ATV in Bulgaria: KAT or KTI – What Licence Do You Need?
Which licence do you need to drive an ATV in Bulgaria — KAT registration with categories B/B1, or a tractor registration with KTI and a Tvk qualification? A practical guide to helmets, roads, forests and inspections.
Published on 31 Aug 2026·Author:Mustafa Buzgyov·15 min read
Quick questions and answers — at a glance:
• What licence do you need to drive an ATV registered with KAT? • What licence do you need to drive an ATV registered with KTI? • Is the registration with KAT or "KTI" alone sufficient to determine the licence? • Can an ATV be driven off-road? • Can an ATV be driven without a helmet? • Are civil liability insurance, a technical inspection and registration plates required? • What should we know about the additional accessories and their use?
Quick questions and answers:
1. What licence do you need to drive an ATV registered with KAT?
1.1. Is category B sufficient?
For an L7e-B1 that falls within the parameters of category B — yes.
1.2. When is category B1 sufficient?
When the particular four-wheeled motor vehicle meets the requirements of Art. 150a, para. 2, item 5 of the Road Traffic Act (ZDvP) — including the limits on mass and power of up to 15 kW.
2. What licence do you need to drive an ATV registered with KTI?
If the ATV is registered as a wheeled tractor, for example a T3b, since 7 September 2025 the old category "Tkt" no longer applies as a standalone category under the Road Traffic Act. Under the current Art. 156 of the Road Traffic Act, to move a wheeled tractor on the road the driver must simultaneously hold a qualification for operating wheeled tractors – Tvk, as well as a driving licence for motor vehicles of any category under Art. 150a of the Road Traffic Act. The Tvk qualification is expressly provided for wheeled tractors in Art. 13, para. 4, item 1 of the Agricultural and Forestry Machinery Registration and Control Act (ZRKZGT).
2.1. Is category B alone sufficient for a T3b?
No. B satisfies the driving licence requirement, but a Tvk work qualification is also necessary.
2.2. What does T3b mean?
A wheeled tractor of category T3 with a mass without load, in running order, of up to 600 kg and a design maximum speed above 40 km/h.
2.3. Does KTI registration allow free driving on asphalt?
Yes, but under a condition defined by law. For machinery under Ordinance No 15, movement on public roads is by way of exception and is connected with travelling to or from the place of work. In other words, driving on asphalt must be conditioned by the intended use of the machinery and must constitute travel to or from the place where it will be used for work. Travel solely for a walk, a visit to an establishment or other personal transport does not fall within this exception.
3. Is the registration with KAT or "KTI" alone sufficient to determine the licence?
No. The technical category and the characteristics of the particular machine must be examined.
3.1. Where should I check the category of an ATV?
In the registration certificate, the certificate of conformity/CoC and the remaining technical documents.
4. Can an ATV be driven off-road?
The Road Traffic Act does not apply in the same way to actual movement off a road, but restrictions under the Forests Act, the regimes of the protected areas, ownership of the terrain and other laws may apply.
4.1. Can an ATV be driven in the forest?
Not freely. The Forests Act permits the movement of ATVs in forest territories only along specially marked routes.
4.2. Can an ATV be driven along a forest road?
Not automatically. The regime of the particular forest road and whether access is permitted must be checked.
4.3. Can an ATV be driven in a protected area or protected zone?
Only after checking the particular regime. In many protected zones the movement of ATVs outside the existing roads is expressly prohibited.
5. Can an ATV be driven without a helmet?
Art. 137e of the Road Traffic Act expressly mentions motorcycles and mopeds, not all ATVs. This, however, is not sufficient grounds for the general conclusion that "an ATV may be driven without a helmet", particularly in view of the current case law; in practice a helmet should be used.
5.1. Must the passenger wear a helmet?
Art. 137e does not contain a separate general rule for every ATV. If a passenger is transported, the transport itself must first be permissible; the use of a helmet is strongly recommended and is also relevant to the assessment of conduct in a road accident.
5.2. Can an ATV carry a passenger?
Only if the particular ATV is approved and registered for more than one person. A long seat by itself does not prove this.
6. Are civil liability insurance, an inspection and registration plates required?
6.1. Must an ATV have "Civil Liability" insurance?
In principle yes, when it is registered in Bulgaria and has not been withdrawn from traffic.
6.2. Must an ATV undergo a technical inspection?
Yes, if it falls within a category for which one is provided. For an L7e it is every two years, and for a T3b — as a tractor above 40 km/h — annually.
6.3. Must an ATV have a registration plate?
When driving on a public road — yes, if the machine belongs to a category subject to registration.
6.4. Can an ATV without a registration plate be driven outside public roads?
The mere fact that the place is not a public road does not resolve the question. A private or unpaved road may still be a "road" under the Road Traffic Act, and registration, forest and nature-conservation restrictions may apply separately.
