Personal bankruptcy in Bulgaria 2026: who can file, costs
From 3 August 2026 you can file for personal bankruptcy in Bulgaria. Threshold: €6,202 of debt unpaid for 12 months. Steps, fees, debts not written off.
You pay a few leva a month on a debt that is not getting any smaller. Debt collectors keep calling, and there has been an attachment (запор) on your salary for years.
From 3 August 2026 there is a legal way out. Here is who can use it, what it costs and which debts remain even after it.
❓Who can file for personal bankruptcy in Bulgaria?
Source: ЗНФЛ, Art. 8 and Art. 31
Why now: the register has been working since 3 August 2026
The Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (Закон за несъстоятелност на физическите лица, ЗНФЛ) was promulgated in the State Gazette (Държавен вестник) No. 54 of 4 July 2025. Between its adoption and today there was an empty period: the Act was in force, but it was not being applied.
The reason lies in the Act itself. A petition can be filed only after the Minister of Justice announces an order putting the Insolvency Register (Регистър по несъстоятелност) into operation for natural persons. Order No. ЛС-04-404 was issued on 29 July 2026 and puts the register into operation with effect from 3 August 2026. Petitions can be filed from that date.
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Final Provisions, § 2(2) and (3)
The order of the Minister of Justice is announced on the ministry’s website, and a petition to open proceedings can be filed once it has been announced.
Check this before you read on
Who can file a petition
The Act sets four conditions, and they must all be met at the same time. The first two are about the money, the third is about your behaviour, and the fourth simply asks whether you have already been down this road.
The four conditions for opening proceedings
Under Art. 31 ЗНФЛ. If one is missing, the court refuses.
You are a natural person within the meaning of Art. 2
The Act does not apply to sole traders, nor to entrepreneurs, craftsmen and members of liberal professions, when the debts come from the activity itself.
You are insolvent
For more than 12 months you cannot pay, in full or in part, debts totalling more than 10 minimum wages.
You are acting in good faith
And none of the grounds for lack of good faith in Art. 9(2) applies.
You have not filed such a petition before
If an earlier petition ended with a final judgment or was terminated because of lack of good faith, a second one is not allowed.
What the threshold is in 2026
The Act does not state a sum. It states a measure: more than 10 minimum wages. That is why the threshold moves every year together with the minimum wage.
From 1 January 2026 the minimum wage is €620.20, or 1213 BGN. Ten such wages make €6,202, that is 12,130 BGN.
€6,202
Minimum amount of debt in 2026 (10 x €620.20, or 12,130 BGN)
Source: ЗНФЛ, Art. 8, applied to the 2026 minimum wage
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 8
The Act sets the threshold as a measure, not as a sum. That is why the threshold changes every year together with the minimum wage.
Official Bulgarian text
„Неплатежоспособен е длъжник, който в продължение на повече от 12 месеца не е в състояние да изпълни изцяло или частично едно или повече изискуеми парични задължения на обща стойност над 10 минимални работни заплати.“
The amount is a total. It can be one debt or several added together. If you are interested in the size of the minimum wage for another reason, see what the minimum wage is for 2026.
When the court will say you are not acting in good faith
This is where most petitions will fall. The Act lists specific cases and does not leave the assessment to a feeling. Here are the most common of them.
Grounds for lack of good faith under Art. 9(2)
One of them is enough for you to lose the right.
You have been convicted of breach of trust, of an offence against creditors or against the financial, tax or social security system
Unless you have been rehabilitated.
You are able to work, but in the last year before the petition you did not work without good reason
It does not matter under what kind of contract. What matters is whether there was a source of income.
In the last three years you have breached an obligation to declare income or property
In the last three years you have disposed of property of significant value free of charge
This includes creating a mortgage or pledge for someone else’s debt.
You have taken on an obligation clearly out of proportion to your property and income that is not for basic living needs
You have sold something at a price significantly lower than its value
During the case you changed your current address or your address for service and did not notify the court or the trustee within 7 days
This is the easiest mistake in the list to make, because it happens after the case has already begun.
