Yes, you can work in Bulgaria with a foreign truck driving licence, but the licence on its own is never enough. A professional lorry driver in Bulgaria needs four separate things at the same time: the legal right to live and work in the country, a licence for category C or CE that is valid for driving in Bulgaria, professional competence shown by Union code 95, and, for a driver from outside the EU working on international routes, a driver attestation obtained by the employer. An EU or EEA licence is recognised as it is. A licence from outside the EU can be used for a limited period after you settle and must then be exchanged at the Ministry of Interior traffic police, where the issuing country and the type of licence decide what happens. Code 95 is a separate qualification handled through the Executive Agency Automobile Administration, and none of these driving documents is a work permit. This guide explains each layer, in the order a foreign truck driver normally meets them.

Four permissions every foreign truck driver needs in Bulgaria

Each of these permissions comes from a different law and a different authority.

• The right to work. For a citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, this normally means a single permit for residence and work (единно разрешение за пребиваване и работа) or another status that gives access to the labour market. This sits under the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act and the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act, with the Employment Agency and the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior as the decision makers.
• A driving licence valid in Bulgaria. Driving licences are governed by the Road Traffic Act and a Ministry of Interior ordinance on issuing driving licences. The traffic police (Пътна полиция) of the Ministry of Interior issue Bulgarian licences and handle exchanges of foreign ones.
• Professional competence. Drivers of lorries in categories C1, C1E, C and CE who carry goods for work must hold an initial qualification and keep it up with periodic training, shown by Union code 95. In Bulgaria the training and testing system is overseen by the Executive Agency Automobile Administration under the Road Transport Act and a Ministry of Transport ordinance on initial qualification and periodic training of drivers.
• Market access documents. A haulier carrying goods between EU countries needs a Community licence, and a driver from outside the EU working for that haulier needs a driver attestation issued to the haulier.

Each item is checked separately. A single permit does not validate a foreign licence, and code 95 does not give you the right to work.

How Bulgaria treats EU and EEA truck licences

If your licence was issued by an EU country, or by Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, Bulgaria recognises it on the same basis as a Bulgarian licence. You can drive a lorry in Bulgaria with it, in the categories shown, for as long as it remains valid. The EU rules summarised on the Your Europe page on licence exchange and recognition say that moving to another EU country does not usually require you to swap your licence. You can hold only one EU licence at a time.

There are situations in which an exchange becomes necessary or useful. The EU guidance lists a lost, stolen or damaged licence, an offence committed in your new country of residence, and the end of the validity of the document. Once you are normally resident in Bulgaria, renewal of an EU licence is handled by the Bulgarian traffic police, and Bulgarian rules on validity periods and medical checks then apply to you. For truck categories this matters, because the categories C1, C1E, C and CE always have a short validity under EU law and must be renewed with a medical check.

Under the EU rules, where you live is generally the place where you live for at least 185 days in each calendar year because of personal and occupational ties. The EURES guide to living and working in Bulgaria uses this same test when it explains that a licence should be applied for in the country where you usually live.

Your EU licence must already show the truck categories you will drive. Training on the job does not replace them.

Foreign truck driving licence from outside the EU in Bulgaria

A licence issued by a country outside the EU and EEA follows national Bulgarian rules rather than EU mutual recognition. The Your Europe guidance puts it plainly: some EU countries may recognise licences issued in certain countries outside the EU, and the details are a national matter. In Bulgaria the questions are how long you may drive on the foreign document and whether it can be exchanged for a Bulgarian licence (шофьорска книжка, officially свидетелство за управление на моторно превозно средство).

Driving on the foreign licence after you arrive

A visitor may drive in Bulgaria with a valid national licence that meets the international road traffic conventions, if needed together with an international driving permit. The position changes once you settle. The Road Traffic Act allows a person who takes up residence in Bulgaria to keep driving on a licence from outside the EU only for a limited period counted from the start of residence, generally applied as one year. After that period the foreign licence no longer entitles you to drive in Bulgaria, and you need a Bulgarian licence. Confirm the period that applies to your status with the regional traffic police before you rely on it.

