This guide explains how pet microchip registration works in Bulgaria, where to check a Bulgarian microchip, and what to do if the number is not found.
In this guide:
If you already have a microchip number, start with ChipTrace. It can help you check possible databases, country clues and manufacturer routes before you contact registries manually.
What do Bulgarian microchip numbers look like?
Most modern pet microchips follow the ISO standard and contain 15 digits.
The official ISO numeric country code for Bulgaria is 100.
A Bulgarian country-coded microchip may therefore begin with 100.
However, not every dog or cat living in Bulgaria has a 100 chip. Many pets have manufacturer-coded microchips or chip numbers from other countries.
Manufacturer-coded microchips start with the digit 9. These numbers may appear in several countries, so they do not prove where the pet was chipped or registered.
Some animals received the microchip in another country before arriving in Bulgaria.
This is common with:
- Imported dogs and cats
- Pets adopted through foreign rescues
- Animals that moved to Bulgaria with their families
- Former stray animals that later travelled abroad
- Older animals with manufacturer-coded chips
A readable foreign or manufacturer-coded chip may still link to a Bulgarian record when a veterinarian has recorded the animal in the Bulgarian veterinary system.
In short, the first digits can give a clue about origin. They do not prove where the animal lives or which database holds the registration.
Example formats commonly found in Bulgaria
Many different microchip numbers may appear in Bulgaria. These examples show a few possible formats, but many other variations exist.
100123456789012— Bulgarian country-coded microchip900123456789012— manufacturer-coded microchip945123456789012— manufacturer-coded microchip300123456789012— foreign country-coded microchip
A manufacturer-coded prefix can appear in more than one country. For this reason, use the prefix as a clue only.
Read our guide to pet microchip numbers for more detailed information and practical steps.
What should you do if you find a pet with a Bulgarian microchip number?
Follow these quick tracing steps to help reunite the animal with its owner.
- Ask a veterinarian, shelter, rescue or municipal animal service to scan the animal and confirm the full microchip number.
- Use ChipTrace to check available international routes and 100+ databases worldwide.
- Ask a registered Bulgarian veterinarian to check the BFSA veterinary system.
- Ask the municipality to check its local dog register when the animal is a dog.
- Open EUROPETNET for a separate manual European search, especially if the animal may have lived in another European country.
- Contact any veterinarian, shelter, rescue or breeder that may be connected to the animal.
The full Bulgarian veterinary record does not work like a simple public lost-pet search website.
Do not expect to receive the owner’s private details directly. A veterinarian, municipality, shelter, rescue or official veterinary service may need to contact the registered owner.
If nobody can reach the owner, you can post on local social media and leave leaflets at veterinary clinics, shelters and nearby shops.
Do not publish the complete microchip number online. Share only part of it so ownership claims can be checked safely.
Remember: Bulgaria has many outdoor and free-roaming cats. Do not assume every outdoor cat is lost.
Before taking action, look for signs that the animal is injured, frightened, displaced, trapped, very young, or unfamiliar with the area.
Read Found a Microchipped Pet? What to Do Next for practical advice and template messages you can send to local shelters and vets.
What if the microchip number is not found in any database?
A missing database result is not always the end of the trace.
Start by asking a veterinarian, shelter, rescue or municipal animal service to scan the animal again and confirm every digit. One wrong digit can return no result.
Possible causes and next steps:
- A vet implanted the chip, but nobody completed the registration. Ask the veterinarian, breeder, shelter or rescue to check their records and the Bulgarian veterinary system.
- Someone entered the number incorrectly. Re-scan the animal and search again with the verified number.
- The registration is very recent. Ask the veterinarian when the record should appear, then try again later.
- The Bulgarian record is not publicly searchable. Ask a registered veterinarian, municipality or official veterinary service to help.
- Another country may still hold the animal’s registration. Use ChipTrace for country or manufacturer clues and open the relevant manual route.
- The chip is manufacturer-coded. Use the manufacturer or distributor route when no registry result appears.
Extra tracing routes to try
- Use ChipTrace again after confirming the number. It can also suggest a likely country, manufacturer or distributor, including contact information where available.
- Ask a registered Bulgarian veterinarian to check the BFSA veterinary system.
- Ask the municipality to check its local dog register when the animal is a dog.
- Open EUROPETNET for a separate manual European search.
- Check databases in countries where the animal may have lived.
- Contact the microchip manufacturer or distributor. They may identify the distributor who sold the chip and the vet, breeder, shelter or rescue that received it.
You can use the email template ChipTrace creates to contact the manufacturer or distributor when no registration is found.
Manufacturers and distributors normally do not give out the owner’s private details. Instead, they may identify the distributor that supplied the chip, the vet or organisation that received it, or pass a matched enquiry to the next organisation.
