New Vehicle Registration Rules Come into Effect in Bulgaria

Amendments to the Ministry of Interior’s regulation on the registration and record-keeping of motor vehicles in Bulgaria come into effect today. The new rules cover physical inspection procedures, the issuance of temporary registration plates, engine replacement and the re-registration of vehicles acquired through inheritance.

A physical inspection at an inspection lane will now be mandatory when transferring a vehicle’s registration to another administrative region or when changing the vehicle’s owner, but only for vehicles whose initial registration took place less than 10 years ago.

Vehicles registered earlier will not be subject to this requirement. Exemptions are also provided for changes to the fuel system, corrections to the environmental category recorded in the registration certificate, and the issuance of a duplicate due to the loss of part of the registration certificate.

Changes have also been introduced regarding transit plates: they may be issued no more than three times for the same vehicle. When replacing an engine, a document proving ownership of the new engine will no longer be required. The engine number will be recorded directly during the inspection. If the engine has a different identification code, a technical test and a certificate of structural modification will be required.

The new provisions also make it easier to register cars inherited by several people. The procedure can now be initiated by a single heir without an explicit written power of attorney from the others. The names of all co-owners will be entered in the registration certificate.

The deregistration of an inherited vehicle may also be requested by a single heir, but only if the car is handed over for scrapping, completely destroyed, confiscated by the state, or rendered unusable as a result of fires and natural disasters.