Driving in Bulgaria: Vignette, Licence, Parking and Snow

We checked every rule and price in this guide on 28 October 2026 against official sources: the Bulgarian toll system, the text of the Road Traffic Act, Sofia's Centre for Urban Mobility and the Road Infrastructure Agency. Bulgaria has used the euro since 1 January 2026, so all prices here are in euros. Renting itself, insurance and deposits are covered in our guide to car rental in Bulgaria, and if you still need a car, you can book a rental car with us. This guide is about everything that happens after you get the keys.

Bulgaria driving rules at a glance

Speed limits below are for passenger cars under Article 21 of the Road Traffic Act. A road sign always overrides them.

One rule surprises even experienced drivers: since September 2025 the limit also applies to your average speed over a stretch of road, not just the moment you pass a camera. More on that below.

Driving licence and international driving permit in Bulgaria

EU and EEA licences are valid in Bulgaria as they are. For anyone else, Article 161 of the Road Traffic Act accepts a foreign licence when the issuing country is a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and the licence meets the requirements of the convention's annex, when it comes with a legalised Bulgarian translation, or when you hold an international driving permit issued under the same convention.

In practice, rental desks often ask drivers with a non EU licence for an international driving permit regardless, and a traffic officer at a roadside check may not recognise an unfamiliar card. Where the law and the rental companies disagree, the safe answer is simple: if your licence was issued outside the EU, get an international driving permit at home before you fly and carry it together with your national licence and your passport. The permit is only valid alongside the licence itself.

Bulgaria vignette 2026: prices, where to buy and fines

The vignette is Bulgaria's road charge. It is required for every car up to 3.5 tonnes on motorways and most main intercity roads, and it is fully electronic: there is no sticker, it is tied to your number plate, and cameras check it automatically. These are the prices for cars from 1 August 2026, according to the official toll website:

How to buy a vignette without paying a markup

• On the official site bgtoll.bg or in the official BGTOLL app, by card.
• At self service terminals (464 across the country) and at petrol stations and shops in the official partner network.
• At the Road Infrastructure Agency desks at the main border crossings, which also take cash.

You can buy up to 30 days ahead and pick your start date. The agency asks drivers to pay only the official price through official channels, because some private websites add their own fee on top of the very same vignette.

The costly mistake: a wrong plate number

A vignette bought for the wrong registration number counts as unpaid. Choose the country the car is registered in, type the plate exactly as it appears, without spaces, hyphens or full stops, then use the vignette check on the official site and make sure the status shows as active. Errors of up to three characters can be corrected on request. Rental cars usually come with a vignette already, and the same check confirms it in a minute using the plate number on your contract.

What happens without a vignette

295 fixed cameras and 105 patrol cars check number plates around the clock. If you are caught without a vignette you can pay a compensatory charge of 46.50 EUR, either by card on the spot to the toll system's control team or by bank transfer within 14 days of receiving the notice, which clears you of the fine. If you do not pay it, the fine is 153.39 EUR.

Speed cameras and average speed checks in Bulgaria

Since 7 September 2025 Bulgarian law also bans exceeding the limit on average over a section of road. A pair of toll system cameras records when you enter and leave the section and works out your average speed, so slowing down only at the camera does not help. Fines are issued electronically.

The toll system's list of certified sections includes stretches most visitors will drive:

• The Struma motorway towards Bansko: from the Sofia exit to the Malo Buchino tunnel, and by the Dyakovo reservoir. Further south, past the turn for Bansko, there are more around Sandanski.
• The Trakia motorway towards Plovdiv: between Krushovitsa, Vakarel and Ihtiman, and several sections around Plovdiv.

On top of these there are fixed and mobile police cameras. A ticket for a rental car normally goes to the rental company first, which will then contact you.

Parking in Sofia: the blue zone and the green zone

Street parking in central Sofia is paid, in two zones. These are the figures published by Sofia's Centre for Urban Mobility as of 28 October 2026:

Sunday is free. The blue zone is the city centre itself, and the green zone forms a ring around it.

How to pay with a foreign phone

Paying by text to 1302 or 1303 only works for customers of Bulgarian mobile networks, so it will not work from a foreign SIM. What does work:

• The Sofia Plus or Urbo apps, by card, after a one time sign up. Enter the plate in Latin letters and check the zone the app detects before you confirm.
• The Centre for Urban Mobility chatbot on Viber.
• A paper ticket from a parking attendant, from the Centre's ticket kiosks or from shops.

