Child travel declaration in Bulgaria: is a notary needed?
Notarisation is no longer a border condition. Consent is needed when a child travels without a parent. Can it be open-ended, and when does it go to court?
You are setting off on holiday with your child, but the other parent is not coming. Or the child is going to a camp with their coach. The first question is whether you need a notarised declaration from the parent who stays behind.
Until 2025 the answer was “yes”. In the second half of 2025, however, all three levels of the rules changed: the law, the instruction the Border Police work by, and the article of the Family Code (СК) on disputes between parents. Many forms and pieces of advice you will find online were written before that.
❓Do you need a notarised declaration to take a child abroad from Bulgaria?
Source: Instruction No. 8121з-1249 of 14 October 2025, ДВ issue 92 of 31 October 2025
27 June 2025
ДВ issue 52: the words “notarially certified in writing” are deleted from Art. 76, item 9 ЗБЛД
31 Oct 2025
ДВ issue 92: a new instruction on border checks repeals the one from 2022
0
The number of times the new instruction mentions notarial certification
What changed and when
The rule on the declaration has never been in a single text. It lives on three levels, and all three changed within half a year.
The three changes of 2025
27 June 2025: the law stops requiring a notary
State Gazette (Държавен вестник, ДВ) issue 52 published the Act Amending and Supplementing the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act. Its § 47, item 7 deletes the words “notarially certified in writing” from Art. 76, item 9 ЗБЛД. The same act also rewrites Art. 127б of the Family Code on the ban on taking a child out of the country where the child is at risk.
31 October 2025: a new instruction for the border
State Gazette issue 92 published Instruction No. 8121з-1249 of 14 October 2025. Its § 3 repeals Instruction No. 8121з-1492 of 4 November 2022. The old instruction asked for written consent from the absent parent even when the child travelled with the other parent, and the signature on it had to be certified “by a competent person under the Notaries and Notarial Activity Act”.
30 December 2025: a new version of Art. 127а of the Family Code
State Gazette issue 115 published the Act Amending and Supplementing the Family Code, in force from the day of publication. Travel can now be settled in the divorce, or in an agreement or judgment on parental rights. If it is settled there, a separate case under Art. 127а is brought only when circumstances change.
Act Amending and Supplementing the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act
§ 47, item 7 (ДВ issue 52 of 27 June 2025)
One sentence in a law on foreigners removes the requirement for notarially certified consent from the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act.
Official Bulgarian text
„В чл. 76, т. 9 думите „нотариално заверено писмено“ се заличават.“
Here is what is left of Art. 76, item 9 of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act (ЗБЛД) after the change. Note the second sentence too: it sends the dispute between the parents to the court.
Bulgarian Identity Documents Act (ЗБЛД)
Art. 76, item 9
This is one of the items in the list of Art. 76, which begins “Leaving the country may be refused to:”. Consent still matters. Notarial certification is no longer part of the condition.
Official Bulgarian text
„малолетни и непълнолетни и поставени под запрещение лица, които нямат съгласие за пътуване в чужбина от своите родители, настойници, попечители. При разногласие между родителите спорът се решава по реда на чл. 127а от Семейния кодекс;“
Who actually needs a declaration
The current instruction (Section IV, Arts. 48 to 50) divides children into two groups, and this is the most important distinction in the whole topic.
Instruction No. 8121з-1249 of 14 October 2025 on the procedure and organisation for carrying out border checks at border crossing points (ГКПП)
Art. 49(1)
A child travelling with a parent: the checks are for an imposed ban and for contradictions in the information about the trip. Consent from the absent parent is not mentioned.
Official Bulgarian text
„На малолетни или непълнолетни български граждани, пътуващи с родител, настойник или попечител, се извършват проверките по чл. 48, като при установяване на наложена забрана или на несъответствия или противоречия в предоставената информация, свързана с пътуването, същите не се допускат за излизане от страната.“
Instruction No. 8121з-1249 of 14 October 2025
Art. 49(2)
A child without a parent or with another escort: here consent is established. The instruction does not set its form, and a document is one way of showing it, not the only one. The second sentence is the teeth of the rule: if there is no consent, the child is not allowed to leave the country.
Official Bulgarian text
„На малолетни и непълнолетни български граждани, пътуващи без придружител или с придружител, който не е техен родител, настойник или попечител, се извършват проверките по чл. 48, като се установява и наличието на съгласие на родителите, настойниците или попечителите, малолетните и непълнолетните български граждани да напуснат Република България, което съгласие може да бъде удостоверено и с подкрепящ документ (декларация, пълномощно или други). При установяване на наложена забрана или на несъответствия или противоречия в предоставената информация за пътуването, или при липса на съгласие, малолетните и непълнолетните български граждани не се допускат за излизане от страната.“
For organised groups (trips, teams, camps), Art. 49(3) of the instruction allows another option: the group leader signs a declaration at the border checkpoint undertaking to return the children to Bulgaria at the end of the event.