Finding the owner is not guaranteed, but these extra steps often help. If you still cannot trace the owner after checking every route, contact a local shelter, rescue, municipality, official veterinary service or veterinary clinic for advice.
Read our guide to why a microchip may not appear in any database.
Which microchip databases are used in Bulgaria?
Bulgaria uses the veterinary information system connected to the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency.
This agency is known as BFSA in English and БАБХ in Bulgarian.
The veterinary system is often called VetIS.
A registered veterinarian creates and updates the veterinary record.
The record may include:
- The microchip number
- Information about the dog
- The owner’s name and address
- The owner’s telephone number
- The date the chip was implanted
- Passport information
- Vaccinations and treatments
The full record is not available through a simple public pet-search page.
A registered veterinarian or official veterinary service may need to check it.
Is there also a municipal dog register?
Yes.
Bulgarian municipalities keep local registers of owned dogs.
The owner must declare the dog to the municipality linked to their permanent address.
This is normally separate from the veterinary registration.
The municipality also manages the annual dog fee and any exemptions.
Ask your municipality:
- How to declare the dog
- Which documents are needed
- How much the annual fee is
- Whether the dog qualifies for an exemption
- How to report a new owner or address
Do not assume that the veterinarian completes the municipal declaration for you.
Can EUROPETNET find a Bulgarian registration?
EUROPETNET can still help with a European manual search.
However, Bulgaria does not currently appear as a member country on the EUROPETNET member-organisation list.
This means an ordinary Bulgarian veterinary record may not appear in an EUROPETNET search.
A negative EUROPETNET result does not prove that the animal is unregistered in Bulgaria.
ChipTrace may provide a button or link that opens EUROPETNET. ChipTrace does not perform that EUROPETNET search itself. The user completes the manual search.
If EUROPETNET gives no result, re-check ChipTrace and ask a Bulgarian veterinarian, municipality or official veterinary service about the Bulgarian record.
Read how ChipTrace works for more information about database checks and manual searches.
How does ChipTrace search Bulgaria?
ChipTrace may not search the Bulgarian BFSA or VetIS system directly.
It can still help by checking 100+ other registries and databases worldwide and by showing country, manufacturer or prefix clues.
This is useful when a pet was imported, adopted through a rescue, moved between countries or has a manufacturer-coded chip.
ChipTrace can also suggest manufacturer or distributor contact routes where available. That may help when no public database result appears.
Because Bulgaria uses official veterinary and municipal records, manual checks through a registered veterinarian, municipality, shelter, rescue or official veterinary service remain especially important.
ChipTrace shows which databases and services it checked. It does not reveal the registered owner’s private contact details. An authorised organisation must contact the owner.
Are microchips required in Bulgaria?
The rules are different for dogs and cats.
Dogs
Yes. Dogs in Bulgaria must be officially identified and registered.
Dog owners must take dogs aged six weeks or more to a registered veterinarian for official identification.
The veterinarian implants the microchip, issues or updates the veterinary passport and enters the information in the BFSA system.
The veterinarian also records or arranges:
- The dog’s identification
- The owner’s details
- Parasite treatment
- Vaccinations against canine diseases
- The first rabies vaccination
The first rabies vaccination normally happens when the dog is at least twelve weeks old.
It should be given before the dog reaches six months. After that, the owner must keep rabies protection up to date.
Cats
Bulgaria does not have a general national rule requiring every privately owned cat to be microchipped.
However, microchipping and registration are strongly recommended.
A microchip gives a lost cat permanent identification. It only helps when the number links to current contact details.
Cats travelling internationally normally need a readable microchip.
Ask a Bulgarian veterinarian which local or international registration options are available.
Who can implant and register the microchip?
A registered veterinarian implants the microchip and creates the official veterinary record.
The veterinarian scans the animal first. This checks whether a readable chip is already present.
If needed, the veterinarian implants a chip under the skin and scans it again.
This confirms that the chip works and shows the correct number.
Check every digit before leaving the clinic.
Does a dog owner pay a municipal fee?
Dog owners normally pay an annual fee to their municipality.
The amount is set locally.
Some dogs are exempt from the fee.
National exemptions may include:
- Dogs owned by people with disabilities
- Certain official service dogs
- Dogs used by the Bulgarian Red Cross
- Neutered dogs
- Certain livestock guardian dogs
- Eligible hunting dogs
The owner must still declare the dog even when no fee is due.
Ask the municipality which documents are needed.
How to register a pet microchip in Bulgaria
Registering a dog
A registered veterinarian completes the veterinary registration.
To register a dog:
- Make an appointment with a registered Bulgarian veterinarian.
