The organisations in Bulgaria

What they concretely offer

• A free anonymous online chat for emotional support and crisis help, every day 20:00–23:00. Staffed by trained volunteers under the supervision of a psychologist. Outside those hours you leave a message through the chat form.
• A network of psychologists trained in the specifics of counselling LGBTI+ people, covering ten towns — with names, emails and phone numbers published (see the table). For Kardzhali the contact given runs through Sofia.
• Four facilitated peer-support groups: offline for LGBTI+ young people under 21 in Sofia; online for young people elsewhere; one for people over 21; and one for parents of LGBTI+ young people. Led by psychologists experienced in group work.
• The only comprehensive health programme for trans, intersex and non-binary people in Bulgaria, aligned with WPATH Standards of Care 8: psychological support, consultations on the risks and benefits of HRT, referral to a network of informed doctors, and information on the psychiatric certificate (ICD-10 F64.0) required before an endocrinologist can prescribe.
• The VentureOUT career programme, sexual health work (endhiv.bg), The Steps social enterprise, and training and supervision for psychotherapists who want to work with LGBTI+ clients.

Where the limit is

• They do not prescribe or supply hormones. Their words: specialists working at the foundation do not initiate HRT and do not prescribe or send hormonal medication.
• There is no financial help for medical transition. Again their words: at present there is no programme of financial support for trans and non-binary people in Bulgaria.
• For legal name and gender change they refer you to LGBTI Deystvie — they say plainly that their team cannot advise on the legal aspects.
• Nowhere does their site say the sessions with the psychologists in the network are free or subsidised. Assume ordinary private rates and ask about the fee in your first email.
• Joining a group requires an application form and a prior individual consultation. No schedule, location or waiting time is published.
• For minors, psychological support only. They state that no medical transition of minors takes place in Bulgaria in any form.
• No phone number is published for the foundation itself.

Psychologists by town, as published by Single Step

These are the details exactly as the organisation publishes them. Nothing here says the sessions are free or reduced — ask about the fee before you book.

What else you should know

Their “Annual reports” page is completely empty — not one activity or financial report published.

The site was rebuilt in September 2025.

What they concretely offer

• A free anonymous online chat with trained psychologists, Monday to Friday 18:00 – 22:00. It is registered as a licensed social service. Open to all ages, including school pupils facing bullying, and to teachers and psychologists seeking advice.
• Three community groups, joined through an application form on the site: Artivism (for LGBTI+ artists), OutInBulgaria (queer walks) and ТрансМисия (trans activism).
• A Humanitarian Fund for LGBTI people in financial difficulty — under its rules it can provide food and medicine vouchers and money towards medical and housing costs, with priority for lesbian and bisexual women, trans and intersex people, LGBTI youth, older LGBTI people and LGBTI people from other vulnerable groups.
• Co-manages the Rainbow Hub community centre with GLAS, and co-founded the new Sofia Pride association.
• The School’s OUT programme, the BraveLab guide, capacity work with regional groups, research and advocacy.

Where the limit is

• No legal aid, no therapy vouchers, no shelter.
• ТрансМисия is not a regular support group: it is open to trans, non-binary and intersex people aged 18 to 29, and meetings happen “as needed and on participants’ initiative”, mostly around Sofia Pride and Trans Visibility Week. Under-18s are excluded.
• No schedule is published for the community groups. The homepage says only “ask about the next meeting”.
• The Humanitarian Fund has no published application form, amount or eligibility rules. The rules were written for the COVID-19 period, and the only live published call is for LGBTIQ+ refugees from Ukraine. For the general fund you have to email bilitis@bilitis.org and ask.

What else you should know

Their site contradicts itself. The homepage and the English version still advertise four community groups — BraveLab, QueerFemme, BInonymous and T.I.A. — while the current Bulgarian “Communities” page lists three entirely different ones (Artivism, OutInBulgaria, ТрансМисия). We assume the three are the live ones. The same homepage also carries a broken link to the trans group.

Their published 2025 figures are modest, and they are the organisation’s own: 700+ people reached through community events and trainings, 33 community gatherings at Rainbow Hub, 70+ people supported into employment. The “Financial Overview” in the annual report lists donor names only — not a single income or expenditure figure.

Bilitis publishes an annual report for every year from 2011 to 2025, plus a statute, ethics code, child safeguarding policy and the humanitarian fund rules. No other organisation on this list publishes that set of documents.