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 9(2)
The Act lists eleven cases. The list in this article is shortened to those most often applicable.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
The steps: from the petition to the write-off
How the proceedings run
You file the petition with the district court for your current address
Not the permanent one. The Act speaks of the current address at the time the petition is filed.
You attach the declarations and inventories
Property, income, creditors, pending cases and your payments above one minimum wage in the last 12 months.
The court checks the conditions and opens the proceedings
With the decision to open, the court appoints a trustee (синдик). From that moment you cannot sell property or make payments without the trustee’s permission, but your ordinary living expenses remain yours.
Cases against you are stayed
Court and arbitration cases for claims against you are stayed, as are enforcement proceedings against the property in the insolvency estate.
One of three outcomes
A repayment plan, a sale of the property, or proceedings where there is no property.
The rest of the debts are written off
By operation of law, when the conditions for it are met.
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 25(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Компетентен да разглежда производства по несъстоятелност на физически лица е районният съд по настоящия адрес на физическото лице длъжник към момента на подаване на молбата.“
What exactly you lose when the proceedings are opened
Not your property. You lose the freedom to dispose of it without the trustee’s consent. Payments for everyday life are expressly left outside the restriction.
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 37(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„С откриване на производството по несъстоятелност длъжникът не може да сключва нови сделки на управление и разпореждане с имуществото си, както и да извършва плащания без разрешение на синдика. Това ограничение не се прилага за изпълнението на текущи задължения във връзка със задоволяване на жизнените потребности на длъжника, като плащания към централния и местния бюджет, към доставчици на битови, комунални и съобщителни услуги, необходими разходи за храна, здравеопазване, образование, социални услуги и други до размера по чл. 12.“
The stay of enforcement cases is not complete
There is also a third exception, which affects precisely people with a mortgage. If the bank or another secured creditor has already begun to enforce its pledge or mortgage, that procedure is not stayed.
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 40(3)
Official Bulgarian text
„Ако е предприето действие за реализация на обезпечение по молба на обезпечения със залог или ипотека кредитор, започнатото производство не се спира. Получената над размера на обезпечението сума се внася в масата на несъстоятелността.“
What you attach to the petition
Attachments under Art. 32(2)
Each of them is mandatory. This is the main work of preparation, and the inventories must be complete.
Declaration of civil and family status
Declaration that there are no grounds for lack of good faith under Art. 9(2)
Inventory of personal property, of the spousal community property and of co-owned property
Plus rights, claims and income for the last 12 months and the encumbrances imposed.
List of creditors with the ground, amount, security and due date
Statement of the court, arbitration and enforcement proceedings against you and brought by you
List of payments in cash or by transfer above one minimum wage for the last 12 months
Over €620.20 per payment in 2026, together with the recipients.
Documents proving the declared circumstances
Statements from all your accounts in banks and at other payment service providers
From all of them, not only the one where you receive your salary.
Repayment plan
The plan is attached to the petition itself. This is the most extensive part of the preparation and the one most often missed.
Proof that you have notified the National Revenue Agency (НАП) under Art. 78(2) of the ДОПК
Document for the state fee paid
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 32(2), item 4
The repayment plan is not prepared later in the case. It is an attachment to the petition itself.
Official Bulgarian text
„план за погасяване на задълженията съгласно този закон;“
What it costs
The state fee is collected when the petition is filed and is a flat fee, that is, it does not depend on the size of the debt.
If even this sum is a problem, the court can exempt you from it in the same way as it exempts people from fees in civil cases. It cannot, however, exempt you from the costs of the case.
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 32(5)
Official Bulgarian text
„Съдът може да освободи длъжника от заплащане на държавна такса по чл. 83, ал. 2 от Гражданския процесуален кодекс, но не и от разноски.“
Fees you pay to the court
Petition to open insolvency proceedings
Paid when the petition is filed.
€10
Petition to establish the conditions for the debts to be discharged
Filed later, when you want the court to establish that the debts have now been discharged.
€10
Appeal to the appellate instance(optional)
€5
Appeal to the cassation instance(optional)
€5
Total
€20
The total is for the two petitions that you file. The fee is flat, that is, it does not depend on the size of the debt. The amounts are under Art. 25а of the Tariff of the State Fees Collected by the Courts under the ГПК, new text from ДВ No. 18 of 2026.