- Take the dog and any existing documents.
- Ask the veterinarian to scan the dog.
- If needed, ask the veterinarian to implant a microchip.
- Ask the veterinarian to issue or update the veterinary passport.
- Ask the veterinarian to enter the dog and owner in the BFSA system.
- Check the complete microchip number.
- Check your name, address and telephone number.
- Ask the veterinarian to confirm that the electronic record is complete.
- Declare the dog to your municipality.
Useful documents may include:
- A Bulgarian veterinary passport
- An EU pet passport
- A vaccination record
- A microchip certificate
- An adoption contract
- A purchase agreement
- A foreign registration document
The veterinarian’s registration does not automatically complete the municipal declaration.
Registering a cat
A veterinarian can scan a cat and implant a microchip when needed.
Ask the veterinarian to write the number in the cat’s veterinary records or passport.
Also ask which database can hold the owner’s contact details.
An additional international registration may provide a useful tracing route.
Check every digit carefully and keep the registration confirmation.
What is the Bulgarian veterinary passport?
The veterinary passport is the dog’s main identification and health document.
It may include:
- The microchip number
- The date the chip was implanted
- The owner’s details
- A description of the animal
- Rabies vaccination details
- Other vaccinations
- Parasite treatments
Check that the number in the passport matches the scanner.
A passport issued in the correct EU format may also be used for EU travel.
The paper passport and the electronic BFSA record are separate.
Changing the passport does not always update the electronic record.
Can I add a global microchip registration?
Yes. A global registration can provide another route back to the owner.
Animal-ID allows owners to create an additional record using an existing microchip number.
This can help when:
- The pet travels outside Bulgaria
- The animal was first registered in another country
- A finder uses an international search service
- The Bulgarian record is difficult to check from abroad
- The animal has a foreign or manufacturer-coded chip
Important: a global registration is only a safety net. It does not replace the official Bulgarian veterinary record.
For dogs, it also does not replace the municipal declaration.
Keep the same contact details in every active record.
How to check your pet’s microchip registration
This section is for owners who already know their pet’s microchip number.
If you do not know the number, ask a veterinarian, shelter or rescue to scan the animal first.
To check a dog’s Bulgarian registration:
- Ask a registered veterinarian to check the BFSA system.
- Ask the municipality to confirm its local dog record.
- Use ChipTrace to check available international routes and possible foreign registrations.
- Open EUROPETNET when another European record may be involved.
- Compare the number with the veterinary passport.
- Check any registration or municipal documents.
Ask the veterinarian to confirm the complete microchip number.
Also check the registered owner’s name, address and telephone number.
The number in the scanner, passport and electronic record should match.
If the pet has more than one active registration, check each one separately.
How to update a Bulgarian microchip registration
Ask a registered veterinarian to update the BFSA record when important information changes.
Also update the municipal dog record when needed.
Update the record when:
- You move home
- Your telephone number changes
- The animal moves to a new owner
- The animal goes missing
- The animal is found again
- The animal moves abroad
- The animal dies
Changing the paper passport alone may not update the BFSA system.
Ask the veterinarian to confirm that the electronic record has changed.
Update any additional international registrations separately.
How to transfer a Bulgarian microchip registration
Update the registration when a dog moves to a new owner.
Take the dog and its documents to a registered veterinarian.
The veterinarian can scan the chip and help update the veterinary record.
You may need:
- The veterinary passport
- An adoption contract
- A purchase agreement
- A signed transfer document
- Your identification
- Details of the previous owner
Contact the municipality as well.
The local dog record and fee details may need a separate update.
What if the pet is still registered to someone else?
Contact the previous owner, breeder, shelter or rescue first.
Ask them to help change the registration or provide the documents needed for the change.
If this is not possible, speak to a registered veterinarian.
Take any documents showing how the animal came into your care.
The veterinarian or authority may ask for more proof before changing the record.
A database entry can show who appears as responsible for the animal. However, it may not settle an ownership dispute on its own.
Buying or adopting a pet in Bulgaria
Ask for the complete microchip number before taking the animal home.
When possible, ask a veterinarian, shelter or rescue to scan the animal.
Make sure the scanned number matches every document.
Buying or adopting a dog
Before buying or adopting a dog, ask for:
- The complete microchip number
- The veterinary passport
- Vaccination records
- An adoption contract or purchase agreement
- Confirmation that the dog has a BFSA record
- Information about the municipal declaration
The previous owner, breeder, shelter or rescue should help update the veterinary and municipal records.
Buying or adopting a cat
Ask whether the cat has a microchip.
If it does, ask which database holds the owner’s contact details.
Ask a veterinarian to scan the cat and compare the number with its documents.
