{"id":39800,"date":"2026-08-05T10:07:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.endereco.de\/?p=39800"},"modified":"2026-08-05T10:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:08:00","slug":"addresses-in-bulgaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.endereco.de\/en\/allgemeine_news\/adressen-in-bulgarien\/","title":{"rendered":"Shipping to Bulgaria: How to Address Your Packages Correctly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Golden beaches, affordable flights, and a yogurt that\u2019s made its way into the world of science. For most Germans, Bulgaria is a vacation destination. Sun, the Black Sea coast, rakia with dinner. And then there\u2019s that thing about shaking your head: In Bulgaria, it means \u201eyes.\u201c Nodding means \u201eNo.\u201c Anyone experiencing this for the first time briefly doubts themselves.<\/p>\n

Something similar happens when shipping to Bulgaria. You think you\u2019ve done everything right. The address is entered, the package is sent. But then it comes back anyway. That\u2019s because Bulgarian addresses follow their own rules. There are apartment buildings where the entire street name is missing, and instead, the address line contains completely different information. And as if that weren\u2019t complicated enough, most customers also enter their addresses in Cyrillic.<\/p>\n

According to Eurostat<\/a> Although only about 57 percent of Bulgarian internet users shop online (the lowest figure in the entire EU), that number is rising. And anyone who wants to ship to Bulgaria should know how addresses work there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

This is how Bulgarian addresses are structured<\/h2>\n

Bulgarian addresses follow a clear pattern. However, this pattern varies significantly depending on the type of residence.<\/p>\n

Line 1: Recipient name<\/h3>\n

The person's first and last name. For business addresses, enter the company name here, followed by the contact person on the next line.<\/p>\n


Line 2: Street and house number or block address<\/h3>\n

In traditional street addresses, the street name is followed by an abbreviation for the street type and then the house number. The most common abbreviations are:<\/p>\n

ul.<\/strong> (st.) \u2013 Street
bul.<\/strong> (bul.) \u2013 Boulevard
pl.<\/strong> (pl.) \u2013 place<\/p>\n

In prefabricated housing estates, apartment buildings very often do not have street names.
Instead, the address here consists of the residential complex, block number, entrance, floor, and apartment number.<\/p>\n

We'll explain exactly what this means in the section on address specifics.<\/p>\n


Line 3: Oblast (province)<\/h3>\n

According to the official addressing standard of Bulgarian Posts<\/a> The oblast (province, abbreviation \u201eobl.\u201c \/ \u043e\u0431\u043b.) must be listed on a separate line in every Bulgarian address. Bulgaria is divided into a total of 28 oblasts.<\/p>\n

However, for large cities such as Sofia, Plovdiv, or Varna, the oblast is often omitted in practice because the ZIP code already uniquely identifies the location. For smaller towns and villages, however, it is important for correct identification.<\/p>\n


Line 4: ZIP Code and City<\/h3>\n

The four-digit ZIP code comes before the city name. There are no spaces or separators within the ZIP code.<\/p>\n


Line 5: Country<\/h3>\n

For international shipments, \"BULGARIA\" is written here in all capital letters.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

An Overview of Bulgarian Address Examples<\/h2>\n

Here's what Bulgarian addresses look like in practice:<\/p>\n


Home Address (Street)<\/h3>\n\n\n
Recipient<\/td>Ivan Petrov<\/td><\/tr>
Street + No.<\/td>16 Vitosha St.<\/td><\/tr>
Zip code + city<\/td>1,000 Sofia<\/td><\/tr>
Country<\/td>BULGARIA<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ul.<\/strong> = Street
<\/p>\n\n\n

Private address (apartment building without a street name)<\/h3>\n\n\n
Recipient<\/td>Maria Georgieva<\/td><\/tr>
Address bar<\/td>zh.k. Lyulin 5, fol. 519, vol. B, et. 3, ap. 12<\/td><\/tr>
Zip code + city<\/td>1336 Sofia<\/td><\/tr>
Country<\/td>BULGARIA<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

zh.k.<\/strong> = Residential complex, bl.<\/strong> = Block, vh.<\/strong> = Entrance, et.<\/strong> = Floor, ap.<\/strong> = Apartment
<\/p>\n\n\n

Home Address (Apartment Building and Street)<\/h3>\n\n\n
Recipient<\/td>Dimitar Kolev<\/td><\/tr>
Address bar<\/td>5 Rayko Daskalov Blvd., bldg. 12, unit A, 4th floor, apt. 8<\/td><\/tr>
Zip code + city<\/td>1404 Sofia<\/td><\/tr>
Country<\/td>BULGARIA<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

bul.<\/strong> = Boulevard, bl.<\/strong> = Block, vh.<\/strong> = Entrance, et.<\/strong> = Floor, ap.<\/strong> = Apartment
<\/p>\n\n\n

