How long does company registration take in Bulgaria?

Companies and taxes · Last reviewed: 2026-08-23

Three separate clocks

Founders routinely conflate three different durations. The first is preparation: drafting the constitutive act, notarial certifications, apostilles and sworn translations of foreign documents. The second is the registry's decision window. The third is time to operation: opening the bank account, setting up accounting, obtaining an electronic signature and, where relevant, registering for VAT. The advertised "one day" names only the second of these.

The official deadlines we measured

Where the registrar finds a defect, formal instructions are issued naming exactly which document or declaration is missing, and the applicant has 3 working days to comply. Missing that window produces a refusal. A refusal can be appealed, but in practice curing the defect and filing again is faster and cheaper whenever the defect is real.

A realistic timetable

1. 1

   Preparation — usually the longest stage

   Constitutive act, manager's declarations, notarial certifications. A founder abroad adds a power of attorney, an apostille and a sworn translation, and postal time turns days into weeks.
2. 2

   Capital account — on the bank's schedule

   An appointment, identity and source-of-funds checks, then the account itself. This stage follows the bank's internal procedures and has no statutory maximum.
3. 3

   Filing — the short link

   With a complete file the decision does not exceed one working day. If instructions are issued, the three-working-day cure window applies.
4. 4

   Getting operational — after entry

   Current account, accounting engagement, electronic signature, VAT registration where required and any sectoral licences.

What typically causes delay

• •A trade name too similar to one already entered, producing a refusal.
• •A foreign document filed without an apostille or with an uncertified translation.
• •A power of attorney drafted too narrowly to cover the specific act.
• •A stated scope of activity that touches a licensed sector.
• •A bank certificate of paid-in capital that does not match the application.
• •Name spellings that differ between the passport and the translation.

VAT registration runs on its own clock

Registering the company does not make it VAT registered. According to the Ministry of Economy, a taxable person established in the country must register once annual turnover exceeds the national threshold of approximately 51,130 euro, and the application is filed within 7 days of crossing it. Those values were read on 23 August 2026. The source publishes the threshold in the national currency; the euro figure here is converted at the official fixed rate — no official euro amount has been announced yet, so confirm the binding value with the revenue agency. Voluntary registration below the threshold is possible, and exporters or suppliers of services within the Union often register without waiting.

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