Cars registered in Bulgaria more than 10 years ago no longer need a mandatory pit inspection. Traffic Police said vehicles are registered under new rules from today, 27 October.

Ordinance I-45/2000 on vehicle registration and records has been amended. The new text was published in the State Gazette on 23 October. It follows changes to the Road Traffic Act of 5 August 2025. The draft went up for public comment on 29 April this year.

A pit inspection is also not needed when the fuel type or eco category changes on the registration certificate. Nor is it needed for a duplicate of a lost part I or part II of the certificate.

The inspection stays mandatory when a registration moves to another region, and when a car changes owner, if no more than 10 years have passed since its first registration.

Transit plates can be issued no more than 3 times for the same car.

When an engine is replaced, the owner no longer has to show a document of ownership. The engine number is entered during the pit inspection. If the new engine has a different code or type, the owner must pass a special lab test and gets a certificate for the change to the vehicle's construction.

When two or more people inherit a car, one of them can register it without a written power of attorney. The other co-owners are entered on the registration certificate.

An heir acting alone can cancel a registration only if the car is dismantled, written off as a total loss, confiscated or seized, or destroyed in a fire or natural disaster. For all other reasons, all heirs must file the request, or one of them authorised by the rest.

If the owner died before 7 September 2025 and the heirs have not asked for a change, Traffic Police say the registration will be cancelled automatically in the National Register of Road Vehicles and Their Owners. This will happen six months after 27 October 2026, the date Ordinance I-45/2000 takes effect.