Bulgaria: notary fees to increase

Notary fees are to rise from 1 July 2009 – the first increase in eleven years.
 

The increase in fees has been made at the request of the Notary Chamber, the professional association of notary publics in Bulgaria, due to the downturn in the real estate market, from which notaries derive most of their income.

Significant changes are being made to proportionate notary fees, where the amount of the fee depends on the value of the transaction (usually the price agreed between the parties). 

Transactions to which proportionate notary fees apply are set out in the Notary Fees Tariff. They are: 

• contractual mortgages and transactions involving [real estate property rights] (which, with some exceptions, must be executed as notary deeds)
• certain transactions which, under Bulgarian law, must be certified by a notary public (such as partition agreements, transfers and pledges of going concerns or of shares in a Bulgarian limited liability company and transactions with boats)
• commercial and other agreements, which the parties have notarised even though there is no legal requirement to do so (as notarisation provides stronger evidence in the event of a dispute and makes it easier to enforce certain contractual obligations, such as payments). 

Proportionate notary fees for issuing notary deeds and partition agreements will be: 

• BGN 30 for transactions valued up to (and including) BGN 100
• BGN 30 + 1.5 % of the value above BGN 100 for transactions valued from BGN 101 - BGN 1,000
• BGN 43.50 + 1.3 % of the value above BGN 1,000 for transactions valued from BGN 1,001 - BGN 10,000
• BGN 160.50 + 0.8 % of the value above BGN 10,000 for transactions valued from BGN 10,001 - BGN 50,000
• BGN 480.50 + 0.5 % of the value above BGN 50,000 for transactions valued from BGN 50,001 - BGN 100,000
• BGN 730.50 + 0.2 % of the value above BGN 100,000 for transactions valued from BGN 100,001 - BGN 500,000
• BGN 480.50 + 0.5 % of the value above BGN 50,000 for transactions valued from BGN 50,001 - BGN 100,000
• BGN 1,530.50 + 0.1 % of the value above BGN 500,000 (subject to a maximum fee of BGN 6,000) for transactions valued above BGN 500,000  

Proportionate notary fees for certifying the date and signature(s) on documents subject to registration in the real estate register or certification of the content of documents will be 50% of that for issuing notary deeds and partition agreements, with a minimum fee of BGN 30 

Proportionate notary fees for certifying the date and signature(s) to an agreement will be 30 % that for issuing notary deeds and partition agreements, with a minimum fee of BGN 30.