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⭐ In partnership with SmartTaxBG

Company Formation in Bulgaria

Understand it, plan it, register it – registration commonly within 2–3 weeks

Before you incorporate, it is worth knowing how a Bulgarian formation actually runs: which steps we handle, which belong to the notary, the Registry Agency and your bank, and what decides the total cost. All of it is set out on this page – before you enquire.

What Start in BG handles

Our formation support – one named line in your written quotation.

  • Formation coordination
  • Preparation of the standard formation documents
  • Coordination of the notary appointment
  • Attendance and practical translation at the appointment
  • Commercial Register filing
  • Preparation for bank onboarding
  • Personal support in German or English

Fees charged by authorities, notaries, banks, translators or other third parties are not included unless they are expressly stated in your written quotation.

Plan your company setup

No payment required. We review your information and confirm the scope, external costs and realistic next steps first.

Not sure yet whether Bulgaria fits your situation at all? Work through the decision matrix first →

Running an online shop or Amazon business? Check the e-commerce setup first →

Who is SmartTaxBG, and how does the accounting handoff work? See the partnership →

What our formation support covers

Bank Onboarding

We prepare the documents and go with you to the appointment. Opening the account is the bank's decision.

Notary Visit

A representative from our team introduces you, translates and helps with all formalities.

Professional Support

You receive complete support from experienced incorporation experts.

How the project runs, and who owns each step

Your company formation project – who does what

Forming a Bulgarian company is not something one firm does on its own. This is the whole sequence in one place, with the party responsible for each step: us, an official authority, an external partner, or you.

Responsible for the step

  • Start in BGWe carry out this step ourselves.
  • Official authorityThe notary or the Registry Agency – the authority sets the procedure, the review and the pace.
  • External partnerA bank, accountant or specialist partner works and decides independently.
  • Your decisionWaits on your information, documents and choices.
  1. Step 1: Initial consultationResponsible: Start in BGTiming: Normally within a few working days of your enquiry.
    What happens in this step
    We look at your situation, work out what is realistic in your case and agree the next steps.
    What Start in BG does
    We review your plan, explain the process, name the requirements you are likely to face and coordinate what happens next.
    What you contribute
    You describe your plan, your nationality, where you live and your timeframe.
    What influences the timing
    How quickly we find a slot that suits us both, and how complete your information is.
  2. Step 2: Preparing the formation documentsResponsible: Start in BGTiming: Around 1–3 working days once your information and documents are complete.
    What happens in this step
    Company name, business purpose, shares and management are settled, and the formation documents are drafted from them.
    What Start in BG does
    We agree the details with you, coordinate the drafting by our formation partner and check the paperwork for completeness.
    What you contribute
    You decide on the name, purpose and structure, and supply your personal documents.
    What influences the timing
    How complete your information is, and whether foreign documents need certified translation or legalisation.
  3. Step 3: Your documents and signaturesResponsible: Your decisionYouTiming: No fixed window – in practice this is the step that most often sets the overall pace.
    What happens in this step
    You sign the prepared documents – in person, or through a notarised power of attorney if you are forming remotely.
    What Start in BG does
    We tell you in advance which document is needed for what, and check everything before it reaches the notary.
    What you contribute
    You sign, obtain any missing evidence and decide whether to travel or work through a power of attorney.
    What influences the timing
    How quickly you can obtain documents from your home country, translations or an apostille.
  4. Step 4: Notarial certificationResponsible: Official authorityNotaryTiming: Depends on the notary office's appointment availability.
    What happens in this step
    The notary certifies signatures and documents under Bulgarian law.
    What Start in BG does
    We book the appointment, prepare the paperwork and come with you – with practical translation on the spot.
    What you contribute
    You attend the appointment, or are represented under a power of attorney.
    What influences the timing
    Appointment availability, completeness of the documents and whether representation by power of attorney is permitted.
  5. Step 5: Commercial Register entryResponsible: Official authorityRegistry AgencyTiming: commonly around 2–3 weeks
    What happens in this step
    The Registry Agency reviews the filing and registers the company.
    What Start in BG does
    Our formation partner submits the filing; we track the case and handle the authority's queries.
    What you contribute
    Usually nothing – unless the authority asks for something to be supplemented.
    What influences the timing
    The Registry Agency's processing time and any requests for further documents. The entry itself is the authority's decision.Counted from the point where all required documents are complete.
  6. Step 6: Business bank accountruns in parallelResponsible: External partnerYour bankTiming: determined by the bank
    What happens in this step
    The bank runs its KYC review and decides whether to open the account.
    What Start in BG does
    We prepare the documents, explain what the bank expects and go with you to the appointment.
    What you contribute
    You choose the bank, attend in person where it requires that, and answer its questions.
    What influences the timing
    The KYC review, the ownership structure, the evidence the bank asks for and whether it wants to see you in person.Timing and approval sit with the bank: its KYC review, the ownership structure, the documents it asks for and whether it wants to see you in person.
  7. Step 7: Accounting and ongoing obligationsafter registrationResponsible: External partnerAccounting partnerTiming: Starts once the company is registered.
    What happens in this step
    The accounting partner takes over bookkeeping, deadlines and filings – under a separate agreement with you.
    What Start in BG does
    We make the introduction and coordinate the onboarding; the engagement itself is directly between you and the partner.
    What you contribute
    You decide whether to use our partner, your existing accountant or another firm.
    What influences the timing
    When the registration comes through, and whether VAT registration is also needed.

