Attesting Bulgarian Documents (FAQs)

Yes - Bulgaria is a member of the Apostille Convention.

Bulgarian documents can be legalized for use abroad with an Apostille Stamp when destined for other signatory countries without additional certification by the destination country.

When Bulgarian documents are required for non-apostille countries, such as United Arab Emirates - Taiwan - Malaysia - Thailand - Zambia - Qatar they need additional authentication by the embassy of the destination country.

For further information see:
Bulgaria Apostille Services

Submission within the European Union
Certain Bulgarian documents do not require Apostilles when they are presented to authorities of other European Union countries (the receiving authority should accept the original or a certified copy).

When applying for certain public documents, a multilingual standard form may be requested to accompany the original. A multilingual standard form must always be issued and signed by a Bulgarian authority, providing a translation aid designed to help the receiving authority to understand a public document which is in a language not accepted by the receiving EU country.
See: EU Multilingual standard forms

Bulgarian documents not requiring Apostilles include birth, death, marriage certificates, absence of a criminal record (a clean criminal record of a Bulgarian citizen), certificates of nationality and residence:
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/1191

Other Bulgarian documents, including academic certificates, still require Apostille certification and certified translation to be valid in other EU countries.

Civil status certificates (multilingual extracts from the civil status registers)
Bulgarian birth, marriage and death certificates) issued in accordance with the conventions of the International Commission on Civil and Civil Status should not require Apostille Stamps when being submitted to one of the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Cape Verde, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey.

Official documents that can be legalized in Bulgaria with an Apostille stamp include birth, death, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, criminal record and police certificates, company registration and tax documents, court documents, university and academic diplomas, certificates signed by registered doctors etc., documents issued by government authorities. Other documents may require prior certification by a notary or other authority.

Documents required for submission to countries which have not acceded to the Apostille Convention will require additional attestation by the embassy of the recipient country.

To confirm whether your document is eligible for apostille authentication in Bulgaria, please contact us and we’ll check your document free of charge. For further information about our Bulgarian apostille services and for assistance obtaining official copies of Bulgarian documents, see:
Bulgaria Apostille Services

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Apostilles are not required when submitting Bulgarian certificates of marital status to the authorities of another Member State of the European Union.

A multilingual standard form may be requested to accompany the original. A multilingual standard form must always be issued and signed by a Bulgarian authority, providing a translation aid designed to help the receiving authority understand the certificate when in a language not accepted by the receiving EU country.

EU Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (EU GDPR)

Apostilles are not required when submitting Bulgarian Criminal Record Certificates to another Member State of the European Union when the certificate is issued to a Bulgarian national and when the criminal record is clean (no convictions). In other cases, the recipient Member State may require an Apostille.

EU Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (EU GDPR)

Apostilles are not required when submitting Bulgarian birth, death and marriage certificates to the authorities of another Member State of the European Union. A multilingual standard form may be requested to accompany the original. A multilingual standard form must always be issued and signed by a Bulgarian authority, providing a translation aid designed to help the receiving authority understand the certificate when in a language not accepted by the receiving EU country.

EU Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (EU GDPR)

Bulgarian birth, marriage and death certificates (multilingual extracts from the civil status registers issued in accordance with the conventions of the International Commission on Civil and Civil Status) should not require Apostille Stamps when being submitted to countries that have acceded to the Vienna CIEC Convention. The following countries are contracting states of the Vienna Convention:
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cape Verde, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey.