Power of attorney from abroad: how to authorise someone in Bulgaria without travelling

Iva Petkova, attorney · Updated 17 October 2026 · 6 min

If you live abroad and need to sell a property, appear in a court case or change the manager of a company in Bulgaria, you can do it through an attorney-in-fact. We explain the form the power of attorney must take, where to have it certified and how to prepare it so it is not rejected.

How we can help

Many of our clients live outside Bulgaria but have matters here: a property to sell, an inheritance, a court case, a company. The law allows almost all of this to be done through a representative, provided the power of attorney is drafted and certified correctly. A defect in form is usually discovered only at the notary or the register, when the document is rejected and weeks are lost. This guide explains how to avoid that.

The form the power of attorney must take

The general rule is that an authorisation for a transaction that requires a special form must be given in the same form (Art. 37 of the Obligations and Contracts Act). In practice this means:

• to sell, donate or mortgage property, which is done by notarial deed, the power of attorney needs notarial certification of the signature and of the content, made at the same time (Art. 37); the same form is required for a purchase of property too, because the buyer is also a party to the notarial deed;
• a transfer of shares in a limited liability company (OOD) requires notarial certification of the signatures and content made at the same time (Art. 129(2) of the Commerce Act), so the power of attorney must take that form too;
• in court, only certain people may represent you: a lawyer, a parent, a child or your spouse, and a few others (Art. 32 of the Civil Procedure Code); a power of attorney for a case can be a simple written one signed by you, but it must give the full name, exact address and telephone number of the representative (Art. 33 CPC).

If you are not sure which form is required, choose the stricter one: a power of attorney with notarised signature and content is accepted everywhere, a simple one often is not.

Option one: a Bulgarian embassy or consulate

Bulgarian consular officers abroad may certify the date, content and signatures of private documents, provided the document is in Bulgarian (Art. 84(1)(1) of the Notaries and Notarial Activity Act). Where the document is presented by a foreign national, they certify it only if it is intended to take effect in Bulgaria (Art. 84(2)).

The advantage is that such a power of attorney needs no apostille and no translation: it is certified by a Bulgarian authority and is in Bulgarian. The drawback is that you have to book an appointment and attend in person, and some countries have only one Bulgarian consulate.

Option two: a local notary and an apostille

You can also have the power of attorney certified by a notary in the country where you live. The document then has to be recognised in Bulgaria:

• if the country is a party to the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, the competent local authority adds an apostille to the document; this applies to EU countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel and many others;
• if the country is not a party to the Convention, the document must be legalised as required by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Bulgaria has bilateral treaties on legal assistance with some countries that exempt documents from legalisation; check whether such a treaty applies before ordering an apostille.

Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removes the apostille requirement only for certain public documents within the EU, such as birth, marriage or death certificates. It does not cover notarised powers of attorney, so a power of attorney from an EU country generally still needs an apostille.

It is most practical to make the power of attorney bilingual, in two columns in Bulgarian and in your language. The local notary then understands what they are certifying, and the document is easier to use in Bulgaria. If it is only in a foreign language, you will need an official translation into Bulgarian.

What the power of attorney should say

The scope of the representative's authority towards third parties is determined by what you have written (Art. 39 of the Obligations and Contracts Act). The power of attorney must therefore be precise:

• the full names, dates of birth, identity document numbers and addresses of the principal and the representative; for Bulgarian citizens, also their personal identification number (EGN);
• an exact description of the property or company: cadastral identifier, address, area, number of the title deed; the company's UIC (EIK);
• exactly what the representative may do: sell, at what minimum price, sign the preliminary and final contracts, file applications, collect documents;
• whether the representative may receive the price or other money on your behalf; in court proceedings, receiving money requires an express power of attorney (Art. 34(3) of the Civil Procedure Code);
• whether the representative may contract with themselves or with someone else they also represent; without your express consent this is prohibited (Art. 38(1) of the Obligations and Contracts Act);
• whether they may delegate their powers to others (Art. 43);
• a period of validity, if you want the power of attorney to apply only for a limited time.

Power of attorney for court proceedings

A general power of attorney for a case covers all procedural steps, including delegation and receipt of deposited costs (Art. 34(1) CPC). Settling, withdrawing or waiving the claim, accepting the other side's claims, taking part in mediation and receiving money require an express power of attorney (Art. 34(3) CPC). The power of attorney applies until the case ends at all instances unless otherwise agreed (Art. 34(4) CPC).

Revocation and termination

You may revoke the power of attorney at any time, and the representative may renounce it (Art. 38(2) of the Obligations and Contracts Act). It also ends on the death of the principal or the representative (Art. 41(1)).

Be careful: termination cannot be relied on against third parties who dealt with the representative in good faith, unless the termination had to be registered and was registered (Art. 41(2)). So if you revoke a power of attorney, notify the representative in writing and everyone they might deal with: the bank, the buyer, the notary. If the power of attorney was notarised, you can ask the notary who certified it to record the revocation.

Power of attorney from abroad: a short checklist

1. Establish exactly what transaction or step is needed and what form the law requires.
2. Prepare the text in Bulgarian or bilingually, with precise details of the people and the property.
3. Decide where to have it certified: at a Bulgarian embassy or by a local notary.
4. If a local notary certifies it, obtain an apostille or check whether legalisation is needed.
5. If the text is not in Bulgarian, order an official translation.
6. Send the original to Bulgaria by courier; a copy or a scan is not enough.
7. Keep a copy and a record of who holds it, so you can revoke it if needed.

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