    More about this step →

  8. Step 8: Handover – company ready to tradeResponsible: Start in BGTiming: Once the registration is in place and the follow-on steps you commissioned are complete.
    What happens in this step
    You receive your documents, an overview of the ongoing obligations and the status of anything still open.
    What Start in BG does
    We hand over in a structured way, record what is still outstanding and stay your point of contact.
    What you contribute
    You start trading and come back to us when something follows on.
    What influences the timing
    Whether the account, the accounting or a VAT registration is still open at that point.

We coordinate the process. Final decisions remain with the responsible institution.

This overview describes the usual sequence, not a commitment about a third party's decision. Which steps arise in your case is confirmed beforehand, in writing, before any cost is incurred.

Talk through the process for my case

Free and without obligation. We go through the steps that actually apply to you.

What we handle – and what we do not

The same breakdown appears on every page. The third column tells you who actually performs and invoices each item.

Part of our formation support

  • Formation coordination

    We drive the process, keep the appointments aligned and stay your single point of contact.

    Part of our support?: Yes
    Who provides or charges it?: Start in BG

  • Preparation of the standard formation documents

    Articles of association, resolutions and filing forms in their standard form.

    Part of our support?: Yes
    Who provides or charges it?: SmartTaxBG (formation partner)

  • Coordination of the notary appointment

    Booking the appointment and preparing the paperwork the notary needs.

    Part of our support?: Yes
    Who provides or charges it?: Start in BG with our Bulgarian partner

  • Attendance and practical translation at the appointment

    Someone is there with you, introduces you and translates what is being discussed.

    Part of our support?: Yes
    Who provides or charges it?: Start in BG with our Bulgarian partner

  • Commercial Register filing

    Submitting the company's registration to the Bulgarian Registry Agency.

    Part of our support?: Yes
    Who provides or charges it?: SmartTaxBG (formation partner)

  • Preparation for bank onboarding

    We prepare the documents and go with you to the appointment at the bank.

    Part of our support?: Yes
    Who provides or charges it?: Start in BG with our Bulgarian partner

  • Personal support in German or English

    One named contact throughout the formation.

    Part of our support?: Yes
    Who provides or charges it?: Start in BG
Paid separately where applicable (8)Show external and conditional costs

  • Notary's official fees

    Certification of signatures and documents, invoiced by the notary.

    Part of our support?: No
    Who provides or charges it?: Notary

  • Commercial Register fee

    The Registry Agency's official filing fee.

    Part of our support?: No
    Who provides or charges it?: Registry Agency

  • Bank fees

    Account maintenance, transactions and service charges from your bank.

    Part of our support?: No
    Who provides or charges it?: Your bank

  • Certified translations

    Only needed where foreign documents must be submitted in certified translation.

    Part of our support?: If required, quoted separately
    Who provides or charges it?: Certified translator

  • Apostille or foreign notarisation

    Where documents from your home country need legalisation.

