ЕИК / EIK — the universal 9-digit identifier

The ЕИК (Единен идентификационен код — "Unified Identification Code", transliterated EIK) is the unique number that identifies every Bulgarian company to the administration, banks and other companies. Like a French SIREN or a Finnish Y-tunnus, it serves as a key everywhere: 9 digits for a company, with a computed final check digit. The Bulgarian VAT number is built simply: BG + the ЕИК.

History — from BULSTAT to the 2008 commercial register

Before 2008, Bulgarian entities were identified by their BULSTAT (БУЛСТАТ) code, a unified statistical register historically managed by the national statistics institute. EU accession in 2007 and the modernisation of the business environment led to the creation, on 1 January 2008, of the Търговски регистър (commercial register), operated by the Агенция по вписванията.

On that occasion, the ЕИК became the unique identifier of commercial companies, generated automatically at registration. Existing entities migrated progressively from BULSTAT to the Търговски регистър. BULSTAT remains for non-commercial entities (associations, liberal professions, etc.). In 2018, the commercial register merged with the register of non-profit legal entities (ЮЛНЦ) into a unified register ТРРЮЛНЦ.

1990s      | Set-up of the BULSTAT register (Регистър БУЛСТАТ), the first
           | unified statistical code for Bulgarian entities.
           |
2007-01-01 | EU accession. Need for a company identifier aligned with single
           | market and VIES requirements.
           |
2008-01-01 | Creation of the Търговски регистър (commercial register) operated
           | by the Агенция по вписванията (Registry Agency, Ministry of
           | Justice). The ЕИК becomes the unique identifier of commercial
           | companies, generated at registration.
           |
2009-2011  | Migration of entities from BULSTAT to the Търговски регистър.
           | The ЕИК replaces the old BULSTAT code for companies; BULSTAT
           | remains for non-commercial entities.
           |
2018       | Merger of Търговски регистър + register of NPLEs (non-profit
           | legal entities) — unified register ТРРЮЛНЦ.
           |
2026       | The ЕИК remains the pivot key: VAT (BG+ЕИК), Peppol, e-връчване,
           | SAF-T (RegistrationNumber), ДДС return.

Governance — Registry Agency

The Агенция по вписванията (Registry Agency, registryagency.bg), a public body under the Министерство на правосъдието (Ministry of Justice), maintains the Търговски регистър and the BULSTAT register. It assigns the ЕИК at registration, makes it enforceable against third parties, and publishes company data (articles, managers, capital) in open access.

For VAT, the NRA registers the taxable person and activates the BG prefix before the ЕИК. The resulting number is pushed into the European Commission's VIES database, enabling cross-border validation of 0% intra-EU supplies.

Technical schema — structure and checksum

The 9-digit ЕИК carries a check digit (контролна цифра) in the last position, computed by a weighted algorithm specific to Bulgarian law (two possible passes, modulo 11). The algorithm is public and lets you validate an ЕИК without querying the register.

# 9-digit ЕИК — verifying the 9th digit (контролна цифра / check digit)
# Example: 831915840

Step 1 — weights 1..8 applied to the first 8 digits:
  8·1 + 3·2 + 1·3 + 9·4 + 1·5 + 5·6 + 8·7 + 4·8
  = 8 + 6 + 3 + 36 + 5 + 30 + 56 + 32 = 176
  176 mod 11 = 0  →  check = 0  → 9th digit = 0  ✓

# If step 1 yields 10, repeat with a second set of weights 3..10;
# if it yields 10 again, the check digit is 0.

# Legal entities: 9 digits
# Branches / units: 13 digits (9 + 4 extra digits)
# VAT number:  BG + ЕИК      e.g. BG831915840

• 9 digits — legal entities (company, ЕООД, ООД, АД).
• 13 digits — branches and operating units (the parent entity's 9 digits + 4 digits).
• VAT number — BG + ЕИК; the same check algorithm applies to the 9 digits.
• Distinct from the ЕГН — the ЕГН (Единен граждански номер) is the personal identifier of individuals (10 digits), not to be confused with companies' ЕИК.

ЕИК vs neighbouring identifiers

Like the French SIREN or the Croatian OIB, Bulgaria's ЕИК is a single-key universal identifier: it avoids a proliferation of numbers (commercial, tax, statistical) by combining these functions in one code.

Adoption — VAT, Peppol, VIES

• VAT number — BG + ЕИК, mandatory mention on every invoice (art. 114 ЗДДС); validatable in VIES for intra-EU supplies.
• Peppol — the ЕИК / BG VAT number serves as the routing EndpointID (ICD 9926 or 0216) in Peppol BIS B2G flows.
• SAF-T — the ЕИК fills the RegistrationNumber field, the VAT number the TaxRegistrationNumber field.
• e-services — access key to the NRA portals, e-връчване (e-delivery) and ЦАИС ЕОП (public procurement).

Common pitfalls

• Confusing ЕИК and VAT number. The VAT number is BG + ЕИК; without the BG prefix, VIES validation fails.
• Confusing ЕИК and ЕГН. The ЕГН (10 digits) identifies a natural person, not a company — never use it as a company ID on an invoice.
• Dropping the branch's extra digits. A branch has a 13-digit ЕИК; truncating to 9 points at the parent entity, not the establishment.
• Unverified checksum. A mistyped entry often passes basic checks but breaks at the modulo-11 control; validating the algorithm avoids invoice / return rejections.
• VAT not yet active. A company may have an ЕИК without being VAT-registered (below the threshold). Issuing BG + ЕИК while the NRA has not activated VAT is invalid.

Cross-links

• Bulgaria hub — full view
• ДДС — VAT regimes (20 / 9 / 0%)
• Peppol B2G — public e-invoicing
• SAF-T 2026 — accounting reporting
• е-връчване — secure e-delivery
• Агенция по вписванията — Registry Agency
• Търговски регистър — search portal
• VIES — EU VAT number validation