Ordinance No 8121h-444 of the Ministry of Interior and the Bulgarian National Bank of 3 May 2016 on Organisation and Control in Providing Security of Banks

Ordinance No 8121h-444 of the Ministry of Interior and the Bulgarian National Bank of 3 May 2016 on Organisation and Control in Providing Security of Banks (Title amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) (Published in "State Gazette", No. 37 of 17 May 2016; amended and supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024; amended – State Gazette, No. 79 of 2025, effective from 26 September 2025)

Chapter One GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 1. (1) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) This Ordinance regulates the organization and control of ensuring the security of banks. (2) (Amended and supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) The security of banks is ensured through the establishment of physical protection systems.

Art. 2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) The provisions of this Ordinance apply to the premises of banks.

Art. 3. (1) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) The persons managing and representing the banks are responsible for the implementation of this Ordinance. (2) The persons referred to in para. 1 establish a specialized unit that organizes and controls the implementation of the requirements of this Ordinance. (3) The persons referred to in para. 1 personally perform the obligations regarding the implementation of the requirements of this Ordinance when it is not possible to establish a specialized unit.

Chapter Two GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZING PHYSICAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS

Art. 4. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Banks adopt:

1. a security instruction, based on which a plan is drawn up for each protected object, which contains: a) data on the location, infrastructure, and characteristics of the object, adjacent rooms, buildings, and territories; b) a brief description of the internal order, access regime, and duties of the physical protection personnel; c) forces and means for physical protection; d) an action plan for crisis situations (attack on the object, terrorist act, accidents, fires, natural disasters, etc.); e) procedure for control over the performance of official duties by the physical protection personnel;
2. a regulation on the access regime;
3. (Repealed – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024).

Chapter Three SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZING PHYSICAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS

Section I Requirements for the design, construction, and equipment of objects (Title amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024)

Art. 5. (1) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Bank premises are designed, constructed, and equipped with physical protection elements in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance No RD-02-20-6 of 19 December 2016 on technical requirements for physical security of constructions (State Gazette, No. 1 of 2017) (Ordinance No RD-02-20-6 of 2016) and in compliance with the specific requirements of this Ordinance. (2) The management body of each bank approves the categorization of its objects as follows:

1. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 79 of 2025) Category 1 objects are branches, offices, and remote work locations of banks where the cash and valuables on hand exceed the lev equivalent of 150,000 euros; this category includes the vault rooms of banks with day and 24-hour operation modes and other rooms for storing cash and valuables;
2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 79 of 2025) Category 2 objects are branches, offices, and remote work locations of banks where the cash and valuables on hand are from the lev equivalent of 50,000 euros to the lev equivalent of 150,000 euros;
3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 79 of 2025) Category 3 objects are offices and remote work locations of banks where the cash and valuables on hand are up to the lev equivalent of 50,000 euros. (3) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Bank premises, depending on the categorization under para. 2, are designed, constructed, and equipped in accordance with the parameters specified in Annexes No 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Art. 6. (New – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) (1) Bank premises are designed, constructed, and equipped with doors, windows/showcases, protective barriers, grilles, covers/shutters, and protective glazing in accordance with the requirements of Ordinance No RD-02-20-6 of 2016. (2) Doors, windows/showcases, protective barriers, grilles, covers/shutters, in accordance with their purpose, must possess a burglary resistance class according to BDS EN 1627 and/or a bullet resistance class according to BDS EN 1522. (3) Protective glazing must have a resistance class appropriate to the purpose of the glazing and Annexes No 1 and 2.

Art. 7. For bank premises, a separate entrance is provided where possible in buildings with shared use, and when using common corridors, rooms must be separated by physical barriers.

Art. 8. (1) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 79 of 2025) Areas where cash and valuables exceeding the lev equivalent of 20,000 euros are handled and which border publicly accessible zones must meet the following requirements:

1. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) be separated from the publicly accessible zones of the room with bullet-resistant barriers constructed so that they do not move under the influence of physical force or technical devices; the open joints between individual components must not be larger than 3 mm; the materials used must meet the class of resistance to shooting;
2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) doors must be equipped with mechanical locks with secret cylinders and secured with automatic closing devices; keys to doors must not be left externally in the locks. (2) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 79 of 2025) Cashier rooms where cash and valuables exceeding the lev equivalent of 20,000 euros are handled must meet the following requirements:
3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) have a barrier between the cashier and the client that is bullet-resistant with a minimum height of 2.2 m; the barrier and glazing in it between the cashier and the client must not shed fragments upon shooting, and when the ratio of their sides is greater than 2:1, they must be framed on at least three sides;
4. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) devices for receiving and handing over money, valuables, and documents must have the resistance class of the barriers in which they are embedded; if there are openings for conversation, they must be constructed so that direct shooting through them is not possible;
5. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) barriers between individual workstations in cashier rooms must be burglary-resistant, and the glazing in them must have a class of resistance to manual attack in accordance with Annex No 1;
6. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) cashier rooms must be equipped with a class of resistance to burglary according to BDS EN 1143-1 and in accordance with Annex No 4; holdings in safes must not be visible from publicly accessible places. (3) The limits for cash and valuables on hand under para. 1 and 2 are established based on an internal act of the bank.

Art. 9. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Vault rooms are constructed and equipped in accordance with BDS EN 1143-1, and the following specific requirements are fulfilled:

1. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) the class of resistance to burglary of the vault determines the maximum value of cash and valuables stored in it according to Annex No 3;
2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) vault rooms must have a protected transport connection with places for working with cash and valuables and with the dock;
3. a steel grating door equipped with a cash-type lock must be mounted after the door of the vault room;
4. a steel door with a cash-type lock must be mounted at the entrance to the anteroom of the vault room; the use of an administrative control system is also permissible;
5. all shelves and cabinets in vault rooms are metal; in case bank premises not categorized as vaults are used for civilian safes and safes are installed in them, the latter must comply with the requirements of Annex No 4;
6. in cases where one or more walls of the vault rooms border external walls, a bypass corridor is constructed; if construction of a bypass corridor is impossible, these walls are additionally reinforced;
7. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) deposit systems of banks must meet the requirements of BDS EN 1143-2.

Art. 10. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) When constructing docks, the following requirements are observed:

1. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) the door of the transport approach to the dock has a bullet resistance class in accordance with BDS EN 1522;
2. an emergency exit for personnel performing transportation is planned in the dock;
3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) devices for receiving and handing over documents, money, and valuables and communication equipment are constructed between the dock and the room for receiving and handing over documents, money, and valuables; the materials used in the construction of the devices have a bullet resistance class in accordance with BDS EN 1522.

Art. 11. Bank premises for archives, dealing, and SWIFT office, for storing magnetic information carriers, and the register of shareholders are equipped with the physical protection systems provided in this Ordinance, as well as with reliable locking devices and/or access control systems.

Section II Requirements for the organization of physical protection personnel (Title amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024)

Art. 12. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Each bank ensures the security of its premises with physical protection personnel in accordance with the Private Security Act.

Art. 13. Bank premises, depending on the categorization under Art. 5, para. 2, are secured as follows:

1. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Category 1 objects – with at least one 24-hour post and/or signal-alarm and notification systems with a signal routed to a response center;
2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Category 2 objects – with at least one day post or signal-alarm and notification systems with a signal routed to a response center;
3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Category 3 objects – signal-alarm and notification systems with a signal routed to a response center.

Section III Requirements for equipping objects with signal-alarm and notification systems, access control systems, and video surveillance systems (Title supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024)

Art. 14. (1) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Signal-alarm and notification systems in bank premises are constructed in accordance with BDS EN 50131-1, video surveillance systems according to BDS EN 62676-1-1, and access control systems in accordance with BDS EN 60839-11-1. (2) (Amended and supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Projects for signal-alarm and notification systems and video surveillance systems are prepared by banks or by persons to whom they have entrusted the preparation of the system projects in their premises. (3) Projects for signal-alarm and notification systems prepared in accordance with para. 2 are coordinated with the functionally competent structure of the Ministry of Interior.

Art. 15. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Each bank ensures the security of its premises with signal-alarm and notification systems through persons holding a license or certificate for carrying out private security activities according to the Private Security Act.

Art. 16. (1) Signal-alarm and notification systems must include the following types of security:

1. peripheral security – signaling upon attack on the periphery of the object;
2. volumetric security – signaling upon movement of a person in protected rooms;
3. safe security – signaling upon attack;
4. personnel security – signaling upon attack on employees. (2) Signals from signal-alarm and notification systems are sent to specialized response centers.

Art. 17. The special technical requirements for signal-alarm and notification systems that require zone separation are:

1. detectors in one zone are for one type of security, of one type, and no more than 3 in number;
2. anti-sabotage contacts and personnel security detectors are connected to zones that are continuously under security.

