If you live abroad, or you are a foreign national who lived or worked in Bulgaria, you can obtain a Bulgarian criminal record certificate without travelling. A lawyer can file the application for you under a simple written power of attorney, with no notary needed. This guide explains who issues the certificate, which documents are needed, how long it takes, what it costs and when an apostille and a translation are needed.
In brief
- A lawyer can apply for a criminal record certificate on your behalf under a simple written power of attorney. A relative in the direct line, a spouse, a brother or a sister can apply under an express written power of attorney, and any other representative needs a notarised one (Art. 35(4) of Ordinance No 8 of 26.02.2008 on the functions and organisation of the bureaus of convictions).
- For people born abroad, including foreign nationals who lived or worked in Bulgaria, the records are kept by the Central Bureau of Convictions at the Ministry of Justice and the certificate is issued on paper. Only Bulgarian citizens can obtain an electronic certificate (Art. 35a(2) of the Ordinance).
- By law the certificate is issued on the day it is requested (Art. 38(1) of the Ordinance), but in practice it often takes a few working days. The certificate is valid for six months (Art. 43(1)). From 3 September 2027, for nationals of non-EU countries the deadline will be up to 25 working days (Art. 34(6) and (7)).
- The multilingual form under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, which removes the need for an apostille and a translation in another EU country, is for Bulgarian citizens only: for the absence of a criminal record the Regulation covers documents issued by the person's own country. For a foreign national, the recipient abroad may require an apostille and a translation.
A Bulgarian criminal record certificate (свидетелство за съдимост) is an official document showing whether a person has been convicted in Bulgaria. Abroad it is often called a police check or a police clearance certificate, and employers, immigration authorities and consulates ask for it, for example from people who have lived or worked in Bulgaria. If you are abroad, you do not need to travel: the certificate can be requested on your behalf.
Who issues the certificate
Certificates are issued by the bureaus of convictions at the district courts and by the Central Bureau of Convictions at the Ministry of Justice. The Central Bureau keeps the records of people born outside Bulgaria, including foreign nationals who lived in Bulgaria (Art. 3(1) of Ordinance No 8 of 26.02.2008 on the functions and organisation of the bureaus of convictions). The application is generated in the Judicial Status information system and can be filed at the bureau of convictions of any district court or at the Central Bureau (Art. 34(1) of the Ordinance). When it is filed at a district court, the bureau checks the Judicial Status system and the certificate is issued by the court where the application was filed (Art. 34(2) and (3)).
A foreign national can also request a certificate through their own country's embassy in Bulgaria or through a Bulgarian embassy or consulate abroad, and a Bulgarian citizen living abroad through the Bulgarian mission in the country where they live (Art. 33(3) of the Ordinance).
Who can apply
- the person concerned, in person;
- a relative in the direct line (for example a parent or a child), a spouse, a brother or a sister, under an express written power of attorney;
- a lawyer, under a simple written power of attorney with no notarisation;
- any other person, under an express notarised power of attorney giving your names in Cyrillic and Latin script.
These rules are in Art. 35(4) of the Ordinance. A lawyer is the simplest route: a plain written power of attorney that you sign abroad.
Which documents and details are needed
The original identity document must be shown when the application is filed. Foreign nationals show an identity document or a residence document issued in Bulgaria. A foreign national without a Bulgarian document proves their identity with their national identity document, accompanied by a Bulgarian translation, and a certificate from the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior stating whether they have a foreigner's personal number (LNCh) (Art. 35(6) of the Ordinance). As your lawyer, we can request the Migration Directorate certificate ourselves under the power of attorney (Art. 18(1) of the Administrative Procedure Code read with Art. 32, item 1 and Art. 33 of the Civil Procedure Code).
A foreign national who is not subject to entry in the population register also attaches a document from a competent authority showing their place of birth and parents, such as their full birth certificate, translated into Bulgarian (Art. 35(9) of the Ordinance). Only foreign nationals with long-term or permanent residence and those with refugee status, humanitarian status or asylum are entered in the population register (Art. 3(2), item 2 of the Civil Registration Act), so a foreigner's personal number (LNCh) on its own does not remove this requirement. A birth certificate from a non-EU country must carry an apostille (or be legalised, if the country is not a party to the Hague Convention), while one from an EU country needs no apostille (Art. 2(1)(a) and Art. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1191). The document is sent in original, because the apostille is placed on the document itself (Art. 4 of the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents).
