate without line items or “decide now” pressure.
- Plan ahead: in summer, good tradespeople are booked 2–3 weeks ahead (remont.md); in a village, ask for travel as a separate line.
How we put this guide together
On 23 October 2026 we checked the services of ASP, ANRE and the consumer protection inspectorate, the rules of 999.md and Google, the BATI audience study and the MeșterulMeu and remont.md guides. We found no survey of how people in Moldova find tradespeople and no published travel rates for villages, so we give no figures there. The three-quote example is hypothetical.
Where to find a tradesperson in Moldova: 7 channels compared
The table shows what each channel is good for, what can go wrong and what to check before you pay anything.
| Channel | Good for | Typical risks | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recommendations from people you know | You see the result in person, at someone you know. | Your acquaintance saw the finish, not what is underneath. | What job was done, when, and whether the estimate and deadline were kept. |
| 999.md, Services section | The most visited of the 25 sites audited by BATI in September 2026 (422,640 real users); you can also post a “Caut servicii” (looking for services) ad. | Filters such as “Oferă garanție” (offers a warranty) show only what the advertiser declares. | Account age, reviews, “Cont verificat” (verified account) status, other ads with the same phone number. |
| Facebook, Telegram and Viber groups (neighbourhood, building, village) | Tradespeople from your area and quick replies. | You don’t know who is praising; offers come privately, without an estimate. | Real name, photos of jobs in your area; move the conversation into writing. |
| Google Maps (Business Profiles) | Address or service area, hours, photos, reviews; Google has 90.64% of Moldova’s search market (StatCounter, September 2026). | Ranking depends on relevance, distance and how well known the business is, not directly on work quality. | Reviews with text and dates; the company name, to look up its IDNO. |
| The shop or seller of the product (windows, doors, air conditioning, boiler) | Fitters who know the product being sold. | An informal recommendation does not make the shop responsible for the installation. | Who signs the installation contract and who gives the warranty. |
| Renovation firms | Contract, crew, written warranty; Casa de VIS, for example, gives 2 years from the acceptance certificate. | Subcontractors on site; a “turnkey” price without line items. | The IDNO, who actually does the work, the itemised estimate. |
| Request platforms (Crelto, MeșterulMeu, remont.md and others) | You describe the job once, and providers message you or send offers. | In a village or on a new platform you may get few offers; a profile does not prove quality. | Profile, past jobs, reviews; if it says “verified”, what exactly was checked. |
Sources checked on 23.10.2026: BATI (opens in a new tab), 999.md (opens in a new tab), StatCounter (opens in a new tab), Google (opens in a new tab), Casa de VIS (opens in a new tab), MeșterulMeu (opens in a new tab), remont.md (opens in a new tab). The risks and checks are our recommendations.
We found no survey of how people in Moldova find tradespeople; in a Romanian one (Frames for MatHaus, 2021), 62% relied mainly on recommendations. On reviews, the platforms themselves warn you: 999.md says good ratings and positive reviews are no guarantee a user can be trusted, and advises using its own messaging, not Viber or WhatsApp. On Google, a better position cannot be bought, and paid or conflict-of-interest reviews are prohibited and removed.
What to put in your request to get comparable quotes
Quotes are comparable only if every tradesperson gets the same description: write it once and send it unchanged to all. MeșterulMeu recommends at least 3 quotes on the same specification; remont.md, at least 2–3 options.
Request template: what to fill in
- Title: the job and the place, e.g. “New tiles in a 4 m² bathroom, Chișinău, Botanica”.
- What needs doing, with measurements: m², number of sockets or water points, what goes and what stays.
- Current state: when the block or house was built, photos from several angles, a sketch with dimensions.
- Materials: you buy them, the tradesperson buys them against receipts, or the quote includes them.
- What the price must include: rubble removal, delivery of materials, final clean-up, travel.
- Timing and access: start date, deadline, floor, lift, parking.
- What you expect back: an itemised estimate (unit, quantity, unit price), labour separate from materials, the deposit and payment stages, a written warranty.
Example: “Looking for a tiler for a 2 × 2 m bathroom in Chișinău, Botanica. Old tiles to remove (about 22 m²); walls to tile up to the ceiling, plus the floor; I will buy the materials. Please send an itemised estimate with rubble removal, a start date, the deposit and the warranty. Photos and sketch attached.”
What to ask a tradesperson on the first call
Ask everyone the same questions and shortlist two or three who answer clearly and agree to put everything in writing.
- 1
Who actually does the work
“Will you come yourself or send a crew? Who answers for the result?” The portfolio may be the tradesperson’s while their helpers do the work.
