Reference guide · Eurotrade

EOOD vs OOD vs DPK: which Bulgarian structure to choose

By Rémi Delapierre, co-founder 8 min read
In short

Two forms cover almost every online project. For a 100% remote formation, with no capital deposit or prior bank account, the DPK / EDPK is most often the simplest choice.

The DPK (variable-capital company, дружество с променлив капитал): €0 capital, ideal as long as you stay below the statutory conversion thresholds (conversion is required only beyond two of the three thresholds — 50 employees, BGN 4M ≈ €2.05M turnover, BGN 4M balance sheet — over two financial years) — in its single-member version, it is the EDPK. The EOOD (single-member limited company, capital ~€1) is the classic form: choose it if you want a local bank account from the outset or if you cross these thresholds; its multi-shareholder version is the OOD.

All have the same taxation: 10% corporate income tax then between 0 and 5% on dividends (0% to an EU/EEA parent company, with no threshold or holding period — чл. 194, ал. 3, т. 3 ЗКПО; 5% paid to an individual) — the overall tax burden among the lowest in the EU. The choice therefore comes down to capital, shareholders and turnover, not tax. The essential point lies elsewhere: a company you cannot run remotely is of no use — and that is what Fenchell builds in from the outset.

0 Minimum capital · DPK / EDPK
10% Corporate income tax · identical across the 3 forms
0–5% On dividends · 0% EU/EEA parent company, 5% individual
4M BGN (≈ €2.05M) · one of the 3 statutory DPK conversion thresholds
The legal landscape

Which company forms to choose in Bulgaria?

Bulgarian company law distinguishes several limited-liability legal entities. All are registered in the Commercial Register and receive an EIK number (the equivalent of a company registration number). For the online entrepreneur, three forms cover the bulk of situations; they differ mainly in their capital, their number of shareholders and their use case:

EOOD

Ednolichno druzhestvo s ogranichena otgovornost: the limited company with a single member, token fixed capital (~€1).

OOD

Druzhestvo s ogranichena otgovornost: the same limited company with several shareholders.

DPK / EDPK

Druzhestvo s promenliv kapital (дружество с променлив капитал): the variable-capital company, with no minimum capital, designed for startups and online entrepreneurs. Its single-member version is the EDPK.

The essential common point: in all three cases, the shareholders' liability is limited to their contributions. Your personal assets stay separate from those of the company, which is not the case with an activity carried out in your own name.

At the other end of the spectrum, the joint-stock company AD / EAD (capital BGN 50,000, about €25,500) exists to raise funds and organise a shareholding structure: that is not the topic here, and it remains oversized for an online project.

Three acronyms, one and the same protection. What remains is to see which one fits your project. Let's look at each form, one by one — starting with the most common for the solo entrepreneur.
The classic limited company

What is an EOOD (single-member limited company)?

The EOOD is the classic Bulgarian limited company for the solo entrepreneur. A single person — natural or legal — holds 100% of the shares and runs the company as the manager (upravitel).

The capital is token: about €1 (formerly BGN 2; Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026), to be deposited in a Bulgarian bank account. Governance is kept to the strict minimum: no shareholders' meeting to convene, with decisions taken and recorded by the sole shareholder.

It is a solid legal shell that invoices, collects and distributes dividends without governance complexity, for:

  • an Amazon e-commerce seller;
  • a digital freelancer;
  • a prop-firm trader;
  • a SaaS publisher;
  • or a content creator.

The EOOD is particularly suitable when you want a local Bulgarian bank account from the outset, or when your activity crosses the DPK's statutory conversion thresholds — that is, exceeds, over two consecutive financial years, two of the three thresholds: 50 employees, BGN 4M (≈ €2.05M) of net turnover, BGN 4M of total balance sheet.

For the operational walkthrough, see forming an EOOD 100% remotely: the steps.

Key point

Token capital and limited liability do not dispense with genuine economic substance — a physical address, a local agent, a Bulgarian mobile line and bookkeeping kept on the ground. It is this substance, not the legal form alone, that makes your company defensible and bankable.

