🇧🇬 Country guide · updated 2026-09
Drone laws in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is cheap to start in — registration is free, once, and lasts indefinitely — and we had the essentials right.
At a glance
- Registration
- Free
- Registration portal
- drones.caa.bg
- Maximum height
- 120 m above ground level in the Open category.
- Insurance
- Required for commercial flights
Bulgaria is cheap to start in — registration is free, once, and lasts indefinitely — and we had the essentials right. What we had missed is a sentence on the authority's own site: for commercial activities, third-party insurance is required regardless of the drone's weight. That makes Bulgaria the twelfth country where our insurance line was incomplete. The other correction is about what the zones actually contain. The authority publishes them as a file, and someone who parsed that file found helicopter pads, hail-suppression platforms, embassies, a presidential residence and Sofia's water plants — not the beaches, national parks and border zones that drone guides, ours included, had been listing.
Country-specific decision path
Before you choose a launch point in Bulgaria
- Confirm your operator paperwork Registration required — free. In the EU. One EU/EEA operator registration covers this country. Open drones.caa.bg
- Check the exact route on the official map B-FLIP is the national starting point; read every condition covering the complete route, not only the launch pin. Open B-FLIP
- Apply the local layer EU registrations valid in Bulgaria. Review the Bulgaria zone and nature checks
Registration in Bulgaria
Bulgaria fully implements EU Regulations 2019/947 and 2019/945. The DGCA manages drone registration and airspace restrictions.
The authority's service page: fee «none», registration «indefinite» and needed only once regardless of how many drones you own. The minimum age for a remote pilot in the Open or Specific category is 16, with no floor for a sub-250 g class C0 drone in A1. Registration is in the state where you reside, and a number from another member state is valid here. A Bulgarian blog quotes a fee of 10–20 lev; the authority says none.
What it costs: Free — Indefinite — register once.
In the EU. One EU/EEA operator registration covers this country.
How to register
- If you hold an EU or EEA operator registration, it is valid in Bulgaria — do not register again
- Otherwise register at drones.caa.bg, free, once
- Take the A1/A3 online training and test if your drone needs it
- Download the authority's zone file from caa.bg and load it into your drone before each flight — the manufacturer's zones do not cover Bulgaria's
- If you fly commercially at any weight, arrange third-party insurance first
You register as an operator — not the drone. Registration is required from 250 g, or below 250 g if the drone can transfer more than 80 J of energy, or if it carries a sensor able to capture personal data. CE-marked toys are exempt. Put your operator number on every drone you fly and set it in Remote ID.
Flight rules
- Maximum height
- 120 m above ground level in the Open category.
- Line of sight
- Visual line of sight required.
- Weight classes
- Standard EU weight classifications.
- Night flying
- Night flying is allowed in the Open category. A drone with a class mark must show a flashing green light so it stays visible. You still have to keep it in sight, which is harder after dark, and national geographical zones apply exactly as they do in daylight.
- Weather
- Good weather required. Mountain conditions can change rapidly.
Class marks C0–C6 have been mandatory since 1 January 2024. The transition period is over: a drone without a class mark may only be flown in A1 (under 250 g) or A3 (under 25 kg).
Where you may not fly
There is no single EU-wide distance from airports. Each country publishes its own UAS geographical zones, so check the national map or app before every flight.
Airports and controlled airspace
Sofia, Varna, Burgas and Plovdiv are controlled airports with control zones. The authority publishes its geographical zones as a downloadable file — currently bgr_zones_30072026.zip, dated 30 July 2026 — to be loaded into the drone's geo-awareness before each flight, and warns that manufacturer-supplied zones do not cover all of Bulgaria's. B-FLIP, the air navigation provider's portal, shows activated zones but requires registration and is a professional tool.
Towns and cities
An independent analysis of the authority's own zone file found buffers around the presidential residence at Rosenets, the Israeli and US embassies, the Rila electrical substation and Sofia's water-treatment plants at Bistritsa, Pancharevo and Kubratovo — plus a temporary zone for the 2026 Giro d'Italia stage. That is what «government buildings» means in practice here.
Protected nature
We previously said Pirin restricts drones and Rila has varying policies. We checked both park directorates' sites and found no drone rule on either — Rila's only drone news is about rangers using them. The nature-protection law has no drone clause we could find. Until a park publishes one, we do not claim it. Note that the authority's zone file protects medical-helicopter landing sites, several of them in mountain areas.
Government and military sites
Presidential residence at Rosenets, embassy buffers, energy and water infrastructure — as found in the authority's zone file. Military installations.
Other restrictions in Bulgaria
- Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026. Amounts quoted in lev are out of date
- Hail-suppression platforms in Thrace and the north-west are zones in the authority's file
- We previously listed Black Sea beaches in summer, the Turkish and Greek borders, Thracian tombs and ski resorts as restrictions. None appears in the authority's zone file or any official source, and they are removed
- Military drone debris from the Black Sea war has washed up along the coast repeatedly in 2026 and been dealt with by the navy. That is an incident pattern, not a civil no-fly rule — we found no NOTAM or notice closing the coast to drones
Insurance
The authority's own answer to «do I need insurance?»: «as a UAS operator you are always required to hold third-party insurance for your drone if it weighs over 20 kg. For commercial activities, third-party insurance is required regardless of the weight of the UAS.» So a hobby flight below 20 kg needs no cover under national law, but any paid work does, down to the smallest drone. The page does not cite the article behind the general rule; the light-UAS-operator-certificate route cites Ordinance N-6 of 11 April 2023, Article 52.
