When transferring the right of ownership of a motor vehicle or real property, both the buyer and the seller have to appear before the Notary either in person or through an authorized representative presenting a duly notarized power of attorney and declarations. If the seller is married and the motor vehicle or real property subject to transfer was acquired during the marriage, then the spouse has to participate, even if his/her name is not included in the title (document certifying the ownership), because the Family Code stipulates that all property and property rights acquired by the spouses during their marriage as a result of joint contribution belong to both of them regardless in whose name they were registered. Exceptions: Property and property rights acquired before the marriage, as well as property and property rights acquired during the marriage in the form of inheritance or gift, belong to the spouse who acquired them – in this case he/she can handle and dispose of them at his/her own discretion.

Normally, the documents that have to be presented to the Notary are the following ones: Motor Vehicle Registration Certificate – Part І; ID cards /passports/ of the people participating in the transaction /sellers, buyers, authorized representatives, etc./; Receipt of paid motor vehicle taxes; in the cases where the transferred property is inherited, a valid certificate of inheritors needs to be presented as well.

Normally, the documents that have to be presented to the Notary are the following ones: Notary Deed or another valid title document; cadastral drawings /blueprints/ if the real property is included in a cadastral map and filed in the cadastral registries; Tax Valuation Certificate for the real property; ID cards /passports/ of the people participating in the transaction /sellers, buyers, authorized representatives, etc./; in the cases where the transferred property is inherited, a valid certificate of inheritors needs to be presented as well.

Cellars and attics are considered as parts of the housing unit to which they belong from the moment when a building is designed. They are service /accessory/ facilities which exist to complement the use of the ‘principal’ property, i.e. the housing unit. As an accessory and integral part of a given housing unit, the cellar or attic may be sold, given as gift, and bartered, but only to a person who owns an independent unit – a housing unit – in the same building, in other words a person cannot own only a service unit /cellar or attic/ in a building, without actually owning an independent unit – a housing unit in the same building. Moreover, after the sale of the accessory unit pertaining to the housing unit, there must always be another accessory unit left (for example, if you sell your cellar, you must be left with an attic). Sometimes the purpose of the accessory units may be changed under certain conditions provided for by law, and subject to an approved architectural design and consent of the rest of the owners. In such cases, these units become independent units and they may be disposed of by their owners in the same way as any other independent unit.

A power of attorney, as well as all other documents which are not subject to filing with the Registry Agency, may be certified abroad and be valid in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, as long as some requirements are met.

Variant I: The power of attorney has to be certified by the Consular Office at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the respective country. In this case, some requirements of the Bulgarian legislation have to be met, such as the requirement for notarization of specific declarations together with the notarization of the power of attorney in duplicate when granting a power of attorney for handling and disposal of real property; furthermore, the person has to place his/her signature and write down his/her full name as appearing in his/her identity documents; and finally, the notarization of the power of attorney has to certify both the signature of the person and the contents of the document.
Variant II: The power of attorney has to be notarized by a local Notary or a person functioning as a notary, and in this case the certification is made in compliance with the legislation of the respective country /if it is a power of attorney for handling and disposal of real property, once again the power of attorney will have to be notarized together with the declaration forms which pertain to it, but the Notary will be the one to decide if the person needs to write down his/her full name in the document, and if both the signature and the content of the power of attorney need to be notarized; normally, only the signature of the authorizing person is notarized/. Three hypotheses exist in this case:

1. If the issuing and receiving country are parties to Hague Convention No. 12 cancelling the requirement for authentication (legalization), the power of attorney (the document/instrument) has to be notarized by a local Notary, and then an Apostille has to be placed. The Apostille is a stamp which is placed by the authorised body of the respective country /Ministry of Justice, Consular Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Court of Law, Municipality, Police Department or another body/. A document notarized and certified with an Apostille in this way will not need any further certification either in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, or in the territories of any of the other members of the abovementioned convention; it will only need to be translated, and in some cases such translation may have to be certified by the Consular Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
   
2. In the cases where an agreement for legal aid has been signed between the Republic of Bulgaria and the country where the power of attorney was notarized, such agreement may provide for the direct recognition of certain documents, or in other words the power of attorney may be recognized as an official document if notarized, without any need for certification with an Apostille.
   
3. If the document is not certified with an Apostille or cannot be certified with an Apostille, or is notarized in a country with which Bulgaria has not signed an agreement for legal aid, in order to be recognized as an official document in Bulgaria, the document has to be authenticated in compliance with the existing requirements, or in other words to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country, and then to be authenticated by the Bulgarian Diplomatic or Consular Office in that country.

According to Article 573 of the Civil Procedure Code, Notaries cannot practice their profession outside the region in which they are registered. Notary Deeds which are subject to registration are issued only in the office of the Notary during working hours. Other notary services /such as certification of signatures placed on powers of attorney, declarations, etc./ may be performed outside the office of the Notary and outside normal working hours, when for some sensible reason the participating parties cannot appear in the office, or if it is crucial that the service be provided immediately.
When a transaction takes place, the parties have to appear in person before the Notary to sign the notary deed. A Notary with the required competence is the one who practices his/her profession in the region where the real property is located. Notaries cannot complete transactions in any other judiciary region.

The seller has to present to the Notary the original documents of the real property certifying the rights of ownership. The Notary then makes sure that the said real property is located in the region of his/her competence.
The Notary verifies the identity, capacity and representative powers of the parties who appear before him/her.
The Notary makes sure that no legal impediments exist that may preclude the transfer of the real property.
The Notary makes sure that the draft notary deed meets the legal requirements.
The Notary makes sure that the seller is the owner of the real property.
The Notary reads out loud to the parties the contents of the draft notary deed, and the parties confirm their intentions before the Notary, as indicated in the draft notary deed.
The notary deed is then signed by the parties and the Notary.
The Notary submits the notary deed to the Registry Agency in the region where the real property is located, and then the Registry Judge issues an order for the notary deed to be entered in the Land Registry of the Registry Agency, which guarantees the rights of the buyer in the event of any claims filed by third parties.
The Notary delivers a copy of the notary deed to the parties. The Notary keeps on file all notary cases subject to registration for 10 years, and then destroys them. The book of all notary deeds issued by the Notary is kept for 100 years.

If you have inherited real property, you can identify yourself as the owner of such real property by presenting the notary deed (title) held by the person from whom you inherited the property, and a certificate of inheritors proving that you are his/her heir/heiress. It is also possible to obtain a special notary deed of findings pursuant to Article 587, paragraph 1 of the Civil Procedure Code, but you must know that such notary deed of findings does not establish a new legal fact, i.e. you were the owner even before it was issued.