Sketch (skitsa) of property in Bulgaria – where to get it and why it is required

A sketch of real estate in Bulgaria is a document required for the sale, purchase, donation, inheritance of an apartment, house, garage or land. Why you need a sketch (skitsa in Bulgarian), how to get it, and what the symbols on it mean – the experts of the Apart Estate real estate agency deal with all these and other questions.

What is a sketch

When registering a sale, donation, or other actions with real estate, you must submit a sketch of the diagram. In Bulgaria this is a mandatory document for all real estate transactions.

A sketch is a scheme of an apartment, house, land, or any other property. This is an extract from a cadastral map covering a large area, made on a scale of 1:500 or 1:1000. The document contains information about the area of the property, layout, number of storeys, location on the land, and the presence of neighboring properties.

How to obtain a scheme

To obtain a skitsa, you must contact the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in the regional or district center to which your property belongs administratively.
For example, if your apartment is located in the village Marinka, you can get a sketch in the city of Burgas.

Not all cities have a department of the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre. In small towns, for example, in Sozopol or Pomorie, the Agency’s functions are performed by specialized departments of the district or municipal administration.

The Agency or department will ask you to fill out an application for getting a scheme. If it is convenient for you, you can download it on the website and fill it out before visiting the Agency.

Along with the application form, a copy of the Notary Act should be submitted, as well as a payment document confirming that you have paid the fee. You must write the phrase “Correct from the original” on the Notary Act copy and sign it. When submitting your application, you will be asked for your ID document.

The standard timeframe for receiving a document in Burgas is 7 working days. If you want to get it faster, you can order it to be done in 3 working days.

The fee that will be charged depends on the issuance time of the circuit and additional factors:

When ordering a sketch for a house, apartment, land, or other independent object, you need to pay 20 BGN for the usual issuance time, or 40 BGN for an expedited procedure.

The same rates apply when receiving skitsa for land in a populated area, as well as for a building.

Making a sketch for a plot of land outside a populated area costs 5 and 10 BGN, respectively.

The prices indicated are valid at the time of writing (2024).
In some cases, the skitsa may be provided by an authorized geological specialist or notary. The timeframe required is 1-5 days. The price is subject to additional agreement.

The scheme is valid until changes are made to the real estate.

How to read a scheme

Each scheme contains a drawing of an apartment, house, townhouse or other real estate. You will find basic information that must correspond to the Notary Act in this document. Additionally, it may contain symbols that indicate:

• Features of the area around;
• Communal facilities;
• Industrial enterprises;
• Roads, railway, highways;
• Relief;
• Object boundaries;
• Surface type;
• Bridges;
• Other infrastructure facilities.

When selling or buying real estate in Bulgaria, do not forget to make sure that you have a scheme. If necessary, Apart Estate specialists will help you make sure that it is valid and can be used to complete the transaction. Please note that our company employs experts of the highest level. For many years we have been selling real estate in Bulgaria and are ready to present you with the best offers for apartments and houses on the coast, as well as ensure the purity of the purchase and sale deal.