On top of that sits a second filter that has nothing to do with family law: whether there is a border check at all. Since 31 March 2024 on air and sea borders, and since 1 January 2025 on land borders with the other Schengen states, no check is carried out, children included. The State Agency for Child Protection (ДАЗД) confirms this in its official position and clarifies that these borders have compensating measures: random police checks and checks based on risk analysis. Some states, for example Germany and Austria, temporarily reintroduce checks on their internal borders. The current list is on the European Commission’s website.
| Who travels with the child | Internal border (Schengen) | External border (Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, etc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Both parents | No border check | Checks under Art. 48, consent is not established |
| One parent | No border check | Checks under Art. 48, the instruction does not provide for consent from the absent parent |
| A grandparent, coach, teacher, family friend | No border check | The parents’ consent is established (Art. 49(2)) |
| An organised group | No border check | The parents’ consent or a declaration by the group leader at the border checkpoint (Art. 49(3)) |
| The child alone | No border check | The parents’ consent is established (Art. 49(2)) |
Under Instruction No. 8121з-1249 of 14 October 2025 and the position of ДАЗД. “No border check” does not mean “nobody will stop you”: there are police checks on internal borders, and according to ДАЗД a child travelling alone or with another adult should be able to show that they travel with the knowledge and consent of their parents.
No check is not permission
The end of the border check only means that nobody will ask for the document at the exit. It does not turn a one-sided decision into an agreed one. If the other parent does not know and does not agree, the answer is in the Family Code: the parent who acted alone must inform the other, and taking a child out of the country in breach of the other parent’s parental rights is unlawful within the meaning of Art. 127б(2) СК.
Family Code (СК)
Art. 123(1)
The duty to inform the other parent does not depend on whether anyone at the border will ask you.
Official Bulgarian text
„Родителските права и задължения се упражняват в интерес на детето от двамата родители заедно и поотделно. Когато родителят е действал сам, той е длъжен да уведоми другия родител.“
There is also a third filter that the Bulgarian rules have no say over: the receiving country and the carrier. Airlines have their own conditions for unaccompanied children, and some non-EU countries may ask for consent at their entry. That is why the practical advice stays, even though its basis is different: when travelling without a parent, and when travelling outside Schengen, carry written consent from the absent parent, even when the Bulgarian border does not ask for it.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
Can the declaration be open-ended
This is the most searched version of the question, and the answer has two parts that people constantly mix up.
❓Can the declaration be open-ended, valid until the child turns 18?
Interpretative Decision No. 1 of 3 July 2017 in interpretative case No. 1/2016 of the General Assembly of the Civil Chamber (ОСГК) of the Supreme Court of Cassation (ВКС)
item 1 of the operative part
The question was raised because of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Penchevi v. Bulgaria (application No. 77818/12) of 10 February 2015. In the ВКС’s words, the reliance there on the case law that a court cannot permit unlimited travel was described as an “overly formalistic approach”. The interpretation was given under the previous version of Art. 127а. The new version keeps the rule that the court decides the specific dispute between the parents, so in our view it continues to apply.
Official Bulgarian text
„Съдът може да разреши по реда на чл. 127а СК пътуването на ненавършило пълнолетие дете в чужбина без съгласието на единия родител само за пътувания в определен период от време и/или до определени държави, респ. държави, чийто кръг е определяем.“
A practical conclusion follows. If your relationship with the other parent is normal, ask for consent for a longer term, or until the child comes of age, and without a closed list of countries. If you end up in court, you will get less, you will wait, and you may also pay the other side’s costs.
What the declaration should say and who certifies the signature
There is no mandatory form. Neither the law nor the instruction says what exactly the text must contain. On the МВР page with forms and samples there is no declaration for a child’s travel. There is a “Power of attorney for a child’s travel” (sample) and a separate file, “Useful information when travelling abroad for children not accompanied by a parent”. So МВР publishes a sample document, but it is for a power of attorney, not a declaration, and it is not mandatory.
What it is sensible for the declaration to contain
Free text. This list is not a legal requirement, but a list of the things whose absence causes disputes.