In a group

What is an OOD (several shareholders)?

The OOD is strictly the same company as the EOOD, with one nuance: it has at least two shareholders. The capital (token, about €1) is split into shares between them, and important decisions fall to the general meeting of shareholders, by the majority set out in the articles. Liability remains limited to each person's contributions.

The OOD becomes essential as soon as you set up a project with others: co-founders of an e-commerce site, partners in an agency, shareholders in a SaaS studio. The key to a healthy OOD is precise articles of association:

  • allocation of shares;
  • voting rights;
  • terms for a shareholder's entry and exit;
  • and the key for allocating dividends.

Good news: bringing a shareholder into an EOOD turns it into an OOD through a simple amendment at the Register, without changing the EIK number or breaking the company's continuity. So you can start as an EOOD and evolve later.

The modern form · recommended for online business

What is a DPK / EDPK (variable-capital company)?

The DPKдружество с променлив капитал, variable-capital company (Variable Capital Company) — is the modern form in Bulgarian law, designed for startups and online entrepreneurs. Its central asset: €0 minimum capital. Its single-member version is the EDPK — the EDPK is to the DPK what the EOOD is to the OOD. It is, in practice, the flexible equivalent of an LLC or a limited company.

The DPK (and the EDPK) is formed 100% remotely, with no trip to Bulgaria and no prior local bank account: you create the company first, then open a bank account afterwards if needed.

On the banking side, this young form poses no particular difficulty: the fintechs and banks we know can work with recent Bulgarian companies, DPK and EDPK included. Admission always rests with each institution, depending on your profile and the declared residence of the manager — Fenchell neither opens nor guarantees any account, you remain the applicant and the holder.

This is the form that Fenchell recommends for the vast majority of online entrepreneurs whose activity stays below the statutory conversion thresholds. Conversion is not triggered by a single figure, but when the company exceeds, over two consecutive financial years, two of the following three thresholds: 50 employees, BGN 4,000,000 (≈ €2.05M) of net turnover, BGN 4,000,000 of total balance sheet. This mechanism is not a commercial choice but a legal obligation set by art. 260а, ал. 3 of the Bulgarian Commercial Act (чл. 260а Търговски закон, lex.bg): beyond that, the DPK must be converted.

Fenchell then converts your DPK into an OOD (or your EDPK into an EOOD). Like the other forms, it is subject to the 10% corporate income tax and to liability limited to contributions.

For the detail of this formation with no deposit or prior bank account, see our guide the DPK/EDPK: forming with no capital deposit.

The dividing rule

Activity still light, below the statutory conversion thresholds (you do not exceed, over two financial years, two of the three thresholds: 50 employees, BGN 4M ≈ €2.05M of net turnover, BGN 4M balance sheet) → EDPK or DPK, 100% remote and with no capital required. Crossing these thresholds, or needing a local Bulgarian bank account from the start → EOOD or OOD. The AD / EAD joint-stock company, for its part, is only of interest for raising funds.

"And what if I grow?"

The DPK is designed for still-light structures: it remains available as long as you do not exceed, over 2 consecutive financial years, two of the following three thresholds — 50 employees, BGN 4M of net turnover, BGN 4M of total balance sheet (чл. 260а, ал. 3 ТЗ; two-financial-year rule: the Accountancy Act).

Crossing these thresholds is not a dead end: you then convert the company into an OOD or an AD (чл. 261 и сл. ТЗ), without dissolving the legal entity and in a tax-neutral way. The DPK's "ceiling" is a sign of maturity — proof that your business has grown.

A word on share transfers: by default, transferring shares in a DPK requires notarised certification of signatures (чл. 260з, ал. 2 ТЗ), as for the EOOD/OOD. The flexibility specific to the DPK: its articles of association may depart from this and provide for a transfer by simple written document — provided this was explicitly set out from the drafting stage.

Is the DPK "anonymous"? No — the distinction that matters

You sometimes read that the DPK offers "shareholder confidentiality". The reality is more nuanced. The register of shareholders (книга на съдружниците) of a DPK is not published in the Commercial Register — unlike the OOD, where the shareholders appear in the public register. On that specific point, the DPK is indeed more discreet.

