Leaving vehicle in BG

cs75 · 2025-01-13T11:30:41+01:00

Explore what to do with a UK registered vehicle left off-road in Bulgaria, including registration and vehicle requirements.

cs75 Member

Member since 25 December 2023

cs75Member13 January 2025 09:30:41

If I drove a UK registered vehicle over to BG and left it at my property off the road , what would I need to do ?

Would it have to be registered straight away with BG plates etc ?

Thanks

gwynj Bulgaria Expert

Member since 30 June 2020

gwynjBulgaria Expert13 January 2025 14:48:04

2476

@cs75

I reckon nothing. And no. :-)

If you mean, can you leave it sitting at your house for a while.

However, if it sits there for a long time, your MOT will expire and you won't be able to (legally) drive it back to the UK to renew the MOT. It will be equally illegal to drive it in Bulgaria, but if you're in a village you might get away with it... especially if you're just driving it to KAT to register it on BG plates.

There is a time limit from entry to registration (6 months maybe), and if you take longer there's a fine (but it's small, I think).

I don't know the current situation with UK-reg RHD cars. I'd heard some folks had problems, but maybe it's fine if you go to a city KAT (Sofia, Plovdiv, etc.). At a minimum, you'd have to swap your headlights over.

If/when you want to go to KAT to register it, you can get a vignette on your UK plate and you get can short insurance on your VIN, then you update with the BG plate and extend. I doubt anyone would check your UK road tax, but insurance is usually first on the list.