An error in the cadastral map: how it is corrected, when it needs a court and why to find it before you sell

The buyer has found the house, the price is agreed, the notary is booked. Then the cadastral sketch shows a plot 40 sq m smaller than the title deed, and the neighbour's fence runs inside the boundary. Or the cadastral register still lists the previous owner. Mismatches like these are common, especially with houses and plots. Most can be fixed administratively, but they take time, so it pays to find them before signing a preliminary contract.

Cadastre and property register: two different systems

	Cadastre	Property register
Kept by	The Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Agency (AGKK) and its local offices (SGKK)	The Registry Agency
Shows	Location, boundaries, area, buildings, identifier	Registered deeds: ownership, mortgages, attachments
Key document	Sketch (скица) / unit diagram (схема)	Register search, notarial deed

The two are linked through the property's identifier (Art. 6 of the Cadastre and Property Register Act, ЗКИР). Ownership data in the cadastre comes from the property register.

It matters what the cadastre actually proves. Under Art. 2(5), data on location, boundaries and size are evidence until proven otherwise. Owner data in the cadastral register, however, count only to the extent that their source (for example the notarial deed) has evidential value. In other words, a wrong name in the cadastral register does not make that person the owner. But the error still blocks the transaction and has to be corrected.

Types of error

Since the amendments in force from 9 February 2026 (State Gazette no. 95 of 2025), the Act distinguishes several situations:

• Omissions or errors (непълноти или грешки): a mismatch between plot boundaries in the cadastral map for an urbanised area and their actual position (§ 1, item 16 of the Supplementary Provisions). Typically the fence is in one place, the line on the map in another, so the area differs.
• Obvious factual error (явна фактическа грешка): boundary mismatches between urbanised and non-urbanised land that arose when data sets were merged, or mismatches with permanent features on the ground in non-urbanised land (§ 1, item 9). It is dealt with separately, under Art. 53b, through a commission of the agency.
• Wrong data in the cadastral register, for example the wrong owner or document. These are changed under Art. 53 where the record does not match its source document, and the interested parties are notified within 3 days.
• Changes after the map was approved, such as a new building, a boundary change by agreement or a partition. These are updates, not errors, and follow other provisions (Art. 51(1), items 1 and 4, and Art. 52).

Not every difference counts as an error. A coordinate difference at a boundary point smaller than the tolerance set by ordinance is not an error (Art. 54(3)).

The procedure, step by step

1. Sketch and analysis. Get a current sketch and compare it with the title deed. A licensed cadastral surveyor measures on site.
2. Amendment project. The surveyor prepares a digital project containing survey measurement data (Art. 51(8)–(9)). Only a licensed surveyor can file it, electronically, with the ownership documents attached.
3. Application. The procedure starts on the owner's application (Art. 51(4)), or on official information from a public authority.
4. Notifying those affected. Neighbours and other interested parties are notified that the procedure has started, under the Administrative Procedure Code (Art. 51(5)). They can review the file and object.
5. Order. The head of the local cadastre office approves the change by an order with a draft sketch (скица-проект), which is served on those affected (Art. 54(4)). If more than 50 plots are involved, the order comes from the agency's executive director.
6. Appeal. The order, or a refusal, can be appealed to the administrative court where the property is located (Art. 54(6)). According to the agency, the deadline is 14 days from notification. If nobody appeals, the change takes effect once the deadline has passed.

When a court is needed

If the error is linked to a dispute over a property right (say, the neighbour claims the disputed strip is theirs), it can be corrected only after the dispute is resolved in court (Art. 54(2)). The cadastre office does not decide who owns what. The court may appoint a licensed surveyor as an expert to draw a combined sketch. The final judgment, together with an amendment project, is grounds for changing the map without a new order (Art. 53a, item 1).

In practice: where the neighbour agrees, the administrative route is usually enough. Where they do not, expect a lawsuit that can take much longer than the sale itself.

Timelines and costs (indicative)

Agency service	Standard	Express
Sketch of a plot in an urbanised area	€10.23, 7 working days	€20.45, 3 working days
Sketch of a plot in a non-urbanised area	€2.56, 7 working days	€5.11, 3 working days
Certificate of accepted amendment project	€17.90 per object, 10 working days	€35.79 per object, 5 working days

Sketch fees are 30% lower when requested and received electronically. The certificate of an accepted project is valid for 6 months. The change to the map itself is processed within 14 calendar days, but time spent notifying affected parties is not counted. The surveyor's fee is market-priced and depends on the property, so ask for a quote up front.

Why to check before you sell

An application to register a notarial deed must include a sketch from the cadastral map (Art. 77(2)(1)). This is why the notary compares the description in the title deed with the sketch. A significant mismatch in area, boundaries or owner usually means the deal is postponed. At worst, the buyer walks away.

If you are selling a house or plot, get a sketch before you list and show it to a surveyor. If you are buying, ask for it before paying a deposit. The seller's full document list is in our piece on the documents a seller provides, and the wider due diligence is in our guide to legal checks before buying. For a flat, check the unit diagram and the building data too; see also what to check about your building.

In short

• The cadastre shows where the property is and how big it is; the property register shows whose it is.
• A boundary error in an urbanised area is corrected by the local cadastre office, based on a licensed surveyor's project and written evidence, by an order that can be appealed.
• A wrongly recorded owner in the cadastral register is corrected against the source document.
• If you and the neighbour dispute ownership, the court comes first and the cadastre second.
• Check the sketch before you agree the deal.

If you are unsure whether the sketch matches the property you are selling or buying, call us or visit our office. We will review the documents and put you in touch with a surveyor.

This is general information, verified October 2026. It is not legal advice for a specific case.