Plan the exchange from the day you receive your residence document. Driving a company lorry on a foreign licence after the permitted period is treated as driving without a valid licence, with consequences for you and your employer.

An international driving permit is only a translation of your national licence. It does not extend the permitted period and does not replace an exchange.

Exchanging a foreign licence at the traffic police

Exchanges are handled by the traffic police sector of the regional directorate of the Ministry of Interior, or by the Sofia Directorate of Interior in the capital, where your address in Bulgaria is registered. You apply in person, because your photograph and signature are captured for the new card. When you prepare for an exchange, expect to be asked for:

• your original foreign licence, which is kept by the Bulgarian authorities and normally returned to the issuing country;
• your Bulgarian residence document, for example the residence card issued with a single permit, and your passport;
• a certified translation into Bulgarian of the foreign licence where it is not in a format the authorities can read directly, and legalisation or an apostille if the traffic police ask for it;
• a medical certificate confirming fitness to drive, which is particularly relevant for truck categories;
• payment of the state fee shown by the traffic police for the service.

The authorities check that the licence is genuine and valid, usually by contacting the issuing state. This step can take time and is outside your control. Keep copies of everything you hand over, because without the original you will not be able to drive until the Bulgarian card is issued.

Bulgaria has historically asked for a document proving completed education when a licence is first issued. In a public consultation on the Ministry of Interior draft amending the Bulgarian Personal Documents Act, the ministry proposed removing the requirement to submit an education document when exchanging a foreign licence, on the ground that an exchange recognises a qualification already obtained abroad. That was a proposal put out for comment. Ask the traffic police whether an education document is still requested in your case, and bring a translated copy of your school certificate in case it is.

The Ministry of Interior has also consulted on changes to its ordinance on issuing driving licences that address the issue of a licence to a foreign person who has established habitual residence in Bulgaria. Rules in this area have changed more than once, so the version applied at your traffic police desk is the one that counts.

When an exchange is refused or limited

Not every foreign truck licence can simply be swapped. The outcome depends on the issuing country, on whether that country's licence meets the conventions Bulgaria applies, on any bilateral arrangements, and on whether the categories on your card match the Bulgarian and EU categories. Possible results include:

• a full exchange, with categories C or CE transferred to a Bulgarian licence;
• an exchange limited to some categories, for example category B transferred while the truck categories must be obtained again through Bulgarian tests;
• a refusal to exchange, in which case you must train and pass the Bulgarian theory and practical tests to obtain a Bulgarian licence.

If a test is required, the examination for driving categories is run under the rules of the Executive Agency Automobile Administration, and training is delivered by licensed driving instruction centres. Tests can be taken with an interpreter only where the rules allow it, so ask in advance about the languages offered for the theory test. Weak Bulgarian can turn a simple exchange into a long process, which is one reason the language is covered in our separate guide on the Bulgarian language for foreign workers.

Be wary of older summaries on unofficial sites. The Automobile Administration still publishes the text of the former ordinance on requirements for drivers of different categories, but that ordinance has been repealed and its subject matter moved into the ordinance on driver training. Guidance that quotes it may describe a procedure that no longer exists.

What an exchanged licence does and does not give you

When a licence from outside the EU is exchanged in Bulgaria, you receive a Bulgarian licence in the EU card format. It carries the harmonised code 70, which records that it was issued in exchange for a licence from another country. Inside Bulgaria it works like any Bulgarian licence.

The picture is different when you move on. The Your Europe guidance warns that an EU licence issued in exchange for a licence from outside the EU may not be recognised automatically if you later move to another EU country, and that you may need to go through recognition or exchange again there. If your career plan involves working first in Bulgaria and later in another member state, check how the next country treats exchanged licences before you commit.

An exchanged licence also does not include code 95. Professional competence is a separate entry, even when your home country issued you a professional driver certificate. A home country certificate is not normally accepted in place of the EU initial qualification unless a specific EU or Bulgarian rule says otherwise.

