Your rights

The short version

The position as of 13 August 2026. Every line is explained in full below, with the exact 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 no procedure has been enacted, and expect a refusal at first instance.
• YesProtection against discriminationYes. Sexual orientation is an expressly listed protected ground, and the complaint procedure before the CPD is free.
• PartlyHomophobic motive in a crimeYes — an aggravating circumstance since 2023. For gender identity, no — it appears nowhere in the Code.
• 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 being between a man and a woman.

Where we stand

ILGA-Europe publishes the Rainbow Map every year: 49 European countries assessed against 76 criteria across seven areas — equality and non-discrimination, family, hate crime and hate speech, legal gender recognition, intersex bodily integrity, civil society space, and asylum.

In the edition published on 12 May 2026, Bulgaria scores 20% and ranks 40th of 49. That is the second-lowest score among EU member states; only Romania is below us.

Bulgaria lost a point for “the authorities’ obstruction of freedom of association through operational inquiries targeting civil society organisations”. The map notes explicitly that legal gender recognition remains legally impossible and same-sex partnerships unrecognised, despite the rulings of the ECtHR and the CJEU.

Marriage and partnership

The answer is short: no. You cannot marry a person of your own sex in Bulgaria, and you cannot register a partnership or cohabitation — no such institution exists in Bulgarian law.

The bar on marriage sits at constitutional level. The Constitution has been in force since 13 July 1991 (State Gazette No. 56 of 13 July 1991).

What that means in practice

• There is no same-sex marriage, and no ordinary statute can introduce one while Article 46(1) reads as it does.
• There is no civil partnership, no registered cohabitation and no other legal status for same-sex couples. As of August 2026 the National Assembly has never passed such a law.
• Article 46 governs marriage. The ECtHR has held that Bulgaria is not required to open marriage in order to meet its obligations — a separate regime, such as a partnership, suffices. Partnership therefore comes down to political will.

Can this change, and how hard is it

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

It requires a three-quarters majority of all members of parliament in three votes on different days (Article 155(1)), with a two-thirds fallback route under Article 155(2). A high bar, but not an impossible one, and it does not require a new Constitution.

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 Strasbourg.

On 5 September 2023 the European Court of Human Rights, Third Section, found unanimously a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights: Bulgaria provides no legal framework whatsoever for the recognition and protection of same-sex couples.

The Court held that the state is under a positive obligation to create such a framework. It expressly did not require Bulgaria to open marriage to same-sex couples — a separate regime, such as a civil partnership, suffices. The Court 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

Violation

Article 8 ECHR — right to respect for 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 after the judgment, as of August 2026, no legal framework for same-sex couples has been enacted. No law, no procedure, no bill that got as far as being adopted.

That is not our assessment: the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map edition of 12 May 2026 states explicitly that same-sex partnerships remain unrecognised “despite the court rulings from ECtHR and CJEU”.

A marriage performed abroad

This is where things changed substantially in 2025 — and it is the one place on this page where EU law works tangibly in your favour.

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 ruling and refused.

The practical result: the identity-document obligation from the CJEU judgment was met only partially, and family-law recognition was refused.

This part comes from ILGA-Europe and the European Parliament’s LGBTIQ+ Intergroup. We could not verify the case number or the exact date of the Supreme Administrative Court decision from a primary court source, so we do not publish them.

What this means for you in practice

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

But Bulgaria has enacted no recognition or transcription procedure, and there is no confirmed report of civil registry offices routinely transcribing such marriages. Expect a refusal at first instance and the likely need for court proceedings.

If this is your situation, get individual legal advice from 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, it is written in the text.

The prohibition covers both direct and indirect discrimination, and the list ends with an open clause: any other ground established by law or by an international treaty to which Bulgaria is a party.

And gender identity?

It is covered only indirectly, and more narrowly. The Act’s supplementary provisions state that the ground of “sex” also includes cases of gender reassignment. The wording is “change of sex”, not “gender identity” — which arguably does not clearly cover trans people who have not sought or undergone a change of 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) is the state body that examines discrimination complaints, establishes whether discrimination occurred, identifies the perpetrator, imposes administrative sanctions and applies compulsory administrative measures. The proceedings are free. Here are the steps, in the order that matters.

1. 1

   Check the deadline: three years

   Article 52(1): “No proceedings are opened, and any opened proceedings are terminated, if three years have elapsed since the violation was committed.” Three years from the act, not from when you found out. If you are near the deadline, do not wait until you have gathered everything — an expired deadline cannot be recovered.

2. 2

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

   Article 52(2): if the same dispute is already before a court, the Commission will not open proceedings. You have to choose. One thing that should weigh on that choice: the CPD cannot award damages — for money you bring a separate claim under Article 71.