- 2
Legal status
“Do you work as a company, a sole proprietorship (ÎI), an independent entrepreneur or with a business patent? What is your IDNO?”
- 3
Similar jobs
“Can you show photos of 2–3 jobs like mine, including during the work, and a client’s phone number?”
- 4
The estimate
“When can you come to measure, and when will you send an itemised estimate?”
- 5
Materials and timing
“Who buys the materials, when can you start and how long will it take?”
- 6
Payment and warranty
“What deposit do you ask, how do we pay in stages, what written warranty do you give?” MeșterulMeu recommends a deposit of at most 10–30%, only after the contract is signed.
- 7
Travel
“What does the trip to my place cost?” This matters most in villages.
How to check a tradesperson before you pay anything
Run the free checks below before paying a deposit: once you have paid, you have far less leverage.
| What you check | Where | What you learn |
|---|---|---|
| The company | Verifică IDNO (opens in a new tab), the Public Services Agency’s free service, up to 5 searches a day | Name, locality, registration date, status and whether it has been liquidated; search by IDNO or name |
| The authorised electrician | ANRE’s list of authorised electricians (opens in a new tab) | Locality, grade and expiry of the authorisation, expiry of the electrical safety group |
| Portfolio photos | Search with an image on Google (opens in a new tab) (Google Lens) | Websites showing the same photo or a similar one |
| Reviews and past clients | Google Maps, 999.md, the platform profile, a client’s phone number | Whether the estimate, deadline and warranty were kept |
The “Verifică IDNO” page refers to legal entities; sole proprietorships are also in the state register, and independent entrepreneurs receive an IDNO (Public Services Agency (opens in a new tab)). If you can’t find them, ask for proof of registration. ANRE’s list of 09.10.2026 was the latest on 23.10.2026.
The electrician. ANRE’s list of 09.10.2026 (opens in a new tab) has 152 names. Grade I covers installations up to 1000 V and 10 kW inclusive, grade II up to 200 kW, grade III up to 10 kV, and grade IV has no limits. Only electricians with a valid authorisation and electrical safety group are listed, and the safety group is confirmed every year. An authorised electrician declares that the installation complies with the connection approval, the design and the technical standards. Prices: our electrician guide.
The photos. Ask for photos taken during the work too (pipes and cables before plastering) and run 2–3 of them through Google’s image search: the results can show websites with the same or a similar image. MeșterulMeu counts photos downloaded from the internet, with no address and no client to contact, among its red flags.
The paperwork. An itemised estimate, a contract and payment by accepted stages; MeșterulMeu recommends paying the last 15–20% only at final acceptance. Contract, estimate and acceptance certificate templates are in our guide to contracts and deposits.
How to compare quotes: an example with three estimates
Compare the same line items, not the totals. Add to each quote what it is missing, at the price the others charge for that item, and only then compare.
| Item | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate total | 8,000, incl. removing old tiles | 9,500, incl. removal and rubble disposal | 6,900, without removal or rubble disposal |
| Removing old tiles | included (1,400) | included (1,600) | +1,500 (average of A and B) |
| Rubble removal | +600 (B’s price) | included (600) | +600 (B’s price) |
| Travel | +300, charged separately | included | not stated: ask |
| Warranty | 12 months, in writing | 24 months, in writing | verbal only |
| Comparable total | 8,900 (8,000 + 600 + 300) | 9,500 | 9,000 (6,900 + 1,500 + 600), plus travel |
Hypothetical, rounded figures chosen to show the method; they are not market prices. Published prices, with their sources, are in our price guides.
Quote C looked 1,100 lei cheaper than A, but once completed it costs more and has only a verbal warranty; between A and B, the extra 600 lei buy 12 more months of warranty. MeșterulMeu calls this the bait price (prețul de momeală): an offer 30–40% below all the others, with work missing.
Compare unit prices with our guides: apartment renovation in Chișinău, plumbers, tiling, gas boilers, PVC windows and house insulation.
Red flags: when to walk away from a tradesperson
MeșterulMeu’s rule: if you tick two or more of the signs below, walk away. The list starts from the warning signs published by MeșterulMeu (06.07.2026), remont.md (05.06.2026) and 999.md.
- A large cash deposit: more than 50% “for materials” is, for MeșterulMeu, the first red flag; remont.md names a demand for full payment upfront, in cash.
- No contract, or the promise “we’ll sign it once we’ve started”.
- A price that “includes everything”, visibly below the market, with no itemised estimate.
- Pressure: “today, because materials go up tomorrow” or “I have one slot left, decide now”.
- A portfolio with no address and no client to contact.