    Part of our support?: If required, quoted separately
    Who provides or charges it?: The relevant authority or notary

  • Registered business address

    Included only where your quotation says so explicitly.

    recurring cost

    Part of our support?: If required, quoted separately
    Who provides or charges it?: Address provider

  • Ongoing accounting

    After formation, under a separate agreement with the accounting partner.

    recurring cost

    More about this →

    Part of our support?: If required, quoted separately
    Who provides or charges it?: Accounting partner

  • VAT registration

    Included only where it is expressly commissioned and listed in your quotation.

    More about this →

    Part of our support?: If required, quoted separately
    Who provides or charges it?: Accounting partner

This table describes the scope of the service, not a third party's price list. What actually applies in your case is in your written breakdown, before any cost arises.

We deliberately keep concrete amounts out of this page: official fees and partner terms change, and your case decides which items arise at all. A number here would eventually be wrong – your quotation will not be.

Scope last reviewed: 2026-08-03 · Third-party fees and banking requirements change. We review this breakdown regularly – your individual quotation is always the binding version.

What decides the cost

What your formation actually costs depends on these eight things

No single price fits every formation, because the cases differ too much for one to be true. These eight points decide what the total comes to – and you already know the answer to most of them.

  • Nationality and residence

    EU or non-EU decides which documents you have to produce, which certifications they need, and in some cases which banks will take you on at all.

    Payable to: The relevant authority or notary

  • In person or remote

    A notary appointment you attend, a notarised power of attorney, or a combination of the two. This is the single biggest difference in how a formation runs.

    Payable to: Notary

  • Where your documents come from

    Foreign records may need certified translation and, depending on the country, an apostille. Both are charged by effort.

    Payable to: Certified translator

  • Company structure

    A single-owner EOOD is the simplest case. Several shareholders, a foreign parent company or bespoke provisions in the articles all mean more coordination.

    Payable to: Start in BG

  • Bank and payments

    A Bulgarian bank, an EU business bank or a fintech – requirements, charges and the work to get an account open differ considerably.

    Payable to: Your bank

  • Registered address

    Your own premises, an address provider, or an address you already hold. A provider charges on a recurring basis, not once.

    Payable to: Address provider

  • Scope of your accounting

    Document volume, employees, cross-border sales. In almost every first year this is the largest item, and it recurs.

    Payable to: Accounting partner

  • VAT registration

    Whether it is voluntary, mandatory or not applicable at all depends on your business model and where your customers are.

    Payable to: Accounting partner

That is why this page carries no figure. After the first conversation you get a written breakdown in which every item is named and attributed to whoever charges it – before any cost arises.

How long does it take?

Company registration and bank onboarding are two separate processes. We coordinate both – but we do not promise a bank decision that is not ours to make.

Company registration

commonly around 2–3 weeks

Counted from the point where all required documents are complete.

Business bank account

determined by the bank

Timing and approval sit with the bank: its KYC review, the ownership structure, the documents it asks for and whether it wants to see you in person.

That is why the bank account is no longer inside our 2–3 week figure. It can finish earlier – or later.

We coordinate the process. Final decisions remain with the responsible institution.

Ready to plan your setup?

Send us your details. You receive a written breakdown of our fee, the known external costs and the next steps – before any cost arises.

Get your formation reviewed

Tell us the few things that actually decide the next step. Your company name, address and final documents can be settled together later.

Before you submit your request

Our fee covers the Start in BG formation support described above. Services and fees from banks, notaries, translators, accountants or other external providers are separate unless they are explicitly included in your written quotation.

Before any paid work begins, you receive a breakdown showing:

  • our fee for the formation support
  • the known external costs
  • the conditional items that may apply
  • who is responsible for each item

No cost arises before you have explicitly accepted a quotation.

Fields marked * are required. Everything else is genuinely optional.

About you

Your planned setup

Where you live is what decides which steps can be handled remotely — not the company's address.

How do you expect to form?
When are you planning to form?
What will the company mainly do?

A rough direction is enough. We draft the formal business purpose together later, for the documents.

Would you like us to include SmartTaxBG accounting in the discussion?

No payment required. We review your information and confirm the scope, external costs and realistic next steps first.

  • No payment

    You receive the scope first, not an invoice.

  • No obligation

    Sending this does not start an engagement.

  • For this enquiry only

    Start in BG and SmartTaxBG see your answers in order to assess this specific setup.