Where the EU has adopted temporary arrangements for a particular group, for example holders of temporary protection from Ukraine, special recognition rules for licences and professional qualifications may apply while that status lasts. Check the current position with the traffic police and the Automobile Administration, because such arrangements are time limited.

Truck licence categories C and CE in Bulgaria

Bulgaria uses the EU licence categories. For goods vehicles the relevant ones are:

• C1: vehicles with a maximum authorised mass over 3,500 kg and not over 7,500 kg, with a trailer up to 750 kg;
• C1E: C1 vehicles with a heavier trailer, within the combined limits set by EU law;
• C: vehicles over 3,500 kg, with a trailer up to 750 kg;
• CE: articulated lorries and drawbar combinations, where the trailer is over 750 kg.

A category C or CE licence requires category B first. Under EU rules the minimum age for category C and CE is 21, or 18 for a driver who also holds the full initial qualification for code 95. Category C1 can be held from 18. The age rule can therefore stop a young foreign driver even when the licence itself is accepted, because the age for driving professionally is tied to the type of qualification.

Check the categories on your foreign card carefully. Some countries outside the EU use different category letters or weight limits, and some issue a single heavy goods category that does not map neatly onto C and CE. The traffic police decide which Bulgarian categories correspond to your foreign entitlements. If the authorities give you only C where you expected CE, you cannot legally drive an articulated lorry until the gap is closed.

Medical fitness and validity of truck licences

Truck categories belong to the higher medical group under EU law. In practice this means:

• a medical examination before a truck category is issued or exchanged;
• a short validity period for the truck categories, set by EU law at a maximum of five years, with a new medical check at each renewal;
• stricter standards for eyesight, hearing, cardiovascular conditions, diabetes and other health conditions than for car drivers.

Professional drivers in road transport in Bulgaria may also be asked to prove psychological fitness through an assessment carried out under rules overseen by the Automobile Administration. Ask your employer which certificates it requires before your first shift, because a missing certificate can stop you from being assigned to a route.

Keep track of two separate expiry dates. The validity of the truck categories on your licence and the validity of your code 95 entry are separate, and each must be renewed on its own schedule.

Code 95 in Bulgaria and the Automobile Administration

Union code 95 is the EU proof that a driver of a lorry or bus holds the certificate of professional competence. The rules come from the EU Directive on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers, which Bulgaria applies through the Road Transport Act and a Ministry of Transport and Communications ordinance on initial qualification and periodic training. The Executive Agency Automobile Administration supervises the training centres, runs the examinations and issues the related documents.

Code 95 is required for anyone driving a C1, C1E, C or CE vehicle for the carriage of goods on public roads as a job, with exemptions for some situations. The exemptions in the EU directive include, for example, vehicles with a limited maximum speed, vehicles used by the armed forces and emergency services, driving lessons and tests, and some non commercial or occasional uses. A driver hired by a Bulgarian haulier to carry freight is almost never covered by an exemption.

Initial qualification routes

The EU directive gives two main routes to initial qualification:

• Full initial qualification, built on a long course of 280 hours, or the equivalent tests, which allows driving C and CE from 18;
• Accelerated initial qualification, built on a course of 140 hours followed by a test, which allows driving C and CE from 21 and C1 from 18.

In Bulgaria the course is delivered by training centres registered with the Automobile Administration, and the examination is held under the agency's control. A driver who already holds code 95 for buses and wants to add goods vehicles, or the other way round, can take a shorter course covering only the part that differs.

Where a driver from outside the EU must qualify

The directive contains a specific rule for third country nationals. A driver from outside the EU who is employed or used by an undertaking established in an EU country obtains the initial qualification in that member state. A driver who holds a work permit issued by a member state obtains it there. For a foreign driver hired by a Bulgarian haulier, the place to obtain code 95 is therefore normally Bulgaria.