Penalties
Bulgaria is in the middle of changing this, and nothing is settled enough to print as a tariff. On 2 October 2025 parliament adopted at second reading amendments to the Civil Aviation Act banning unauthorised flight in restricted zones and around airports, with forced landing at the offender's cost and Penal Code changes for the most serious cases; the last report we could find had it awaiting publication in the State Gazette, and we could not find the promulgation. In August 2026 the transport ministry consulted on a further amendment with administrative fines of €15,000 to €50,000, which fifteen aviation bodies opposed as disproportionate for hobby breaches. That is a draft, not law. Until one of these is promulgated and we have read it, we print no amount.
Whatever the amount, the pattern across Europe is the same: paperwork failures are handled administratively, while flying near aircraft, over crowds, or inside a protected zone is what turns a case into a prosecution.
Visiting Bulgaria with a drone
EU registrations valid in Bulgaria. The country offers excellent value. Black Sea coast is popular in summer but beaches may restrict drones. Mountain regions offer spectacular scenery year-round.
Commercial work
Specific-category authorisations and the light UAS operator certificate go through the authority; the certificate route is processed in 35 calendar days. Commercial flying at any weight requires third-party insurance. We found no published fee table for authorisations.
Location planning
These are well-known photographic subjects to research, not recommended launch points or proof that a flight is allowed. Check the exact route against official airspace, nature, land-manager and people restrictions.
- Rhodope Mountains
- Pirin Mountains area (check National Park restrictions)
- Black Sea coastline (off-season)
- Thracian Valley
- Belogradchik Rocks
- Rose Valley near Kazanlak
Apps and official maps
- The civil aviation authority publishes its geographical zones as a downloadable JSON file rather than an interactive map, and warns that manufacturer-supplied zones do not cover everything
- B-FLIP (b-flip.bulatsa.com) — the air navigation provider's system, where activated zones are shown. Requires registration
- drones.caa.bg — the authority's operator registration platform
Practical tips
- Registration is free, once, at drones.caa.bg — or not at all if you hold an EU number
- Commercial flying needs third-party insurance at any weight. Hobby flying below 20 kg does not
- Download the zone file from caa.bg and load it into the drone — the manufacturer's map will miss zones
- Fines are in flux: an October 2025 law we could not find promulgated, and an August 2026 proposal for €15,000–50,000. Neither is a tariff you can rely on yet
- Prices in lev are stale — Bulgaria has used the euro since 1 January 2026
- The park, beach and border restrictions in circulation are not in the authority's zone file. Fly by the file
Questions about flying in Bulgaria
Do I need to register to fly a drone in Bulgaria?
Registration required — free. In the EU. One EU/EEA operator registration covers this country.
How high can I fly in Bulgaria?
120 m above ground level in the Open category.
Do I need drone insurance in Bulgaria?
The authority's own answer to «do I need insurance?»: «as a UAS operator you are always required to hold third-party insurance for your drone if it weighs over 20 kg. For commercial activities, third-party insurance is required regardless of the weight of the UAS.» So a hobby flight below 20 kg needs no cover under national law, but any paid work does, down to the smallest drone. The page does not cite the article behind the general rule; the light-UAS-operator-certificate route cites Ordinance N-6 of 11 April 2023, Article 52.
Can I fly a drone at night in Bulgaria?
Night flying is allowed in the Open category. A drone with a class mark must show a flashing green light so it stays visible. You still have to keep it in sight, which is harder after dark, and national geographical zones apply exactly as they do in daylight.
What are the penalties for breaking drone rules in Bulgaria?
Bulgaria is in the middle of changing this, and nothing is settled enough to print as a tariff. On 2 October 2025 parliament adopted at second reading amendments to the Civil Aviation Act banning unauthorised flight in restricted zones and around airports, with forced landing at the offender's cost and Penal Code changes for the most serious cases; the last report we could find had it awaiting publication in the State Gazette, and we could not find the promulgation. In August 2026 the transport ministry consulted on a further amendment with administrative fines of €15,000 to €50,000, which fifteen aviation bodies opposed as disproportionate for hobby breaches. That is a draft, not law. Until one of these is promulgated and we have read it, we print no amount.
Official sources
Primary sources used for this guide, checked September 2026. Open the live national source again before flying; geographical zones and temporary restrictions can change between reviews.
- National authority DG CAA (Directorate General Civil Aviation Administration) — official drone information
- Official zones and map B-FLIP — BULATSA
- European framework Regulation (EU) 2019/947 — rules and procedures for operating unmanned aircraft
- Official maps directory EASA — national aviation authorities and geographical-zone sources
Rules change, and national authorities publish the current position. Before you fly, check DG CAA (Directorate General Civil Aviation Administration) — it is linked at the top of this page too.