Renewing a vehicle MOT

Hi, you need your vehicle checked every year.
However you don't need to go a main test station any of the smaller locals ones will do.

Thanks for the info Rapbom.

The Techical Inspection of cars in Bulgaria is done every year (except for the first three). Normally you choose the nearest certified checking point - this could be even the closest auto repair shop. If they are licenced by the Road Administration Authorities - then they can do the check and issue the respective document.

What is checked there is normally:
1. Brakes
2. Lights
3. Exhaust emissions
4, 5, 6 - structural integrity of the car, existence of leaks, any important details that can possibly cause problems ... and some other things.

What you're going to need is:
1. Car registration documents - part 1 and part 2 (the SMALL talon and the BIG "talon")
2. Car liability insurance (often you can make in on the spot)
3. Document for a paid yearly municipal vehicle tax (even a printed one will do).
4. Your ID card/document.

What you should do is:
1. Take the car to an auto repair shop/auto mechanic, so that everything is checked and tightened up prior to the technical inspectiion;
2. Pay the vehicle tax, prior to the technical inspection and the Car liability insurance;
3. Prepare all the documents and take the car to a licensed technical inspection operator.

Nothing more. If your car is o.k., the technical inspection will check and confirm it and will issue a echnical inspection document and stick a special sticker to your car's windshield.

This takes about 15 minutes and costs about 35 BGN. You're ready to go.

If there's some problem with your car, then you will be instructed what to take care of and will have a 14 day term.

That's it.

kristiann is quite correct in his reply.
However in reality, from my experience from the first registration of my UK car and 2 subsequent years of tests here in Bulgaria, the check is much more cursory than that.
The inspectors usually check lights, brakes and if a foreign car re-registered in Bulgaria they will check the engine number against your documents.
If you are not registering your foreign car here then you need the mot from your home country.

Out of curiosity, might it also be possible to conduct the MOT in another country if the vehicle is registered in Bulgaria? I imagine an MOT abroad would be more thorough and so would provide sufficient comfort for the Bulgarian Authorities. I understand the authorised garage issues a card and a stamp for the car, and I imagine this could cause some issues when testing abroad.

I plan to drive my car throughout Europe and coming back to Bulgaria every year for an MOT would be a real pain. I realise this is the edge case of edge cases, but I was wondering if there would be any options there.

A European car older than three years will require an MOT Test if for instance the car goes and stays in UK. Thus, it's a safety inspection which checks the condition of items such as brakes, suspension, steering etc. The head lights and lighting setup will also be checked to ensure the car has correct beam patterns for the UK and a rear fog light to the center or right hand side of the car. It's recommended to change the speedo fascia to read MPH as well as KMH using a speedometer fascia. Though, it's not compulsory.  But you can use black tape on the headlights to prevent the headlight main beam from blinding the oncoming traffic as I think the beams are pointing to the right hand sight for a Left Hand Drive vehicle such as Bulgarian car, since only UK roads drive on the left hand side of road unlike in EU. So you can cover partially cover the small section of headlight to prevent oncoming drivers being blinded by your lights. But the UK MOT can be booked quickly and you don't need car registration documents. So it's easier to get a UK test. They check seat belts for ware and strict emission checks. Any cracks on the vehicle chassis and any cracks on wind shield will also fail the MOT. steering tracking, suspension for lubricant leakage, any leaks is a failure. Also, brake pipes must be free from any oil contamination. It's advisable to ensure brake pads are not badly worn and also brake disks are not scoured or badly damaged due to worn brake shoes/disk pads. All faults can be fixed. But always try and fix minor faults yourself. For instance, warn brakes replacing Brake Pads is easy to do and if you get the MOT station to do these small faults they will charge big money. For instance UK's high  inflation is running high and garages have put up prices. They charge  £160 just for an oil change. Can  you believe?