A certificate of professional competence from your home country, or a code 95 sold as a quick add on by someone abroad, is not a substitute. Code 95 issued by any EU country is recognised in Bulgaria, so a driver who already obtained a lawful code 95 in another member state can rely on it, subject to its validity date and the rules on periodic training.

The driver qualification card

Code 95 can be shown either on the driving licence itself or on a driver qualification card (карта за квалификация на водача). For a driver who holds a Bulgarian or other EU licence, the code may be entered on the licence or on the card, depending on the procedure used. For a driver whose licence was not issued in the EU, the directive allows code 95 to appear on a driver qualification card or on the driver attestation described below. Ask the Automobile Administration which document it will issue in your situation and how long production takes.

Carry the document with code 95 whenever you drive professionally, because roadside checks across the EU look for it.

Periodic training every five years

Code 95 is valid for five years. To keep it, you complete 35 hours of periodic training within each five year cycle at a registered centre, after which the expiry date is renewed. The EU rules let a driver take periodic training in the member state where he or she works or normally lives. If you let code 95 lapse, you must stop driving professionally until you complete the training.

Driver attestation for international haulage

The third key concerns international transport. Under the EU regulation on access to the international road haulage market, a haulier holding a Community licence that lawfully employs or uses a driver who is neither an EU national nor a long term resident in the EU must obtain a driver attestation for that driver. The main features are:

• it is issued by the competent authorities of the member state where the haulier is established, which for a Bulgarian haulier means the Bulgarian road transport authority, the Automobile Administration;
• it is issued only where the driver's employment complies with the laws of that state on employment and on vocational training of drivers;
• it belongs to the haulier, who makes it available to the driver named on it when that driver drives under the Community licence;
• a certified copy is kept at the haulier's premises, and the original must be shown to inspectors on request;
• it is valid for a period set by the issuing state, up to a maximum of five years, and only while the conditions under which it was issued continue to be met.

The driver attestation is not a personal document you can take from job to job. If you change employer, the old attestation stops being valid and must be returned by the haulier, and the new employer must apply for its own. In practice the attestation depends on your residence and work authorisation in Bulgaria, so a gap in your permit can mean a gap in your attestation. The rules on changing employer on a single permit are explained in our separate guide on that topic.

Purely domestic transport inside Bulgaria does not need a Community licence or driver attestation, but the driver still needs a valid licence, code 95 and the right to work.

Tachograph cards and other documents in the cab

Most heavy goods vehicles in the EU are fitted with a digital or smart tachograph that records driving and rest times. A professional driver needs a personal driver card for the tachograph, issued by the competent authority of the member state where the driver normally lives. For a driver who lives in Bulgaria, that means applying for the card in Bulgaria after obtaining a residence document. You may hold only one valid driver card at a time.

On an international route, a driver from outside the EU typically carries the licence, proof of code 95, the tachograph card, passport and residence card, the certified copy of the haulier's Community licence, the original driver attestation and the transport documents for the load. Posting declarations for work in other EU countries are the employer's duty.

Your licence is not a work permit in Bulgaria

A valid licence and code 95 make you able to drive a lorry. They do not make you allowed to work. A citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland who wants to work as a truck driver for a Bulgarian employer normally needs a single permit for residence and work, granted by the Migration Directorate after the Employment Agency has decided on the work side. The employer files the application and must meet the conditions of the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act. The details of that procedure are covered in our separate guide on applying for a single permit, and the employer's side in our separate guide on employers hiring foreign workers.

Some foreign nationals have free access to the labour market without a single permit, for example family members of Bulgarian or EU citizens with the relevant residence status, holders of permanent or long term residence, and holders of international or temporary protection. These people still need a valid licence, code 95 and, for international haulage, the attestation.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens may work as truck drivers in Bulgaria without a work permit, but they must register their residence if they stay longer than three months, and they still need code 95.

The order of steps matters. You usually cannot exchange your licence or obtain a tachograph card as a Bulgarian resident before you have a residence document, so treat immigration and driver qualification as two parallel tracks that meet when you start work.

