Road signs in Bulgaria explained

Road signs in the Republic of Bulgaria were introduced by the Road Traffic Act and are regulated by:

Both normative documents are harmonized with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1968), which was ratified by Bulgaria on December 28, 1978 (This Convention was not published in the State Gazette).[4] Bulgaria made two declarations upon signature, one reservation upon ratification and one declaration upon ratification. One reservation made upon ratification is regarding transliteration into Latin characters solely to indicate the terminal points of international routes passing through Bulgaria and places of interest to international tourism. This is due to the fact that the Cyrillic script is used in the writing system of the Bulgarian language, the official language of Bulgaria.

Road signs in Bulgaria use the SNV typeface, which is also used in neighboring countries in the Balkans such as Romania, Serbia and North Macedonia. Inscriptions on road signs are usually written in both Bulgarian and English (Cyrillic and Latin scripts respectively), including settlement names.

Today there are some differences between the two documents regarding road signs. The latest changes in Ordinance No. 18 were promulgated in the State Gazette No. 13, dated February 14, 2020. These changes are not reflected in the Regulations for the Implementation of the Road Traffic Act.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Правилник за прилагане на Закона за движението по пътищата (на сайта на МВР).
  2. https://www.lex.bg/laws/ldoc/-13618687 Правилник за прилагане на закона за движението по пътищата
  3. Web site: Наредба №18 от 23.07.2001 г. за сигнализация на пътищата с пътни знаци (на сайта на МРРБ).
  4. Web site: United Nations Treaty Collection . 2023-11-28 . treaties.un.org . EN.