ЕГН: Bulgaria's civil identification number

Visas and residence · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

The number follows from civil registration

An ЕГН is generated when a civil-status event is entered in the register — a birth, acquisition of citizenship, or entry as a permanent resident. The number is therefore the consequence of a registration, not of a separate application. Its structure encodes the date of birth together with a check digit, so it doubles as a consistency test on the record itself.

Can a foreign national hold one

Anyone who acquires Bulgarian citizenship receives an ЕГН. Some permanent residents are also entered in the population register and fall within its scope. For long-term residence and for registered EU citizens, the expected identifier is an ЛНЧ. Which number applies is decided by your status, not by preference.

Where it shows up

• •On the ID card, passport and civil-status certificates.
• •In notarial and property transactions, to identify the parties.
• •In tax returns and social-security records.
• •In health registration and school enrolment.
• •When requesting electronic administrative services and official extracts.

Not a secret, but not for casual sharing

The number appears on many documents, so it does not function as a password. Combined with other details, however, it identifies a person directly and is covered by data-protection rules. Asking on what legal basis someone requires your ЕГН is a normal and accepted question in Bulgaria.

Fixing an incorrect record

1. 1

   Find the primary record

   Corrections to an ЕГН run through civil registration: the municipal ГРАО unit and ГД ГРАО centrally.
2. 2

   Account for identity documents

   A change usually means the ID card has to be reissued, which is a separate procedure on the МВР side.
3. 3

   Update the derived records

   Banks, employers, the revenue agency and your health record do not update automatically — each needs separate notification.

Who gets an ЕГН under the law

Under Article 11(1) of the Civil Registration Act (ЗГР), the ЕГН is the administrative identifier of the people listed in Article 3(2) and entered in the population register (регистър на населението). Besides Bulgarian citizens, that list covers foreigners holding long-term (дългосрочно) or permanent (постоянно) residence and people granted refugee status, humanitarian status or asylum. Extended residence (продължително пребиваване) is not on the list; that status uses the ЛНЧ. The unified civil registration system (ЕСГРАОН) that holds the ЕГН was set up in 1977 by Council of Ministers Decree No. 15; today GD GRAO maintains the register of personal numbers at national level.

What the ten digits mean

How the number is assigned and verified

• •The ЕГН is assigned by the regional GRAO units within 2 days of opening the file of a person to be entered in the population register (Art. 107).
• •A change in the grounds for registration does not lead to a new ЕГН (Art. 106(1)) — the number stays the same when, for example, a resident becomes a citizen.
• •The correctness of an ЕГН is certified by a "certificate of correct ЕГН"; according to ИИСДА (service 831) it is free, issued within 7 days and has no expiry date. The request is sent by the municipal administration to the regional GRAO unit.
• •An ЕГН can only be changed administratively, on the basis of a document showing that the change is necessary (Art. 77 ЗГР).

Frequently asked questions

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