Bulgaria Faces Sharp Price Hike for Driving Courses Amid New Rules and Oil Crisis

Bulgaria is set to see significant changes in driving courses, which will include mandatory night driving, updated technical standards, and stricter oversight. These adjustments, combined with general inflation, are expected to push the price of a category “B” driving course to around 1,000 euros, Nova TV reported.

Krasimir Georgiev from the Association for Qualification of Motorists noted that the new administrative requirements alone are not a reason for higher costs. He stressed that fuel remains one of the main expenses in driving training and that any price increase would largely depend on continued fuel price rises.

Regarding night driving, Georgiev clarified that it has always been a mandatory part of the curriculum. The issue, he explained, has been that many instructors failed to conduct these sessions due to a lack of oversight from the Automobile Administration.

He expressed skepticism that new electronic applications and GPS monitoring will address the problem if instructors continue to manually input data. “If it’s entered manually, it doesn’t guarantee night driving actually took place,” Georgiev said.

Criticizing the Executive Agency “Automobile Administration,” he pointed to what he sees as both incompetence and a lack of commitment to real reform. Georgiev emphasized that meaningful change would require a system that allows students themselves to check in and out of theory classes, ensuring their presence is properly verified.