Tariff of the State Fees Collected by the Courts under the Civil Procedure Code
Art. 25а (new, ДВ No. 18 of 2026)
The Tariff was adopted by Council of Ministers Decree (ПМС) No. 38 of 2008. The texts on personal bankruptcy were added by ПМС No. 32 of 12 February 2026 and apply from the announcement of the order of the Minister of Justice.
Official Bulgarian text
„(1) По молба за откриване на производство по несъстоятелност и по молба за установяване на предпоставките за погасяване на задълженията по Закона за несъстоятелност на физическите лица се събира такса в размер 10 евро. (2) За обжалване пред въззивна и касационна инстанция се събират такси в размер на половината от предвидените в ал. 1.“
There is also a second group of costs that almost nobody writes about, and they can be twenty times larger than the fee for the petition. This is the work of the trustee.
The Act gives the trustee one minimum wage for each of four actions in the case. If, however, a state enforcement agent is appointed as trustee, a state fee is collected from you instead of remuneration.
| Action in the case | If the trustee is a state enforcement agent | If the trustee is a private person |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing up a list of accepted claims | €50 | €620.20 |
| Inventory of the property and determining the estate | €25 | €620.20 |
| Drawing up and proposing a repayment plan | €50 | €620.20 |
| Drawing up an account for distribution | €15 | €620.20 |
| Sale of the property | not due | 2 per cent of the value |
| Total for the four actions | €140 | €2,480.80 |
The right-hand column is the trustee’s remuneration under Art. 22(1) and (2) ЗНФЛ: one minimum wage per action, that is €620.20 in 2026. The left-hand column is the fees under Art. 58б of the Tariff of the State Fees Collected by the Courts under the ГПК, which are collected when a state enforcement agent (държавен съдебен изпълнител) is appointed as trustee.
Tariff of the State Fees Collected by the Courts under the Civil Procedure Code
Art. 58б (new, ДВ No. 18 of 2026)
The Tariff was adopted on the basis of Art. 13(3), Art. 22(6) and Art. 100(3) ЗНФЛ. Who will be appointed as trustee is decided by the court, not by you.
Official Bulgarian text
„За извършване на предвидените в Закона за несъстоятелност на физическите лица действия и актове държавният съдебен изпълнител събира такси, както следва: 1. за съставяне на списък на приетите и неприетите вземания - 50 евро; 2. за извършване на опис на имуществото и установяване на масата на несъстоятелността - 25 евро; 3. за изготвяне и предлагане на план за погасяване на задълженията на длъжника - 50 евро; 4. за изготвяне на сметка за разпределение - 15 евро.“
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 13 and Art. 22
Art. 13 regulates the costs and provides that the state fee is flat and is collected when the petition is filed. Art. 22 regulates the trustee’s remuneration by action and the case in which a state enforcement agent is appointed as trustee.
You do not choose the trustee. The court appoints them with the decision to open the proceedings. The costs of drawing up the repayment plan itself, however, are borne by the insolvency estate (масата на несъстоятелността), not by you.
A lawyer is not mandatory by law. The inventories and declarations are, however, extensive, and a mistake in them falls exactly in the box that the court checks most carefully.
Which debts are NOT written off
Personal bankruptcy does not wipe out everything. The Act excludes five categories and one more group of people who remain liable in your place.
| Type of debt | Written off? |
|---|---|
| Consumer and quick loans | Yes |
| Debts to the heating, electricity and water companies | Yes |
| Debts to private individuals under a loan | Yes |
| Secured by a mortgage or pledge | No, to the extent the security has not been used |
| Fines | No |
| Compensation for damage caused by an unlawful act (tort) | No |
| Statutory maintenance | No |
| Debts that arose after the proceedings were opened | No |
Under Art. 104(1) ЗНФЛ. The first three rows are examples of ordinary unsecured claims, not a separate category in the Act. The exceptions in the right-hand column apply to the two routes without an approved plan: the sale of the property and proceedings where there is no property. Where there is an approved repayment plan, what the plan itself provides for is written off.
