This article was updated in November 2025 to include the 2026 pricing changes announced by Sofia Municipality.
Parking in Sofia can sometimes feel like navigating a minefield. One moment you’re rushing to your appointment, the next you return to find an unpleasant surprise waiting on your windshield – or worse, your car missing entirely. The city’s parking enforcement doesn’t take violations lightly, and understanding the consequences of improper parking could save you significant time, money, and frustration.
In preparation for Bulgaria’s official adoption of the Euro on 1 January 2026, fares are listed in both BGN and EUR. Current transactions are conducted in BGN, but as of 2026, payments will be in EUR.
- How Sofia Enforces Parking Rules
- Paying Parking Fines in Sofia (Fastest Options)
- What to Do if Your Car Is Clamped
- What to Do if Your Car Is Towed
- What Happens if I Don’t Pay a Parking Fine?
- Appealing a Parking Fine or Clamp
- How Tourists Can Avoid Fines
- FAQ About Parking in Sofia
- Useful Links
How Sofia Enforces Parking Rules
The most common is the parking ticket, issued for violations like parking in taxi stands, on sidewalks, or in no-parking zones. Officers attach the notice to your windshield wiper, which legally counts as serving the ticket. From this moment, you have seven days to pay voluntarily before additional penalties apply.
For more persistent violations in paid parking zones – particularly unpaid parking – enforcement officers may escalate to wheel clamping. The bright yellow boot immobilizes your vehicle until you pay a 30 BGN removal fee plus any outstanding parking charges.
The municipal authorities impose towing as the most severe penalty. It is reserved for vehicles that block emergency routes, tram lines, bus stops, or private garage entrances. The tow truck transports the offending cars to one of Sofia’s three impound lots. The costs here escalate quickly: 60 BGN for the tow, daily storage fees, and potential additional fines. The process to retrieve your vehicle becomes significantly more complicated, requiring visits to municipal offices and payment of all accumulated charges.
Paying Parking Fines in Sofia (Fastest Options)
Sofia offers multiple convenient payment options for parking violations. The simplest method is through the online portal SofiaTraffic.bg, where you can pay with any major credit card by entering the 10-digit code from your ticket. For those preferring cash, EasyPay offices throughout the city accept fine payments. Traditional bank transfers and in-person payments at municipal revenue offices remain options as well.
For rental car users, prompt payment is crucial. While the ticket is issued to the vehicle owner (the rental company), they will eventually charge the amount to your card along with potential administrative fees. Always keep payment receipts to dispute any duplicate charges from the rental agency.
What to Do if Your Car Is Clamped
Finding your car wheels clamped can ruin anyone’s day, but the resolution process is straightforward. If your car is clamped, you will likely receive an SMS message that you have a clamp. The good news is that you цан pay in person or remote!
- Price in 2025 for clamp removal is 50 BGN
- Price in 2026 is 30 EUR (price increase was approved by the Sofia Municipal Council in November 2025)
The 30 BGN removal fee can be paid directly to the attending officer or via the same methods as parking fines. All officers have POS terminals, so you can pay by card. Control officers patrol these zones regularly, so you usually won’t wait long to resolve the issue. Look for contact numbers posted nearby if no one arrives promptly, and call the Urban Mobility Centre.
You can also use a mobile app (Urbo or Sofia Plus) to have it released remotely. Simply enter your vehicle’s registration in Latin letters to avoid having to call the Urban Mobility Information Centre. Once you’ve paid and the clamp is removed, you’ll get a message instructing you to either pay for a new parking session or move your car immediately.
What to Do if Your Car Is Towed
The sinking feeling of returning to an empty parking spot could mean one of two things – theft or municipal towing. In Sofia, the latter is far more likely. The city aggressively tows vehicles blocking critical infrastructure, parked dangerously or in the wrong spot.
In case of a car tow, you will find your car in one of the penalty parking lots:
- Poduene district, near Rail Station Poduene
- Druzhba 1 district, 5030 Str
- Slavia district, Tsar Boris III Str near 691 Str.
Start your search at sofiatraffic.bg’s “Check for relocated vehicle” page by entering your license plate. The site will direct you to one of the three impound lots scattered around the city’s periphery. Be prepared for the retrieval process involving multiple payments. You will pay the towing fee, plus storage charges. As of 2025, the storage cost is 4 leva per hour for a car and 5 leva for an SUV, and they charge you for every hour your car remains in the lot. You might also need to pay any outstanding parking fines. Finally, you must bring all vehicle documents and your ID to claim your car.