But this discretion does not amount to anonymity: any person holding at least 25% of the capital or control is publicly declared as a beneficial owner under anti-money-laundering rules (чл. 63 ЗМИП). In concrete terms, for a single-member EDPK, the 100% owner does appear, by name, in the register of beneficial owners. The DPK simplifies formation; it does not make your company anonymous.

You now know the three forms. Time for the overview, criterion by criterion. A single table to decide: capital, remote formation, conversion thresholds and taxation, side by side.
The comparison

EOOD, OOD or DPK: what are the differences?

Criterion EOOD OOD DPK / EDPK
Shareholders1 (single)2 or more1 (EDPK) or several (DPK)
Minimum capital~€1 (token)~€1 (token)€0 (variable capital)
Remote formationCapital deposit in a Bulgarian bank before registration (or on-site deposit via EasyPay)Capital deposit in a Bulgarian bank before registration (or on-site deposit via EasyPay)100% remote, with no prior account
LiabilityLimited to contributionsLimited to contributionsLimited to contributions
Conversion thresholdsNoneNoneConversion into an OOD if 2 of the 3 thresholds are exceeded over 2 financial years — 50 employees / BGN 4M (≈ €2.05M) of net turnover / BGN 4M balance sheet (art. 260а, ал. 3 ТЗ)
Corporate income tax10%10%10%
Dividends0 to 5%0 to 5%0 to 5%
Typical use caseSolo + local bank from the outsetProject with several partnersOnline entrepreneur (activity below the conversion thresholds)

The table speaks for itself: the legal form influences neither the tax rate nor the protection of your assets. It comes down to capital, the mode of formation and turnover — parameters you should calibrate to your real project, not to a theoretical ambition.

For an online launch, the DPK / EDPK ticks the most boxes; the EOOD takes over as soon as you want a local bank from the outset or you cross the statutory conversion thresholds (two of the three thresholds — 50 employees, BGN 4M ≈ €2.05M turnover, BGN 4M balance sheet — over two financial years).

But choosing the form settles only one question: whatever shell you pick, a generic registration stops at registration, where the Eurotrade pack covers the whole system needed to operate the company 100% remotely.

What it takes to operate remotely Generic registration Eurotrade pack
The legal formation
Company registered in the Commercial Register + EIK number
File of 20+ bilingual documents (articles of association, notarised powers of attorney, FID, QES key, translated certificate)
The genuine local presence
Local agent on the ground (obtaining the FID and the QES key, tax and customs representation)
Genuine office and registered address in Plovdiv
Bulgarian mobile line + SMS OTP / 2FA viewable live
Registered official point of contact (AML / MAMLA compliance)
Mail collection and scanning
Remote operability
Help assembling the account-opening files (bank accounts + marketplaces), remotely
Bookkeeping + EU / UK VAT compliance

A generic registration ticks the first line; the Eurotrade pack ticks every box — verifiable, line by line.

The legal form decides neither your tax nor the protection of your assets. It comes down to three concrete parameters — here is how to decide in a minute.
The decision in 1 minute

How to choose?

The decision rule is simple:

  • Launching an online activity on your own, still below the statutory conversion thresholds (you do not exceed, over two financial years, two of the three thresholds: 50 employees, BGN 4M ≈ €2.05M turnover, BGN 4M balance sheet)? EDPK (the single-member DPK). It is the choice Fenchell recommends for the online entrepreneur: €0 capital, 100% remote, with no prior bank account.
  • Want a local Bulgarian bank account from the outset, or crossing these statutory conversion thresholds? EOOD: the single-member limited company, token capital.
  • You are several shareholders? DPK for an online project at the seed stage, or OOD with carefully drafted articles on the allocation of shares and governance.

In the vast majority of cases, an EDPK / DPK or an EOOD is the answer. It is formed 100% remotely through a notarised power of attorney and a qualified electronic signature key (BORICA / B-Trust).