Your guarantor remains liable
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 104
The introduction to para. 1 limits the exceptions to the cases under Art. 97(2) and Art. 98. Para. 2 preserves the obligations of guarantors and of jointly and severally liable persons, as well as claims secured by a pledge or mortgage given by third parties.
Official Bulgarian text
„Не се погасяват при условията на чл. 97, ал. 2 и чл. 98 задълженията на длъжника за удовлетворяване на вземания:“
How long it takes for the debt to be wiped out
It depends on which of the three routes your case takes.
up to 3 years
The term of the repayment plan, if the court approves one. When it is performed, the debts for which the plan provides a write-off are discharged.
The plan may provide for deferral or payment in instalments, as well as partial or full write-off.
1 + 3 years
If you have no property, first one year runs in which the case stays suspended and can be resumed. Only after this period expires does the court declare you insolvent and terminate the case, and only from that moment do the three years until discharge start running.
A condition is that during this time no lack of good faith is established and no previously unknown property is discovered.
A year hides here that is hardly written about anywhere
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 36(2)
If resumption is not requested within this one-year period, under para. 3 the court declares the debtor insolvent and terminates the proceedings. It is from this decision that Art. 98 counts the three years.
Official Bulgarian text
„Производството по несъстоятелност, спряно с решението по ал. 1, може да бъде възобновено с решение на съда по искане на длъжника в едногодишен срок от обявяването на решението в Регистъра по несъстоятелност.“
The third route is the sale of the property. When there is no approved plan and the insolvency estate is exhausted, the unsatisfied claims are discharged when the decision terminating the proceedings enters into force, if you have paid the costs and no lack of good faith has been established.
Insolvency of Natural Persons Act (ЗНФЛ)
Art. 53, Art. 97 and Art. 98
Art. 53 sets the three-year ceiling for the repayment plan. Art. 97 regulates discharge where a plan has been performed and where the property has been sold. Art. 98 regulates the three-year period where there is no property.
What you keep and who will find out
Not everything is taken from you. The Act protects property and income that are exempt from attachment, and they are determined by the rules of the Civil Procedure Code, the same ones that apply to an ordinary attachment by an enforcement agent.
If you are not sure what part of your salary is protected, see what income exempt from attachment is under Art. 446 ГПК.
The court hearings in these cases are held in closed session. The acts, however, are entered and announced in the Insolvency Register, which is public, and anyone can search it.
Before you file: two cheaper options
Personal bankruptcy is available only once. Before you use it, check whether your debts are still owed at all.
If a long time has passed since the last action on the debt, it may be time-barred. See how the absolute limitation period under Art. 112 ЗЗД works. The other option is an out-of-court agreement with the creditors. The Act expressly requires that all possibilities for voluntary performance be considered in the proceedings, so this conversation is worth having even before the case.
Frequently asked questions
Can the bank or a debt collector declare me insolvent?
No. The proceedings start only on the debtor’s petition. The Act expressly says that you are not obliged to file it.
Do I lose my home?
Not automatically. Property exempt from attachment remains protected under the rules of the ГПК. If the home is mortgaged, the bank’s claim falls into the category that is not discharged, to the extent the security has not been used.
Can I file a petition twice?
No. One of the conditions under Art. 31 is that you have not filed such a petition that ended with a final judgment or was terminated because of lack of good faith.
Does it apply to the self-employed and liberal professions?
Not for the debts that come from the activity itself. The Act does not apply to sole traders, nor to entrepreneurs, craftsmen and members of liberal professions, when the debts arise from the activity they carry on.
What happens if I file a petition without grounds?
If you knew that there were no grounds and acted intentionally or with gross negligence, you owe the creditors compensation for property damage when the petition is rejected or the proceedings are terminated because of lack of good faith.
Useful links
The full text of the Act was promulgated in State Gazette No. 54 of 4 July 2025. The petition to open proceedings is filed with the district court for your current address, and extracts and certificates are requested through the Insolvency Register of Natural Persons of the Registry Agency (Агенция по вписванията). Forms of documents are available there too. If you need the legal reading of the Act rather than the user’s, see the full analysis of the ЗНФЛ.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
⚠️ Important
Pravko provides legal information, but it does not replace advice from a lawyer. For important legal matters, consult a licensed lawyer.
