Bulgaria DNS Propagation Checker
Run a DNS lookup against 6 resolvers located in Bulgaria — Rousse · Sofia · Varna · Sofia · Sofia · Sofia.
- Resolved
- No answer
- Checking
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Rousse
Bulgaria
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Sofia
Bulgaria
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Varna
Bulgaria
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Sofia
Bulgaria
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Sofia
Bulgaria
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Sofia
Bulgaria
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What checking DNS from Bulgaria tells you
A DNS resolver keeps a cached copy of each record for as long as its time-to-live allows, and does so separately in every location. A change you have published can be live on one resolver while another still serves the old answer.
Checking from Bulgaria looks up the record on servers inside the country, so you see what people there actually get rather than what a resolver on another continent returns.
This matters most right after you edit a record: an update visible on a global resolver like 8.8.8.8 can still be stale at a local ISP in Bulgaria until its cached copy expires. The check confirms the new value has reached the resolvers your Bulgaria visitors depend on.
Three networks answer most DNS queries in Bulgaria, and all three grew out of former state or mobile monopolies. Vivacom, the privatized old Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, still hands out the resolver behind much of the country's fixed broadband: its long-standing pair 212.39.90.42 and 212.39.90.43 on the btc-net.bg network. A1 (formerly Mobiltel) and Yettel (once Telenor, before that GLOBUL) cover most of the rest with their own defaults.
Those resolvers also do regulatory work. Under the Gambling Act, the National Revenue Agency keeps a blacklist of unlicensed gambling domains and gives providers 24 hours to block each new entry. Most do it at the DNS layer, in their recursive resolvers, so on a home connection those domains fail to resolve while a public resolver like 1.1.1.1 still returns the real record.
So checking a record from inside Bulgaria shows what Vivacom, A1 and Yettel actually return, blocks included, not the clean answer 8.8.8.8 gives from abroad. Heavy peering at the BIX.BG exchange in Sofia keeps most lookups local.
- Vivacom212.39.90.42 Incumbent (ex-BTC); default resolver, applies NRA gambling blocks
- A1 Bulgaria Former Mobiltel; hands out its own default resolver
- Yettel Bulgaria Ex-Telenor and GLOBUL; default resolver for its subscribers
- Cloudflare1.1.1.1 Common workaround; returns records the NRA blocklist hides
Bulgarian ISPs block unlicensed gambling domains on the National Revenue Agency's blacklist at the DNS layer, as required by the Gambling Act, so answers for those specific domains reflect that filtering rather than the site's real records; other domains resolve normally.
How DNS propagation works
Every DNS record carries a time-to-live: the seconds a resolver may keep its cached answer before asking again. Change a record and resolvers holding the old value keep serving it until that timer runs out.
Propagation is this expiry playing out across many independent resolvers, so a lower time-to-live set ahead of a change makes it take effect sooner. There is no fixed waiting period — each record's time-to-live decides how long the old answer lingers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do DNS servers in Bulgaria return different results than 8.8.8.8?
Two things cause it. Each resolver caches independently, so one can hold an older answer than another.
And content delivery networks reply based on where the asking resolver is, steering a resolver in Bulgaria toward a nearby edge node.
Both answers can be correct at the same time for their own location.
How long until a DNS change is visible in Bulgaria?
It depends on the record's time-to-live, not on the country.
Resolvers in Bulgaria keep the previous answer until their cached copy expires, then pick up the new one.
If you lowered the time-to-live before making the change, it appears sooner; otherwise the old value can persist until the original timer elapses.
Which DNS server should users in Bulgaria use?
For most people the resolver their internet provider assigns is fine and usually the lowest latency.
Anyone who wants an alternative can point to a public resolver reachable from Bulgaria, such as Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8); the right choice depends on whether you value speed, privacy, or filtering.
Why check DNS from Bulgaria specifically?
Because it shows what visitors in Bulgaria actually resolve, which can differ from a global lookup.
If your audience is in Bulgaria, or you have moved hosting or mail there, checking against in-country resolvers confirms the records have reached the servers those users rely on.
Why does a gambling site resolve on 1.1.1.1 but not on my Vivacom or A1 line?
Under the Gambling Act, the National Revenue Agency publishes a blacklist of unlicensed gambling domains, and every ISP must block each entry within 24 hours. Bulgarian providers do this at the DNS layer, in their recursive resolvers, so on a Vivacom, A1 or Yettel connection those domains fail to resolve or land on a notice instead of their real address. Query a public resolver such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8, or use DNS-over-HTTPS, and you get the genuine record, because the filter lives in the ISP's resolver, not the domain itself.
What DNS do most Bulgarian home connections use?
The resolver their ISP hands out. Vivacom, the former Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, is the incumbent on fixed lines, and its old pair 212.39.90.42 and 212.39.90.43 on btc-net.bg still sits behind many homes; A1 (ex-Mobiltel) and Yettel (ex-Telenor) hand out their own. Operators peer heavily at BIX.BG in Sofia, so most lookups stay inside the country and public resolvers like 1.1.1.1 also answer with low latency here.