For the overview, start again from our pillar guide: forming a Bulgarian company remotely. And if your project evolves, the move to an OOD (or the conversion of a DPK that crosses the statutory conversion thresholds — two of the three thresholds over two financial years) remains open at any time.

The essential point, beyond the form

EOOD, OOD or DPK, the legal shell is only one line of the equation — the one any generic incorporation ticks. A low tax is worth nothing if the company is not genuinely operable remotely.

The Eurotrade offer is not a registration to which options are added afterwards, but an integrated system — a file of 20+ bilingual documents, a local agent, a mobile line + live SMS OTP, an AML point of contact, remote bank-account applications — designed from the outset for remote management (the table above details it line by line).

It is this infrastructure that creates the genuine economic substance and makes the tax advantage defensible, rather than an empty shell.

Not sure which form to choose?

The Eurotrade pack forms your complete Bulgarian company — EDPK, DPK or EOOD — 100% remotely, from €890 excl. VAT. We point you towards the right structure for your project.

Discover the Eurotrade pack Book a free call

FAQ

What is the difference between an EOOD and an OOD?
The EOOD is a single-member limited company: one person holds 100% of the shares. The OOD is its multi-shareholder version. The management, taxation (10% corporate income tax) and liability limited to the capital are identical; only the number of shareholders changes.
What is a DPK (variable-capital company)?
The DPK (дружество с променлив капитал) is the Bulgarian variable-capital company: €0 minimum capital, 100% remote formation, designed for startups and online entrepreneurs. The EDPK is its single-member version. It is the flexible equivalent of an LLC or a limited company; Fenchell recommends it for the majority of online projects that stay below the statutory conversion thresholds. Conversion is required only if the company exceeds, over two consecutive financial years, two of the following three thresholds: 50 employees, BGN 4,000,000 (about €2.05 million) of net turnover and BGN 4,000,000 of total balance sheet (чл. 260а, ал. 3 of the Bulgarian Commercial Act, Търговски закон).
Do you need starting capital for a Bulgarian company?
It depends on the form. The DPK (and the EDPK) requires no minimum capital: €0, with no prior local bank account. The EOOD and the OOD have a token capital of about €1 (formerly BGN 2, Bulgaria having adopted the euro on 1 January 2026), to be deposited in a Bulgarian bank account. The AD / EAD joint-stock company, for its part, requires BGN 50,000 (about €25,500) and is relevant only for raising capital.
Should a solo online entrepreneur choose an EOOD, an EDPK or a DPK?
For a solo online entrepreneur (e-commerce, freelance, trading, SaaS), Fenchell most often recommends the EDPK (the single-member DPK): €0 capital, 100% remote formation and an activity that stays below the statutory conversion thresholds. Conversion is required only if the company exceeds, over two consecutive financial years, two of the following three thresholds: 50 employees, BGN 4,000,000 (about €2.05 million) of net turnover and BGN 4,000,000 of total balance sheet (чл. 260а, ал. 3 of the Bulgarian Commercial Act). The EOOD remains an excellent choice if you want a local Bulgarian bank account from the outset or if you cross these thresholds.
Does the legal form change the tax rate?
No. EOOD, OOD and DPK are all subject to the same Bulgarian 10% corporate income tax, then to a dividend withholding of between 0 and 5% (0% to an EU/EEA parent company, with no threshold or holding period — чл. 194, ал. 3, т. 3 ЗКПО; 5% paid to an individual) — that is about 10 to 14.5% once profits are distributed, depending on the dividend rate, the overall tax burden among the lowest in the EU. The choice of form depends on the capital, the number of shareholders and the turnover, not on taxation. The essential point remains: whatever the form, a company is only worth something if it is genuinely operable remotely. At Fenchell, this operability is not added afterwards: it is built in from the outset, within an integrated file designed specifically for remote management — it is this genuine substance that makes the tax advantage defensible.

General information current as of 8 June 2026, not constituting personalised tax, legal or accounting advice. Rates, deadlines, amounts and capital thresholds are indicative, may change and vary according to your situation; check the framework applicable to your project. Fenchell Capital OOD — Bulgarian firm based in Plovdiv (EIK 207945095).

Free first call