Road signs in Bulgaria

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

• Regulations for the implementation of the Road Traffic Act, adopted by a Decree of the Council of Ministers;^[1][2]
• Ordinance No. 18 of July 23, 2001 on road signaling with traffic signs, issued by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works.^[3]

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.

Warning signs

• 
  А1
  Right curve
• 
  А2
  Left curve
• 
  А3
  Double curve, first at right
• 
  А4
  Double curve, first at left
• 
  А5
  Steep downhill
• 
  А6
  Steep uphill
• 
  А14
  Dangerous roadside
• 
  А15
  Slippery road
• 
  А16
  Loose chippings
• 
  А18
  Pedestrian crossing
• 
  А19
  Children area
• 
  А23
  Roadworks
• 
  А24
  Traffic light
• 
  А26
  Intersection with a secondary road
• 
  А27
  Secondary road junction on the right
• 
  А28
  Secondary road junction on the left
• 
  А33
  Non-gated level crossing
• 
  А36
  Low-flying aircraft
• 
  А37
  Crosswinds
• 
  А38
  Tunnel
• 
  А39
  Other hazards
• 
  А40
  Accident-prone road area
• 
  А41
  Traffic jam
• 
  А43
  A traffic accident has occurred

Priority signs

• 
  Б1
  Yield
• 
  Б2
  Stop
• 
  Б3
  Priority road
• 
  Б4
  End of priority road
• 
  Б5
  Give way to vehicles coming from the opposite direction
• 
  Б6
  Priority over vehicles in opposite direction

Prohibitory signs

• 
  В1
  No entry
• 
  В2
  Road closed to all traffic
• 
  В3
  No motor vehicles
• 
  В4
  No trucks/heavy goods vehicles
• 
  В5
  No trucks/heavy goods vehicles pulling trailers
• 
  В6
  No trailers
• 
  В9
  No bicycles
• 
  В12
  No pedestrians
• 
  В14
  No trucks and motorbikes
• 
  В15
  Width limit (2.5 metres)
• 
  В16
  Height limit (3.5 metres)
• 
  В17
  Length limit (12 metres)
• 
  В18
  Weight limit (9.5 tonnes)
• 
  В20
  No traffic allowed without indicated minimum distance between vehicles
• 
  В21
  No right turn
• 
  В22
  No left turn
• 
  В23
  No U-turn
• 
  В24
  No overtaking
• 
  В25
  No overtaking by trucks/heavy goods vehicles
• 
  В26
  Speed limit (50 km/h)
• 
  В26
  Speed limit (60 km/h)
• 
  В26
  Speed limit (80 km/h)
• 
  В27
  Do not block
• 
  В28
  No parking
• 
  В29
  Stop for customs
• 
  В30
  No sound signals
• 
  В31
  End of no overtaking zone
• 
  В32
  End of no overtaking by trucks/heavy goods vehicles zone
• 
  В33
  End of speed limit (50 km/h)
• 
  В34
  End of all restrictions

Mandatory signs

• 
  Г1
  Keep straight
• 
  Г2
  Turn right ahead
• 
  Г3
  Turn left ahead
• 
  Г4
  Turn right or go straight ahead
• 
  Г5
  Turn left or go straight ahead
• 
  Г6
  Turn left or right ahead
• 
  Г7
  Turn right before the sign
• 
  Г8
  Turn left before the sign
• 
  Г9
  Keep right
• 
  Г10
  Keep left
• 
  Г11
  Keep left or right
• 
  Г12
  Roundabout
• 
  Г13
  Exclusive bus or trolleybus lane
• 
  Г14
  Bicycle lane
• 
  Г15
  Pedestrian lane
• 
  Г16
  Segregated pedestrian and bicycle path
• 
  Г17
  Minimum speed limit (30 km/h)
• 
  Г17
  Minimum speed limit (50 km/h)
• 
  Г18
  End of minimum speed limit (30 km/h)
• 
  Г18
  End of minimum speed limit (50 km/h)
• 
  Г19
  Snow chains compulsory
• 
  Г20
  Vehicles carrying hazardous goods should turn left

Special regulations signs

• 
  Д2
  Additional road lane for slow-moving road vehicles
• 
  Д2
  Additional road lane for slow-moving road vehicles
• 
  Д2
  Additional road lane for slow-moving road vehicles
• 
  Д4
  One-way traffic
• 
  Д5
  Motorway
• 
  Д6
  End of motorway
• 
  Д7
  Limited-access highway
• 
  Д7
  Limited-access highway
• 
  Д8
  End of limited-access highway
• 
  Д8
  End of limited-access highway
• 
  Д9
  Entrance to tunnel
• 
  Д9
  Entrance to tunnel
• 
  Д10
  End of tunnel
• 
  Д10
  End of tunnel
• 
  Д11
  Entrance to built-up area
• 
  Д12
  End of built-up area
• 
  Д13
  No parking zone
• 
  Д14
  End of no parking zone
• 
  Д15
  Entrance to residential area zone
• 
  Д16
  End of residential area zone
• 
  Д17
  Pedestrian zone
• 
  Д18
  Hospital
• 
  Д19
  Parking
• 
  Д21
  Disabled people parking
• 
  Д25
  Vignette road
• 
  Д25
  Vignette and toll road
• 
  Д25
  Toll road

Indication signs

• 
  Е1
  Medical center
• 
  Е2
  A hospital with an emergency department
• 
  Е3
  Police
• 
  Е4
  Telephone
• 
  Е7.1
  Gas station
• 
  Е7.1
  Gas station
• 
  Е7.2
  Gas station that also offers unleaded gasoline
• 
  Е19
  Toilet
• 
  Е21
  Pedestrian onderpass
• 
  Е22
  National speed limits (used at border crossings with other countries)
• 
  Е24
  Control with automated technical means or systems

Information signs

• 
  Ж1
  Preliminary route guide sign
• 
  Ж2
  Route guide sign with destinations used on highways
• 
  Ж2
  Route guide sign with destinations used on roads
• 
  Ж2
  Route guide sign with destinations used inside cities
• 
  Ж9
  U-turn permitted
• 
  Ж10
  Destinations sign with distances used on highways
• 
  Ж10
  Destinations sign with distances used on roads
• 
  Ж13
  Dead end
• 
  Ж18
  Emergency escape lane for runaway vehicles
• 
  Ж19
  50 km/h advisory speed
• 
  Ж20/Ж21
  Highway route number sign

Additional Plates

• 
  Т1
  Above sign effective in 1300 metres
• 
  Т2
  Sign area effective
• 
  Т8
  Stop ahead in 50 metres (placed below the give way sign to warn of a stop sign ahead)
• 
  Т13
  Diagram of priority road direction

References

External links

• Media related to Road signs in Bulgaria at Wikimedia Commons