Selling used cars in Bulgaria may become simpler: no notary and with online processing

Bulgaria wants to change the rules for selling used cars

Bulgaria may simplify the procedure for selling used cars. A bill has been submitted to parliament that provides for dropping the mandatory notarial certification of the car sale contract. Instead, transactions are planned to be made faster, cheaper and gradually moved into digital format.

If the changes are adopted, the used car market in Bulgaria may move to a more modern model of processing transactions.

New rules for buying and selling cars in Bulgaria

Under the bill, the seller and the buyer will be able to conclude a car sale contract in simple written form without going to a notary.

Checking a car’s legal status will be carried out through state databases. Verification of ownership, restrictions and possible encumbrances will be assigned to state authorities, including structures of the Ministry of the Interior and the traffic police.

The use of digital registers should speed up the procedure and reduce the risk of fraud when selling a car.

Online re-registration of cars

One of the key areas of the reform is digitalisation. The bill opens up the possibility of online re-registration of cars in Bulgaria.

In the future, some procedures for registering a vehicle and changing its owner may be moved entirely into electronic format. This is especially important for residents of large cities and for foreigners buying a car in Bulgaria.

Why Bulgaria wants to abolish notaries in car sales

The authors of the initiative believe that the current system creates unnecessary costs and bureaucracy for citizens. Notarial certification increases the cost of the transaction and the time it takes to process, but does not always guarantee protection from legal risks.

In many European countries a car sale contract is drawn up without a notary. The security of the transaction is ensured through electronic registers and data exchange between government agencies.

Bulgaria is seeking to introduce a similar model.

What will change for car owners

If the law is adopted, owners of used cars in Bulgaria will gain a number of advantages:

• lower costs of processing the transaction;
• fast re-registration of the car;
• transparency of car checks against state databases;
• the possibility of remote processing in the future.

This may make buying and selling a car in Bulgaria more accessible and safer.

When the new rules will come into force

For now the bill is at the discussion stage. It faces parliamentary procedures, possible amendments and a vote.

Experts note that the key factor will be the readiness of the digital infrastructure. If state systems work reliably, the reform could significantly simplify the used car market in Bulgaria.