The full name, personal number (ЕГН) and identity card details of the parent giving the consent*
The child’s full name and ЕГН, and the number of their passport or identity card*
An express statement that you agree to the child travelling abroad*
This is the core of the document
Who the child travels with: the other parent, a named escort, or alone*
The term of the consent: for a specific trip, until a certain date, or until the child turns 18
The МВР sample suggests “open-ended”, until the passport expires or the child comes of age
Countries, or “all countries”
A closed list causes a problem on a connecting flight
The escort’s right to file a declaration for a lost or stolen document and an application for a new document for the child
МВР recommendation for trips without a parent
Date and signature
* Mandatory
Certification of the signature is not mandatory under the current border rules, but it remains the surest way to prove that the signature is yours, including to foreign authorities and carriers. A notary is the most obvious option. There are also two lesser-known ones, regulated in Arts. 83 and 84 of the Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД).
Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД)
Art. 83(1)
In a locality with no notary and no district court, the signature can be certified by the mayor or the mayor’s deputy (кметски наместник). Consent for travel is a unilateral act, and the same text also covers a power of attorney.
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато в населеното място няма нотариус или районен съд, кметът на населеното място, което не е общински център, … както и кметският наместник удостоверяват подписите на частни документи, които са едностранни актове и не подлежат на вписване, подписа и съдържанието на пълномощно по чл. 37 от Закона за задълженията и договорите…“
Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (ЗННД)
Art. 84(1), item 1
A parent who lives abroad can have their signature certified at the Bulgarian consulate. The condition is that the document is drawn up in Bulgarian.
Official Bulgarian text
„Българските консулски длъжностни лица в чужбина, при спазване на съответните разпоредби на Гражданския процесуален кодекс и ако документът е съставен на български език, могат: 1. да удостоверяват датата, съдържанието и подписите на частни документи, които не подлежат на вписване и са представени от български или чужди граждани;“
Certification before a foreign notary
If you have the signature certified before a local notary abroad rather than at a Bulgarian consulate, the document is usually given an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention, unless a bilateral legal assistance treaty with that country waives legalisation. The repealed instruction expressly provided for this. The current one does not regulate the form of the consent, so this is advice for safety, not a condition at the border.
The child’s passport: a notary is still needed here
An identity card is required from the age of 14 (Art. 29 ЗБЛД), so younger children travel on a passport. The application for the passport of a child under 14 is submitted and signed by the parents. If one of them cannot come, Art. 23 of the Regulations on the Issuance of Bulgarian Identity Documents (ПИБЛД) still asks for a notarised power of attorney. The removal of the certification in Art. 76 ЗБЛД did not affect this text.
Regulations on the Issuance of Bulgarian Identity Documents (ПИБЛД)
Art. 23(3)
Instead of a power of attorney, you can submit a judgment in force on issuing a passport or on depriving one parent of parental rights. If the parents disagree about the passport, a court decision is needed (Art. 23(4)), and the dispute is again brought under Art. 127а СК.
Official Bulgarian text
„При отсъствие на родител, настойник или попечител подписът в заявлението се полага от лице, упълномощено от него с нотариално заверено изрично пълномощно, или се представя някой от следните документи:…“
Allow time too. A passport is issued within 30 days under the ordinary service, within three working days under the fast one and within 8 working hours under the express one (Art. 48(1) ЗБЛД), and the faster services cost more.
The other parent refuses to sign
This is where the real case begins. Before you file it, though, get out the agreement or the judgment on parental rights. Since 30 December 2025 travel may already be settled there: in the agreement in a divorce by mutual consent (Art. 51 СК), in the judgment in a divorce where the court decides on the children (Art. 59 СК), or in an agreement or judgment on parental rights outside a divorce (Art. 127 СК). In a divorce without an agreement the court now rules on travel itself (Art. 59(2) СК). Cases begun before 30 December 2025 continue under the old procedure.
Family Code (СК)
Art. 127а(1)
If travel is already settled in one of these acts, the answer is in them.
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато въпросите, свързани с пътуване на дете в чужбина и издаването на лични документи за това, не са уредени съгласно чл. 51, 59 и 127, и родителите не постигнат съгласие, спорът между тях се решава от районния съд по настоящия адрес на детето.“
Family Code (СК)
Art. 127а(3)
A settled matter is reopened only when circumstances change. This is also the framework of the application you will file.
