Bulgarian Ministry of Health: Recognition, Exams and Fees

• Doctor (лекар)
• Dentist (лекар по дентална медицина)
• Pharmacist (фармацевт) and assistant pharmacist (помощник-фармацевт)
• Nurse (медицинска сестра) and midwife (акушерка)
• Feldsher, medical laboratory technician, X-ray technician, rehabilitation therapist and kinesitherapist
• Public health inspector, dental technician, orthopaedic technician, masseur (for people with visual impairment) and practical tutor in health care
• The Ministry keeps a list of graduates in medicine, dental medicine, pharmacy, public health and health care, and a register of people who pass the Article 186 exam. Practising professionals are entered in the registers of the BLS, the Bulgarian Dental Association, the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union or BAPZG, which report to the Ministry.

• You are a citizen of a country outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, and your professional qualification in a regulated medical profession was obtained in a third country.
• You want to practise that profession in Bulgaria.
• You hold a certificate of Bulgarian language and professional terminology issued under Ordinance No. 15 of 2005, in the original or as a notarised copy.
• You can provide your diploma or other proof of qualification, with its supplements, and an academic transcript or curriculum showing the length of training, subjects, hours and practical training, and whether it ended in state exams.
• You have a document, issued in the last three months, on whether any administrative or disciplinary penalties were imposed on you in the profession, or a notarised declaration that you have never practised.
• You have a criminal record certificate and a medical certificate of good physical and mental health, each issued in the last three months.
• All foreign documents, except your identity document, carry an apostille or consular legalisation and a properly certified Bulgarian translation.
• You can give a contact address in Bulgaria, or name a contact person with an address and telephone number in Bulgaria.

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   1. Pass the Bulgarian medical language exam

   The Institute of Education in Sofia runs the exam under Ordinance No. 15. You will need its certificate in your Ministry file, so this comes first. The institute publishes sample tests for medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy and announces a filing deadline for each session.
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   2. Download the current application form

   The Ministry publishes the form for admission to the exam under Article 186(3)(3)(a) on the service's procedure page; the current version was published on 20 February 2026. Every field must be filled in. Forms without a Bulgarian contact address, without the qualification you are applying for, unsigned or undated are not accepted.
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   3. Prepare and certify your documents

   Submit certified copies, not originals, of your diploma and supplements; the other documents are normally originals. Translations made in Bulgaria need the translator's signature notarised; translations made abroad need it certified by the Bulgarian embassy or consulate. A copy of a certified transcript must itself be notarised, and a notarisation made outside Bulgaria needs an apostille.
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   4. File the application

   Submit it at the administrative service centre, 5 Sveta Nedelya Square, Sofia, open 9:00 to 17:30 on working days, through a representative, or by post. Email and fax submissions are not possible. Each application is registered in the Ministry's document system and passed to the directorate.
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   5. Commission review and requests for documents

   The commission checks your documents against the law and may ask you, or the authorities that issued them, for more information or confirmation that they are genuine. If something is missing, you are told in writing and have two months to provide it, during which the decision deadline is suspended. If you miss the two months, the procedure ends.
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   6. The Minister's decision

   Within two months of a complete file, the Minister or an authorised official issues an order admitting you to the exam, or a reasoned written refusal. Both can be challenged under the Administrative Procedure Code.
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   7. Sit the exam at a university within one year

   Choose a university that trains your profession. It holds the exam twice a year and records the result as passed or failed, sending a copy of the protocol to the Ministry within 10 days. If a year passes without you sitting the exam, you must file a new application.
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   8. Receive the certificate

   After a pass, the rector issues a certificate in the prescribed form. The Ministry sends the university a register number for it within 14 days, and the university sends the Ministry a copy within 14 days of issuing it. You then register with your professional organisation before you start work.

• Bulgarian language and professional terminology exam

  Held under Ordinance No. 15 of 2005 by the Institute of Education in Sofia since 19 November 2024. It is profession-specific, with sample tests for medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy. If you are refused a certificate, you may resit no earlier than four months later.

• Article 186(3)(3)(a) exam

  Organised by Bulgarian universities twice a year. It includes the state examinations in the unified state requirements for your profession, for example the requirements for the master's degree in medicine and dental medicine, or for the bachelor's degree in nursing and midwifery.

• Specialty exam under Article 186(3)(3)(b)

  For a specialty in the health system obtained in a third country. It is a separate application, and the precondition is that you already have the right to practise the regulated profession in Bulgaria.

• The Ministry does not require or accept an English test. Article 186(3)(1) of the Health Act requires knowledge of Bulgarian and professional terminology in Bulgarian.
• The certificate must be issued under Ordinance No. 15 of 13 December 2005. No CEFR level is published for it.
• Your Ministry file needs the original certificate or a notarised copy.
• Every document not issued in Bulgaria needs a certified Bulgarian translation; English-language originals are not exempt.
• Non-EU citizens with qualifications from an EU member state also need the language certificate, even though their qualification goes through recognition instead of the exam.

Estimate your total cost

• Decision on admission: within two months of a complete file, the Ministry states.
• Missing documents: you have two months to send them, and the decision deadline is suspended meanwhile.
• Exam window: the admission order is valid for one year, and universities hold the exam twice a year.
• Certificate: the university reports the result to the Ministry within 10 days, and register numbers and copies move within 14 days each way.
• Language exam: in the April 2025 session the filing deadline was 11 April, the exam was on 22 April and certificates were available from 7 May. A failed attempt means waiting at least four months.