Bulgaria

From Driverspedia

Handedness of road traffic

Bulgaria is a right-hand traffic country.

Speed Limits

The general speed limits in Bulgaria are presented in the table:[1][2]

General Speed limits in km/h (mph)
Type of vehicle Populated areas Rural areas High-speed roads Motorways
Motorcycles and three-wheel vehicles[note 1] 50 (31) 80 (49) 90 (55) 100 (62)
Vehicles ≤ 3,5 t GCWR and ≤ 9 seats and a trailer < 750 kg GCWR[note 2] 50 (31) 90 (55) 120 (74) 140 (86)
Vehicles ≤ 3,5 t GCWR and ≤ 9 seats and a trailer or semi-trailer > 750 kg GCWR and ≤ 3,5 t GCWR[note 3] 50 (31) 70 (43) 90 (55) 100 (62)

Notes:

  1. In other words motorcycles that need a European driving license of Class A owned by the rider
  2. In other words vehicles that need a European driving license of Class B owned by the driver
  3. In other words vehicles that need a European driving license of Class BE owned by the driver

Documents

  1. Driver's license. Licenses are valid if they meet the following requirements:[3]
    1. the driving license is issued by a Member State of the European Union, or by another State – party to the agreement on the European Economic Area, or by the Confederation of Switzerland,
    2. the driving license is accompanied by an International Driving Permit (IDP),
    3. the driving license is accompanied by a legalized translation in Bulgarian,
    4. the country, where it has been issued is a party to the Agreement between the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Agreement about the statute of their armed forces.
  2. Registration certificate.
  3. Roadworthiness (technical inspection) certificate.
  4. Certificate of Motor Insurance plus International Motor Insurance Card (Green Card). At least third party insurance is required.

Items required in cars or with motorcycles

Three and four wheel vehicles in Bulgaria shall be equipped with:[4]

  1. Warning triangle.
  2. First-aid kit.
  3. Fire extinguisher.
  4. High visibility reflective vest.

Winter conditions

Vehicles should be equipped with tires designed for winter conditions or with tires with a tread depth of at least 4 mm during the period from November 15 to March 1.[5] The use of snow chains is only permitted when the conditions of the road make them necessary.[6]

Studded tires

The use of studded tires is prohibited in Bulgaria.[6]

Headlights

The use of low beam (dipped) headlights is compulsory all day long, including during daytime.[7]

Filling stations

Stations' attendants are the ones who operate the fuel dispensers in Bulgaria, filling the car with the fuel of your choice. You can pay in cash or by using a debit/credit card after you have your car filled, in the station's office. Self-service stations are not common in Bulgaria.

Fuel types

  1. Unleaded petrol / gasoline.
    Common octane ratings are 92, 95 and 98 RON, with them called A92, A95 and A98 at the pump. Big suppliers also offer 100 octane petrol, as Shell offers V-Power racing for example.
  2. Diesel. (Bulgarian: “Дизел” | Transliteration: dizel).
  3. LPG. Local names are автогаз and Пропан бутан. A list of stations that offer LPG can be found by following the previous link.
  4. CNG. A list of CNG stations can be found by clicking the link at the start of the sentence.

Fuel prices

A comparison of prices as well as the exact locations of filling stations in Bulgaria can be found here: https://bg.fuelo.net/?lang=en

The information is also available for Android and iOS.

Electric vehicle chargers

You can find electric car and PHEVs chargers in Bulgaria at lemnet.org, also available for Android and iOS

Road user charges

Electronic vignette

All vehicles up to 3,5 t, with the exception of motorcycles, should have a vignette in order to travel on all national roads in Bulgaria. The only roads where a vignette is not compulsory are municipal roads. Since the start of 2019 the paper vignette has been replaced by an electronic version.

You can register for an e-vignette for light vehicles ≤ 3,5 t by following the previous link for periods of 1 weekend (valid from Friday 12:00 p.m. to Sunday 11:59 p.m), 1 week, 1 month, 1 quarter or 1 year. Prices are listed in lev. You can select the language of the website at its top right corner. Alternative you can pay for the e-vignette by bank transfer.

You can check the validity period of your e-vignette in the previous link.

Urban Access Regulations

There are no restrictions for light vehicles in Bulgaria. There are only restrictions for vehicles over 4 t in Sofia.

References

  1. Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Road traffic act", Chapter two. ROAD TRAFFIC RULES, Section IV. Speed and distance. Reduction of the speed, Art. 21. (1), 30 Jul 2019
  2. Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Road traffic act", Chapter four. CAPACITY OF THE DRIVERS OF ROAD VEHICLES, Art. 150a, 30 Jul 2019
  3. Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Road traffic act", Chapter four. CAPACITY OF THE DRIVERS OF ROAD VEHICLES, Art. 161, 30 Jul 2019
  4. Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Road traffic act", Chapter three. VEHICLES, Art. 139. (2), 30 Jul 2019
  5. Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Road traffic act", Chapter three. VEHICLES, Art. 139. (1), 30 Jul 2019
  6. 6.0 6.1 Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Road traffic act", Chapter two. ROAD TRAFFIC RULES, Section I. General rules, Art. 9. (1), 30 Jul 2019
  7. Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Road traffic act", Chapter two. ROAD TRAFFIC RULES, Section XVII. Using lights, Art. 70. (3), 30 Jul 2019