Official Bulgarian text
„Алинеи 1 и 2 се прилагат и когато въпросите, свързани с пътуване на дете в чужбина и издаването на лични документи за това, са уредени съгласно чл. 51, 59 и 127, но е налице промяна в обстоятелствата.“
“Travel” does not mean relocation
The same amendment of December 2025 adds a definition to the Additional Provisions of the Family Code (§ 2а): a child’s “travel” is a “short-term leaving of the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria that does not lead to a change of the child’s residence to another country.” If you are moving abroad to live, this is not a question under Art. 127а. A change of residence that substantially changes the centre of the child’s social and family life requires the consent of both parents (Art. 126(1) СК), and the dispute is decided as a dispute about parental rights.
The route through the court
Check what the agreement or the judgment says
If travel is settled, your application must rest on a change of circumstances, not repeat the old dispute.
Application to the district court (районен съд) at the child’s current address
Not at your address and not at the other parent’s address. At the child’s current address.
The court hears the other parent
Unless they fail to appear without a valid reason. The court can also gather evidence itself.
Ask for provisional enforcement
The law allows the court to order provisional enforcement of the judgment, so that you do not have to wait for it to come into force. If the trip is soon, ask for it expressly.
Costs follow the general rule of Art. 78 of the Code of Civil Procedure (ГПК). According to Interpretative Decision No. 3 of 27 June 2024 of the ОСГК of the ВКС, if an application is rejected in full the costs fall on the parent who filed it, and if it is upheld in full they are borne by the other parent.
The mirror case is the parent who fears that the child will be taken out of the country. For them Art. 127б of the Family Code provides a separate and much faster procedure.
Family Code (СК)
Art. 127б(5)
When it finds a risk of unlawful removal, the court immediately bans the removal by an order until the final judgment and notifies the Ministry of the Interior (МВР) for an alert in the Schengen Information System.
Official Bulgarian text
„Съдът постановява решението си в 14-дневен срок от образуване на делото, като може да наложи забрана за напускане на страната за срок до една година.“
14 days
from the opening of a case under Art. 127б of the Family Code to the judgment imposing a ban on leaving the country
The ban is imposed for up to one year. The judgment can be appealed to the regional court (окръжен съд) within 7 days of notification.
When consent is not required
The instruction lists the cases in which consent under Art. 49(2) is not established, even if the child travels without a parent.
Instruction No. 8121з-1249 of 14 October 2025
Art. 50(1)
The same applies to an act on parental responsibility in force from a court in another EU state under Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 (para. 2), and where there is information or a document showing that the child lives outside Bulgaria (para. 3). Carry the act in the original or in a copy certified by the court.
Official Bulgarian text
„Не се изисква установяването на съгласие по чл. 49, ал. 2 при представяне на влязъл в сила съдебен акт, с който отсъстващият родител е лишен от родителски права или е разрешено пътуването на малолетното или непълнолетното лице в чужбина.“
Five mistakes that cost you at the counter
Each of them is avoidable with a little preparation.
A child under 14 has no identity card
For younger children the travel document is the passport. A birth certificate is not a travel document. A child’s passport is issued for 5 years (Art. 36(1) ЗБЛД), so check its expiry before you buy the tickets.
A closed list of countries
A declaration that says only “Greece” does not work with a connection through Istanbul. Either write “all countries”, or add the transit countries too.
Consent can be withdrawn
A signed declaration is not irreversible. The repealed instruction expressly provided for checking whether the consent had been withdrawn, and the current one does not regulate this. If relations become strained, do not rely on an old declaration. And if you are the parent who is worried, in our view the instrument that works against the child being taken out by the other parent is the court ban under Art. 127б СК, because for a child with a parent the instruction stops the trip when a ban has been imposed, not on a letter to the Border Police.
The escort cannot get a new document
If the child travels with a teacher or coach and the passport is lost abroad, the escort will have to file a declaration and an application for a new document. МВР recommends that this right be expressly written into the parents’ consent.
A form written under the old rules
If a form or a piece of advice presents notarial certification as a condition at the border, it was written under the repealed rules. One example is the МВР press release of 1 July 2019, which is still online and asks for “the original of a notarially certified written consent from the parent who is not travelling”. Check against the State Gazette, not press releases.
Before you set off
The declaration is one of the documents in your bag. The other one people remember at the airport is the European Health Insurance Card, which covers the child’s treatment in Europe. If the child has turned 14, check whether their identity card is valid. If you need a power of attorney instead of a declaration, see how a power of attorney is made. And the 2025 changes to the Family Code are covered in a separate professional analysis.
And finally, the shortest summary. Notarial certification is no longer a condition at the border, but the parents’ consent still is when the child travels without a parent. For a child’s passport without one parent, a certified power of attorney is still required. Certification is a simple step and prevents a dispute that would otherwise take months to resolve in court. Do it, just know why.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
⚠️ Important
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