7. What should we know about the additional accessories and their use?
7.1. Can an LED bar be fitted to an ATV registered as an L7e?
Not every LED bar is permissible. For an L7e, the type approval, the permitted lights and the rules on modification of the construction must be considered. The mere fact that the LED bar will not be used on the road does not automatically mean that fitting it is allowed.
7.2. May an LED bar on an L7e be used on a public road?
Only if the particular lighting device is permitted and approved for such use. An ordinary "off-road" LED bar should not be used as an additional road headlight.
7.3. Can an LED bar be fitted to an ATV registered with KTI as a T3b?
Yes, work lights may be used on tractors. An LED bar may perform that function if it is fitted as work lighting and not as an additional headlight for driving on the road.
7.4. May I drive on a public road with an LED bar fitted to a T3b?
Yes, if it is permissible for it to be fitted as a work light and it is switched off. When driving on a public road, the standard road lighting of the machine should be used.
7.5. When may I use the work LED bar on a T3b?
When carrying out work and for illuminating the work area. It should not be used as an additional headlight during ordinary driving on a public road.
7.6. What is the main difference between the L7e and the T3b?
With an L7e, it must first be checked whether the additional lighting device is permissible to fit at all. With a T3b/KTI, work lights are a permitted type of equipment, but they are used as work lighting, not as road lighting.
The same questions about ATVs arise periodically: is it registered with KAT or with "KTI", can it be driven with category B, is a special qualification required and is a helmet mandatory.
The most important point is that there is no single legal regime for all the machines that we colloquially call "ATVs".
Two machines may look almost identical on the outside, but one may be registered as a four-wheeled motor vehicle of category L7e-B1 and the other as a wheeled tractor T3b. Their legal regimes differ.
That is why the first step is to check which technical category is recorded in the documents of the particular machine.
ATV category L7e-B1
L7e-B1 is the European technical category for ATVs — four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles under Regulation (EU) No 168/2013.
L7e-B vehicles are excluded from the special registration regime for off-road machinery under Art. 10g of the Agricultural and Forestry Machinery Registration and Control Act. An L7e-B1 intended for driving on the roads is registered under the general regime for motor vehicles with the Ministry of Interior/KAT under Ordinance No I-45.
What licence is required?
Here it is important not to draw the automatic inference "L7e-B1 = B1".
Under Art. 150a, para. 2, item 5 of the Road Traffic Act, category B1 covers four-wheeled motor vehicles with certain limits on mass and a maximum net power of up to 15 kW.
At the same time, the current European definition of the L7e-B1 does not contain a general 15 kW limit. That is why B1 is sufficient only when the technical parameters of the particular ATV also fall within the limits of category B1 under the Road Traffic Act.
Category B includes the right to drive B1 vehicles pursuant to Art. 155, para. 5 of the Road Traffic Act and has a wider scope under Art. 150a, para. 2, item 6.
In practice: if you hold category B, it is sufficient for an L7e-B1 that falls within the parameters of category B. If you hold only B1, the power, the mass and the data in the documents of the particular ATV must be checked.
ATVs approved and registered as wheeled tractors (T3b)
This is a completely different regime.
T3 is a wheeled tractor category with a mass without load, in running order, of up to 600 kg, and the designation "b" indicates a design maximum speed above 40 km/h.
Such machines are registered under the regime for agricultural and forestry machinery through the relevant regional "Agriculture" directorate — what is often colloquially called "KTI".
Since 7 September 2025 the old regime has been changed. Category Tkt has been removed as a standalone category from Art. 150a of the Road Traffic Act.
Art. 156 of the Road Traffic Act now requires that, to move a wheeled tractor on the roads, the driver simultaneously holds:
– a certificate of qualification for operating the particular type of machinery; and – a driving licence for motor vehicles of any category under Art. 150a of the Road Traffic Act.
For wheeled tractors the work qualification is category Tvk under Art. 13, para. 4, item 1 of the Agricultural and Forestry Machinery Registration and Control Act.
Consequently, for an ATV that is legally a T3b wheeled tractor, an ordinary category B driving licence satisfies only one part of the requirement. The corresponding qualification for operating the machinery — Tvk — is also necessary.
Another point is important as well: not every ATV registered under the agricultural and forestry machinery regime is necessarily a T3b. The category must always be verified from the documents.
Can a tractor-registered ATV be driven freely on asphalt?
No.
Ordinance No 15 of 7 April 2008 provides that wheeled tractors and the other machinery to which it applies move on roads open for public use by way of exception — where there are no agricultural or forest roads, and when travelling to or from the place of work.
That is why registration as a tractor does not mean that the machine may be used as an ordinary road vehicle for free travel on the road network.
And what if the road is unpaved?
The mere fact that a road is unpaved, a field road or not asphalted does not mean that the Road Traffic Act does not apply.
Under § 6(1) of the Additional Provisions of the Road Traffic Act, a "road" may be any land area or structure that is intended for, or is ordinarily used for, movement.
