New rules for registering vehicles take effect on 27 October, the Interior Ministry and traffic police said. The ordinance on how vehicles are registered and recorded has been changed. A pit inspection is now needed only when a vehicle is re-registered in another region, or when ownership changes within 10 years of first registration.
The changes to Ordinance I-45/2000 were published in the State Gazette on 23 October. They follow amendments to the Road Traffic Act, passed on 5 August 2025. A draft went out for public consultation on 29 April.
Vehicles registered in Bulgaria for more than 10 years no longer need a pit inspection. It is also dropped when the fuel type or eco category in the registration certificate changes, and when a duplicate is issued for a lost Part I or Part II of the certificate.
Transit plates with a registration number can be issued for the same vehicle no more than three times.
When an engine is replaced, the owner no longer has to show a document proving ownership. The new engine's number is entered during the pit inspection. If the new engine has a different code or type, the owner needs a specialist lab test and a certificate for the change in the vehicle's design.
The rules for inherited vehicles have also changed. If two or more heirs inherit a vehicle, just one of them can apply for registration, without a written power of attorney. The other co-owners are entered in the registration certificate.
One heir can ask alone to cancel a registration only if the vehicle is dismantled, written off as a total loss, confiscated or seized, or destroyed in a fire or natural disaster. In all other cases, all heirs must apply, or one of them with a power of attorney from the others.
Authorities will cancel the registration in the National Vehicle Register on their own if the owner died before 7 September 2025 and the heirs have not applied for a change. The deadline is six months from 27 October 2026.