Useful Info
- I. Regarding the notary verification of documents when you are outside of Bulgaria
- 1. Visit to an embassy or consulate service of Republic of Bulgaria
- 2. Verification with your local notary and affixing an Apostille certification
- 3. Verification only with your local notary
In relation to the implementation and declaration of certain actions before the Bulgarian state and municipal institutions, it is necessary that some documents have a notary verification of the signature of the person, who signed the respective document. Usually this is required for some types of power of attorneys, declarations and others.
The notary verification of the documents shall be done in a certain form in order to be accepted by the state and municipal institutions in Bulgaria. The methods for notary verification of a document abroad are the following:
2. Verification with your local notary and affixing an Apostille certification
3. Verification only with your local notary
Most Bulgarian embassies and consulate services offer services related to verification of documents. You need to visit the closest embassy or consulate service and to request the service “notary verification of a signature”, where you shall put the signature on the document you want to be verified before the respective official in the consulate service. Before that you will be required to present your passport for verification of your identity. The documents signed by you can be prepared only in Bulgarian, but in this case these documents shall be also translated to a language that you understand. The official that shall verify your signature shall assure himself that you understand the meaning of the document contents and that you sign it at your own will. It is possible for the document to be prepared only in English, or both in English and Bulgarian, which is the best option.
After putting your signature on the document, the latter will be processed and will receive a reference number with a date, after being signed by the Bulgarian official authorized to provide verification services. Then, the document is ready to be used in Bulgaria.
Another possibility for receiving a notary verification of a signature on a document so that it is valid in Bulgaria is to visit a local notary. Again, in their office, your identity will be verified and you will be invited to sign the document. The document shall be written in a language that both you and the notary understand, because the latter shall verify that you understand what you sign. After the notary verifies your signature, the document shall be accompanied by the so-called “Apostille”. The Apostille is an attribute put on the document by an authorized institution, which certifies that the document has been verified by a state authority with the respective certification function. The Apostilles are issued by different authorities in the different countries. Usually, and most often, these authorities are departments to the ministries of foreign affairs. Often, the notaries have information where and how you can get an Apostille and they can even offer to assist you with this, so ask the notary, with whom you verify your document, about that. If your document has been verified by a local notary and has the “Apostille” certification, then it is ready for usage in Bulgaria. Each institution in Bulgaria is then obliged to accept the document that is verified and provided with an Apostille.
There is a list of countries, which Bulgaria has concluded bilateral treaties with, related to the verification of documents. If you are a citizen of the respective country or if you are located on the territory of such а country and you want to verify a document so that it can be valid on the territory of Bulgaria, you only need to visit a local notary, who, after verifying your identity, will verify the signature put before them. This is sufficient for the document to be used in Bulgaria.
Here is a list of these countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Vietnam, Georgia, Yemen, Cyprus, North Korea, Cuba, Kuwait, Libya, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation /and SNG countries, with the exception of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia /, Syria, Republic of Yugoslavia and countries of former Yugoslavia /Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia/, Hungary, France, Czech Republic and Slovakia.