💶 Understand the cost before you commit

What a Company Formation in Bulgaria Costs

No single price fits every formation, and anyone quoting one is leaving half of it out. Here is which part of the total is fixed because it goes to the notary, the Registry Agency and your bank, which part differs between providers, and the eight factors that decide the rest.

Compare provider fees Compare the routes

The provider's fee

What a provider charges for the formation itself — the one line that differs markedly between them.

Third-party costs

Notary, Registry Agency, translation, bank. These do not go to the provider and are largely fixed.

Your individual case

Nationality, bank and business model move the total — often by more than the choice of provider does.

Four routes to a Bulgarian company

The cost question answers differently depending on which of these four routes you take. The gap between the first and the second is wider than the gap between any two providers.

Do it yourself

Simple structures, if you read Bulgarian

State fees only

A4 filing directly with the Registry Agency

No provider fee at all
Document templates from the Registry Agency
Requires an e-signature or a notary appointment
Every document in Bulgarian

Do it yourself, or get help?

The most common route

A formation provider

The route most founders take

Fee plus third-party costs

fees differ by a multiple, not a margin

Preparation of the formation documents
Notary appointment including translation
Preparation for bank onboarding
Filing with the Commercial Register

Compare 37 providers

Forming from abroad

When you would rather not travel

Fee plus power of attorney and apostille

added cost for certification and translation

Power-of-attorney solution where legally possible
Apostilles and certified translations
Not every bank accepts the arrangement
The bottleneck is the bank, not the register

What remote really covers

Formation plus accounting

When the company trades immediately

One-off fee plus a monthly retainer

two contracts, often from two providers

Formation as above
Ongoing accounting from month one
VAT registration where required
Negotiable separately — and cancellable separately

Accounting & VAT

No price on this page, and that is deliberate: the effort and the third-party costs depend on your nationality, your bank, the state of your documents and the scope of your accounting. A flat rate would have to price in a buffer for all of those. What providers actually charge for the formation itself is in the provider comparison, each entry with a source and a check date.

What a formation service should contain

These line items appear in good quotes. A missing one is not a disqualification, but it is worth a question — it does not disappear, it just gets billed to somebody later:

A conversation that establishes your structure first
A recommendation on legal form — with a reason attached
Preparation of the formation documents
Coordination with the notary, the register and translation
Support through registration
A handover to ongoing accounting
VAT guidance (where applicable)
A named contact after incorporation

External costs you should expect

The total has two parts that behave very differently: the provider's fee, which you can compare, and official costs, which are largely fixed.

The provider's fee

Covers advice, preparation, coordination and support. Have it itemised before you commit — this is where quotes differ from one another, and where surcharges hide.

What a formation consists of – and who charges for what

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

Usually inside the fee

Formation coordination
Somebody drives the process and keeps the appointments aligned. Ask who that is and how you reach them.
Usually inside the fee?: Yes
Who provides or charges it?: Your formation provider
Preparation of the standard formation documents
Articles of association, resolutions and filing forms in their standard form.
Usually inside the fee?: Yes
Who provides or charges it?: Your formation provider
Coordination of the notary appointment
Booking the appointment and preparing the paperwork the notary needs.
Usually inside the fee?: Yes
Who provides or charges it?: Your formation provider
Attendance and practical translation at the appointment
Someone is there with you, introduces you and translates what is being discussed.
Usually inside the fee?: Yes
Who provides or charges it?: Your formation provider
Commercial Register filing
Submitting the company's registration to the Bulgarian Registry Agency.
Usually inside the fee?: Yes
Who provides or charges it?: Your formation provider
Preparation for bank onboarding
Preparing the documents and attending the appointment. Opening the account is the bank's decision — nobody can promise it.
Usually inside the fee?: Yes
Who provides or charges it?: Your formation provider

Paid separately where applicable (8)Show external and conditional costs

Notary's official fees
Certification of signatures and documents, invoiced by the notary.
Usually inside the fee?: No
Who provides or charges it?: Notary
Commercial Register fee
The Registry Agency's official filing fee.
Usually inside the fee?: No
Who provides or charges it?: Registry Agency
Bank fees
Account maintenance, transactions and service charges from your bank.
Usually inside the fee?: No
Who provides or charges it?: Your bank
Certified translations
Only needed where foreign documents must be submitted in certified translation.
Usually inside the fee?: If required, quoted separately
Who provides or charges it?: Certified translator
Apostille or foreign notarisation
Where documents from your home country need legalisation.
Usually inside the fee?: 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
Usually inside the fee?: 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 →
Usually inside the fee?: 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 →
Usually inside the fee?: 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.

This page carries no amounts on purpose: official fees and provider terms change, and your case decides which items arise at all. What individual providers charge is in the comparison, with the date each figure was last checked.

Scope last reviewed: 2026-08-03 · Third-party fees and banking requirements change. We review this breakdown regularly – your provider's written 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: Your formation provider
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. Ask any provider for a written breakdown in which every item is named and attributed to whoever charges it – before any cost arises.

How long does it take?

