Republic Of Bulgaria

Persons wishing to obtain certificates of acquired professional qualification in non-regulated profession on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria should present at the front office of NACID the following documents:

1. Application, according to sample form approved by the Executive Director of the National Centre for Information and Documentation. In the application should be stated the professional qualification for which a certificate is required and for which country the certificate is required;
2. Copy of identity document;
3. Copy of diploma, certificate or certificate of professional qualification acquired;
4. Copy of other documents proving the professional qualifications acquired;
5. Copy of the document for membership in professional organization, if the applicant is a member of such;
6. Copy of identity document of person with different names;
7. Copies of documents proving the professional experience over the past 10 years:
   • employment service (a copy of employment record and a copy of the UP-3);
   • official service (copy of official record and a copy of the UP-3);
   • service covered by social security (copy of social security record, certified by the National Social Security Institute).
8. Declaration by the applicant according to sample form evidencing that the latter has not been deprived of the right to pursue the profession and the presence / absence of administrative sanctions imposed in connection with the profession;
9. Document for paid state fee for issuance of the certificate;
10. Other documents in the applicant's discretion.

Upon submission of the application, the applicant shall provide the originals of all documents under Art. 6 of the Ordinance.

Who is entitled to apply:

1. By individuals
   • personally - with an identity paper;
   • parents, children and wife – with a written power of attorney and document attesting to the current civil status;
   • attorney – with a written citizen’s power of attorney;
   • other citizens - a written power of attorney with notarial certifiied signature.
2. By organizations (in terms of § 1, item 2 of the Administrative Procedure Code), applicants are represented by written power of attorney with notarial certifiied signatures. When organizations submit an application they can be represented by
   • legal representatives (a copy of a certificate of current status);
   • person authorized by the legal representative, with a written power of attorney with notarial certified signature ( with a copy of a certificate of current status).

Only applications that are enclosed with all necessary documents shall be accepted.

For issuance of a certificate of acquired professional qualification in non-regulated profession in Bulgaria a fee is charged depending on the period within which the applicant wishes the certificate to be issued. The fees due and the deadlines for performance of the administrative service are in accordance with the Tariff of fees collected under the Recognition of Professional Qualifications Act, promulgated in State Gazette, issue 57 of 24.07.2009, as amended State Gazette issue 16 of 22.02.2011.

For considering applications the following fees shall be collected:

1. for standard service (30 calendar days) - 60 BGN
2. for quick service (10 working days) - 120 BGN

Deadlines for performing the administrative service:

1. for standard service - 30 working days
2. for quick service - 10 working days *

If, in the course of considering the application and the documents enclosed thereto, the officials establish that there are missing or incomplete documents, they shall notify the applicant to submit the relevant documents and set a deadline for their submission, not less than 14 days. Till presenting the documents the term for performing the service shall be suspended.

The due fees can be paid on site at the cash desk of NACID
or on the following bank account:

The procedure for issuing certificates of qualifications for professions which are not regulated on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is organized by NACID. The certificates issuing authority is the Executive Director of NACID.

Persons wishing to obtain certificates of professional qualification acquired in the Republic of Bulgaria should present at the front office of NACID the documents specified under section "Required documents" (see above)

Upon submission of the application, the applicant shall provide the originals of all documents under Art. 6 of the Ordinance. The official receiving the documents shall verify the original documents with the copies submitted and shall certify them with stamp “True copy”.

In case of reasonable doubt regarding the authenticity of the documents presented, the officials may require confirmation of the authenticity of the submitted documents by the issuing authorities. In this case, the term for performance of the service shall be suspended till receiving the confirmation of which the applicant shall be notified in writing.

If, in the course of considering the application and the documents enclosed thereto, the officials establish that there are missing or incomplete documents, they shall notify the applicant to submit the relevant documents and set a deadline for their submission, not less than 14 days. Till presenting the documents the term for performing the service shall be suspended.

Based on the proposal drawn up by the officials, the Executive Director of NACID issues or refuses to issue a certificate of acquired professional qualification in non-regulated profession on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria required for access to or for pursuit of regulated profession in another country.

The procedure for issuing a certificate shall be terminated upon written request of the applicant or authorized by him/her person and in case of failure to submit within two weeks the missing documents required by the officials.

The certificates of acquired professional qualification in Bulgaria required for access to or for pursuit of regulated profession in another country contain information about:

1. acquired professional qualifications on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
2. compliance of the acquired professional qualification with the requirements of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on the recognition of professional qualifications (ОВ, L 255, 30/09/2005);
3. the applicant's right to exercise the profession in the Republic of Bulgaria;
4. whether the profession is regulated in the Republic of Bulgaria;
5. the qualification level in accordance with Art. 11 of Directive 2005/36/EC;
6. the administrative penalties associated with the right to practice the profession;
7. professional experience relating to the professional qualification for which a certificate is required.

The issuance of a certificate shall be refused if:

1. the documents submitted for acquired professional qualification do not correspond to the professional qualification for which the certificate is required;
2. the documents submitted are not issued in accordance with the Bulgarian legislation;
3. if the authenticity of the documents is not confirmed.

The refusal of issuance of a certificate of acquired professional qualification in non-regulated profession on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is subject to appeal under the procedure of the Administrative Procedure Code.