- Payment links or requests for card details sent by message: 999.md advises you not to open them.
- Won’t say how they work legally and gives no address for formal notices.
Already paid a deposit and the tradesperson has stopped answering?
Act quickly and in writing. The steps, from a formal notice to a complaint, court or the police, are in our guide to contracts and deposits.
When tradespeople are hard to find and how to book
In summer, remont.md writes (05.06.2026), schedules fill up fast and good tradespeople are booked 2–3 weeks ahead. The same site notes (17.06.2026) that the heating season in Chișinău traditionally starts in October, when pipe pressure rises and weak joints show up. MeșterulMeu recommends planning a renovation early to have more options and better prices.
- Heating (boiler, radiators, pipes): ask for quotes before the cold season, not after the first breakdown; see our gas boiler guide.
- Windows and façades: ask what temperatures the materials’ technical data sheets require and when the work can start.
- Interior work in summer: ask for quotes a few weeks before your start date.
A tradesperson in a village or small town: the example of Strășeni district
Outside Chișinău there is less choice. A verifiable example: in ANRE’s list of 09.10.2026, one of the 152 authorised electricians gives the town of Strășeni as their locality, while half (76) give localities in the Chișinău municipality, suburbs included (our count). Strășeni district borders the Chișinău municipality, so you can also ask the capital for quotes, but some published prices apply only to Chișinău: Euroremont-MD calls its prices indicative for Chișinău.
What to do if you live in a village
- Write the village and district in your request, so the provider can work out the trip.
- Ask for travel as a separate line: we found no published travel rates for villages.
- Group several small jobs into one visit (a socket, a tap, a door), so you pay for the trip once.
- Google takes distance into account: if nobody shows up nearby, search by town name (Strășeni, Ialoveni, Călărași).
- If the tradesperson comes from far away and buys the materials, pay for them on delivery, against receipts.
Example: a village house in Strășeni district needs a new electrical panel. You send the same request, with the connection capacity and photos, to the local electrician from ANRE’s list and two or three more from Chișinău or Ialoveni, ask for travel as a separate line, check each authorisation grade (grade I: up to 10 kW inclusive) and compare quotes as above.
Why a registered provider matters
A tradesperson can work legally as a company (for example an SRL), a sole proprietorship (ÎI), an independent entrepreneur or with a business patent. Companies and sole proprietorships are in the Public Services Agency’s state register; independent entrepreneurs get an IDNO when they register. For you, this means you know whom you are signing with and, if something goes wrong, you can petition the consumer protection inspectorate (ISSPNPC) after first complaining to the business. In January–June 2026, ISSPNPC received 572 petitions about substandard services, more than twice as many as a year earlier (Banca Mea).
Which legal form suits each trade is explained in our guide to patents, independent entrepreneurs and ÎI; your rights on deposits, acceptance and warranty are in our contract guide.
Where Crelto fits
On Crelto you post a free request for a service, from repairs to cleaning. The form opens without an account: describe the job, add photos, your locality and, optionally, a budget; an account is needed only when you publish. Providers who have signed up can message you or send an offer with a price, which you accept or decline, and you can see their profile, services and website first. You can edit or close the request at any time.
Crelto is new and still gathering providers: in a small locality or for a rare trade you may get few offers or none. Use the other channels in parallel and run the same checks on everyone.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find a reliable tradesperson in Chișinău?
Combine channels: recommendations, 999.md (the most visited of the sites audited by BATI in September 2026), Google Maps, local groups and request platforms. None guarantees quality: send the same request to at least 3 tradespeople, check the company in the ASP register and get an itemised estimate before any deposit.
How do I check that a renovation company exists and is active?
Use the Public Services Agency’s free “Verifică IDNO” service: search by IDNO or name to see the registration date, status, locality and whether the company has been liquidated, up to 5 searches a day. If a sole proprietor (ÎI) or independent entrepreneur doesn’t show up, ask them for proof of registration.
How do I know if an electrician is authorised by ANRE?
Look up their name in ANRE’s list of authorised electricians: the list of 09.10.2026 has 152 names, with each authorisation’s grade and expiry date. Grade I covers installations up to 1000 V and 10 kW inclusive, grade II up to 200 kW. The electrical safety group is confirmed every year.
How much deposit is normal to pay a tradesperson?
MeșterulMeu recommends at most 10–30%, only after the contract is signed, and the last 15–20% at final acceptance; more than 50% “for materials” is the first red flag. Casa de VIS, a Chișinău firm, asks for 30% on signing as a rule. Details are in our guide to contracts and deposits.
Can I trust reviews on Google and 999.md?
