Access to information

Description

Who has the right to access public information?

The Law on Access to Public Information entitles everyone who is:

  • a Bulgarian citizen,
  • a foreign citizen or a stateless person,
  • a legal person - Bulgarian or foreign

to submit a request for access to public information and receive access to it accordingly.

Who is obliged to provide you with public information?

Public information is information created or stored by the public authorities, their territorial units, and local self-government bodies in the Republic of Bulgaria.

All public authorities and local self-government bodies, public entities, and natural and legal persons funded by the state budget are obliged to provide public information. These may also be companies implementing public procurement contracts, or other companies, that are parties to contracts, financed by the state budget or European Union Funds or funds provided by the European Union under projects and programs.

Information on all awarded public procurement contracts may be found at the national public procurement register at the following address: www.aop.bg.

What kind of information may you ask for under the Law on Access to Public Information?

The public information created and stored by the public authorities and their administrations is official or administrative.

In the cases provided by law, certain official information may be declared classified information, constituting a state or an official secret.

  • "Official" is any information contained in the acts of the state bodies and the bodies of the local self-government in the course of the exercise of their powers.
  • "Administrative" is any information collected, created and stored in connection with any official information, as well as in connection with the operation of the public authorities and the administrations. Access to administrative information may be restricted where the said information is related to the internal preparation of the acts of the public authorities and has no relevance of its own (opinions and recommendations, developed by or for the public authority, observations and advice).

Access to administrative public information may not be restricted if there is an overriding public interest.

What kind of public information are we not allowed to disclose?     

We may not be allowed to disclose public information in the following cases:

  • The requested information is classified as constituting a state secret;
  • The requested information is classified as an official secret;
  • The requested information refers to citizens or legal entities that have not given their consent to disclose the information.
  • The requested information has already been provided to you in the last six months.

There are only two situations in which the relevant authority is free to decide whether or not to provide the requested information:

  • The requested information is related to the preparation of the acts of the bodies (opinions, recommendations, advice, consultations);
  • The requested information contains opinions and positions connected to current or forthcoming negotiations.

How to request access to public information by GLI EA?

You may submit a written request for access to public information at the central office of GLI EA at 3 Knyaz Al. Dondukov Blvd., Sofia every workday from 9:00 to 17:30.

  • personally on-site;
  • by sending the request by post or courier.

Contact number: 02 8101 753.

You may also send your request to info@gli.government.bg or delovodstvo@gli.government.bg or the postal address of GLI EA: 3 Knyaz Al. Dondukov Blvd., Sofia.

You may send your request for access to public information online at:

  • The platform for publicly available information at: https://pitay.government.bg/PDoiExt/
  • The Unified Platform for Electronic Administrative Services of the State e-Government Agency https://egov.bg/wps/portal/egov/dostavchitsi+na+uslugi/izpalnitelni+agentsii/156
  • The Secure Electronic Delivery System of the State e-Government Agency To use this option, the applicant must be a registered user of the Secure Electronic Delivery System of the State e-Government Agency. The service request and supporting documentation must be attached to a message sent to the registered user of the GLI EA. When an authorized representative user sends the service request, a power of attorney must also be attached to the message. The system automatically registers the request, and the applicant receives a confirmation of receipt containing the file registration number and registration date. All service requests submitted after 16:30 are registered on the following working day.

The request may be in free form (written by hand, on a typewriter or computer). For your convenience, you may download a sample text of a request from the website of GLI EA or receive it on-site at our offices. You may also find a sample paper form in the reception area of the GLI EA in the "Administrative Services" Folder.

The request must contain:

  • Your full names (for legal entities - name and registered address);
  • The type of information you want to receive (you may describe what you are interested in);
  • Mailing address;
  • Preferred method of receiving the information.

Access to public information is free. You need to pay only the direct costs of providing the information.

Access to Public Information Officer: Nikolay Kotov

Contact number: 02/8 101 732

Subscribe to Access to information