Can I keep my phone number when I switch provider in Bulgaria?
You can keep your mobile or landline number when you change provider, and porting is free. The new provider handles it; your number is activated within one working day of the agreed date, with at most one working day without service (arts 134–136а ЗЕС).
You can usually take your mobile or landline number with you to a new provider. You ask the new provider to transfer it, and the number moves on an agreed day.
📜 The rules in Bulgaria
Compensation
If porting is late or the porting window is missed, you can claim at least €1.02 per number for each day of delay; the same applies if your number was ported without consent. Claim from the new provider within two months of your request.
The details
- By default porting starts 7 days after you sign the request, so you can withdraw it penalty-free; you can sign for an immediate start instead. Mobile numbers are then ported within 2 working days, single landline numbers within 3. (crc.bg)
- Your old contract ends automatically once porting is complete. You keep the right to port your number for at least one month after a contract ends, unless you expressly give it up. (damtn.government.bg)
- On prepaid, the old provider must refund your remaining credit on request; it may charge a fee only if the contract provides for one, in proportion to its actual costs. (damtn.government.bg)
- To avoid early-termination penalties, CRC advises requesting porting after your fixed term has ended and the contract has become indefinite. (crc.bg)
- The new provider decides on a compensation claim within 30 days. If it refuses because it was not at fault, claim from the old provider within four months of your porting request. You can still go to court. (crc.bg)
Комисия за регулиране на съобщенията (КРС)
Takes written complaints about breaches of the Electronic Communications Act (online form, post or in person) and gives advice on its consumer hotline. It decides within 30 days, or up to 2 months if more evidence is needed.
🪜 Step by step
- Do not cancel the old contract firstIf you end the old contract before the transfer, the number can be lost. Let the new provider request the transfer.
- Get your details readyYou usually need the number, the name on the old contract and sometimes a customer number or transfer code from the old provider.
- Agree the transfer dateThe new provider tells you when the number moves. Keep the old SIM or line in use until then.
- Check that everything worksTest calls and messages on the new SIM or line, and check that the old provider sends a final bill and stops charging.
📇 Who to contact
Sponsor this page → One labelled block, €100 a month. Founding price €75 until 31 January 2027.
❓ Questions
How long does a number transfer take?
It is usually quick. If the rules in Bulgaria set a maximum time or compensation for delays, you find them on this page.
Can I keep my number if I still owe the old provider money?
You still have to pay what you owe under the old contract. Ask the new provider before you switch whether anything could hold up the transfer.
Can I move a mobile number to a landline, or the other way round?
Usually not: mobile numbers move between mobile providers, landline numbers between landline providers.
📎 Sources
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