Business address<\/h3>\n\n\n
Company name<\/td>ABC EOOD<\/td><\/tr>
Contact Person<\/td>Attn: Georgi Dimitrov<\/td><\/tr>
Street + No.<\/td>115 Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd.<\/td><\/tr>
Zip code + city<\/td>1784 Sofia<\/td><\/tr>
Country<\/td>BULGARIA<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

bul.<\/strong> = Tabloid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201eEOOD\u201c (\u0415\u041e\u041e\u0414) is the Bulgarian equivalent of a limited liability company with a single shareholder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

Postal Code System in Bulgaria<\/h2>\n

Bulgaria uses a four-digit postal code system without letters or separators.<\/p>\n

The format is logical. The first digit indicates the zone, and the second digit indicates the region. The last two digits identify the town or post office.<\/p>\n

An Overview of the Zones (Source: Wikipedia<\/a>):<\/p>\n

1xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Sofia (city)
2xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Sofia (province), Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad
3xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Vratsa, Montana, Vidin
4xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Smolyan
5xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Veliko Tarnovo, Lovech, Pleven, Gabrovo
6xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Stara Zagora, Sliven, Yambol, Kardzhali, Haskovo
7xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Ruse, Razgrad, Targovishte, Silistra
8xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Burgas
9xxx<\/strong> \u2013 Varna, Dobrich, Shumen<\/p>\n

Sofia alone occupies the entire 1000 range, with ZIP codes from 1000 through the 1800s. All other major cities, on the other hand, share their range with surrounding provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

Are you shipping to Bulgaria and having trouble with international addresses?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Then test our endereco services free of charge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Arrange a consultation appointment<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Address Formatting in Bulgaria<\/h2>\n

In addition to the standard street address format, Bulgaria has address types that are not supported in this way by German online stores.<\/p>\n


Block addresses without street names<\/h3>\n

This is the point where most checkout forms give up. In Bulgarian cities, there are still large prefabricated housing estates from the socialist era. You can recognize them in addresses by the abbreviation \u201ezh.k.,\u201c which stands for \u201eresidential complex.\u201c Behind this abbreviation lie numbered apartment blocks, many of which don\u2019t have street names. The address then consists of the complex name and the block number. However, some blocks are also located on a street or boulevard and include both pieces of information.<\/p>\n

The components of a block address:<\/p>\n

zh.k.<\/strong> or j.k.<\/strong> (residential complex) \u2013 Residential complex, followed by the name of the neighborhood
kv.<\/strong> (\u043a\u0432.) \u2013 Neighborhood (not the same as zh.k., but also appears in addresses)
bl.<\/strong> (bl.) \u2013 Block number
vh.<\/strong> (in.) \u2013 Input (letter, e.g., A, B, V)
et.<\/strong> (\u0444\u0440.) \u2013 Floor
ap.<\/strong> (ap.) \u2013 Apartment number<\/p>\n

Here is an example without a street name: \u201ezh.k. Mladost 1, bl. 47, vh. A, et. 6, ap. 24.\u201d.
This is an apartment in the Neighborhood<\/strong> Mladost 1, Block<\/strong> 47, Entrance<\/strong> A, 6. Floor<\/strong>, Apartment<\/strong> 24.<\/p>\n

And here's an example using a street address: \u201e5 Rayko Daskalov Blvd., bl. 12, vh. A, et. 4, ap. 8.\u201d.
Here, \"Boulevard\" is added as a street name.

<\/p>\n\n

Rural Addresses<\/h3>\n

Those who deliver to customers in rural areas will come across additional abbreviations:<\/p>\n

\u201es.\u201c (\u0441.) stands for selo (village)\u2014its counterpart is \u201egr.\u201c (\u0433\u0440.) for grad (city)\u2014
\u201eobl.\u201c (\u043e\u0431\u043b.) for oblast (province)<\/p>\n

In addition, village addresses often lack a house number, which regularly causes problems during checkout. (Source: UPU<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n

Recipient<\/td>Penka Hristova Smugleva<\/td><\/tr>
Street<\/td>Kokiche Street<\/td><\/tr>
Address suffix<\/td>Vratsa Province<\/td><\/tr>
Zip code + city<\/td>3264, see Mechka<\/td><\/tr>
Country<\/td>BULGARIA<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

