Bulgaria: notarial and documentary services
How someone in Bulgaria can get documents certified, united or legalised, have a document prepared in English or the local language and view informative notes.
Overview
We aim to provide all notarial and documentary services and marriage documents remotely. If you need a notarial or documentary service, please e-mail consular.sofia@fcdo.gov.uk.
The British consulate can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Bulgaria. Where local notaries can provide services, the British consulate will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently.
Most services are available by post. Please e-mail us at consular.sofia@fcdo.gov.uk with information what service you require.
Services we provide in Bulgaria
Consular staff in Bulgaria can:
- make a certified copy of a document
- unite documents
- prepare a document in English or the local language
- provide information about legalising a document
For information about documents relating to marriage, such as a certificate of no impediment (CNI) and affirmations or affidavits of marital status, see getting married abroad. If you can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, see other services provided by the British embassy in Bulgaria.
What documents you will need to provide
We will advise by e-mail for the documents for each individual service. Make sure you have acceptable proof of address and identity, and ability to pay the relevant fees by credit or debit card online. See the full list of consular fees.
Payment
We accept online payments by Visa and MasterCard. We will e-mail you a payment link after receiving your documents.
Proof of address and identity
For all notarial services you will need to provide acceptable proof of your identity and address.
We accept passports or national identity cards as proof of identity.
We accept Bulgarian ID cards or residence permits, utility bills and bank statements (received by post, not printed off websites) as proof of your address.
Make a certified copy of a document
This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports, Home Office registration/naturalisation certificates, UK educational documents (only those that have been issued in the UK by a recognised institution and are listed on the Legalisation Office website), British driving licences (both the plastic card and paper document are required) and British divorce decrees.
What you will need to provide:
- the document that you need a certified copy of
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity and address – see what we will accept as proof
Unite documents
This service joins documents together using ribbon and a seal and is usually only needed for legal reasons.
What you will need to provide:
- the documents to be united
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity and address – see what we will accept as proof
This service is offered only in combination with making a certified copy of a document if your document is more than one page long.
Prepare a document in English or the local language
This service is for customers who require a signed and stamped version of one of our information notes.
In a limited number of cases consular staff can write a statement of fact (‘preparing a certificate’) to help British nationals with various local authorities. The wording must be cleared with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London, which means these documents will take longer to prepare.
We can only provide this service if we have proof that the wording/content you require is correct and unambiguous. This service is provided at the discretion of consular staff and we can refuse to provide it. Please contact the consulate before making an appointment.
We can prepare these documents in English or in the local language.
All the information notes available for download can be issued with a signature and stamp if this is what the local authorities require.
What you will need to provide:
- original written evidence to support your request for a letter from the Consulate
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
- proof of identity and address – see what we will accept as proof
Legalise a document
This service is for customers who require confirmation that the signature, seal or stamp on a document is genuine. It does not certify the authenticity of a document or give approval of its content. UK public documents can be legalised by the Legalisation Office.
Download information notes
We have produced the following information notes (also known as standard letters) that you can download free of charge to present to local authorities:
If you need an officially stamped/sealed version this attracts an additional fee. Please see Prepare a document in English or the local language.
Other services we provide
Services provided elsewhere
We no longer witness life certificates for British nationals claiming a British pension abroad. Please refer to the list of people working in a recognised profession who can do this for you.
Data protection
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.
Disclaimer
This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCDO and the British embassy will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy will be accepted.
Last updated 8 February 2024 + show all updates
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Outdated information about verification services provided by the British Council removed.
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New information regarding appointments for Notarial and Documentary services.
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Notice regarding suspension of notarial services removed.
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Updated on 4 January 2018.
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"Informative note: Civil Status Certificates" added
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Life certificates info, data protection info and disclaimer added.
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Marriage information added
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Amendments made reflect changes in Consular Appointments Booking Service (CABS)
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chnges to appointments system
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Change to appointments booking system.
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Change in provision of notarial and documentary services offered by British Embassy Sofia
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We can no longer witness Life Certificates for the Departnemt for Work & Pensions and therefore we have removed "Signing a declaraton of existence" from the [list of services] (https://www.gov.uk/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-bulgaria--2#services-we-provide-in-bulgaria) we provide. Please see the [list] (https://www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications) of recognised professionals who can witness Life Certificates.
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First published.