The footer of every page on their site links to safetobe.eu — a site that no longer responds.

What they concretely offer

• Three ways in: the freephone 0800 20 202 (weekdays 10:00 – 16:00), an email to info@kabinet.bg, or the booking form at kabinet.bg. In every case you enter the code “Кабинет Дъга” in the organisation-code field. They contact you within up to 3 working days.
• Sessions are 45 minutes and can be by phone, video, email, or in person in Sofia.
• It is also available to friends, acquaintances and relatives of LGBTI people, not only to LGBTI people themselves. Family or couple consultations and a group are possible.
• Strict confidentiality.

Where the limit is

• The cap: up to 3 sessions of 45 minutes (video or phone) or up to 3 emails. This is short-term crisis counselling, not ongoing therapy. The cap is written on the booking form at kabinet.bg itself.
• Kabinet.bg is a general-population service — a project of the Bulgarian Society for Psychoanalysis and Group Analysis, not an LGBT service. The counsellor you get is not necessarily LGBTI-specialised. Counsellors include psychotherapists in training working under supervision.
• Under-18s need written parental consent, and GLAS says it will have to speak to the parents to obtain it. The content of the sessions stays confidential.

What else you should know

The GLAS page describing the scheme was published on 30 June 2021. We confirmed that kabinet.bg itself is active and that its booking form still has an organisation-code field — but we have no confirmation from GLAS that the arrangement is funded in 2026. If you call and the code does not work, tell us.

This is the only free-therapy scheme on this list. Its cap is three sessions.

What they concretely offer

• Кабинет Дъга — free psychotherapy sessions through Kabinet.bg (details in the entry above).
• A mutual-support group for parents and families of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender young people, moderated by a psychotherapist experienced in family counselling. Way in: help@glasfoundation.bg.
• Groups at Rainbow Hub reached through the same email: Work It OUT Club (LGBTI+ professionals), a sexual health group run with CheckPoint Sofia, Big Gay Book Club, Big Gay Film Club and Bored Gay Board Games Club.
• Campaigns against hate crime, HIV testing and prevention campaigns, work with business (Sofia Pride Business Forum), research. Co-manages Rainbow Hub and co-chairs the new Sofia Pride association.

Where the limit is

• There is no phone number for the organisation anywhere on their site. help@glasfoundation.bg is the only way in — and that same address is the intake for at least six different groups.
• GLAS has no annual-reports section at all — only “Publications” and “Research”.
• No office hours are published.

What else you should know

Their site footer still reads “Copyright, 2024” although the news runs to June 2026.

What they concretely offer

• Free legal aid and court representation: strategic litigation, discrimination complaints, hate-crime and police complaints, recognition of same-sex families.
• Cases for legal gender and name change for trans people. This is the organisation Single Step explicitly refers you to for the legal side of transition.
• A client portal (deystvie.org/lp-registration) with “My cases”, files, a calendar and “My lawyer”.
• Ready-made complaint templates for four bodies: the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the regional prosecutor’s office, the regional court and the regional directorate of the Interior Ministry.
• They organise Sofia Pride Film Fest, Forum Rights and equality marches, and train lawyers and public administration.

Where the limit is

• No phone number and no address are published — their contact page is a web form only. In an urgent situation there is no way to reach them fast.
• No hours are published.
• The outcome depends on the case. In 2026 they won the first two Bulgarian court rulings allowing legal gender and name change after the “Shipova” judgment — and in a third similar case the court refused, on the ground that the expert report submitted did not contain a categorical diagnosis of transsexuality. Nobody can promise you an outcome.

What else you should know

Their National LGBTI Legal Programme advertises direct access to legal protection in Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna and Veliko Tarnovo. But it was funded by a EUR 110,820 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism, through a programme running 2019–2024, and they write themselves that the programme exists thanks to “the voluntary efforts of a group of lawyers and activists and project funding”. The site does not confirm that regional coverage is funded in 2026. Treat the five cities as an aspiration, not a guarantee of an in-person meeting.

Their “About us” page still claims they organise Sofia Pride. They are not among the founders of the Sofia Pride association constituted in June 2026. We have not resolved the contradiction and we are not pretending we have.

Legal entity: Sdruzhenie “LGBTI Deystvie”, company number 176377812, represented by the lawyer Denitsa Lyubenova.

