Resource
Two levels
The national level sets the foundation: criminal law, civil child protection, social services legislation, data protection, sport. The State Agency for Child Protection (ДАЗД) coordinates policy nationally, while the Social Assistance Agency, through its Child Protection Departments at the local Directorates of Social Assistance, together with municipalities, schools and sport clubs, implements protection on the ground. An organisation active in several municipalities is therefore subject to a single national foundation and to variable local practice. This page is a summary reference and does not constitute legal advice.
National level
The references below are the provisions most frequently relied upon in our engagements.
Child Protection Act (Закон за закрила на детето)
The Act establishes the principles of child protection, the powers of the State Agency for Child Protection and of the Child Protection Departments, and the obligations of anyone working with children, including reporting duties and protective measures.
Criminal Code (Наказателен кодекс) — offences against minors
The Criminal Code punishes sexual offences against minors, including acts committed by persons exploiting a relationship of dependency such as teaching, coaching, supervision or hierarchy. These are the provisions most directly relevant to adults working with children.
Criminal Code — duty to report
Persons who become aware that a child is a victim of an offence, particularly of a violent or sexual nature, are under a legal duty to notify the authorities without delay. Failure to do so may itself constitute an offence.
Criminal Code — pornographic material
Production, possession and distribution of images depicting minors are punishable. A direct consequence for institutions: strict rules on photography, video, private phones and messaging channels used during activities, camps and competitions.
Family Code (Семеен кодекс)
The Family Code governs parental rights and responsibilities and provides the basis for measures affecting custody and care when a child's development is at risk, in coordination with the Child Protection Act.
Criminal record certificate
A criminal record certificate confirming the absence of convictions for offences against minors may be required of anyone carrying out a professional or organised voluntary activity involving children. Certain licensed institutions must require it; for associations and clubs, it is a strongly recommended practice that we treat as a minimum standard.
Child Protection Act — protective measures
The Child Protection Departments, under the Social Assistance Agency, have a graduated range of measures available when a child's development is at risk: guidance to parents, supervision, placement with relatives or foster carers, placement in a specialised institution, restriction of parental rights.
Child Protection Act — right and duty to notify
Any person may notify the Child Protection Department or the State Agency for Child Protection when a child's physical, psychological or sexual integrity appears to be at risk. Professionals in regular contact with children in the exercise of an official function are required to do so. Your organisation must know, by name, who is subject to this duty.
Social Services Act (Закон за социалните услуги)
The Act governs the licensing, quality standards and supervision of social services, including those aimed at children and families, and sets requirements for the qualification and vetting of staff.
Personal Data Protection Act and GDPR
Data relating to health, private life or criminal proceedings is sensitive. Reporting files must be kept with strictly limited access, a defined purpose, appropriate security measures and a controlled retention period.
Whistleblower protection
General whistleblower-protection legislation exists but its practical reach for reports concerning children in private organisations remains limited. In practice, the protection of the person making the report must therefore be organised by the institution itself, in its own regulations and in its reporting channel.
Physical Education and Sport Act (Закон за физическото възпитание и спорта)
The Act and its implementing regulations govern the recognition of coaches, safeguarding requirements for training camps and overnight stays, and the obligations of sports clubs and federations. Federations are increasingly expected to adopt their own child-safeguarding and ethics policies, with reporting arrangements for breaches, including those affecting minors.
Pre-school and School Education Act (Закон за предучилищното и училищното образование)
Together with the Coordination Mechanism for cases of violence against children, the Act sets out school-level obligations to detect, report and follow up cases of violence, and the framework for cooperation between schools, social services and other institutions when a child must be placed outside the family home.
Local level
Bulgaria's structure leaves municipalities, territorial Directorates of Social Assistance, schools and sport clubs a significant share of the practical implementation of child protection. The national criminal- and civil-law foundation is identical everywhere, but concrete organisation — who licenses, who supervises, who receives the notification, which documents are required — varies from one municipality and one institution to another.
For an organisation active in several municipalities, or for an international school welcoming pupils from different regions, the challenge is twofold: respecting a single national foundation and documenting local variations. This is precisely what we map at the start of every engagement.
Each school applies its own internal safeguarding rules, set within the framework of the Pre-school and School Education Act, defining the duties of teaching staff, the school's internal procedures and reporting channels.
Located within the territorial Directorates of Social Assistance, these departments are the first point of contact for reports and protective measures at local level; their capacity and organisation vary from district to district.
Application of the Social Services Act is largely a local matter: operating licences, inspections, requirements for staff qualification and background checks.
There is no single national licensing regime specific to camps as such. Several municipalities and organisers apply their own directives: prior notification, staffing ratios, accommodation, swimming, transport.
The Agency is established at national level but coordinates closely with local structures, with differing capacities and procedures across districts.
The requirement to produce a criminal record certificate, the frequency of its renewal and who exactly must provide it are, outside licensed institutions, a matter of local practice and sector-specific rules.
Sofia
The capital's Directorate for Social Assistance hosts several specialised Child Protection Departments and coordinates closely with schools and the State Agency for Child Protection on urgent cases.
Plovdiv
A regional coordination mechanism brings together the local Directorate of Social Assistance, schools and police for cases of violence against children.
Varna
Local child-protection policy places particular emphasis on coastal summer camps and their safeguarding requirements during the tourist season.
Burgas
A district-level protocol governs cooperation between social services, healthcare institutions and sports clubs regarding minors.
Ruse
Cross-border cooperation arrangements apply to schools and institutions receiving children from neighbouring regions.
Stara Zagora
The regional Directorate of Social Assistance has developed dedicated procedures for institutions caring for children with disabilities.
Sector reference points
Every situation calls for an analysis specific to the organisation, its sector, its activities and its municipality.
Teaching staff's duty to report, internal school protocol, background checks, informing families, coordination with the competent Child Protection Department.
Vetting of coaches and volunteers, supervision rules in changing rooms and during travel, safeguarding requirements, ethics codes and access to a reporting mechanism.
Local notification and directives, staffing ratios, accommodation and overnight stays, transport, swimming, incident protocol during the stay.
Duty of care of governing bodies, board responsibility, internal protection policy, traceability of alerts.
Supervision of youth activities, no-isolation rules, handling of historical cases and cooperation with the authorities.
Licensing and supervision, enhanced protection of children with disabilities, dependency relationships within institutions, handling of sensitive data.
We assess the gap between the applicable national and local legal framework and your actual arrangements, then we close it.