The requirement for the certification of diplomas and academic references issued by higher-education institutions in the member-states of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland with an apostille has been dropped.

The documents, excluding the European diploma supplement, will now need a translation in Bulgarian only. The requirement for a qualified electronic signature to be used when submitting the documents electronically has also been dropped. A regular electronic signature is now sufficient. This will greatly increase the number of people who wish and can submit their diplomas electronically.

The change is a result of the demands of associations of Bulgarians who have graduated abroad in order to overcome difficulties with respect to the recognition of their diplomas in Bulgaria and comes after a detailed research of the National Centre for Information and Documentation which examines their authenticity.