Legalization of a Birth Certificate
Document Issued in Bulgaria
1. Issuance Requirements for a Birth Certificate.
To legalize a birth certificate, a duplicate must be issued by the municipality that has originally issued the document. This duplicate must include a rectangular stamp certifying the signatures and seals.
2. Steps for Legalization of a Birth Certificate.
2.1. Placement of an Apostille by the Regional Administration of Sofia-City.
2.2. Translation by a sworn (certified) translator.
2.3. Certification of the translation at the "Consular Relations Directorate" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
Processing time:
Translation – 48 hours (standard order), 24 hours (quick order), up to 8 business hours (express order);
Regional Administration Sofia-City – 2 business days;
Consular Relations Directorate, MFA – 4 business days (standard), 2 business days (quick), 1 business day (express).
Document Issued in a Foreign Country
1. Issuance Requirements for a Birth Certificate.
1.1. With an Apostille from countries that are members of the Hague Convention
(see question: “Which countries are members of the Hague Convention?”).
1.2. For Austria, France, North Macedonia, and other countries with which Bulgaria has bilateral agreements, the birth certificate may be legalized without an Apostille
(see question: “List of countries with which Bulgaria has a signed bilateral agreement”).
1.3. A birth certificate issued by a country that is not a party to the Hague Convention and does not have a bilateral agreement with Bulgaria must be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country and the Bulgarian embassy in that country.
2. Steps for Legalization of a Birth Certificate.
2.1. Translation by a sworn (certified) translator.
2.2. Certification of the translator’s signature before a notary.
Processing time:
Translation – 48 hours (standard order), 24 hours (quick order), up to 8 business hours (express order);
Notary attestation – 2 business days (standard), 1 business day (express).
In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, it is possible to request a multilingual standard birth certificate, intended to facilitate the use of public documents issued by one EU Member State in another.