Bulgaria and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Apostille, Hague Convention in force for Bulgaria since 29 April 2001
- Issued by
- Notarial documents and court documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Justice
- Language
- Bulgarian, sworn translation
- Register
- Commercial Register at the Registry Agency
- Tax treaty
- Signed 2020, in force 2021 (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- EU single market and customs union
- In the Netherlands
- 30 companies controlled from Bulgaria in 2024, 15 in 2021 (+100%), €9 million turnover (CBS, 9 October 2026)
- Moving here
- EU free movement
Documents from Bulgaria
Passport copy, certified by a notary in Bulgaria.
Proof of address in Bulgaria, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before a Bulgarian notary.
Ownership statement, one page from us.
The apostille. Notarial documents and court documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Justice. This costs about €8 and takes a few working days. Administrative documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For notarial deeds, the Ministry of Justice is the only apostille office.
Good to know. In Bulgarian notarial powers of attorney, your name is written in Cyrillic. Make sure the Latin spelling matches your passport exactly.
If a company from Bulgaria becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Commercial Register at the Registry Agency. You can order a certificate of current status online. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Bulgaria: business register and trade
Bulgaria's business register and register of non-profit legal entities share one electronic database, in use since 1 January 2008 and 1 January 2018 respectively. The Registry Agency keeps both and is responsible for the accuracy of the records.
Access to the database is free of charge for everyone. Searches work by business name, Unique Identification Code, or the names of partners and members of company bodies.
Certificates, such as a good standing certificate, and certified copies cost State fees. Certificates are available on paper at any local office, and most also in electronic form at a lower fee. Filings are in Bulgarian, or in another official language of the European Union with a certified translation.
Provisional figures for 2025 show goods exports from the Netherlands to Bulgaria of €2.3 billion and imports from Bulgaria of €940 million.
Your next step from Bulgaria
Get free first advice Your own document list · How a Dutch BV is set up