Apostille vs. Embassy legalisation for Bulgaria
The apostille is the correct and sufficient proof for a record used in Bulgaria, and nothing consular is needed on top of it. An apostille is a printed sheet an Italian office attaches to your record, confirming that the seal and signature on it are genuine. It says nothing about the truth of the text. Bulgarian offices read it as proof in its own right, so the last step of the paper chain sits in Italy, not in a consulate. Confirm the detail with whoever will file your case.
What Bulgaria's 2001 entry means in practice
Bulgaria entered the Convention in 2001, so the route is well established but younger than most in western Europe. If a private body there asks you for something beyond the stamp, have the request put in writing and check it against the Convention. Public registries know the Italian form well. That gap is worth remembering when you choose whom to ask about document legalisation for Bulgaria, because a bank clerk and a registry clerk may not tell you the same thing.
The EU rule, and the €16 you may not owe
Italy and Bulgaria are both in the EU, and Italy applies an EU rule that lets some public records cross between member states with no stamp on them at all. Where that rule covers your paper, the €16 tax stamp is money you keep. Where it does not, the fee is per paper and some papers are exempt anyway. Nobody in Verona can tell you which group you are in, because the office reading the file decides. So write to it first and stamp only what it names.
Prefettura or Procura: reading your own paperwork
The split in Italy follows the source of the paper. A birth or marriage record from a comune, a school report or another public record goes to the Prefettura. A notarised deed, a company act signed before a notary or an order from a judge goes to the Procura della Repubblica at the courthouse. An apostille from Italy to Bulgaria is issued per sheet, so a set of four papers means four stamps and possibly two separate queues. Sort the pile by signature before you leave home.
Questions to settle with the Bulgarian office
Three answers make the rest easy: which language the file must be in, who may sign the translation, and whether the stamp belongs on the record, the translation or both. Nothing on this page names a language for Bulgaria, so treat any confident claim about one with suspicion and get it in writing. Ask also whether they accept a scan while the envelope travels. A Verona apostille Bulgaria bundle that arrives with a written instruction attached moves through faster than one that arrives alone.