The Supreme Court of Cassation expressly confirmed in 2026 that it is the character of the place that is decisive, not its surface. In principle the Road Traffic Act also applies to roads that are not open for public use, unless otherwise provided.
Only when the machine is actually moving off a road — for example across terrain that is neither intended nor used as a road — does the regime of the Road Traffic Act cease to apply in the same way.
This, however, does not mean that "off-road there is no law".
Can an ATV be driven in the forest?
Not freely.
Art. 148, para. 7 of the Forests Act provides for movement in the forest territories of sport motorcycles and four-wheeled motor vehicles (ATVs) only along specially marked routes. A special access regime also applies to the forest roads.
That is why the existence of a visible forest or unpaved road is not sufficient grounds to assume that an ATV may lawfully move along it.
What about a protected area or Natura 2000?
The particular protected area or protected zone must be checked.
There is no single rule for all protected sites. Restrictions may derive from the Protected Areas Act, the Biological Diversity Act, the order designating the particular protected zone or its management plan.
In a number of protected zones there is an express prohibition on the movement of motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs and buggies outside the existing roads in the non-urbanised territories.
Is a helmet mandatory?
Here the statutory text must be read carefully.
Art. 137e of the Road Traffic Act provides that:
"Drivers and passengers of motorcycles and mopeds shall use protective helmets."
ATVs, L7e vehicles and wheeled tractors are not expressly named in the text. Consequently, no general statutory rule can be derived from Art. 137e itself that every ATV necessarily falls under this provision.
This, however, should not be understood as a general rule that "an ATV may be driven without a helmet".
In Judgment No 522 of 2 December 2025 the Supreme Court of Cassation took into account, as part of the improper conduct of the injured person in an ATV accident, the fact that he had been riding without a helmet, alongside the fact that the machine had been a single-seater.
That is why the categorical practical advice to drive an ATV without a helmet is not legally sound. When operating an ATV, a protective helmet should be used regardless of the dispute about the exact scope of Art. 137e of the Road Traffic Act.
Can a passenger be carried?
Only if the particular ATV is approved and registered for the corresponding number of persons.
Art. 133 of the Road Traffic Act prohibits the carriage of more passengers than the number determined in the registration certificate.
The fact that the seat physically appears long enough for two people does not mean that the ATV is a two-seater.
Must an ATV have "Civil Liability" insurance?
For a vehicle registered in Bulgaria that has not been withdrawn from traffic, valid "Civil Liability" insurance must in principle be held under Art. 483, para. 1, item 1 of the Insurance Code.
The obligation does not arise only when you drive out onto an asphalt road.
Technical inspection
The regime depends on the category.
An L7e undergoes a periodic technical inspection every two years. Ordinance No H-32, Art. 29, item 5 expressly places categories L3, L3e, L4, L4e, L5, L5e, L7 and L7e in the "every two years" regime.
Wheeled tractors with a design maximum speed above 40 km/h undergo an inspection annually. For that reason the T3b — where "b" denotes precisely a speed above 40 km/h — falls within this regime.
For tractors up to 40 km/h and certain other agricultural and forestry machinery, the special regime under the Agricultural and Forestry Machinery Registration and Control Act applies.
What lights must it have?
For an L7e, the European requirements provide for low-beam and high-beam headlights, front and rear position lamps, direction indicators, a stop lamp, registration plate illumination and the corresponding retro-reflectors.
It is not enough for the machine simply to have "some headlights".
Can I fit an LED bar?
Fitting and use are two different questions.
For an L7e, the European rules determine which lighting and light-signalling devices may be fitted and require the corresponding type approval. An ordinary LED bar cannot automatically be used as an additional road headlight merely because it is fitted to an ATV.
In addition, adding systems, components and equipment to an already registered motor vehicle may constitute a modification of the construction under Ordinance No H-3 of 18 February 2013.
For tractors, the work lights are a separate category of lighting. They may serve to illuminate the work area, but they should not be used as a substitute for the permitted road lighting.
The essentials before you buy or operate an ATV
Do not look only at the brand, the engine capacity or the fact that the machine "is an ATV".
Check:
1. the exact technical category — for example L7e-B1, T3b or another; 2. where and under which procedure it is registered; 3. power, mass and design maximum speed; 4. how many seats are recorded; 5. what qualifications you hold; 6. where you intend to operate it.
It is precisely the combination of these circumstances that determines the applicable legal regime.
The information in this article is of a general informational nature. The legal regime of a particular ATV may differ depending on its technical category, type approval, power, mass, design speed, registration and the place where it is operated. For that reason, before driving on a road or purchasing a particular machine, its registration and technical documents and the requirements applicable to it should be verified.
Which licence do you need to drive an ATV in Bulgaria — KAT registration with categories B/B1, or a tractor registration with KTI and a Tvk qualification? A practical guide to helmets, roads, forests and inspections.
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