Want to prepare the documents yourself?

With our free generator you can create the standard formation documents for an EOOD yourself in just a few minutes.

Create documents for free

Not sure whether you need our service at all? Compare self-service and supported formation →

Still have questions?

Check our FAQ section or contact us directly.

FAQWhat it costsReview my formation setup

What we can confirm

  • A Bulgarian company comes into existence on entry in the Commercial Register kept by the Registry Agency.

    Official

  • The common legal forms for small businesses are the OOD (several members) and the EOOD (single member), both with limited liability.

    Official

  • In the formations we run, registration commonly takes around 2-3 weeks once all documents are complete.

    Experience

  • In our recent formations, banks have commonly asked for additional documents or wanted to meet the beneficial owner in person.

    Experience

  • We charge a fee for our formation support and publish no all-in price for a formation. Anything a notary, an authority, a bank, a translator or an accountant invoices is shown separately and attributed to that party.

    Our service

  • We coordinate the process. Final decisions remain with the responsible institution.

    Our service

What depends on your situation

  • Whether and when a business account is opened is decided by the bank on the basis of its own compliance review. We deliberately give no timeframe for it.

  • Processing times at authorities depend on the workload of the competent office and cannot be guaranteed.

  • Notary appointments, the certifications they involve and their fees are set by the individual notary.

  • Whether a certified translation or an apostille is required is decided case by case by the receiving body.

We work these out with you from your own details - a website cannot answer them.

Discuss your situation

Sources and verification

How we verify →

The statements this page relies on, each labelled with where it comes from. The superscript number refers to the source list below.

Editorially reviewed
Sources
8 of 10 statements checked against the primary source

2 statements are still awaiting a check against their primary source.

Statements on this page

  • A Bulgarian company comes into existence on entry in the Commercial Register kept by the Registry Agency.1, 2

    Source check outstanding

  • The common legal forms for small businesses are the OOD (several members) and the EOOD (single member), both with limited liability.1, 2

    Source check outstanding

  • In the formations we run, registration commonly takes around 2-3 weeks once all documents are complete.3

    Checked against the source ·

  • In our recent formations, banks have commonly asked for additional documents or wanted to meet the beneficial owner in person.3

    Checked against the source ·

  • We charge a fee for our formation support and publish no all-in price for a formation. Anything a notary, an authority, a bank, a translator or an accountant invoices is shown separately and attributed to that party.3

    Checked against the source ·

  • We coordinate the process. Final decisions remain with the responsible institution.3

    Checked against the source ·

  • Whether and when a business account is opened is decided by the bank on the basis of its own compliance review. We deliberately give no timeframe for it.3, 4

    Checked against the source ·

  • Processing times at authorities depend on the workload of the competent office and cannot be guaranteed.1, 3, 5

    Checked against the source ·

  • Notary appointments, the certifications they involve and their fees are set by the individual notary.3, 6

    Checked against the source ·

  • Whether a certified translation or an apostille is required is decided case by case by the receiving body.1, 3, 7

    Checked against the source ·
Show sources (7)
  1. 1.

    Registry Agency (Commercial Register)Authority

    Keeps the Commercial Register. A Bulgarian company comes into existence on entry there, and annual financial statements are filed there.

    Open source →
  2. 2.

    State Gazette (Darzhaven vestnik)Legal basis

    The official gazette. Bulgarian statutes - the Commerce Act, the Corporate Income Tax Act, the Personal Income Tax Act, the VAT Act - apply in the version published there.

    Open source →
  3. 3.

    Start in BG operational experienceOur own experience

    What we actually observe in the formations we accompany, and the documented scope of our own service.

    No public address - this source is either us, or a body that decides case by case.

  4. 4.

    The individual bank's compliance functionDeciding body

    Decides whether an account is opened, when, and against which documents. None of those decisions sits with us or with an authority.

    Open source →
  5. 5.

    Municipal administration (population register)Authority

    Keeps the population register and performs address registration for permanent-residence holders.

    Open source →
  6. 6.

    Bulgarian notariesDeciding body

    Perform notarial certifications and set their own appointments and fees.

    Open source →
  7. 7.

    Sworn translators and legalisation servicesDeciding body

    Translation and legalisation of foreign documents. Whether and in what form either is required is decided by the receiving body.

    Open source →