Rules for overlanding in Bulgaria

An Italian licence is recognised. Check what applies to the licence you hold.

An Italian insurance policy is sufficient. Check what applies to the cover you hold.

Carry a letter of authority from the owner with the signature authenticated.

A fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit are compulsory in every vehicle, and a reflective vest is compulsory for anyone who gets out of it. Seatbelts are compulsory front and rear, children need restraints to EU standards, and helmets are compulsory for motorcyclists. Any vehicle that breaks down and stops on a public road, mopeds and motorcycles excepted, must be marked with a warning triangle.

Dipped headlights are compulsory in the daytime at all times, for cars and motorcycles alike. Fog lights may be used when rain, snow or fog cuts visibility.

Winter tyres are compulsory from 15 November to 1 March. Snow chains are compulsory in wintry conditions of snow and ice, and with chains fitted the maximum speed is 50 km/h.

The limit is 0.05%. Any driver suspected of being over it can be made to take a breath test, followed by a blood test if it is positive. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs carries up to two years in prison, and up to five if it causes a crash with injuries.

The road network outside towns is paid for with a vignette, sold at the borders, at national road agency offices, at some service stations and post offices, and online. For cars the rates are 4.09 euro for a day, 5.11 for a weekend, 7.67 for a week, 15.34 for a month, 27.61 for three months and 49.60 for a year.

Signs are in Cyrillic, with Latin lettering only on motorways and the more important national roads and only for major destinations. The network is improving but minor roads are poorly maintained, badly broken up and holed, traffic has grown heavy on the main intercity arteries, and crashes are frequent. Diesel and unleaded are available almost everywhere at slightly below Italian prices, LPG at nearly every station, CNG less widely.

Border officers may look closely at the registration and circulation documents of any vehicle entering or merely transiting, so check that everything is valid before you leave. Haulage association protests at some land crossings in the Balkans can also cause long delays, so check local media before a cross-border leg.

Bulgaria has been in the EU since 2007 and a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025, and an EU citizen can enter with a valid ID card or a passport. Border officers do not always accept ID cards, however, and travellers have been turned back with electronic cards renewed by municipal certificate and with cards that were damaged or worn; a driving licence is not accepted as an identity document for entry. Carry two different documents and keep them in separate places.

Bulgarian law draws no line between soft and hard drugs, pre-trial detention can last years, and making, holding, transporting, dealing or using them carries 2 to 8 years plus fines of 2,500 to 10,000 euro, rising to 10 to 15 years for transporting. The vehicle in which drugs are found is confiscated.

Up to 10,000 euro crosses the border without a written declaration; from that amount up you must declare the sum and type plus the owner, origin, intended use, the vehicle carrying it, the destination and the route. Change money only in proper exchange offices, checking the rate inside matches the one advertised outside, and ignore attractive offers made in the street near tourist areas.

Nothing over 60 years old may be exported from Bulgaria, and works by artists on a list of national interest need authorisation from the Ministry of Culture; the authorities watch art trafficking closely, icons in particular. Precious metals are capped for private travellers at 37 g of unworked or semi-worked gold and platinum, 60 g of gold and platinum jewellery and 300 g of silver.

The Bulgarian Customs Agency states that temporary import with full relief from import duties is granted for road vehicles for personal use that are registered outside the EU customs territory in the name of a person established outside it (or, if unregistered, owned by such a person) and used by a person established outside it. It states that the period for ending the temporary import of road vehicles for personal use is 6 months, i.e. the car must leave EU territory within six months. (Агенция „Митници“ (Bulgarian Customs Agency) — FAQ: Как се разрешава режим временен внос на автомобил за лични цели на гражданин на трета страна извън ЕС)

The National Bureau of Bulgarian Motor Insurers states that a person who drives in Bulgaria a vehicle normally based in a third country, without liability insurance valid for Bulgaria (or with it expired), must take out border insurance at the border crossing point. Insurers may not sell border insurance for vehicles normally based in an EU member state or in countries whose bureaux signed the Multilateral Agreement. Border insurance can be issued for one to three months at a time, up to six months in total within a calendar year. (НББАЗ — Национално бюро на българските автомобилни застрахователи: Пътуване в чужбина (Гранична застраховка))

The Bulgarian Civil Aviation Administration states that all drone operations in EASA member states must comply with the EU drone regulation regardless of the nationality of the operator or remote pilot, and that a citizen of a non-EU country visiting Europe who plans to operate a drone in the open category must register in the first EU country where they intend to operate; this registration is then valid across Europe. It adds that training or qualifications obtained in the visitor's country of residence are not recognised in the EU, so the required training must be completed before flying. (Главна дирекция „Гражданска въздухоплавателна администрация“ (Bulgarian CAA) — Често задавани въпроси (дронове))

The Rila National Park Directorate lists rules of behaviour in the park: driving, parking and staying with motor vehicles (including snowmobiles and ATVs) outside the routes designated for that purpose is prohibited without the Directorate's permission, passing outside the marked tourist routes is prohibited, and camping and lighting fires are allowed only at specifically marked sites. This covers Rila National Park only. (Rila National Park Directorate (rilanationalpark.bg) — Rules and prohibitions)

CEPT's ECO Documentation Database records Bulgaria as having implemented ECC Decision (12)01 on satellite mobile terminals operating under the control of networks in the range 1 to 3 GHz. The database remark says the Decision is currently implemented by the Rules for free use of radio frequency spectrum, published in the Bulgarian Official Gazette No. 92 of 5 November 2021. Under the Decision, administrations exempt such terminals from individual licensing and allow their free circulation (carriage of the equipment) and use in the frequency bands listed in its Annex 1; terminals installed permanently on ships or aircraft are excepted. (CEPT/ECC — ECC Decision (12)01 on exemption from individual licensing and free circulation and use of satellite mobile terminals operating under the control of networks in the range 1 to 3 GHz (text: docdb.cept.org/download/3719) and implementation status in the ECO Documentation Database)