A bank is involved twice, and only one of those holds registration up. The capital-deposit account has to be in place before the filing — without evidence that the share capital is paid in, the Registry Agency will not register the company. The operating account comes afterwards and runs on its own clock.

Company registration

commonly around 2–3 weeks

Counted from the point where all required documents are complete.

Business account for day-to-day trading

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 operating account does not belong inside the 2–3 week figure. It can finish earlier – or later. The capital deposit does sit inside it, because nothing is filed without it.

Your provider coordinates the sequence. Final decisions remain with the responsible institution.

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: your provider, an official authority, a third party, or you. Start in BG does not appear in it.

Responsible for the step

Your providerThe formation provider you engage carries out this step.
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.

Step 1: Choosing a providerResponsible: Your decisionYouTiming: No fixed window – as long as the decision takes you.Show details
What happens in this step
You decide who will carry out the formation, and get a written quotation with the items broken out.
What the provider does
Nobody yet – this step is yours alone. The provider comparison shows what each firm charges and what it discloses.
What you contribute
You compare providers, ask the first-year question, and engage nobody until the breakdown is in writing.
What influences the timing
How quickly providers respond to enquiries, and how complete their quotations are.
Step 2: Preparing the formation documentsResponsible: Your providerYour formation providerTiming: Depends on the provider – most quote a few working days once your information and documents are complete. Get that in writing.Show details
What happens in this step
Company name, business purpose, shares and management are settled, and the formation documents are drafted from them.
What the provider does
The provider drafts the documents; you confirm the details and check the paperwork for completeness before signing.
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.
Step 3: Your documents and signaturesResponsible: Your decisionYouTiming: No fixed window – in practice this is the step that most often sets the overall pace.Show details
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 the provider does
The provider tells you in advance which document is needed for what, and checks 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.
Step 4: Notarial certificationResponsible: Official authorityNotaryTiming: Depends on the notary office's appointment availability.Show details
What happens in this step
The notary certifies signatures and documents under Bulgarian law.
What the provider does
The provider books the appointment, prepares the paperwork and comes with you – with most, translation on the spot. Check up front whether that sits inside the fee.
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.
Step 5: Capital-deposit account and share capitalResponsible: External partnerYour bankTiming: Depends on the bank – this step has to be finished before the filing.Show details
What happens in this step
A capital-deposit account (nabiratelna smetka) is opened in the name of the company-in-formation and the share capital is paid in. The bank issues a certificate confirming the deposit.
What the provider does
The provider prepares the paperwork for the bank and files the certificate with the application. Check up front whether opening the account sits inside the fee.
What you contribute
You pay in the share capital and supply whatever evidence the bank requires to open the account.
What influences the timing
Which bank you choose, whether it wants to see you in person, and how quickly it issues the certificate.
Step 6: Commercial Register entryResponsible: Official authorityRegistry AgencyTiming: commonly around 2–3 weeksShow details
What happens in this step
The Registry Agency reviews the filing — including the evidence that the share capital has been paid in — and registers the company.
What the provider does
The provider submits the filing and handles the authority's queries; the case number lets you track it yourself.
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.
Step 7: Business account for day-to-day tradingafter registrationResponsible: External partnerYour bankTiming: determined by the bankShow details
What happens in this step
After registration the capital-deposit account is converted into an operating account, or a new one is opened. The bank runs its KYC review and decides whether to open it.
What the provider does
The provider prepares the documents, explains what the bank expects and goes with you to the appointment. Opening the account is the bank's decision.
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.
Step 8: Accounting and ongoing obligationsafter registrationResponsible: External partnerAccounting partnerTiming: Starts once the company is registered.Show details
What happens in this step
The accounting partner takes over bookkeeping, deadlines and filings – under a separate agreement with you.
What the provider does
Not part of the formation service with most providers. You engage an accounting firm of your choosing, directly.
What you contribute
You decide whether to keep your existing accountant or engage a Bulgarian firm.
What influences the timing
When the registration comes through, and whether VAT registration is also needed.
More about this step →
Step 9: Handover – company ready to tradeResponsible: Your providerYour formation providerTiming: Once the registration is in place and the follow-on steps you commissioned are complete.Show details
What happens in this step
You receive your documents, an overview of the ongoing obligations and the status of anything still open.
What the provider does
The provider hands over the documents and records what is still outstanding. Ask up front how long they remain your point of contact afterwards.
What you contribute
You start trading and go back to the provider when something follows on.
What influences the timing
Whether the account, the accounting or a VAT registration is still open at that point.

Your provider coordinates the sequence. 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 for your provider to confirm in writing, before any cost is incurred.

Compare the providers

37 providers scored against published criteria – with prices, evidence and the date each was last checked.

Frequently asked questions about cost

The questions that come up before every formation — and where a blanket figure does more harm than good.

Why is there no price on this page?

Because a figure here would be wrong for most readers — and because this page sells nothing, there is no price of ours to state. The total is a provider's fee plus charges from the notary, the Registry Agency, your bank and a certified translator, and how large those are depends on your nationality, the state of your documents, the bank and your business model. The eight factors are set out above; the fees providers actually charge are in the comparison, each with a source and a check date.