In 2026, there will be a significant increase in fees. In fact, they haven’t been changed for almost 15 years, so it was about time. The new prices reflect natural inflation rather than the automatic conversion following the adoption of the euro.
- Price in 2025 for towинг car is 60 BGN
- Price in 2026 is 75 EUR (price increase was approved by the Sofia Municipal Council in November 2025)
What Happens if I Don’t Pay a Parking Fine?
If you rent a car, the rental company will receive the fine, and will match the date with your booking. They will ultimately will contact you for this fine. Each company has its own procedures to get back the money for the parking, sometimes taking them from the deposit, sometimes withdrawing these from the credit card. If you’re sure that there is no reason for the fine, you can appeal.
If you travel by your own car, then it’s tricky, as the authorities are notoriously ineffective in terms of collecting fines from cars registered in other countries. However, there are some sporadic campaigns, some of them reported to tracing back the car history up to 5 years back so paying the fine will not hurt much.
Crackdown on Foreign Traffic Offenders: 21 Drivers with Unpaid Fines, 85 Violation Notices Served (Bulgarian National Television)
Authorities Have Identified a Driver Who Has Accumulated 26 Fines (bTV)
Appealing a Parking Fine or Clamp
While most parking tickets are justified, mistakes can happen. The appeals process differs depending on whether you received the ticket in person or found it on your windshield. For in-person citations, you can immediately dispute it with the issuing officer, who must cancel the ticket if convinced of your argument.
For tickets issued in your absence, you have seven days from receiving the notice (either on your windshield or by mail) to file a written objection with the Municipal Revenue Office. Successful appeals typically require photographic evidence or other documentation proving proper parking. If the objection is denied, you can escalate to administrative court within another seven days, though this usually requires legal representation.
Same with clamps: you can appeal. However, you must still pay the fine first to have the clamp removed. If you win the appeal, your money will be refunded. Valid reasons to appeal include incorrect or missing road signs or if your vehicle was stolen and parked there by someone else. You need solid proof, photos, and, eventually, footage from CCTV cameras in the area. “I was only gone for 5 minutes” is not a valid reason.
How Tourists Can Avoid Fines
The simplest way to avoid Sofia’s parking penalties is to use proper parking areas consistently. When in doubt, look for the blue “P” signs indicating legal parking spots and always check for parking restriction signs nearby. The parking apps help manage paid zone parking remotely, while Park & Ride facilities offer affordable long-term options.
Remember that rental cars draw particular attention from enforcement officers. Rental companies meticulously track all fines and violations. A single parking mistake could end up costing significantly more than the few leva or euro for proper parking would have.
FAQ About Parking in Sofia
Common reasons include not paying for parking in a paid “Blue Zone” or “Green Zone”, overstaying your paid time or parking outside a designated parking bay. You can also get a fine or clamp for parking in a reserved spot zone without a permit (people with disabilities, business subscription).
Use a Parking App: Apps like Sofia Plus (the official app) or Urbo allow you to pay for parking easily and remind you when your time is running out. Never park on sidewalks, crosswalks, or bike lanes.
Officers from the local Urban Mobility Center and the Municipal Traffic Police notoriously apply the rules selectively. They simply do not treat all cars equally. Sofia traffic control employees recognise the cars of powerful or connected people: a local businessman, a politician, a celebrity or even a friend. They won’t risk a good relationship over a minor violation. These favoured vehicles make their “list.” Since your rental car certainly won’t be on it, the officers will fine you to meet their daily quotas.
If you stop in the wrong place but remain in the car, an officer can still fine you. However, they will likely approach you first and ask you to move, especially if you are blocking a reserved spot, a garage, or traffic.
Yes, you have the right to appeal. See the section in this article.
Useful Links
- The Official website of the Urban Mobility Center of the Sofia Municipality
- Sofia Plus Official App on Google Play
- Sofia Plus Official App on Apple App Store
Don’t let Sofia’s parking confuse you. Tourists often misunderstand the rules and receive fines, clamps, or tows. This guide empowers you to master the system. We show you how enforcement works, how to pay fines, how to recover a clamped or towed vehicle, and how to navigate the new 2026 fees. Parking in Sofia for tourists can be easy as breeze too when Sofia parking rules are followed! As a foreign driver, you’ll get specific advice to avoid trouble. Use our direct links and straightforward steps to resolve any parking issue quickly.