The same apps let you pay to have a wheel clamp removed without phoning anyone.

Seen online that parking in Sofia costs 2 EUR an hour, every day until 21:00? That increase was approved by the city council for January 2026 and halted by the Supreme Administrative Court in a final ruling in March 2026. Prices could still change, so read the street sign before you pay.

Where to leave the car when you stay in Sofia

If you do not need the car in town, use your hotel's parking (ask in advance whether it has any and what it costs) or one of the city's park and ride car parks next to metro stations, the largest of which is at Tsarigradsko Shose station. Inside the city, the metro is easier than hunting for a space.

Fuel prices in Bulgaria

According to the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin, in the week of 19 October 2026 a litre of 95 petrol cost 1.646 EUR on average in Bulgaria and a litre of diesel 1.884 EUR. Yes, diesel costs more than petrol here. Prices have climbed sharply this year: petrol was 1.26 EUR a litre at the end of February 2026, and Eurostat reported the EU's highest annual rise in fuel prices for Bulgaria in September 2026. A quick sum: a car using 6 litres per 100 km burns about 16 EUR of petrol between Sofia Airport and Bansko.

Roads in Bulgaria: what to expect

The Trakia motorway links Sofia with Plovdiv and Burgas and is complete. The Struma motorway runs south from Sofia towards Greece and is mostly open, but through the Kresna gorge you are still on the old road. The Hemus motorway to Varna is open for about half its length. Away from motorways, most roads have one lane each way, slow lorries, villages where the limit drops to 50, and winding mountain sections. Allow more time than your navigation app suggests and drive mountain roads in daylight where you can.

Journey times from our drivers' route data on the site, on a dry road:

Before a long drive, check the Road Infrastructure Agency's road conditions page at api.bg. It lists closures, roadworks and temporary restrictions, such as those in the Struma motorway tunnels during maintenance. From a Bulgarian phone you can also call its 24 hour road conditions line on 0700 13020.

Driving in snow in Bulgaria: winter tyres, chains and the roads to the ski resorts

From 15 November to 1 March every car on the road must have winter tyres, or tyres with at least 4 mm of tread. That includes rental cars, so when you book for those dates ask in writing for winter tyres and, if you are heading into the mountains, snow chains. On 27 October 2026 the Road Infrastructure Agency was already asking drivers to set out only in cars ready for winter, with snow forecast for the Balkan range, Vitosha, Rila and Pirin.

In heavy snow the agency declares chains mandatory on certain mountain passes. In past winters this has happened on the Pamporovo, Rozhen and Prevala passes in the Rhodopes. The rule changes day by day, and without chains you will not be allowed through.

• Bansko: from the airport along the Struma motorway to Simitli, then up over the Predela pass to Razlog and Bansko. The pass is where snow makes the difference.
• Borovets: via Samokov. The drive is short, but after Samokov the road climbs into the mountains up to the resort.
• Pamporovo: from Plovdiv via Asenovgrad and Chepelare, a winding mountain road, and the Pamporovo pass has had mandatory chains in past winters. More on the resort in our Pamporovo guide.

Before any winter mountain drive, check road conditions on the agency's site, set off with a full tank, water and warm clothes in the car, and never overtake a snowplough, which the agency asks of every driver.

Rather not drive in snow? Let a local driver do it: a private transfer from Sofia Airport to Bansko starts from 124 EUR per car, and from the airport to Borovets from 72 EUR per car, for up to 4 passengers. You pay 20% online and the rest to the driver at the end of the ride. The full route details are on our Sofia to Bansko transfer page.

Stopped by the police in Bulgaria

Pull over on the right of the carriageway or where the officer indicates, and show your licence, the vehicle registration document and the insurance certificate. Roadside fines are paid by card on the patrol car's terminal, and you get a written document for them. Anyone asking for cash in hand with no paperwork is a reason to stop and check: how to do that is in our guide to scams in Bulgaria. What to do after an accident, step by step, is in our guide on what to do when something goes wrong in Bulgaria.

Drive yourself or book a driver?

For villages, monasteries and waterfalls, a car is the greatest freedom Bulgaria offers. For Sofia itself and for snowy mountain roads, a driver makes life simpler. You can also mix the two: a fixed price private transfer from the airport to your base, and a rental car only for the days you really need one.