Parcel Delivery Services in Bulgaria<\/h2>\n

The Bulgarian delivery market is dominated by two private providers. Anyone shipping to Bulgaria from Germany, Austria, or Switzerland typically uses an international parcel service. The last mile is then usually handled by Econt or Speedy.<\/p>\n


Econt Express<\/h3>\n

Econt holds about 85 percent of the e-commerce logistics market (Source: Metapack<\/a>). The infrastructure consists of over 550 offices and more than 600 automated package stations (known as \u201eEcontomats\u201c). Recipients can even open the package before paying, check the contents, and return it if they are not satisfied. Econt calls this \u201eReview and Test.\u201c.<\/p>\n


Speedy<\/h3>\n

Speedy has been part of the Geopost Group\u2014a subsidiary of France's La Poste\u2014since 2021 and is thus part of the DPD network (Source: Ordertracker<\/a>). There are over 1,050 offices, package shops, and package lockers spread across the entire country. If you already work with DPD, Geopost may offer you a direct connection to Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

It's also good to know that the Speedy courier will call the phone number listed on the waybill before making the delivery. If the courier can't reach the recipient, the package will be taken to the nearest branch (Source: Speedy FAQ<\/a>). If no phone number is on file, there will be no home delivery.<\/p>\n

By the way, Econt and Speedy allow customers to redirect shipments via an app to another location, an office, or a self-service kiosk.<\/p>\n


Bulgarian Posts<\/h3>\n

The state-run postal service<\/a> operates more than 3,000 post offices throughout the country. In the major cities, the service works well. In rural mountainous regions such as the Rhodopes, however, delivery can take some time.<\/p>\n


International Providers<\/h3>\n

DHL, FedEx, and DPD primarily handle express and international shipments in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

Other Special Considerations for Shipping to Bulgaria<\/h2>\n

Not everything that stands out when shipping to Bulgaria is directly related to the address format.<\/p>\n

Cyrillic in the address field<\/h3>\n

Bulgarian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and most Bulgarian customers enter their addresses using that same script. Your address field should therefore accept Cyrillic characters. In addition, transliteration into the Latin alphabet varies widely. The same street name can end up in your system with different spellings, depending on how the customer enters it.<\/p>\n


Cash on Delivery<\/h3>\n

About 55 percent of Bulgarian online shoppers pay by cash on delivery (Source: Novinite<\/a>). Although more and more customers are opting to pay by card, cash on delivery remains the most popular payment method for now. For international merchants without a fulfillment partner in Bulgaria, however, cash on delivery is hardly feasible directly. This is because local delivery services only process cash on delivery orders through their own networks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

Your next step<\/h2>\n

Before you ship your first order to Bulgaria, it\u2019s worth taking a look at your checkout process: Can it handle block addresses without street names? And do your address fields accept Cyrillic characters?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also helpful to know the Bulgarian address abbreviations. If you see \u201ezh.k.,\u201c \u201ebl.,\u201c or \u201evh.\u201c in your system, you should know what they stand for.<\/p>\n

Bulgaria isn't a mass market. But if you know the address formats, you won't have to learn that the hard way from returns.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n\n


You can read how address validation works across national borders in our article International address verification explained in compact form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do you ship to other countries as well? If so, feel free to check out our posts on Shipping to Norway<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and to the Shipping to Romania<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to.<\/p>\n

endereco: Address validation for international shipping<\/h3>\n

Other countries, other address formats. Our Address validation<\/a> checks customer addresses in real time, directly when they are entered in the checkout. Typing errors, missing zip codes, incorrect place names: Corrections are made before the order goes out. For over 200 countries worldwide.<\/p>\n

Want to know how this would work for your store? Get in touch with us.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goldstrand, g\u00fcnstige Fl\u00fcge und ein Joghurt, der es bis in die Wissenschaft geschafft hat. F\u00fcr die meisten Deutschen ist Bulgarien Urlaubsziel. Sonne, Schwarzmeerk\u00fcste, Rakia zum Abendessen. Und dann ist da diese Sache mit dem Kopfsch\u00fctteln: In Bulgarien bedeutet es \u201eJa“. Nicken hei\u00dft \u201eNein“. Wer das zum ersten Mal erlebt, zweifelt kurz an sich selbst. Beim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":39801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[212,282,40,311,310,249,287,247,280],"post-type":[],"class_list":["post-39800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allgemeine_news","tag-adressen","tag-adressierung","tag-adresspruefung","tag-adresssvalidierung","tag-bulgarien","tag-e-commerce","tag-international","tag-onlinehaendler","tag-versand"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t