Your rights

The short version

The position as of 13 August 2026. Every line is explained below, with the text of the law.

• NoMarriage between two people of the same sexNo. The Constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
• NoCivil partnership or registered cohabitationNo. The National Assembly has never passed such a law.
• PartlyA marriage concluded in another EU Member StateEU law obliges Bulgaria to recognise it for EU-law purposes. But there is no procedure — expect a refusal at first instance.
• YesProtection against discriminationYes. Sexual orientation is an expressly listed ground, and the CPD complaint is free.
• PartlyHomophobic motive in a crimeYes — an aggravating circumstance since 2023. For gender identity, no — nowhere.
• NoJoint adoption by a coupleNo. Second-parent adoption by a same-sex partner is not available.
• NoA protection order against a same-sex partnerNo. The Protection Against Domestic Violence Act defines an “intimate relationship” as man and woman only.

Where we stand

ILGA-Europe assesses 49 European countries against 76 criteria across seven areas, from equality before the law to asylum. In the edition of 12 May 2026, Bulgaria scores 20% and ranks 40th of 49: the second-lowest in the EU, with only Romania below us.

We lost a point for “the authorities’ obstruction of freedom of association through operational inquiries targeting civil society organisations”. The map also notes that legal gender recognition remains impossible and partnerships unrecognised.

Marriage and partnership

No. Neither marriage to a person of your own sex, nor a registered partnership or cohabitation — no such institution exists in Bulgarian law.

The bar is constitutional. The Constitution has been in force since 13 July 1991 (State Gazette No. 56 of 13 July 1991).

What that means

• No ordinary statute can introduce same-sex marriage while Article 46(1) reads as it does.
• There is no partnership, no registered cohabitation, no other status. The National Assembly has never passed such a law.
• The ECtHR has held Bulgaria need not open marriage — a separate regime, such as a partnership, suffices. So it comes down to political will.

Can this change

Article 46 can be amended by an ordinary National Assembly. It is not reserved to a Grand National Assembly under Article 158 — the opposite is repeated often and is not true.

It takes three quarters of all MPs in three votes on different days (Article 155(1)), or two thirds under Article 155(2). A high bar, but not impossible, and no new Constitution is needed.

Koilova and Babulkova v. Bulgaria

Darina Koilova and Lilia Babulkova married in the United Kingdom in November 2016. Sofia Municipality refused to enter the marriage in the civil register. They took the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg — and won.

The Court held that Bulgaria provides no legal framework whatsoever for same-sex couples and is under a positive obligation to create one. It expressly did not require marriage — a separate regime suffices. It set no deadline; execution is supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Case

Koilova and Babulkova v. Bulgaria, application no. 40209/20

Judgment

5 September 2023, Third Section, unanimous

Violation

Article 8 ECHR — private and family life

What it requires

A legal framework recognising and protecting same-sex couples

What it does not require

Opening marriage to same-sex couples

Has Bulgaria complied? No.

Nearly three years on, as of August 2026, there is no framework. No law, no procedure, no bill that got as far as being adopted. The Rainbow Map of 12 May 2026 also notes that same-sex partnerships remain unrecognised “despite the court rulings from ECtHR and CJEU”.

A marriage performed abroad

The one place on this page where EU law works tangibly in your favour. The change came in 2025.

Where “Baby Sara” stands today

Domestically the case ended badly. In May 2022 the Administrative Court of Sofia-city ruled that a Bulgarian birth certificate naming both mothers must be issued; in March 2023 the Supreme Administrative Court reversed that and refused. The identity-document obligation was met only partially, family-law recognition refused. (From ILGA-Europe and the European Parliament’s LGBTIQ+ Intergroup; we give no case number because we have not confirmed one.)

What this means for you

If you are a Bulgarian national who married a same-sex partner in another Member State, C-713/23 has direct effect and binds Bulgarian authorities. You can demand recognition of that status for EU-law purposes — spousal residence, family reunification, family-related administrative treatment.

But Bulgaria has no recognition or transcription procedure, and no confirmed report of registry offices transcribing such marriages: expect a refusal at first instance and likely court proceedings. Ask Deystvie before you file anything — how you frame the request matters.

The Protection Against Discrimination Act

This is the law that actually gives you something. Sexual orientation is expressly listed among the protected grounds — it is not read in by interpretation.

The prohibition covers both direct and indirect discrimination, and the list ends open: any other ground established by law or by an international treaty.

And gender identity?

Only indirectly, and more narrowly. The supplementary provisions say the ground of “sex” also covers change of sex. The wording is “change of sex”, not “gender identity” — which arguably does not cover trans people who have not changed their legal or medical status, nor non-binary people.

How to file a complaint with the CPD

The Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD, in Bulgarian КЗД) establishes whether discrimination occurred, identifies the perpetrator and imposes sanctions. It is free.

1. 1

   Check the deadline: three years

   Article 52(1): once three years have passed since the violation, no proceedings are opened and any already opened are terminated. The clock runs from the act, not from when you found out, and it cannot be recovered. If it is close, file without waiting to gather everything.

2. 2

   Choose a route: the Commission or the court, not both

   Article 52(2): if the dispute is already before a court, the CPD will not open proceedings. And since the CPD cannot award damages, money means a separate claim under Article 71.

3. 3

   Write the complaint — in writing

   Article 51 requires your name, address, what happened, what you are asking the Commission to do, the date and your signature. Anonymous complaints are not examined. A foreign-language document needs a Bulgarian translation.

