“Megye” replaces “vármegye” from 1 October
From 1 October 2026, “megye” replaces “vármegye” as Hungary’s official term for a county.
From 1 October 2026, Hungary’s territorial administrative units are officially called megye again. The change follows the Seventeenth Amendment to Hungary’s Fundamental Law, which replaces the terms “vármegye” and “vármegyei” with “megye” and “megyei” in the Fundamental Law.
A megye, or county, is a territorial administrative unit covering several towns and villages. Counties help organise public administration and services across Hungary. For foreign residents, the county where they live may be relevant when identifying the office responsible for a particular administrative matter.
You may notice the new terminology in the names of public authorities, official correspondence and online administrative platforms. For example, “Pest vármegye” will now appear as “Pest megye”. In English, both terms translate as county.
The transition is gradual, so you may encounter both the previous and the new names for some time. A transitional provision in the Fundamental Law expressly allows the continued use of the previous terminology until the changeover can be completed. Therefore, seeing “vármegye” in an official letter or on an online platform does not, in itself, mean that the information is outdated.
Oct 1 2026
