Bulgaria Criminal Record Check Process, Requirements, and Coverage

## Who is the source of criminal check data in Bulgaria? Ministry of Justice. ## What is the process in Bulgaria? The requesting party will request the check from the ATS or their Zinc account. - Automated instructions are delivered to you to provide some personal details and complete a Power of Attorney form in a dynamic web form. - Zinc submits the request to the authorities. - Zinc receives the results (digitally) and provides a signed digital report. - You receive a notification to say the process is complete. ## What details are required from you to submit the check? - First Name. - Last Name. - Date of Birth. - Consent. - **Power of Attorney (PoA) form**. - Provided on Zinc for you to complete and the signature’s time limit is 6 months. - **Passport/ID Copy**. - **Citizens**. - Both sides of a valid Bulgarian ID Card OR. - Valid Bulgarian Passport. - **Foreigners**. - Both sides of a valid Bulgarian Residence permit. - If you are not able to provide a Bulgarian Residence permit, a Passport copy along with LNCh number listed in PoA is acceptable. (LNCh number is XX-XXXX-XXXX, where the first two digits represent the last two digits of the person's birth year.). - If you do not have a valid passport with an LNCh number, you can use your national ID instead, provided you have no previous Bulgarian documents, such as residence permits. If you possess a Bulgarian ID document, it must be provided instead of the national ID or passport. The national ID must be translated into Bulgarian by a sworn translator and the national ID must have your full name, date of birth, place of birth, and citizenship. If the national ID does have any of this information, additional documentation (for example if date/place of birth is missing, a translated birth certificate), must be provided to supply the missing details. ## What is covered in the criminal check? The copy of the Criminal Record Certificate (СВИДЕТЕЛСТВO ЗА СЪДИМОСТ), issued by the District Courts under the Ministry of Justice, has nationwide coverage, including citizens and foreigners over 18 years of age. The issuance of the certificate is subject to your explicit consent along with a POA and is intended to serve one particular purpose indicated during the application process. The Certificate is requested and collected by our in-country partner who will visit the District Courts under the Ministry of Justice. Our partner has been thoroughly vetted according to our highest Partner Management policies and compliance standards. The District Courts under the Ministry of Justice reserves the right to issue or reject the issuance of the certificate after careful assessment and scrutiny of the nature of the request. The Certificate contains information for all the following criminal convictions or offences, except those deleted by rehabilitation laws or considered spent: - Offences against the constitution (e.g., electoral offences, corruption, trespass, etc.). - Misuse of public force. - Offences committed by public servants. - Offences against the public interest. - Offences against the private interest. - Offences against the public authority, influence, and fraud, perversion of justice, refusal. - to assist justice. - Disobedience to judicial orders. - Obstruction of public service. - Offences against state guarantees. - Usurpation. - Guarantee of the national economy. - Felonies and misdemeanours against the general interest (e.g., public safety, offences against the public peace, public economy, public health, public decency; public worship). - Felonies and misdemeanours against the private interest (e.g., killing, harm, intentional force, private liberty, sexual offences, personal tranquility, confidence, property, insolvency, children, and family). - Simple offences. The legal prescription of a sentence varies, depending on the type of offence committed and the sentence pronounced. The Certificate is valid for a period of 6 months from the issuance date and is issued in Bulgarian Language. ## The role of the ECRIS in the processing of the Bulgaria Criminal Record Certificate The European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) is a decentralised information system that allows for the exchange of criminal records information between the Member States of the European Union. It aims to facilitate cooperation among national law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities in the EU to promote transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system to prevent criminals from evading justice by moving between Member States, which is essential in ensuring the proper administration of justice and the protection of public safety. As such, each Member State is obliged to consult ECRIS as part of its criminal record check. The ECRIS was established in April 2012, but Bulgaria has been gradually accommodating its usage. ## What is the expected turnaround time? [Here.](https://zincwork.com/turnaround-times) ## Period covered by the check The records are kept based on the legal prescription and rehabilitation periods applicable for each type of conviction provided by the local regulations in Bulgaria. All the records are maintained by District Courts under the Ministry of Justice. The authority receives the request conducts a detailed review and issues the certificate based on the above. ## Privacy statement The details contained in this report should not be used as the sole reason for making a decision. Zinc Work Ltd is not liable for any inaccuracies or incompleteness in the information appearing in this report since it is provided to Zinc Work Ltd by third parties. This report has been produced for the purchaser of the report and Zinc Work Ltd will have no liability to loss. *Last updated: 2025-09-17*