{"id":4144,"date":"2026-07-06T08:26:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leinonen.eu\/bgr\/?p=4144"},"modified":"2026-07-14T07:24:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T07:24:40","slug":"electronic-employment-records-bulgaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leinonen.eu\/bgr\/news\/electronic-employment-records-bulgaria\/","title":{"rendered":"Electronic Employment Documents in Bulgaria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bulgaria has largely digitalised employment records and introduced a mandatory electronic employment register, while still allowing employers to keep personnel files on paper if they choose. Since 1 June 2025, electronic employment records have replaced the paper labour book, and employers can also keep the rest of an employee\u2019s file in digital form. For foreign-owned businesses, this means less paperwork, but also new duties and deadlines that are easy to miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guide explains the two frameworks that now govern electronic employment documents in Bulgaria: the Unified Electronic Employment Record, maintained by the state, and the Ordinance that lets employers keep the employee\u2019s own file electronically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unified Electronic Employment Record<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following amendments to the Labour Code, the paper labour book that certified each employee\u2019s work history has been replaced by the Unified Electronic Employment Record. It is held in a national employment register maintained by the National Revenue Agency (NRA)<\/a>. The system applies to private-sector employment from 1 June 2025, and to civil servants from 1 June 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What employers must do<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Employers no longer submit the old notifications on hiring, changes, and termination. Instead, they enter this data directly into the electronic register, using a qualified electronic signature (QES). The deadlines are unchanged: three days for the conclusion or amendment of a contract, and seven days for its termination. A few details that were not declared before must now be recorded, such as the start of actual work and paid annual leave. A business without a QES can still submit the data on electronic media at an NRA office, with a covering letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happened to paper labour books<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The law set a transition period from 1 June 2025 to 1 June 2026. During that year, employers had to complete each employee\u2019s paper labour book, recording the length of service up to 1 June 2025 in words and figures, sign and stamp it, and return it to the employee. Employees should keep these books safely. They remain official proof of employment history before 1 June 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who can access the record<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Each employee has full access to their own record, including a history of who has viewed it. Employers can see the data they have entered, and, subject to legal limits, certain information recorded by previous employers, though not past salary amounts or most termination payments. The NRA and, where the law allows, control bodies such as the General Labour Inspectorate<\/a> also have access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic Documents in the Employee\u2019s File<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alongside the state register, employers may keep the employee\u2019s own file in digital form. This is governed by an Ordinance adopted under Article 128b of the Labour Code (Council of Ministers Decree No. 71 of 10 May 2018). Going digital here is an option, not an obligation, and paper files remain allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an employer chooses the electronic route, it must set out in its Internal Rules which documents will be kept electronically and which electronic signature employees will use. The employee\u2019s clear, written consent to the electronic exchange and handling of their employment documents is required, and the employer covers all the costs of the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a minimum, the system must offer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n