Only partly. 999.md says good ratings and positive reviews are no guarantee, and Google prohibits paid reviews and reviews written with a conflict of interest. Read reviews with text and dates, and call at least one client the tradesperson puts you in touch with.
How do I find a tradesperson in a village?
Write the village and district in your request, ask for travel as a separate line and group several jobs into one visit. Search nearby towns too: in ANRE’s list of 09.10.2026, only one authorised electrician gives the town of Strășeni as their locality. We found no published travel rates for villages.
How much does it cost to post a request on Crelto?
Posting a request on Crelto is free, and you create an account only when you publish. Providers who have signed up can message you or send offers, but Crelto guarantees neither the number of offers nor the work, so check any provider as you would one found elsewhere.
Sources
- Verifică IDNO (free electronic information service, up to 5 queries a day) (opens in a new tab), Public Services Agency (Agenția Servicii Publice), accessed 23 October 2026
- Verifică IDNO: service description and online access (opens in a new tab), Public Services Agency (e-services.md), accessed 23 October 2026
- State registration of independent entrepreneurs (freelancers) (opens in a new tab), Public Services Agency (Agenția Servicii Publice), accessed 23 October 2026
- Înregistrare Întreprinzător Individual (registering a sole proprietor) (opens in a new tab), Public Services Agency (Agenția Servicii Publice), accessed 23 October 2026
- List of authorised electricians, 09.10.2026 (list page) (opens in a new tab), National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), accessed 23 October 2026
- Lista electricienilor autorizați … conform situației la 09.10.2026 (electricians authorised to work on electrical installations in Moldova, as of 09.10.2026) (opens in a new tab), National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), accessed 23 October 2026
- Depune o petiție (file a petition) (opens in a new tab), State Inspectorate for Non-Food Product Supervision and Consumer Protection (ISSPNPC), accessed 23 October 2026
- Tot mai mulți moldoveni reclamă servicii și produse neconforme (more Moldovans complain about substandard services and products, 18.08.2026) (opens in a new tab), Banca Mea, accessed 23 October 2026
- Online audience study – Moldova, September 2026 (gemiusAudience) (opens in a new tab), BATI – Audit Bureau of Circulations and Internet, accessed 23 October 2026
- Services: groups and subcategories (opens in a new tab), 999.md, accessed 23 October 2026
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- 999.md help: fraud prevention, reviews, verified accounts (opens in a new tab), 999.md (Simpals), accessed 23 October 2026
- Tips to improve your local ranking on Google (opens in a new tab), Google, accessed 23 October 2026
- Prohibited & restricted content – Maps User Generated Content Policy (opens in a new tab), Google, accessed 23 October 2026
- Search with an image on Google (opens in a new tab), Google, accessed 23 October 2026
- Search Engine Market Share Republic of Moldova (September 2026) (opens in a new tab), StatCounter Global Stats, accessed 23 October 2026
- Barometru MatHaus: 6 din 10 clienți caută informații despre meșteri (Frames survey, March 2021, Romania) (opens in a new tab), BricoRetail, accessed 23 October 2026
- Țepe la renovare: 10 scheme prin care oamenii pierd bani și cum te protejezi (10 renovation scams and how to protect yourself, 06.07.2026) (opens in a new tab), MeșterulMeu, accessed 23 October 2026
- MeșterulMeu home page: requesting quotes (opens in a new tab), MeșterulMeu, accessed 23 October 2026
- Prețuri Renovări complete în Moldova: ghid prețuri 2026 (full renovation prices, updated February 2026) (opens in a new tab), MeșterulMeu, accessed 23 October 2026
- RemontMD home page: specialists for household and freelance tasks (opens in a new tab), remont.md, accessed 23 October 2026
- Летний ремонт полов в квартире: когда лучше всего менять покрытие и как выбрать мастера в Кишинёве (summer floor renovation and choosing a tradesperson in Chișinău, 05.06.2026) (opens in a new tab), remont.md, accessed 23 October 2026
- Летний ремонт санузла: замена унитаза, раковины и смесителей в Кишинёве — что успеть до осени (summer bathroom renovation in Chișinău, 17.06.2026) (opens in a new tab), remont.md, accessed 23 October 2026
- Apartment renovation in Moldova: turnkey prices in Chisinau (contract, deposit, warranty) (opens in a new tab), Casa de VIS, accessed 23 October 2026
- Electrician Chișinău: prices (service area and conditions) (opens in a new tab), Euroremont-MD, accessed 23 October 2026
- Raionul Strășeni (Strășeni district) (opens in a new tab), Wikipedia, accessed 23 October 2026