Registration in the BULSTAT Register — Who Must Register and How (2026)

What the BULSTAT register is

The BULSTAT register is a single, centralised electronic register containing data on certain legal entities. It is kept and maintained by the Registry Agency and is governed by the BULSTAT Register Act.

Its purpose is to cover the entities that are not entered in the Commercial Register or the register of non-profit legal entities — for example foreign persons, unincorporated partnerships and natural persons exercising a freelance profession. On registration, each entity receives a unified identification code (UIC), which identifies it in its dealings with the state institutions.

For natural persons, the BULSTAT UIC coincides with the personal identification number, or the personal number of a foreigner. For legal entities and the other entities, the code is assigned at the time of registration itself.

Who must register

The range of entities subject to entry in the BULSTAT register is defined in the BULSTAT Register Act. Most often these are:

• Legal entities that are not traders and are not non-profit legal entities subject to entry in the Commercial Register or in the register of non-profit legal entities;
• Branches and trade representations of foreign persons that are not traders;
• Foreign legal entities that carry out economic activity in the country, whose effective management is in Bulgaria, or that own immovable property in the country;
• Unincorporated partnerships under the Obligations and Contracts Act (partnerships under the OCA), as well as insurance funds;
• Natural persons exercising a freelance profession or a craft activity;
• Foreign natural persons without a personal identification number or a personal number of a foreigner, who carry out activity, own property in the country or have the capacity of an insurer;
• Other persons that are insurers and are not natural persons.

Natural persons in a freelance profession

One of the most common cases of entry in the BULSTAT register is the registration of a natural person who will exercise a freelance profession. This category includes, for example, lawyers, notaries, certified accountants, auditors, valuers, translators, architects, engineers, medical professionals, figures of culture and science, insurance agents and others.

Registration with BULSTAT is the first step in starting an activity as a freelance profession. After obtaining the UIC, the person also registers with the National Revenue Agency as a self-insured person. For more on this status, see our articles on registering a freelance profession and on self-insured persons.

Required documents and procedure

The registration proceedings begin with an application, filed by an authorised person — the entity itself, its legal representative, a lawyer with an express power of attorney, or an attorney-in-fact with a notarised power of attorney.

The application is, as a rule, accompanied by:

• a declaration of truthfulness of the declared circumstances;
• a document for the state fee paid;
• documents evidencing the grounds for registration — these depend on the type of entity. For a foreign legal entity, this is a legalised document on its incorporation in the relevant state, accompanied by a certified translation into Bulgarian, and a document evidencing the activity in Bulgaria. For a foreign natural person — a document on the activity carried out or on the right of ownership of immovable property.

The state fee is due in accordance with the Tariff of state fees collected by the Registry Agency. Its amounts are relatively low and depend on the type of person and the action requested; the current tariff is available on the Agency’s website.

Deadlines

The obligation to register arises within a short period, so it is important to keep track of it:

• Deadline for filing — seven days. The entity must apply for registration within a seven-day period. For natural persons, the period runs from the start of the activity, from the hiring of workers, from the acquisition of property or from the occurrence of a change in a circumstance subject to entry. For legal entities requiring court registration, the period runs from receipt of the court decision.
• Decision — by the next working day. The registration officer must rule on the application no later than the next working day after it is filed.

The same seven-day period also applies on the occurrence of a change in circumstances — for example, a change in the correspondence address or in the activity carried out.

Review, refusal and appeal

The registration officer checks whether the application has been filed in the prescribed form and manner, by an authorised person, in respect of circumstances subject to entry, and whether it is accompanied by all required documents.

Three outcomes are possible:

• Registration — where all requirements are met.
• Instructions to remedy irregularities — where documents are missing or the fee has not been paid. The applicant has five working days to remedy the deficiencies; if they fail to do so, a refusal is issued.
• Refusal — where the requirements of the law have not been met, for example the application originates from an unauthorised person, or circumstances are filed that are not subject to entry.

In the event of a refusal, the applicant may file a new application or contest the refusal. The contestation is carried out first by administrative procedure before the Executive Director of the Registry Agency, and their act is subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Code. If the refusal is set aside, the registration is carried out ex officio.

Frequently asked questions