Before you start

Residence card and LNCh
Foreign licence with a certified Bulgarian translation
A Bulgarian medical certificate
Proof of address in Sofia

Step-by-step

1
Establish whether your licence can be exchanged without a test
EU and EEA licences exchange cleanly. Licences from countries party to the Vienna or Geneva road traffic conventions can generally be exchanged after a theory examination. Anything else means the full Bulgarian test. Check first, because the answer changes the timeline from weeks to months.
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2
Get the certified translation and the medical certificate
The licence must be translated by an approved translator and a Bulgarian medical certificate obtained from an authorised practitioner. Both are inexpensive and both are prerequisites for the KAT file.
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3
File at the traffic police office
Applications go to the KAT office covering your address. The original foreign licence is surrendered on exchange, which surprises people who expected to keep it.
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4
Buy the electronic vignette before using a main road
Bulgaria's vignette is electronic and bought against the number plate for a period. There is nothing to display. Enforcement is by camera on the national network and penalties arrive by post, which catches out anyone borrowing or renting.
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5
Arrange compulsory insurance and the annual technical inspection
Third-party motor liability insurance is compulsory and the annual roadworthiness inspection is enforced. Both are inexpensive relative to Western Europe.
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6
Check the blue and green parking zones before committing to a car
Central Sofia operates paid parking zones with resident permits issued against a registered address. Outside the centre parking is generally free but competitive. Given the metro's coverage, most central residents find a car more trouble than it is worth.
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Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence and certified Bulgarian translation
Residence card and LNCh
Bulgarian medical certificate
Passport
Proof of address

Things most newcomers don’t know

Sofia's metro reaches the airport and most residential districts, which is unusual for a city this size.

The network covers the centre, the airport, the Mladost and Lyulin residential districts and Business Park Sofia, and it runs frequently and cheaply. Combined with an EUR 25.50 monthly card covering every mode, it means a newcomer can live here entirely without a car — a claim that cannot be made in Belgrade, which has no metro at all, or comfortably in Zagreb. Choosing a flat near a metro station is the single highest-value housing decision in Sofia.

Source: Sofia Centre for Urban Mobility

The vignette is bought against the plate and there is nothing to display, so nothing reminds you.

Bulgaria replaced the paper sticker with an electronic vignette registered to the number plate and enforced by camera. Because there is no windscreen sticker, there is no visual cue that you have not bought one, and a rental or borrowed car with an expired vignette generates a fine that arrives weeks later. Check it against the plate before any journey out of the city.

Source: Bulgarian road infrastructure authority

Winter tyres are a legal requirement here, not a recommendation.

Bulgaria requires vehicles to be equipped for winter conditions during a defined winter period, and this is enforced. Because Sofia sits at 550 metres in a mountain basin, the city itself gets genuine snow and the roads up toward Vitosha get considerably more. Newcomers from milder climates who plan to drive should treat this as a seasonal legal obligation rather than an optional precaution.

Source: Ministry of Interior traffic police

The road up Vitosha is a city road with mountain conditions.

The route to Aleko and the Vitosha trailheads is served by ordinary city bus lines and is inside the municipality, which makes it feel routine. It is also a mountain road that ices, closes and holds snow long after the city centre is clear. Driving up in an unprepared car in February is a common and entirely avoidable Sofia mistake.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a non-EU licence exchanges without a theory test.
Driving on the national network without an electronic vignette registered to the plate.
Failing to fit winter tyres during the legally defined winter period.
Buying a car before discovering how far the metro actually goes.
Driving up Vitosha in winter in a car equipped for city conditions.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.