Art. 18. (Supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) The control unit in signal-alarm and notification systems must meet the following requirements:

1. support one or several remote keyboards;
2. be divisible into parts (groups) with independent activation, deactivation, and separate outputs for alarm signals;
3. have non-volatile memory for storing a minimum of 250 alarm events and the ability to view and print;
4. have autonomous power supply ensuring at least 24 hours of continuous operation of the system; the housing of the control unit is metal, with an anti-sabotage contact.

Art. 19. Requirements for equipping vault rooms are:

1. (Supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) security of the door with a magnetic or mechanical contact detector corresponding to BDS EN 50131-2-10, and a seismic detector reacting to explosion, drilling abrasive, and thermal tools;
2. security of walls, floor, and ceiling with seismic detectors meeting the requirements of item 1;
3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) security of the room with microwave detectors corresponding to BDS EN 50131-2-3, or passive infrared detectors for ceiling mounting corresponding to BDS EN 50131-2-2, with mirror optics or quadruple pyroelectric sensor;
4. panic button in and in front of the room;
5. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) security of the bypass corridor with microwave detectors and detectors reacting to vibrations of external walls;
6. security with seismic detectors of safes in rooms for civilian safes;
7. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) video surveillance cameras of the interior of the vault room and of the vault door from the side of the room;
8. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) video surveillance cameras in the vault room and approaches to it must have resolution allowing recognition of the faces of those present.

Art. 20. Requirements for equipping places where cash and valuables are handled are:

1. personnel security with panic buttons and/or panic pedals;
2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) volumetric security with passive infrared detectors corresponding to BDS EN 50131-2-2;
3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) security of external glass surfaces of the object with glass break detectors corresponding to BDS EN 50131-2-7-1, BDS EN 50131-2-7-2, or BDS EN 50131-2-7-3;
4. security with seismic detectors – in the presence of safes storing cash and valuables outside working hours;
5. video surveillance cameras.

Art. 21. Requirements for equipping cashier rooms are:

1. (Supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) security with panic buttons and/or panic pedals;
2. security with seismic detectors – in the presence of a safe storing cash and valuables outside working hours;
3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) video surveillance cameras with resolution allowing recognition of the faces of those present in the zone and their manipulations must be installed in the cashier room.

Art. 22. Requirements for security of the archive room are:

1. (Supplemented – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) security of the door with a magnetic or mechanical contact detector;
2. volumetric security with microwave detectors or passive infrared detectors for ceiling mounting, when the room is a workplace;
3. security of external walls of the object with vibration detectors.

Art. 23. Requirements for security of entrance anterooms, corridors, landings, and workrooms are:

1. volumetric security with passive infrared or combined detectors;
2. security of external glass surfaces of the object up to a height of 4 m from ground level and the last floor, if there is access to it from another building;
3. video surveillance cameras of the entrances to the object, the dock, and the visitor free-access zone.

Art. 24. Requirements for ensuring the security of ATM terminal devices are:

1. security of the door(s) of the ATM terminal device with a magnetic or mechanical contact detector;
2. a specialized seismic detector for ATMs with three signal processing channels (shock, vibration, thermal channel) mounted on the ATM housing, installed according to the manufacturer's recommendation;
3. the signal from the signal-alarm and notification system must be routed to a response center;
4. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) the safe and anchor connections in ATM terminal devices must meet the requirements of BDS EN 1143-1 and Annex No 4.

Art. 25. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Incoming information from video surveillance cameras is recorded and archived for a period of two months.

Section IV Requirements for organizing security during the transport of cash and valuables

Art. 26. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Banks ensure security during the transport of cash and valuables in accordance with Ordinance No 8121h-611 of 11 June 2018 on the conditions and procedure for organizing and carrying out types of private security activities under Art. 5, para. 1 of the Private Security Act and for determining an exemplary typical classification of objects where security is carried out under Art. 5, para. 1, items 2 and 3 of the Private Security Act (State Gazette, No. 52 of 2018).

Art. 27. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) When transporting cash and valuables for banks using a specialized vehicle, it must meet the requirements of BDS EN 1522 and BDS EN 1063 and have a separate cargo compartment for storing cash and valuables.

