Exchanging a UK driving licence in Bulgaria - do I really not need to take a test?

The guy in the pub is right: you can exchange a UK driving licence for a Bulgarian one without taking any test. Brexit did not end this - the UK is a party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, and Bulgaria exchanges licences from Vienna Convention countries without examinations. Here is the process as it works in practice. Prerequisites: you need your Bulgarian residence permit and to have been resident here for at least six months - the clock effectively runs from your residence document, so by the sound of it you qualify or soon will. Then: get a medical certificate confirming you are fit to drive - a quick eye and general check at any transport medical center (transportna meditsina), usually 10-20 euro. Take that plus your passport, residence card and UK licence to the traffic police (KAT, Patna Politsia) office for your district in Burgas. You fill in the application, pay a modest fee of roughly 15-30 euro depending on processing speed, and surrender your UK photocard - it gets sent back to DVLA, and you cannot keep both, since EU rules allow only one licence from your country of residence. Your Bulgarian licence typically arrives within a few weeks; an official translation of the UK licence is sometimes requested, so ask your local KAT office in advance - practice varies slightly by district. Given DVLA will not renew for a non-UK resident, exchanging is not just allowed but really your only clean option - and the Bulgarian licence is a standard EU-format licence valid across Europe. More on all things driving in our guide at /guides/driving-in-bulgaria-license-car-import.