EGN and LNCh personal numbers

Everyone in the population register has an EGN (unified civil number): all Bulgarian citizens, as well as foreigners with long-term or permanent residence and people with refugee status, humanitarian status or asylum. The LNCh (personal number of a foreigner) is the number for foreigners who have no EGN — it appears on their Bulgarian residence document.

EGN

10 digits

date of birth, sex, check digit

birth in Bulgaria

up to 7 days

assigned with the birth record

at GRAO

up to 2 days

after the file is opened

EGN or LNCh

Foreigners who have neither an EGN nor an LNCh but have tax or social security obligations in Bulgaria (for example from property or income) are identified by the National Revenue Agency with a service number (Art. 84(3) of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code).

Who gets an EGN

• A child born in Bulgaria — the civil status registrar assigns the EGN when drawing up the birth record, within 7 days of birth.
• A Bulgarian citizen born abroad — once the birth is registered in Bulgaria.
• A person who has acquired or restored Bulgarian citizenship — on the basis of a certificate or letter from the Ministry of Justice.
• A foreigner granted long-term or permanent residence — on the basis of a notification from the Ministry of Interior.
• A foreigner with refugee status, humanitarian status or asylum.

Apart from births in Bulgaria, EGNs are assigned by the regional GRAO offices within 2 days of the file being opened. For new citizens and foreigners, the file is opened in the municipality where they chose their permanent address, together with an application for a permanent address and an address card for the current address.

A child born abroad

1. Get the local birth certificate

   It is issued by the local civil registry. Depending on the country, it needs an apostille or legalisation, followed by a translation into Bulgarian.

2. Submit it for registration

   Through a Bulgarian embassy or consulate or directly at the municipality in Bulgaria. If the name of the Bulgarian parent in the document differs substantially from the name in the population register, attach a document showing it is the same person.

3. A Bulgarian birth record is drawn up

   The municipality draws up a record based on the foreign document and opens an EGN file. GRAO assigns the number within 2 days.

4. Get the birth certificate

   The Bulgarian birth certificate shows the child’s EGN. With it you can apply for a passport or ID card.

How the EGN is built

• The first 6 digits are the date of birth: year, month and day, two digits each.
• For people born from 2000 onwards, 40 is added to the month (born in March 2005 — 05 43 …); for people born up to 1899, 20 is added.
• Digits 7 to 9 are a sequence number for the day. The ninth digit is even for men and odd for women.
• The tenth digit is a check digit: the first nine digits are multiplied by 2, 4, 8, 5, 10, 9, 7, 3 and 6, the sum is divided by 11 and the remainder is the check digit (0 if the remainder is 10).

This calculation only shows that the number is well formed, not that it is in the register. The validity of an EGN is officially certified by the regional GRAO offices of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.

Where to check your EGN

• On your Bulgarian birth certificate, ID card and passport.
• At a regional GRAO office — with a certificate confirming the EGN, in person or through a representative with a notarised power of attorney.
• Your LNCh — on the residence document issued by the Ministry of Interior.

If your EGN does not match your data (for example a wrong date of birth or sex), GRAO changes the number. After a change of EGN or LNCh, an application for a new identity document cannot be filed online — only in person.