Supplementary Provisions

§ 1. For the purposes of this Ordinance:

1. "Bank premises" are the buildings together with facilities and adjacent territories of banks, their branches, offices, and remote work locations, which serve to carry out their activities.
2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) "ATM terminal devices" are devices within the meaning of Ordinance No 3 of the BNB of 2018 on the conditions and procedure for opening payment accounts, carrying out payment operations, and using payment instruments (State Gazette, No. 37 of 2018).
3. (Repealed – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024)
4. "Dock" is a designated zone for loading and unloading cash and valuables.
5. (Repealed – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024)
6. (New – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) "Signal-alarm and notification systems" are alarm systems against intrusion and attack, including central or local panels, control panels, sensors, signaling means, and devices for transmitting signals remotely, which send a signal when physical barriers of physical protection systems are attempted to be overcome or destroyed or upon attack on a given object.
7. (New – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) "Physical protection personnel" are officials who, by virtue of their official duties, organize, direct, or directly participate in activities for ensuring physical protection.

§ 2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) The terms "protective glazing" and "physical barriers" are used within the meaning of Ordinance No RD-02-20-6 of 2016.

Transitional and Final Provisions

§ 3. This Ordinance is issued on the basis of § 3 from the supplementary provisions of the Credit Institutions Act and is adopted by the Management Board of the Bulgarian National Bank with Decision No 52 of 27 April 2016 and by the Minister of Interior.

§ 4. Ordinance No I-171 of 2001 on the organization and control of ensuring the security of banks and non-bank financial institutions (published, State Gazette, No. 70 of 2001; amended and supplemented, No. 68 of 2004) is repealed.

§ 5. (Repealed – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024)

§ 6. (1) Compliance with the provisions of this Ordinance is certified by a protocol for security inspection of bank and financial institution premises, prepared by the persons under Art. 3, para. 2 and 3 and representatives of the territorial structure of the Ministry of Interior. (2) Representatives of the territorial structure of the Ministry of Interior are employees competent in the elements of physical protection systems. (3) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) The protocols under para. 1 are prepared in 3 copies, respectively for: the bank, the Ministry of Interior, and the "Bank Supervision" Directorate at the BNB.

§ 6a. (New – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Written orders for the removal of violations are issued to persons who have violated this Ordinance by representatives of the respective territorial structure of the Ministry of Interior.

§ 7. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Control over the implementation of this Ordinance is carried out by police bodies from the Main Directorate "National Police" – Ministry of Interior, and by the regional directorates of the Ministry of Interior. In case of non-compliance with orders for the removal of violations of this Ordinance, a reasoned proposal is sent to the Deputy Governor of the BNB, heading the "Bank Supervision" Directorate, for initiating proceedings under Chapter Fifteen of the Credit Institutions Act.

§ 8. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Compliance with the BDS standards cited in this Ordinance is established in accordance with the National Standardization Act, applying the latest edition of the relevant standard, including amendments.

§ 9. (New – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) The provisions of this Ordinance apply correspondingly to the Bulgarian National Bank, with the exception of Art. 5, para. 2 and 3, Art. 12, 13, 15, 26, and §§ 6–7 of the transitional and final provisions.

Annex No 1 to Art. 5, para. 3, Art. 6, para. 2, Art. 6, para. 2, and Art. 8, para. 2, item 3 (Previous Annex No 1 to Art. 5, para. 3, amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Protective glazing with resistance to manual attack (Title amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024)

Resistance Class according to BDS EN 356	Test Conditions	Area of Application
R1A	3 blows with a standard metal sphere from a height of 1500 mm	Against vandalism (stones, objects)
R2A	3 blows with a standard metal sphere from a height of 3000 mm	Against vandalism (stones, objects), isolated houses in settlements
R3A	3 blows with a standard metal sphere from a height of 6000 mm	Against vandalism (stones, objects), private buildings in remote locations
R4A	3 blows with a standard metal sphere from a height of 9000 mm	Against vandalism (stones, objects), residential buildings with metal structures, remote vacation homes
R5A	3x3 blows with a standard metal sphere from a height of 9000 mm	Against vandalism (stones, objects), villas and above all scientific objects
R6A	30–50 blows with a standard axe	Against physical attack (cutting tools), photo and video shops, pharmacies, computing centers, shops
R7A	51–70 blows with a standard axe	Against physical attack (cutting tools), galleries, museums, antique shops, psychiatric departments
R8A	Over 70 blows with a standard axe	Against physical attack (cutting tools), jewelry stores, energy centers, prisons

Annex No 2 to Art. 5, para. 3 and Art. 6, para. 2 (Previous Annex No 2 to Art. 5, para. 3, amended – State Gazette, No. 88 of 2024) Protective glazing with bullet resistance (Title...