What they concretely offer

• Free and anonymous HIV testing — for more than 25 years. No appointment is needed for STI testing.
• Tests for hepatitis B and C, syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, mycoplasma, ureaplasma, HPV genotyping, trichomonas, herpes (HSV-1/2), microbiology, PAP, PSA, blood group, and creatinine/urea for starting PrEP.
• Medical consultations: PrEP, PEP, urologist, gynaecologist.
• Extensive Bulgarian-language information on PrEP, PEP, Doxy-PEP, U=U, STIs and mpox.
• They explicitly welcome everyone regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and age, and promise discretion and confidentiality.

Where the limit is

• “Free” applies to HIV testing and the walk-in model. Other tests and doctor’s appointments have a published price list.

What else you should know

The site is actively maintained — the most recent news item we saw is dated 14 July 2026.

The sexual health group at Rainbow Hub is run in partnership with them.

What they concretely offer

• A queer space to meet and work in, a queer library, and room for community-organised events.
• The centre’s site also lists: community groups, international exchanges, volunteering, financial support for basic humanitarian needs, psychological support, online support for pupils facing bullying, consultations for trans and intersex people and their parents, services for LGBTI+ refugees and asylum seekers, intake of hate-crime and domestic-violence reports, and legal help with discrimination.
• The centre really does operate: Bilitis’s 2025 annual report counts 33 community gatherings hosted there.

Where the limit is

• That long service list sits on a site whose news stops in August 2022, and not one item states a way in, eligibility, hours or a contact person. Do not take the list as a description of 2026 without confirming it with Bilitis or GLAS.
• We publish no drop-in hours. The only ones we found — Tuesdays and Thursdays 15:00 – 18:30 — come from a 2018 article about an entirely different, long-abandoned address. Reprinting them would be worse than saying nothing.

What else you should know

On 30 October 2021 the centre’s previous premises were attacked and wrecked by a far-right group led by Boyan Stankov-Rasate, who punched Gloria Filipova of Bilitis in the face. The centre reopened at a new address in May 2022 and has since moved again. Our source is LGBT media rather than a court record, so we mark this as partially confirmed.

Part of the reason addresses and drop-in times are not published is precisely this.

What they concretely offer

• A physical place at the same address as the foundation: a bistro and a multifunctional hall.
• According to The Steps’ own site: an event centre, a bistro for corporate and private events, and a hall for conferences.

Where the limit is

• No opening hours are published anywhere. The site’s copyright reads “©2021-2023” and it has not been updated in years.
• Do not assume you can simply walk in. Phone and ask before you go.

What else you should know

A 2022-era guide gives its hours as 08:00 – 23:00. That is second-hand and stale — do not plan around it.

What they concretely offer

• A peer support group facilitated by a qualified mental health professional. They set it up after their own annual community surveys found that access to psychological support was the most pressing unmet need.
• Regular community events: music jams, karaoke, baking workshops, literary readings, salsa classes, self-defence training.
• Queer nightlife (parties and drag shows) and queer film nights — they produced the art documentary “Бalkan Queen” about the Varna drag queen Bana Boom Tana — plus the annual Varna Queer Fest / MELT and demonstrations.
• Members of IGLYO, of the Ravni BG coalition and of European Pride networks.

Where the limit is

• Their site publishes no email, phone, address, hours or meeting schedule. The only route on the site is a web form.
• The Bulgarian version of the site is partly still in English.

What else you should know

We mark this entry partially confirmed precisely because of the contacts. Everything about their activities comes from their own site; the address and the email do not.

What they concretely offer

• The “POGLED” community centre — an online and physical space for people in Plovdiv and the region who are interested in, or active on, human rights, freedom, equality and inclusion.
• The Bulgarian Fund for Women describes it as a centre running open educational and cultural events and activities.
• They are members of the Ravni BG coalition, and their board member Kaloyan Kalinin sits on the board of the new Sofia Pride association — so the organisation is real and part of the network.

Where the limit is

• pogled.org is only a “coming soon” page. No address, hours, email or phone. Page metadata shows it was touched on 6 July 2026, so someone is maintaining it — they just have not built it.
• An Instagram profile that appears to be theirs shows up in searches, but we could not open it as a primary source, so we do not recommend it as a reliable channel.