Can everything be completed remotely?

A lot, yes – but not automatically every step. Certain signatures, certifications or the account opening may require presence or a notarised power of attorney, depending on the bank. Which providers handle a formation fully remotely is its own criterion in the comparison.

What if I already have an accountant?

Then you do not need to buy one alongside the formation. They are two services, even where a provider sells them as a package. Insist on separate prices — otherwise neither one can be compared.

Does it cost more for non-EU founders?

As a rule yes — and not in the fee, but in the third-party costs: more certified translations, apostilles more often, longer bank checks, and sometimes a residence question running in parallel. This is where flat rates most often get renegotiated.

How do I know a quote is complete?

It states the fee separately from third-party costs, says which items may be added depending on circumstances, and names who invoices each one. A quote consisting of a single number is not a calculation — it is a ballpark.

Do you need a lawyer or formation agent to register a Bulgarian EOOD?

Bulgaria's Registry Agency provides an official Commercial Register, document templates and an electronic A4 filing process for limited companies. Using that route yourself still requires the correct documents, a valid signature or authorized representative, and any applicable notarial steps. Whether self-filing is practical therefore depends on your structure and circumstances, not on a blanket requirement to hire a formation provider.

Six places where quotes grow

None of these is disreputable — all six are ordinary line items. What makes them expensive is that they are missing from the first quote and present in the second.

Certified translations

Several documents, depending on nationality and bank — and they are billed per page.

Apostilles

Issued in your home country, not in Bulgaria, which is why Bulgarian quotes rarely mention them.

The registered address from year two

Often included in year one. The renewal price is rarely in the quote.

A second notary appointment

A missing document or a changed business purpose means booking — and paying for — the appointment again.

Bank onboarding

Some providers bill for attending, some do not, and none of them can promise the account.

The first accounting period

It starts before your first invoice. Settle it after registration and you negotiate from the weaker position.

Related pages & guides

Go deeper on specific topics before you commit:

Now you know what the total is made of.

Compare what providers actually charge for the formation itself — each entry with a source and a check date.

Compare provider fees

Compare providers

What we can confirm

Limited companies must keep ongoing accounts and file their annual financial statements with the Commercial Register.
Official
In the formations Start in BG supported up to 2026, registration commonly takes around 2-3 weeks once all documents are complete.
Experience
Start in BG sells no company formation and charges no fee for one. What these pages say about cost is what a notary, the Registry Agency, a translator, a bank, an address provider or an accountant charges — each attributed to the party that invoices it.
About us
Start in BG coordinates nothing on your behalf and refers no providers. We research and explain the process; the engagement is directly between you and the provider you choose, and final decisions remain with the responsible institution.
About us

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.
Monthly accounting cost depends on transaction volume and VAT status, and is invoiced by the accountant.

These turn on your own circumstances - a website cannot answer them, and neither do we: that needs a tax adviser or the responsible authority.

Compare the providers

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: 30 July 2026
Sources: 8 of 9 statements checked against the primary source

One statement is still awaiting a check against its primary source.

Statements on this page

Limited companies must keep ongoing accounts and file their annual financial statements with the Commercial Register.^{1, 2, 3}
Source check outstanding
In the formations Start in BG supported up to 2026, registration commonly takes around 2-3 weeks once all documents are complete.⁴
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026
Start in BG sells no company formation and charges no fee for one. What these pages say about cost is what a notary, the Registry Agency, a translator, a bank, an address provider or an accountant charges — each attributed to the party that invoices it.⁴
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026
Start in BG coordinates nothing on your behalf and refers no providers. We research and explain the process; the engagement is directly between you and the provider you choose, and final decisions remain with the responsible institution.⁴
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026
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.^{4, 5}
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026
Processing times at authorities depend on the workload of the competent office and cannot be guaranteed.^{1, 4, 6}
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026
Notary appointments, the certifications they involve and their fees are set by the individual notary.^{4, 7}
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026
Whether a certified translation or an apostille is required is decided case by case by the receiving body.^{1, 4, 8}
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026
Monthly accounting cost depends on transaction volume and VAT status, and is invoiced by the accountant.^{4, 9}
Checked against the source · 27 July 2026

Show sources (9)

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.
National Revenue Agency (NRA)Authority
Responsible for corporate income tax, personal income tax, VAT registration and social-security contributions.
Open source →
3.
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 →
4.
Start in BG operational experienceOur own experience
What we observed in the formations Start in BG accompanied itself, up to August 2026. That service no longer exists; the observations remain citable as first-hand knowledge and are labelled as such.
No public address - this source is either us, or a body that decides case by case.
5.
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 →
6.
Municipal administration (population register)Authority
Keeps the population register and performs address registration for permanent-residence holders.
Open source →
7.
Bulgarian notariesDeciding body
Perform notarial certifications and set their own appointments and fees.
Open source →
8.
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 →
9.
Accounting and legal partnersProfessional partner
Professional assessment from Bulgarian accounting and law firms Start in BG worked with up to August 2026. Such an assessment is not an official ruling and does not replace individual advice.
No public address - this source is either us, or a body that decides case by case.