How do you convert a driving licence in Bulgaria in 2026?

EU, EEA, and Swiss driving licences are generally recognised in Bulgaria while valid. You do not need a Bulgarian card only because you registered prolonged stay, though you may still replace a damaged or expiring EU licence under ordinary replacement rules. Non-EU residents usually exchange a foreign licence for a Bulgarian one at the KAT office for their place of residence once residence papers are live: Apply for a residence permit and Get an LNCH.

Reciprocity and convention practice decide whether categories transfer without a full Bulgarian driving exam. Treat Vienna Convention country guidance as a starting map, then verify your issuing state with the desk that will print the card. Tourists on a short visit still drive on a valid foreign licence (and often carry an International Driving Permit as a translation aid), but that visitor logic is not the same as a long-stay resident file.

Ministry of Interior guidance for replacing a foreign licence asks for Bulgarian residence, a Bulgarian identity document for foreigners when applicable, a copy of the foreign licence for verification, a driver’s physical fitness assessment card from a GP or transport medical committee, and a signed declaration about residence and other EU licences. Bring the original foreign licence. Add a certified Bulgarian translation when the plastic is not in Bulgarian or another language the office accepts without translation.

Sofia residents use the Traffic Police unit that covers their registered address; Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas use regional KAT desks. Pay the state fee for the card and control coupon in euros after the 2026 changeover, and collect the finished licence from the same office within the paid processing window. Bulgarian forms and queues still lean on local language help: Bureaucracy without Bulgarian.

Finish Migration residence and LNCH first so KAT can match identity. Book the medical fitness card only when you are ready to file, because validity windows are short. If you commute by car outside Sofia Metro reach, licence timing is a daily-life issue: Living in Sofia and Utilities, internet and transport. A local mobile number helps with appointment SMS: Get a mobile phone. Banking helps pay fees cleanly: Open a bank account.

Never drive on an expired foreign card after resident exchange rules already apply to you. Insurance and fines are expensive lessons.