The application states (Art. 35(1) and (2) of the Ordinance):
- your full name in Cyrillic and Latin script, as written in your identity document;
- your Bulgarian personal number (EGN, LN or LNCh), if you have one;
- your date and place of birth and your citizenship;
- your parents' full names;
- the purpose and, for a job, the exact position; the country, if the certificate is for use abroad, and whether it is for a visa.
Can the certificate be electronic
Only a Bulgarian citizen can request an electronic criminal record certificate, in person or through an intermediary who is also a Bulgarian citizen and attaches a lawyer's or notarised power of attorney (Art. 35a(2) of the Ordinance). Foreign nationals receive a paper certificate only. A certificate accompanied by a multilingual standard form under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 is also issued on paper (Art. 33(2)).
How long it takes and how long it is valid
By law the certificate is issued on the day it is requested (Art. 38(1) of the Ordinance). In practice, especially for people born abroad, it often takes a few working days, so apply in good time. The certificate is valid for six months from issue (Art. 43(1)). Some employers and immigration authorities abroad accept only a certificate issued within the last few months, so check what the recipient requires.
From 3 September 2027, when the applicant is a national of a non-EU country, the Central Bureau will run a check in the ECRIS-TCN system and the certificate will be issued within up to 25 working days of the application (Art. 34(6) and (7) of the Ordinance). The same deadline will apply when the applicant holds the nationality of another EU country, because the bureau then queries the country of nationality (Art. 34(8) and (9)).
What it costs
- paper criminal record certificate: state fee EUR 2.56 (BGN 5) when filed at the bureau of convictions of a district court (item 19(a) of Tariff No 1 to the State Fees Act), and at the Central Bureau for a person born abroad who resides in Bulgaria (item 62c(a) of the Tariff);
- electronic criminal record certificate: EUR 1.53 (BGN 3) (item 62c(b) of the Tariff);
- multilingual standard form under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191: EUR 10.23 (BGN 20) (item 19(b) and item 62c2 of the Tariff);
- apostille on the certificate from the Ministry of Justice: EUR 2.56 (BGN 5) (item 62b of the Tariff).
On top of the state fee come the lawyer's fee, translations, the courier and, where needed, the apostille.
The EU multilingual form: Bulgarian citizens only
If you are a Bulgarian citizen and the certificate will be used in another EU country, a multilingual standard form on the absence of a criminal record can be requested with it, in an official language of that country; this is stated in the application (Art. 35(10) of the Ordinance). The document is then exempt from the apostille (Art. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1191) and no translation is needed (Art. 6).
However, the Regulation covers documents on the absence of a criminal record only when they are issued to an EU citizen by the country of which they are a national (Art. 2(1)(m) of the Regulation). A Bulgarian certificate issued to a foreign national, including a citizen of another EU country, is therefore not exempt from the apostille under the Regulation.
Apostille and translation
Where the Regulation does not apply, for example for a foreign national or for a country outside the EU such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada or Australia, the recipient may require an apostille under the Hague Convention and a translation into English or another language. The apostille on a criminal record certificate is placed by the Ministry of Justice within 2 working days (Art. 17a(2), item 1 and Art. 17a(3) of the Rules on Legalisation, Certification and Translation of Documents). An apostille can be requested by any bearer of the document (Art. 5 of the Convention), so we obtain it ourselves, with no separate power of attorney. Before we apply, ask the recipient exactly what they need: an apostille, a translation, a certified translation, and how recent the certificate must be.
How we obtain it for you
- You tell us what the certificate is for and in which country it will be used, and we tell you whether a multilingual form, an apostille or a translation is needed.
- We send you the power of attorney; you sign it and send us the original by courier.
- We tell you which documents to send in original and which with a translation, depending on whether you hold a Bulgarian identity or residence document. If a birth certificate with an apostille is needed, you obtain it in your country of birth and send us the original together with the power of attorney.
- We file the application and, once the certificate is issued, send you a scanned copy the same day and the original by courier.
We obtain criminal record certificates for clients abroad and for foreign nationals who lived in Bulgaria: we prepare the power of attorney and the documents, file the application and, where needed, arrange the apostille and the translation.
How we can help
We can obtain your criminal record certificate for you, without you travelling to Bulgaria.
- We draft the power of attorney in Bulgarian and English
- We tell you which documents are needed in original and with a translation
- We file the application and send you a scanned copy and the original by courier
- Where needed, we arrange the multilingual form, the apostille and the translation