Bulgarian drivers and owners of road vehicles are already faced with a completely renovated administrative order, after significant amendments and supplements to Regulation I-45/2000 of the Ministry of Interior were promulgated in issue 97 of October 23, 2026 of the State Gazette. The regulatory act regulates the procedure for registering and reporting road vehicles, and the Traffic Police sector provides comprehensive information on the key innovations that affect the most frequently used administrative services in the country.
A main emphasis in the changes is the clarification of the cases in which the physical inspection of the vehicle at the channel remains mandatory. Such a procedure is carried out only when changing the registration of the vehicle in another area, as well as when changing its ownership, if no more than ten years have passed since the date of first registration. This innovation aims to optimize the time of citizens and relieve the workload of administrative points.
Against the background of these requirements, a number of important eliminations of previous obligations are also observed. The requirement for a technical inspection of a channel is completely eliminated for road vehicles that have been registered in Bulgaria for more than ten years. The same relief applies when changing the type of fuel and the eco category in the registration certificate of a motor vehicle, as well as when issuing a duplicate in the event of a lost part I or part II of the document.
The legislator also introduces a specific restriction regarding temporary document flow, as transit plates with a registration number are now issued for the same vehicle no more than three times. This measure closes the loopholes for abuses of temporary registrations and ensures stricter control over the movement of vehicles with unclear or transitional status.
Interesting changes also affect technical maintenance, in particular when replacing an engine. In these situations, it is no longer required to present a document of ownership, as the number of the new unit itself is entered directly during the mandatory inspection of the channel. It is important to note that if the replaced engine has a different code or type than the factory one, the law imperatively requires the conduct of a technical test and the presentation of a certificate of change of design.
Administrative procedures for inheriting vehicles are also undergoing significant liberalization. When a road vehicle is acquired by two or more persons by inheritance, registration may be carried out at the request of only one heir without the need to present a written power of attorney, and all other co-owners must be entered in the registration certificate.
As for the termination of the registration of inherited vehicles, the same procedure may be initiated by one heir, but only in explicitly listed grave circumstances, including dismantling, total damage, confiscation or seizure of the vehicle in favor of the state, as well as destruction in the event of a fire or natural disaster. In all other cases, the application for termination must be submitted by all heirs or by one of them, accompanied by a duly executed power of attorney from the other co-owners.
Special attention is paid to existing cases with unclear legal status. The registration of a road vehicle whose owner died before September 7, 2025, and whose heirs have not yet declared the due change in the statutory order, will be terminated ex officio in the National Register of Road Vehicles and Their Owners after the expiration of a six-month period, counting from today's date of entry into force of the regulation.