Updated last 26.03.2021
General information
The procedure for the issuance of fire safety certificate is regulated mainly by ORDINANCE No 8121z-882 of 25 November 2014 on the procedure for state fire precautions control, promulgated in State Gazette, issue 15 of 16 February 2018, in effect as of 16 February 2018. Other relevant legal acts to the procedure are: ORDINANCE No. 8121z-647 dated 1 October 2014 for the rules and standards for fire safety during the objects exploitation, ORDINANCE No. Iz-1971 dated 2009 for construction – technical rules and standards for fire safety in fire, Ministry of Interior Act, Administrative – Procedure Code, Tariff No. 4 for taxes collected within the system of the Ministry of Interior under the State Fees Act.
| Important to know | |
 | The certificate for compliance of a site with the fire safety requirements is not mandatory by law in all cases. You may need it, depending on the relevant site/construction, when your site was built for performance of specialised activities (such as cultural and educational sites – theaters, operas, cinemas, museums, libraries, community centers, art galleries, concert halls, sports halls with a certain capacity, hotels, motels, holiday places with a certain capacity of the beds, social and medical institutions, schools with certain human capacity, kindergartens, schools, etc.). For this purpose you have to carry out in-depth study.
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In cases when such certificate is required, you have to file an application to the competent authority which makes the assessment as to the compliance of your site with the fire protection requirements, and therefore, issues or refuses to issue the certificate.
Competent authority
Certificate of compliance with the rules and norms for fire safety for the sites under Art. 2, para. 1, item 4 and Art. 4, item 7 of Ordinance № 8121-882/2014 is issued by the Director of the General Directorate “Fire Safety and Civil Protection” at the Ministry of Interior and for the other cases – by the Director of Sofia Directorate, respectively Regional Directorates “Fire Safety and Civil Protection”.
What should the application include?
The written application should include as a minimum: data of the name / company name of the interested natural person or legal entity, unified identification code, registered address, address of management and correspondence address, full name of the person representing the legal entity, date and signature, telephone, fax or e-mail address, if any.
The template of the application to Sofia Directorate is available here.
Additional information regarding the templates to the other directorates are available at the respective websites.
What documents should be attached to the application?
The documents that need to be attached to the application include:
- Copy of the permit to use the site, certificate for the commissioning or certificate of tolerance1;
- Power of attorney with notary certification of the signature when the request is issued by an authorised person;
- Document proving payment of the state fee.
The copies of the documents are filed bearing signature and seal verifying their fidelity („True copy of the original“). Please, bear in mind that the deadlines and the documents required in the procedure for the issuance of fire safety certificate may be different in the different Regional Directorates of the Ministry of Interior (MI).
Where is the application filed?
The application is filed with the respective Regional Directorate of the MI. The list of e-mail addresses of the different Regional Directorates of the MI is available on the website of the Ministry of Interior. The issuance, contestation, supplementation of the respective document shall be carried out by the order of Art. 125a of the Ministry of Interior Act (Section IV of the Ministry of Interior Act).
What is the certificate issuance procedure?
In order to issue the certificate the fire safety and protection of the population authorities, exercising state fire precautions control, perform certification inspection and draw up a protocol. It establishes the compliance of the site with:
- construction – technical rules and norms for fire safety, applicable to the site, depending on the date of its entering into operation; it is allowed at the request of the applicant, to be established the conformity of the site with the construction – technical rules and norms for ensuring fire safety in force at the moment of submitting the request for issuance of a certificate;
- the rules and norms for fire safety during operation of the sites, operating at the moment of the inspection.
Based on the outcome of the inspection the protocol contains an assessment of the compliance or non-compliance of the site with the requirements of the fire safety rules and normsq as follows:
- the site complies with the requirements of the rules and norms for fire safety – there is full compliance of its actual condition with the rules and norms of fire safety and conditions are created for their observance;
- the site does not comply with the requirements of the rules and norms for fire safety – there is non-compliance with the rules of fire safety norms or no conditions are created for their observance.
If irregularities are found during the inspection, you will be notified to rectify those within thirty days as of the notice thereto with instruction that their non-rectification will result in termination of the certificate issuance procedure.
When the site meets the requirements, the certificate is issued. In all other cases you will be provided with a decision for refusal of the issuance of a certificate.
The certificate for compliance of the sites with the rules and norms for fire safety or the decision for refusal for the sites under Art. 2, para. 1, item 4 of Ordinance № 8121z-882 shall be issued by the Director of General Directorate “Fire Safety and Civil Protection” by the Ministry of Interior, and for the other cases – by the Director of Sofia Directorate or the relevant Regional Directorate.
The certificate or the decision for refusal shall be communicated to the interested person within three days after their issuance by the order of Art. 61 of the Administrative – Procedure Code.
| Fee | The state fee varies depending on the intended purpose of your site and it is determined based on TARIFF No 4 on the fees to be collected within the MI under the State Fees Act. |
| Term | The term of validity of the certificate is five years. |
Upon ascertainment of changes in the conditions under which the certificate is issued, leading to non-compliance with the requirements of the rules and norms for fire safety, the validity of the certificate shall be terminated by a decision of the entity that issued the respective certificate.
| For more information | |
 | For more information see the website of the Ministry of Interior.
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1 Developments (buildings) completed up to 7 April 1987, for which no construction documents are available, but which were acceptable according to the then effective city zoning plans and according to the rules and regulations effective at the time of their construction or in accordance with Spatial Territorial Act, are tolerable developments and are not subject to demolition and ban for use (§ 16 of the Supplementary articles of the Spatial Territorial Act).