Make sure any existing registration changes to your name.
What about a pet adopted from a Bulgarian rescue?
Ask the rescue which records already exist.
Also ask:
- Whether the animal has been scanned
- Who is named in the veterinary passport
- Whether the chip has a BFSA record
- Who will update the Bulgarian registration
- Who will register the pet in its new country
- Whether the rabies and travel documents are complete
A pet adopted abroad may need records in both Bulgaria and its destination country.
Keep the Bulgarian record active until the new registration has been confirmed.
What should you do if your pet goes missing?
Act quickly.
Contact the pet’s veterinarian and ask whether the animal can be marked as missing in the veterinary system.
Also check that your telephone number is correct.
You should:
- Contact local veterinarians.
- Contact shelters and rescue groups.
- Contact the municipality.
- Contact the regional BFSA office when needed.
- Contact local animal-welfare organisations.
- Contact the police when theft may be involved.
- Share a clear photograph and the area where the animal disappeared.
Do not publish the complete microchip number online.
Share only part of the number publicly. Keep the full number for veterinarians, shelters, rescues, municipalities, official veterinary services and trusted organisations helping with the search.
When the animal returns, ask for the missing status to be updated.
Bringing an imported pet to Bulgaria
A foreign microchip registration does not automatically create a Bulgarian record.
If a dog will live in Bulgaria, take it to a registered Bulgarian veterinarian.
Take:
- The animal
- Its EU pet passport or official health certificate
- Its rabies vaccination record
- The microchip certificate, when available
- Your identification
- Your Bulgarian address and telephone number
- Any foreign registration documents
- An adoption or transfer document, when relevant
The veterinarian can scan the existing microchip and compare it with the documents.
Normally, the veterinarian does not need to replace a readable foreign or manufacturer-coded chip.
The veterinarian can explain how to add the dog and owner to the Bulgarian system.
Ask the municipality about the local declaration and annual fee.
Keep the foreign registration active until the Bulgarian record has been confirmed.
Bringing an imported cat to Bulgaria
A cat must meet the correct health and travel rules before entering Bulgaria.
Ask a Bulgarian veterinarian to scan the chip after arrival.
Check that the number matches the passport or health certificate.
Ask which local or international registration options are available.
Keep any foreign registration active while the cat lives in Bulgaria.
Travelling with a pet to or from Bulgaria
Microchip registration and border requirements are separate.
For most travel within the EU, dogs, cats and ferrets need:
- A readable microchip
- A valid rabies vaccination
- An EU pet passport
Normally, the veterinarian must implant the microchip before, or on the same day as, the rabies vaccination used for travel.
After the first rabies vaccination, you normally need to wait at least 21 days before travel.
A clearly readable tattoo may still be accepted when it was applied before 3 July 2011.
If the pet travels from outside the EU, other documents may be needed. For example, some journeys require an animal health certificate, a declaration, entry through an approved travellers’ point, or a rabies antibody blood test.
For this reason, always check the current rules before travelling.
Travelling to Bulgaria from outside the European Union
If you are travelling to Bulgaria from outside the European Union with a dog, cat or ferret, check the official European Commission rules before you travel.
Requirements may include identification by microchip, rabies vaccination, an animal health certificate, a declaration, entry through an approved travellers’ point, and a rabies antibody blood test for some departure countries.
Read the official European Commission guidance: Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to the EU from a non-EU country.
New EU certificate models from October 2026: For non-commercial movements of dogs, cats or ferrets into the EU from a non-EU country or territory, the new EU animal health certificate model applies from 1 October 2026. Certificates using the previous model remain valid only if they were issued before that date.
For commercial entry, the revised certificate model applies from 17 October 2026. Certificates using the previous model are accepted only if they were issued before that date.
Read the official European Commission guidance for non-commercial pet travel into the EU and commercial entry of dogs, cats and ferrets into the EU.
Travelling from Bulgaria to another country
If you travel from Bulgaria to another country, the destination country may set its own rules.
For EU travel, the EU pet passport and rabies rules normally apply.
For non-EU travel, you may need export documents, a health certificate, official endorsement or extra tests.
Before travelling, ask your veterinarian and check the destination country’s official requirements.
Useful Bulgarian microchip links
Bulgarian Food Safety Agency
Find official veterinary and animal-health information
BFSA regional offices
Find the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency office for your area
EUROPETNET
Complete a separate manual European microchip search
Animal-ID
Create an additional global microchip registration
European Commission – bringing a pet into the EU from a non-EU country
Read the EU rules for dogs, cats and ferrets entering the EU from outside the EU
European Commission – travelling with a pet within the EU
Check EU pet travel rules before travelling