What else you should know

This entry is unconfirmed as far as contacts go. We publish no address and no phone for them because we have none from a primary source — not because we forgot to look.

What they concretely offer

• Sofia Pride 2026 took place on 13 June 2026. Per the published programme: gathering from 14:00 behind the Soviet Army Monument, a concert at 16:00, and the march setting off at 18:00 from Gen. Gurko St.
• The surrounding 2026 programme: a queer stand-up show, the Sofia Pride Business Forum (12 June), dance and literary events, the official after-party and a children’s workshop.
• The site publishes participation rules and safety guidance.

Where the limit is

• No date for Sofia Pride 2027 had been announced as of 13 August 2026.
• The published programme is itself slightly inconsistent: the gathering point is behind the Soviet Army Monument but the march sets off from Gen. Gurko St. We report it as published.

What else you should know

Since June 2026 Sofia Pride is no longer run by an informal committee but by a newly founded association (registration pending). Founders: Karmen Abrashkova (Bilitis Foundation, co-chair), Simeon Vasilev (GLAS Foundation, co-chair), Nia Despotova (volunteers lead, board), Kaloyan Kalinin (Pogled Foundation, Plovdiv, board), Radoslav Stoyanov (Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, board), Galya Petkova, Dimitar Bogdanov, Kosta Karakashyan and Paul Naydenov.

Deystvie is not among the founders, although its own site still claims it organises Sofia Pride.

What they concretely offer

• The 15th edition ran 2–12 June 2026 under the motto “Героят си ти!” (“You are the hero!”), with 8 features and 11 shorts in competition. Opening film: “The Little Sister”.
• The 2026 venues included Dom na kinoto and the French Institute.
• Audience awards for best feature and best short (Sofia Unicorn), discussions on LGBTIQ+ rights, an opening party and a Pride-month closing party.

Where the limit is

• Tickets are paid.
• Contact is email only. Their English “About” page still describes the 2025 line-up.

What else you should know

Funding: the National Culture Fund, the Bulgarian Fund for Women and the European Union.

What they concretely offer

• A focus on feminism, LGBTI liberation, anti-racism and class struggle.
• They organise the PRIZMA festival and publish the zine “Justice, not tulips!”.
• Vechernica — described as Bulgaria’s first feminist media, publishing original writing and interviews on the experiences of marginalised groups, with LGBTI issues as a core focus.
• The collective has been based at the Rainbow Hub premises.

Where the limit is

• We have not verified contact details or a current schedule of activities on a primary source of theirs. All we confirm is that vechernica.com is live as of 13 August 2026.

What they concretely offer

• News, community coverage and a jobs section (PROUDCAREERS).

Where the limit is

• We have not verified their editorial contacts or the ownership of the publication.

What they concretely offer

• It brings together 50 civil society organisations working on human rights, vulnerable groups and advocacy.
• A “Solidarity Fund” of micro-grants, with funding decisions made by the communities themselves.
• Joint campaigns and public positions; they also publish round-ups of members’ events during Pride month.
• Members include Deystvie, GLAS, Queer Varna Foundation, Pogled Foundation (Plovdiv) and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. In an announcement dated 21 January 2026 they admitted 18 further organisations.

Where the limit is

• They are not a service provider for individuals.

What else you should know

Their coordinator — the Bulgarian Fund for Women — is also a core funder of Bilitis, of Sofia Pride Film Fest and of Queer Varna. Much of Bulgarian LGBT organising sits downstream of a single funder.

What they concretely offer

• Stated mission: supporting people of diverse sexual orientation and their families, personal development, social contacts, HIV and STI prevention, protection from discrimination, monitoring and public-interest litigation.
• Historic activity: the “History Month” story competition (2020–2023), a “Friendly Week”, Erasmus+ youth exchanges, and the first rainbow pride event in Burgas in May 2021.

Where the limit is

• They advertise no services, hours or intake route anywhere.
• Several menu items on the site are untitled placeholders.
• The email crocusbs@gmail.com appears on their site, but we have no evidence at all that anyone reads it.

What else you should know

If you are in Burgas and need help now, the realistic routes are Single Step’s Burgas psychologists (Daniela Pehlivanyan — info@de-anima.com, 0888 759 171; Nedyalka Popova — nelika72@abv.bg, 0889 787 502) and Deystvie’s legal email.

We found no LGBT organisation in Burgas that we could confirm as operating in 2026.