The procedure
below is for vehicles already registered on the territory of Bulgaria. For cars purchased from abroad and sold before their registration in Bulgaria, notarized signatures on the sales document is not required, even if it is between individuals. In these cases it is only necessary a registration at the traffic police and possibly at the municipality, if the Police fails to make the registration to the municipality automatically.
For previously registered in Bulgaria vehicles, the Law on Road Traffic applies:
(1) The ownership of the motor vehicle is transferred with a written contract.
(2) Upon transfer of ownership of registered vehicles, registered trailers with capacity over 10 tones, of registered tractors and registered motorcycles with engine capacity exceeding 350 cubic cm., the signatures of the parties must be notarized.
The law requires just notarized signatures, which should cost 6 BGN. The notaries however have come up with a completely different practice, collect the fee on the total value of the vehicle.
The notary certifies the signatures of the individuals - parties to the contract or their proxy.
Required documents:
1. Coupon for registration. If the owner of the car died, the heirs present a certificate of inheritance. If a legal entity is required document for legal registration;
2. Declaration that the seller has no debt and loans;
3. Declaration of marital status of the seller;
4. Receipt of payment of road tax for the year insurance "liability".
5. Certificate of insurance value of the car, issued by the insurer to determine the notary fees and taxes on the transfer of the car. This certificate can be obtained from any insurer for about 12 BGN. You can check for quotes from different insurance companies, as the difference can be quite substantial.
The costs consist of two parts - the notary fee, which is paid to the notary and the local tax, which the buyer must pay to the municipality. Avoid any payments on hand. Nothing prevents you to go to the bank where the seller has an account and simply deposit the money into his account.
The notary fee is determined by the Notaries Act and the Tariff to it and it is depending on the declared value, but in practice it is different for each notary.
From 1 January 2008 the local municipal tax depends not just on the type of transaction and the amount being claimed, but by the municipality where the buyer is registered. Be careful not to pay tax twice because that happens very often. Upon payment of this tax the notary requires a document that has been paid, which must be saved for the registration of the tax. Very often both parties agree to save on the costs of the transfer and record the sale at much lower value. If you are the buyer beware because a possible cancellation of the deal means that you will receive back only what is registered in the contract.
After the sale before a notary starts the second stage - registration at the Traffic Police. It must be done within 14 days at that station where the buyer's residence is. It is better to obtain a fire extinguisher and other statutory tools to the car in advance because you can buy them there, but the prices are higher. It is also better to make in advance copies of all documents. The day before the registration it is good to seek the cheapest civil responsibility and eco-tax. For both and the registration you must prepare 500 BGN.
For MI - Sofia the registration takes several hours. At the first pass all documents relating to the transfer request are reviewed and fixed by filling pre-declaration. Then you pass the channel to review the numbers on the chassis and engine with those of the registration certificate. Bring a cloth because they can make you clear them. The channel also checks the brakes and whatever they decide. Then you must wait to pay and get to a long queue, where you will be called to be given the big and small slip of the car. You get the new numbers back to the path to the channel where you put them.
According to the Law on Road Traffic, the seller must within 14 days present at the office which issued the registration number, a copy of the contract for the transfer of the vehicle or at least make sure that the car is registered automatically.
Third stage. The buyer must declare within two months that he already owns the car at the tax office. If you delay even with one day the tax authority will issue automatically a fine for at least 70-80 BGN. Those fines can get quite pricey. Declare the purchase and immediately make a note on the notary paid local tax. Make in advance copies of the purchase contract and the car documents because those copies will be given to the tax office. In some municipalities in Sofia, the Traffic office now automatically registers the car at the municipality. Thus the third stage of registration lapse but it is highly advisable to go to the municipality and check if the car is registered automatically there.
The seller also must register at the tax office the sale, if he does not, there is no fine, but he will pay a tax that the municipality will not return later
