Getting Married in Bulgaria

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Getting Married in Bulgaria

According to the Bulgarian Family Code (Семеен кодекс), only civil marriages (граждански брак) are legally valid in Bulgaria. The religious ceremony (църковна сватба) is optional and can be performed only after a civil ceremony has taken place. The religious ceremony itself has no legal status.

The legal age for getting married in Bulgaria is 18 years. People under that age, but who have already turned 16, may get married with the permission of the Chair of the Regional Court (председател на районния съд). Application for a permit to marry must be made at the regional court where the couple reside; if they do not both reside in the same region, they may choose which region's court to apply to.

Marriages in Bulgaria are subject to a residency requirement. One of the couple should be either a Bulgarian citizen or a long-term resident of the country.

Validity of Bulgarian Civil Marriage

A civil marriage, performed according to the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria, is generally recognised in other countries. This should be checked with the relevant authorities of the country in question.

Some countries may require an apostile (апостил) be put on the Bulgarian marriage certificate (свидетелство за брак) by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Министерство на външните работи) and for the certificate to be translated into the language of the foreign spouse. This must be done by a certified translator, recognised by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  At: 2 Alexander Zhendov Street, Sofia 1032
  Tel: 02 971 14 08 / 02 971 3778 / 02 948 2218 
  e-mail
  Website 

Documentation and Requirements for Marriage

An application to marry is filed at the local Town Hall (община) where one of the marrying parties is resident. This must be done at least 30 days prior to the chosen date for the civil ceremony. Both couples applying need not be present to make the application, however the identity cards of both are required. 

The documents for civil marriage, required by both parties, are:

• Proof of identity
• Certificates of no Impediment to Marriage (декларация, че не съществуват причини за встъпване в брак) to prove that the person is free to marry
• Medical certificates (медицински свидетелства), valid for 30 days from the date of their issue. These are issued after a standard pre-marital medical check-up (изследвания за сключване на брак) which includes a blood test and may be done at any clinic in Bulgaria

The following additional documents may be required:

• If under 18 years of age, a permit from the regional court (разрешение от районния съд)
• If either party has previously been married, the final divorce decree (бракоразводно решение) or death certificate of the former spouse if widowed

Additional documents may be required depending on the nationality of each of the future spouses:

Foreign citizens may need to make a statement in front of a consul at the Embassy of their country in Bulgaria, confirming that there are no legal impediments for them to marry. The Affidavit contains information such as the foreign citizen’s name, passport number, date and place of birth, as well as information about the future spouse.

Along with the Affidavit, the Embassy may issue the Certificate of No Impediment. However, if the person is not resident in Bulgaria, they should obtain the certificate from their home country.

All documents not in Bulgarian should be translated into Bulgarian by a sworn translator, and authenticated with an apostille by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Some translation and certification/legalisation agencies take care of this process).

Some Embassies require that a Notice of Marriage is made at least three weeks prior to the marriage. Check with the relevant Consulate or Embassy in Bulgaria.

The Ceremony

On the day of the wedding, the wedding couple should present themselves at the civil wedding hall (ритуална зала) accompanied by their two witnesses ten minutes before the appointed time. In general, weddings can take place any day of the week.

The following documents are needed at the ceremony:

• Proof of identity of the future spouses and the two witnesses
• A receipt for paid fees (for the ceremony, as well as for other optional services such as video recording and photographer or accompanying music)
• Wedding rings
• Two ritual glasses (ритуални чаши) and a bottle of champagne are required as these are part of the ritual

If there are no impediments to the marriage, the civil status official, performing the ceremony (длъжностно лице по гражданското състояние) asks the two parties whether they agree to marry and if the answers are affirmative, forms the so-called акт за сключване на брак (a document, certifying that the marriage has officially taken place) which is signed by the official, the two parties and the two witnesses. Each of the newly-weds also states whether they will keep their family name, take the family name of their spouse or add it to their own family name.

The spouses receive an official copy of this document, the marriage certificate (брачно свидетелство), the original document is kept in the registries of the Town Hall.

The whole procedure at the wedding hall lasts about 10 to 15 minutes. The guests congratulate the newly-weds outside the wedding hall.

Same-sex Marriage

Same-sex marriage is not permitted in Bulgaria; there is no legal recognition of same sex partnerships. However this is currently under debate. Cohabitation is not legally recognised in Bulgaria. 

Further Information

• Information on getting married from the US Embassy: Click here
• Information on registering a marriage from the UK Embassy: Click here

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