Step by step plan for a truck driver from outside the EU

1. Check your licence. Make sure your national licence covers the categories you need, is valid for at least several more months, and is in good condition. Note the exact categories and any restrictions printed on it.
2. Find a lawful employer. Look for a Bulgarian haulier that is properly registered and holds a Community licence for international work. Check the company in the Commercial Register of the Registry Agency, and never pay a placement fee to a recruiter for a promise of a permit. Our separate guide on finding a job in Bulgaria from outside the EU explains how to check employers and recruiters.
3. Agree the order of steps in writing. Ask the employer to state in writing who will apply for the single permit, who will pay for the code 95 course and test, who will apply for the driver attestation, and whether any costs are deducted from pay. Ask whether quoted pay is gross or net.
4. Obtain the right to work and live in Bulgaria. The employer applies for the single permit, and you enter on a long stay visa type D where required, then collect your residence card.
5. Exchange your licence or plan the tests. As soon as you hold the residence card, apply to the traffic police for the exchange, or start training if exchange is not possible. Do not wait until the end of the period in which a foreign licence may be used.
6. Obtain code 95 in Bulgaria. Enrol in an initial qualification course at a centre registered with the Automobile Administration and pass the examination.
7. Get your tachograph driver card. Apply in Bulgaria once you are resident there.
8. Driver attestation. For international transport, the employer applies to the Automobile Administration for the driver attestation in your name.
9. Start work with full papers. Only then should you drive internationally. Keep copies of all documents and your employment contract, and note every expiry date.

Common mistakes and risks for foreign drivers

Most problems foreign truck drivers face in Bulgaria come from gaps between the four layers rather than from any single rule.

• Driving past the permitted period. Drivers who settle in Bulgaria often keep driving on a foreign licence far beyond the time allowed. This exposes the driver to fines and the employer to liability, and it can complicate any insurance claim after an accident.
• Buying code 95 abroad. Offers to sell code 95 or a qualification card without a course and examination in an EU member state are not lawful. A false or irregular document can lead to criminal investigation and to the loss of your permit to stay.
• Paying recruiters for permits. No private intermediary can guarantee a single permit, a licence exchange or code 95. Decisions belong to the public authorities named in this guide.
• Assuming the attestation is yours. The driver attestation belongs to the employer. When the job ends, so does the attestation.
• Relying on temporary documents. Some EU countries do not accept provisional or temporary driving documents. The Your Europe guidance flags this as a particular risk for cross border professional drivers, so avoid international routes while you hold only a temporary paper.
• Ignoring medical expiry. Truck categories expire much sooner than car categories, and a missed renewal takes you off the road.

Where to check the rules in Bulgaria

Rules on licences, professional competence and work permits are made by different authorities, and they change through amendments to separate acts and ordinances. Use the competent body for each question:

• Licence exchange, validity and renewal: the traffic police at the regional directorate of the Ministry of Interior where you live, or the Sofia Directorate of Interior;
• Code 95, qualification card, training centres and driver attestation: the Executive Agency Automobile Administration and its regional units;
• Right to work: the Employment Agency for the labour side of the single permit, and the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Interior for residence;
• EU rules: the Your Europe pages on licence recognition and validity and the EU texts on driver qualification and road haulage.

An employer that has hired foreign drivers lawfully before will know this sequence and the documents. One that cannot explain them is a warning sign. Bus and coach drivers are covered in our separate guide on foreign bus drivers.

Sources and References

• Driving licence exchange and recognition in the EU, Your Europe, European Union
• Driving licence recognition and validity, Your Europe, European Union
• Living and working conditions in Bulgaria, EURES, European Commission
• Directive on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers, EUR-Lex
• Regulation on access to the international road haulage market, EUR-Lex
• Draft amending the Bulgarian Personal Documents Act, Public Consultation Portal, Council of Ministers
• Draft amending the ordinance on issuing driving licences, Public Consultation Portal, Council of Ministers
• Former ordinance on requirements for drivers of different categories, Executive Agency Automobile Administration