4. 4

   Set out the facts concretely

   Dates, places, names, job titles, exactly what was said. Attach messages, emails, advertisements, photographs, documents, witnesses. Once you establish facts from which discrimination may be inferred, the burden of proof shifts to the respondent, who must prove you were not treated unequally.

5. 5

   File it

   By post to бул. „Драган Цанков“ № 35, Sofia 1125, or by email to kzd@kzd.bg. Deystvie runs an online form that drafts the complaint and hands it back as a PDF to sign. The Commission also has representatives in 28 locations (listed on its website; we have not checked those).

6. 6

   You pay nothing

   Article 53: no state fees are collected, and costs are borne by the Commission’s budget. Under Article 50 proceedings open on your complaint — no lawyer is required, though legal help is welcome.

7. 7

   After the decision

   Decisions can be appealed to the administrative courts. For compensation — a separate claim under Article 71 before the district court (районен съд): a finding of the violation, an order to cease it, restoration, damages. Under Article 71(2) trade unions and public-benefit non-profits may bring it on your behalf or join as an interested party.

The Criminal Code and hate

Yes — since 2023 sexual orientation appears in the Criminal Code. The amendment was adopted on 28 July 2023 and promulgated by Decree No. 152 of 3 August 2023 (State Gazette No. 67 of 4 August 2023).

It works two ways — as an aggravating circumstance, and as part of the definition of some offences. The provisions below were checked word for word, current through State Gazette No. 55 of 16 June 2026.

Where the motive raises the sentence

• Art. 116(1)(11)Murder15 to 20 years, life imprisonment, or life imprisonment without parole
• Art. 131(1)(12)Bodily harmGrievous: 3 to 15 years. Medium: 2 to 10 years. Light under Art. 130(1): up to 3 years. Under Art. 130(2): up to 1 year or probation
• Art. 142(2)(9)Abduction7 to 15 years
• Art. 142a(3)(3)Unlawful deprivation of liberty3 to 10 years
• Art. 216(5)(4)Destruction or damage of propertyUp to 10 years
• Art. 320(3)Public incitement to crime2 to 10 years

In Art. 142(2)(9) and Art. 216(5)(4) the word “hooligan” is absent — there the text reads “out of racist, xenophobic motives, or motives connected with sexual orientation”.

Where orientation is part of the offence itself

• Art. 162(1)Preaching or inciting discrimination, violence or hatred through speech, print, mass media or electronic information systemsImprisonment from 1 to 4 years, a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 BGN, and public censure
• Art. 162(2)Violence against a person or damage to their propertyImprisonment from 1 to 4 years, a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 BGN, and public censure
• Art. 162(3) and (4)Forming or leading such an organisation or group; membership in it(3): 1 to 6 years and a fine of 10,000–30,000 BGN. (4): up to 3 years
• Art. 163(1)Participation in a mob assembled to attack groups of the population, individual citizens or their propertyInstigators and leaders: up to 5 years. Others: up to 1 year or probation. If armed: 1 to 6 years and up to 3 years. If it caused grievous bodily harm or death: 3 to 15 years for instigators and leaders
• Art. 172(1)Obstructing someone from taking up employment

The grounds in Art. 162(1) are race, colour, origin, nationality or ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Religion is not in paragraph (1) but is in paragraph (2) — together with political convictions.

And reform since 2023?

The reform that happened is the August 2023 amendment itself. Since then we found no verified source on adopted or rejected changes. Only the outcome is certain: the text current through 16 June 2026 still does not contain the phrase “gender identity”.

The 2024 school ban

In 2024 the prohibition known as the “LGBT propaganda” ban entered the Preschool and School Education Act. The bill came from the Vazrazhdane party and went through both readings on the same day, 7 August 2024. It was promulgated by Decree No. 199 of 15 August 2024 (State Gazette No. 69 of 16 August 2024). There were protests outside Parliament on 8 and 9 August 2024.

Article 11(2) prohibits, in preschool and school education, actions connected with imposing ideological and/or religious doctrines (item 1), with political and party activity (item 2), and with:

Status as of August 2026

• In force. The consolidated Act, updated through State Gazette No. 69 of 31 July 2026, still contains Article 11(2)(3) and § 1, item 16 unchanged.
• On 29 May 2026 MPs Elisaveta Belobradova, Anna Bodakova and Stela Nikolova of Democratic Bulgaria submitted a bill to delete item 3. It has not been adopted. The source is a media report, and pending bills change fast.
• We found no evidence the ban has been struck down by the Constitutional Court. In September 2025 Deystvie, Single Step and Assoc. Prof. Deyana Marcheva asked the Ombudsman to refer it there (per ILGA-Europe).

Where the law gives you nothing

Deliberately short. Better to know it in advance than at the worst possible moment.

Where to get help

We publish only contact details we found on an official page — which is why one phone number is missing.

What we could not verify

It is more useful to know where the verified information stops.

• Committee of Ministers supervision of Koilova and Babulkova — the Council of Europe database would not open. Non-compliance is established from the Rainbow Map 2026.
• The case number and date of the March 2023 Supreme Administrative Court decision in “Baby Sara”.
• The Family Code articles on joint adoption.
• The number of the pending CJEU reference on the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act.
• The case numbers behind the July 2026 Supreme Court of Cassation rulings, and how far the new practice reaches.
• Whether Deystvie’s help is explicitly free.
• The contact details of the CPD’s 28 regional representatives.
• Whether any Bulgarian professional body has spoken against conversion practices.