Registering a marriage concluded abroad

A marriage concluded before a foreign authority is valid, but it must also be registered in Bulgaria. Within 6 months of the foreign marriage record being drawn up, the Bulgarian citizen must hand in a certified copy or extract of it at a Bulgarian embassy or consulate, or directly at the municipality of their permanent address (Art. 70 of the Civil Registration Act). The municipality draws up a Bulgarian record and issues a marriage certificate.

deadline

6 months

from the foreign record

registration

about 3 months

via the mission

new documents

30 days

if you changed your name

fee

free

registration and first certificate

Which municipality registers the marriage

The municipality of the husband’s permanent address. If he is not a Bulgarian citizen, the wife’s permanent address is used (Art. 72(2)). The duty applies to Bulgarian citizens: a marriage between two foreign nationals is not registered this way.

How to apply

1. Get the marriage document

   Ask the local authority for a certified copy or extract of the record. In countries party to the 1976 Vienna Convention (Germany, Spain, France, Italy and others) ask for a multilingual extract — form B: it needs no legalisation and usually no translation.

2. Apostille or legalisation and translation

   If the document is not multilingual, it needs an apostille (or legalisation, depending on the country) and a Bulgarian translation — by a translator registered with the consular section, or in Bulgaria with the translator’s signature notarised.

3. Hand in the documents

   At the mission — with the application form, the marriage document and both spouses’ identity documents. Or at the municipality — in person or through a representative with a notarised power of attorney, which the consular section can certify.

4. Collect the certificate

   The original is collected at the municipality in person or by a representative. Some missions (Madrid, for example) issue an electronic duplicate once the marriage is registered.

Surname

When marrying, each spouse states whether they keep their surname, take the other spouse’s surname or add it to their own (Art. 12 of the Family Code). Do this before the foreign authority — your choice must appear in the foreign marriage record. The municipality enters the taken or added surname as it appears in the Bulgarian population register.

After registration

If your name changed, apply for a new ID card and passport within 30 days, bringing the original Bulgarian marriage certificate. So the registration of the marriage has to be completed first.

Before marrying abroad

• Foreign registrars often ask for proof that you are free to marry. The municipality issues a certificate for a Bulgarian citizen marrying abroad after checking the population register. In Sofia it costs €3.58 and takes up to 7 days.
• In an EU country you can ask for a multilingual standard form under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 to go with it instead of a translation. In Sofia the form costs the same as the certificate itself.
• You can also marry before a Bulgarian consul if local law allows it (and, when marrying a foreign national, their national law too). The record is then drawn up at the mission and sent on officially. The application fee is €10.