3. 3

   Write the complaint — in writing

   Article 51 requires: the sender’s name (or the entity’s name), address, a statement of the circumstances, a statement of what you are asking the Commission to do, the date and your signature. Anonymous complaints and reports are not examined — you must sign with your name. If the document is in a foreign language, attach a Bulgarian translation.

4. 4

   Set out the facts concretely and attach whatever you have

   Dates, places, names, job titles, exactly what was said or done. Attach messages, emails, advertisements, photographs, documents, the names of witnesses. This has legal consequence: once you establish facts from which discrimination may be inferred, the burden of proof shifts to the respondent, who must prove the right to equal treatment was not breached.

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 generates a PDF — you print it, sign it and send it. The Commission also has regional representatives in 28 locations, listed on its website; we have not checked those individual contacts.

6. 6

   You pay nothing

   Article 53(1): “No state fees are collected for proceedings before the Commission.” Article 53(2): costs incurred during the proceedings are borne by the Commission’s budget. Under Article 50 the proceedings are opened on the complaint of the affected person — the law does not require you to have a lawyer, though legal help is always welcome.

7. 7

   After the decision

   CPD decisions can be appealed to the administrative courts. For compensation you bring a separate claim under Article 71 before the district court (районен съд): it allows you to seek a finding of the violation, an order that the respondent cease it, restore the previous situation and refrain from further violations, and damages. Under Article 71(2), trade unions and public-benefit non-profit legal entities may bring the claim on your behalf at your request, 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, promulgated by Decree No. 152 of 3 August 2023 and published in State Gazette No. 67 of 4 August 2023.

It works in two ways: as an aggravating circumstance attached to existing offences, and as a protected characteristic inside the definition of certain offences. The provisions below were checked word for word against the consolidated Code, current through the amendment in 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 sexual 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)Using violence against a person or damaging 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 the attack 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, and sexual orientation. Religion is not in paragraph (1), but it is in paragraph (2) — together with political convictions.

And the reform attempts between 2023 and 2026?

The reform that actually happened is the August 2023 amendment itself — it is in force and part of the Code as it stands.

For the period since, our research found no verified source on adopted or rejected changes that would add gender identity to the Code. The only thing we can state with confidence is the outcome: the consolidated text current through 16 June 2026 still does not contain the phrase “gender identity”. We claim no more than that, because we have not verified more.

The 2024 school ban

In 2024 a prohibition popularly known as the “LGBT propaganda” ban was added to the Preschool and School Education Act. The bill came from the Vazrazhdane party and was pushed through both readings on the same day, 7 August 2024. It was promulgated by Decree No. 199 of 15 August 2024 and published in State Gazette No. 69 of 16 August 2024. Street protests took place outside Parliament on 8 and 9 August 2024.

Here is exactly what it says. Article 11(2) prohibits, within the preschool and school education system, 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

• The ban is in force. The consolidated text of the 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 Article 11(2)(3). It has not been adopted. That comes from a media source, and we give it with the caveat that the fate of pending bills changes quickly.
• We found no evidence that the ban has ever been struck down by the Constitutional Court. In September 2025 Deystvie, Single Step and Assoc. Prof. Deyana Marcheva formally asked the Ombudsman to refer the law to the Constitutional Court — reported in ILGA-Europe’s annual review.

Where the law gives you nothing

This section is deliberately short. There is nothing to add where there is no right — and it is far more useful to know it in advance than to discover it at the worst possible moment.

Where to get help

Three places you can turn to. We publish only contact details we could find on an official page — which is why a phone number is missing in one place, and why we did not invent one.

What we could not verify

This list is here on purpose. It is more useful to know where the verified information stops than to be handed a smooth page you cannot trust.

• The formal execution status of Koilova and Babulkova before the Committee of Ministers: we could not open the Council of Europe’s judgment-execution database. We do not know which supervision procedure the case sits in, when it was last examined, or whether Bulgaria has filed an action plan. Non-compliance is established from the Rainbow Map 2026, not from a Council of Europe record.
• The case number and exact date of the March 2023 Supreme Administrative Court decision in “Baby Sara”.
• The specific Family Code articles that exclude joint adoption by same-sex couples.
• The number of the pending CJEU preliminary reference on the exclusion of same-sex partners from the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act.
• The case numbers behind the July 2026 Supreme Court of Cassation rulings on legal gender recognition, and whether the new practice extends to people who have not exercised EU free movement.
• Whether Deystvie’s legal assistance is explicitly free — the website does not say so in so many words.
• The individual contact details of the CPD’s 28 regional representatives.
• Whether any Bulgarian professional body has taken a public position against conversion practices — we found none, but that is an absence of evidence, not a proven absence of a position.