Company formation in Bulgaria: the full process

The default vehicle for a foreigner is an EOOD, a single-member limited liability company. One owner, limited liability, and the 10% flat corporate tax that brings most people here. If two or more people own it, the same company is called an OOD. Everything below applies to both.

An EOOD is a real company with real obligations, not a shelf label. From the day it exists it owes monthly accounting and annual filings, and it keeps owing them even in a year it does nothing. That is covered on the accounting page, and it is the part most formation agents leave out.

• A company name that is free in the Commercial Register. Bulgarian or Latin script, checked at filing.
• A registered address in Bulgaria. Your own lease, or a registered-address service if you are not based here.
• A manager (upravitel). Can be the owner, can be a foreigner, and can be non-resident.
• Share capital of at least 1 EUR, paid into a capital deposit account before the company is registered.
• Notarised manager consent (the specimen signature, obraztsi ot podpis). Done at a Bulgarian notary, or abroad at a consulate or under an apostille.

Since Bulgaria joined the euro on 1 January 2026 the statutory minimum share capital is 1 EUR. It is real money, not a formality: it goes into a capital deposit account (nabiratelna smetka) at a Bulgarian bank before the company is registered, and the bank issues a certificate that the filing needs.

1. 1

   Reserve the name and prepare the deed

   1 day

   Check the name is free and draft the founding act (the articles). A one-owner EOOD uses a founding act, not a partnership agreement.

2. 2

   Notarise the manager's specimen signature

   1 to 2 days

   The manager signs the consent and specimen before a notary. In person in Bulgaria, or abroad via a consulate or an apostilled and translated document.

3. 3

   Open the capital deposit account and pay the capital

   1 day to 2 weeks

   Deposit the share capital into a capital account and collect the bank certificate. This is the step most sensitive to whether you are in the country.

4. 4

   File application A4 with the Commercial Register

   Same day

   Submit the founding act, manager consent, capital certificate, and paid state fee electronically through the Registry Agency portal.

5. 5

   Registration and company number

   1 to 3 days

   The Registry Agency reviews and enters the company. You receive a UIC (EIK), the company's unique identifier, and it legally exists.

Remote formation is done through a power of attorney: you appoint someone in Bulgaria to file and, where the bank allows it, to open the account. The PoA has to be apostilled in your country and translated. It works, and it is how many of our readers do it, but budget weeks rather than days.

The company exists, but the obligations start immediately. In order of urgency:

1. 1Open an operating bank account. The capital account is not a trading account. Fintechs like Wise and Revolut cover day-to-day operations; see banking.
2. 2Appoint an accountant. Monthly bookkeeping, payroll if you pay yourself, and the annual close are not optional. Market rates are EUR 125 to 325 a month, covered on the accounting page.
3. 3Register for VAT if you have to. Mandatory above the turnover threshold and sometimes on the first cross-border invoice. Voluntary registration is also possible.
4. 4File annually, always. Even a dormant company files an annual return and publishes accounts (or a declaration of inactivity). Miss it and the manager fine runs from roughly EUR 100 to EUR 1,500, plus a sanction on the company.