The Access to Public Information Act (APIA) was promulgated in State Gazette No. 55 as of July 7, 2000

Till then the right of access to information had not been subject to special regulation. So far only procedures regarding the access to environmental information and access to public registers were set forth by law. Access to public information laws exist in most democratic countries. It helps any natural or legal person who seek public information as it gives access to the most complete database – the database of the State.  

The last amendments of the APIA were promulgated in State Gazette No. 104 as of December 5, 2008.
The amendments introduce:
- extended scope of obliged bodies by including the regional offices of the central authorities and bodies financed under EU programs and funds;
- the obligation for the provision of partial access to information;
- the obligation for proactive publication of information online; and
- the public interest test.

The amendments were introduced through two combined draft laws. The first draft law was introduced by Martin Dimitrov and a group of MPs from the opposition Union of Democratic Forces on May 28, 2008. The second draft was introduced on July 4, 2008 by the Chairperson of the Combating Corruption Committee and a group of MPs. The amendments reflect necessary changes which AIP has formulated and recommended in 2007 and 2008 in its annual reports Access to Information in Bulgaria.

The amendments resolve in great part the problems of the implementation of the APIA and are in line with the international standards in the access to public information area.