Short answer. Moldova's shelter rule is the Regulation on the operation of protective structures, approved by Government Decision 1012/2023 2. It sets how shelters are run, equipped, prepared, inspected, marked and recorded 1. It is not a design or construction standard. The details below come from the version submitted to the Government in 2023 1. Check the figures against the final text published on legis.md before relying on them.
Who must have and maintain shelters?
Heads of central and local public authorities, institutions and companies must build up a stock of protective structures and keep it permanently ready 1. Households are not named. Each authority or company that holds a civil protection shelter appoints a person responsible for checking and maintaining it 1.
The regulation recognises three kinds of structure 1:
| Type | What it is |
|---|---|
| Civil protection shelter (adăpost de protecție civilă) | Purpose-built, with installations and equipment |
| Simple shelter (adăpost simplu) | Basements, semi-basements, underground car parks, underpasses, cellars and similar spaces adapted when a threat arises |
| Civil protection edifice | Underground command post, governed by state-secret rules |
What must a civil protection shelter contain?
An annexed list sets the equipment 1. It includes bunks, drinking water at 3 litres per person per 24 hours, a torch per room, first-aid kits, CO2, O2 and radiation meters, a gas mask per person, a radio and a telephone, and fire extinguishers.
Shelters may serve other uses in peacetime, such as garages, storage, shops or sports rooms 1. Managers may not re-plan the rooms, cut openings in the structure, break the sealing or block exits 1.
How fast must shelters be ready?
After a decision of the emergency commission, a civil protection shelter must be ready within the time in its technical sheet, or at most 12 hours 1. Simple shelters must be ready within 24 hours 1. In a simple shelter, capacity is 1 m² of usable floor per person, with 3 litres of drinking water per person per day 1.
How are shelters checked?
The National Inspectorate for Technical Supervision (INST) controls the state of civil protection shelters 1. Each shelter must hold a technical sheet, an inspection register, a microclimate register, a generator log, an evacuation scheme and the contact of the responsible person 1. The responsible person checks the shelter every six months 1. In October 2026 the Interior Minister said INST checks shelter quality and can impose sanctions 3. She also said not all 1,790 inventoried spaces meet minimum standards 3.
How are shelters marked and made known?
Shelters carry the international civil defence sign, a blue triangle on an orange background, on the door and on a wall of the building 1. Red arrows marked "ADĂPOST" show the way and the distance 1. Managers put up the signs when a threat arises 1. Emergency commissions draw up shelter location schemes and inform the public, including through online maps 1. See public shelters in Moldova.
Can I use these rules for a home shelter?
No. The regulation covers the operation of existing protective structures, not their design 1. Any structural work needs a qualified engineer and the ordinary building permit. Phaenyx gives no construction instructions. See building a shelter in Moldova.
Frequently asked questions
Must new apartment blocks include a shelter?
A 2025 public-inquiry draft of the apartment-block code NCM C.01.08 proposed civil protection shelters in basements 2. Phaenyx found no adopted version of this code that confirms the clause.
Who pays for shelter upkeep?
Public budgets pay for publicly owned shelters, and companies pay for their own 1. A company whose shelter is used by the public in an emergency may ask for compensation 1.
Where is the official text?
On the State Register of Legal Acts (legis.md), under Government Decision 1012/2023 2.
Sources · 3
- Guvernul Republicii Moldova / Ministerul Afacerilor Interne (gov.md) · Proiect: Hotărâre cu privire la aprobarea Regulamentului privind exploatarea construcțiilor de protecție (nr. unic 842/MAI/2022), text submitted to the Government in 2023 (Wayback Machine copy of 21 Dec. 2023) checked 2026-10-27
- Ministerul Infrastructurii și Dezvoltării Regionale (particip.gov.md) · NCM C.01.08:2025 Blocuri locative, public-inquiry draft (stage III), bibliography entry [17] and clause 5.12 (Wayback Machine copy) checked 2026-10-27
- MOLDPRES (state news agency) · Republica Moldova are 1.790 de adăposturi, cu o capacitate de peste 350 de mii de persoane. Nu toate corespund standardelor checked 2026-10-27