Criminal Record Certificate (Police Clearance Certificate) in Bulgaria

A criminal record certificate from Bulgaria is what visa offices and employers abroad call a police clearance certificate, a police certificate, a criminal record check or a certificate of good conduct. In Bulgarian it is the свидетелство за съдимост (svidetelstvo za sadimost), issued by the conviction records office (бюро съдимост) of the courts rather than by the police. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Police Clearance Certificate / Criminal Record Check”. English-speaking lawyers in Bulgaria deal with both directions: a Bulgarian certificate for use elsewhere, and a foreign certificate for use in Bulgaria.

Who needs it

• Foreigners who lived or worked in Bulgaria and now apply for a visa, residence, citizenship or a job in another country.
• Bulgarian citizens abroad who are asked for a certificate from home.
• Foreigners applying for residence or work in Bulgaria, who are usually asked for a certificate from their own country.

How it works in Bulgaria

A person born in Bulgaria applies to the conviction records office at the district court of the place of birth; foreigners and people born abroad apply to the central conviction records office at the Ministry of Justice. The request can be made in person, through an authorised representative, at a Bulgarian consulate, or online with electronic identification such as a qualified electronic signature or the personal code issued by the National Revenue Agency. The certificate names the purpose it was issued for, and receiving authorities usually accept it only for a limited time after issue. For use abroad it is often apostilled and translated. In the other direction, a foreign certificate for a Bulgarian office normally needs an apostille or legalisation and a translation into Bulgarian.

What to look out for

The certificate is issued in Bulgarian. A transliterated name that does not match the passport, or a missing Bulgarian personal or foreigner number, can slow the request. For citizens of EU countries, the record may also reflect convictions exchanged between EU member states. The rules for electronic requests have changed more than once; a lawyer confirms the current ones. This page is general information, not legal advice.

What a lawyer does

Files the application with a power of attorney, collects the certificate, arranges the apostille and the translation, and sends it to you. For foreign papers headed to a Bulgarian office, the lawyer checks the form, the legalisation and the translation before they are filed; certified copies are covered under document witnessing and identity verification.

Questions and answers

Can a foreigner get a Bulgarian criminal record certificate?

Yes. A foreigner who lived in Bulgaria applies to the central office at the Ministry of Justice, directly, through a consulate or through a representative.

Can I apply online?

Online applications exist, but they rely on Bulgarian electronic identification. People abroad without it usually act through a representative or a consulate.

How long is the certificate accepted?

It carries its date of issue, and the authority that receives it decides how recent it has to be. Many accept it only for a limited period.

Is it the same as a police report?

No. A police report records an incident such as a theft or an accident. The certificate lists convictions, or states that there are none.

Does a Bulgarian certificate need an apostille?

For a country outside the EU that applies the apostille system, usually yes. Within the EU simpler rules apply to some public documents, but the receiving authority decides.