Apostille or consular legalisation for Georgia: by country

Apostille or legalisation: which does your document need?

Paperwork from another country, whether it is your authority to act for someone, proof of a marriage or a death, or the founding papers of a company, is not automatically accepted in Georgia. A Georgian notary accepts a foreign document only if it is legalised or carries an apostille, unless an international treaty says otherwise, and residence permit applications follow the same rule. Which of the three applies depends on the country that issued the document: an apostille for countries in the Hague Apostille Convention, consular legalisation for countries outside it, and no certification at all where a treaty exempts the document.

This page sets out Georgia's position, the status of the countries our readers most often come from, and the steps for each route.

Georgia and the Apostille Convention

Georgia acceded to the Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation in 2006, and it entered into force for Georgia on 14 May 2007. Georgia declared that the Convention does not apply to documents issued by the de facto authorities of Abkhazia and the former South Ossetia Autonomous District. Germany and Greece first objected to Georgia's accession and later withdrew their objections, so the Convention has applied with Germany since 3 February 2010 and with Greece since 17 December 2015. Georgia objected to Kosovo's accession, so the Convention does not apply between the two.

Status by country

The status table changes as countries join, so check it again for a document from a country not listed here.

When no certification is needed

Georgia remains a party to the 1993 Minsk Convention on legal assistance, in force for Georgia since 11 July 1996. Under its article on the authenticity of documents, documents drawn up or certified in due form by a competent body of one party are accepted in the territory of the other parties without any special certificate. Georgia also has bilateral legal assistance treaties with Türkiye, Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Whether a particular document is exempt depends on the treaty and on the states involved; Ukraine, for example, has terminated the Minsk Convention in its relations with Russia and Belarus.

How to get an apostille abroad

1. Find the competent authority

   Each member state names its own, often a ministry of foreign affairs or of justice, or a court.

2. Obtain the original or a notarised copy

   The apostille certifies the signature and seal on a public document.

3. Apply for the apostille

   In person, by post or, in some countries, electronically.

4. Have it translated in Georgia

   Translate the document together with its apostille into Georgian, and have the translation certified.

How consular legalisation works

For a country outside the Convention, the document passes through two authorities. First the foreign ministry of the issuing country certifies it; then a Georgian embassy or consulate legalises it. The Georgian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, for example, asks for the document to be stamped by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, takes applications online through geoconsul.gov.ge, charges USD 15 (AED 56) per document and takes up to 10 working days; Arabic originals must then be translated. The Georgian law on consular fees sets USD 15 for legalising a document and USD 10 per page for a consular officer's translation or confirmation of a translation.

Documents from Georgia for use abroad

If you need a Georgian document abroad, such as an extract for a bank at home, the Public Service Development Agency issues apostilles. Under its published fees the price depends on speed: GEL 30 by the eighth working day, GEL 60 by the fourth, GEL 120 by the second and GEL 150 on the same day, and an e-Apostille service is listed on my.gov.ge. Apostilles are issued in Georgian and English. For a country outside the Convention, a Georgian document goes first to the agency and then to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Practical tips

• Get the apostille before the translation, so that the apostille itself is translated.
• Check that names are spelled the same way in every document and in your passport.
• Ask the notary or the agency in Georgia, before you send anything, which certification they will accept.
• Allow time: apostilles and legalisation each take days to weeks, and the registry may verify a document with the issuing country.

Our guide to notarised translation covers the next step.

Which documents does a buyer usually need to certify?

Your passport is the one document that usually needs neither: for registration, a foreign passport whose details are in English or Russian is accepted without translation.

How long does it take?

Plan the certification before you plan the signing date. In Georgia, the rules on apostilles provide for an apostille to be issued within 10 days of the application, and the first stage of legalising a Georgian document for use abroad takes up to 10 working days. Abroad, timing depends on the country: the Georgian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, for example, takes up to 10 working days for its part of the legalisation, after the UAE's own stamp. Add the translation in Georgia, and a buffer of a week or two for anything that has to be redone.

How Georgian offices check foreign documents

A notary must refuse a foreign document that lacks the required apostille or legalisation. The Public Registry may go further: it can send an apostilled document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or to a consulate to confirm that it is genuine, a step one law firm reports takes about 15 days, introduced because of forged papers from abroad. You can verify apostilles issued in Georgia through the electronic register at apostille.cra.ge. For your own documents, keep the originals with their apostilles together, and do not separate pages that were certified as one document.

What an apostille does and does not prove

An apostille confirms that the signature on a public document is genuine, the capacity in which the person signed and, where there is one, the identity of the seal or stamp. It says nothing about whether the content of the document is true or whether it is the right document for your purpose. A notary or the Public Service Hall in Georgia can still ask questions about a power of attorney's wording, a certificate's date or a missing page, even when the apostille is in order.

Planning for a residence permit

The residence permit rules repeat the same principle: foreign documents must be legalised or carry an apostille, unless an international treaty of Georgia provides otherwise, and documents in a foreign language need a certified Georgian translation. For a family application this means a marriage certificate and birth certificates for each child, each with its own apostille or legalisation and translation. Order them at the start, because documents from several countries can take several weeks to collect.

Frequently asked questions

Is Georgia a member of the Apostille Convention?

Yes, since 14 May 2007.

Do I need an apostille on a US or UK document?

Yes, both are parties to the Convention.

What about documents from the UAE?

The UAE is not a party; documents need consular legalisation through a Georgian embassy or consulate.

Are Russian documents accepted without an apostille?

A treaty exemption may apply under the Minsk Convention; confirm with the notary or agency before relying on it.

How much does consular legalisation cost?

USD 15 per document at a Georgian consulate, plus fees in the issuing country.

Who issues apostilles in Georgia?

The Public Service Development Agency, from GEL 30.

Does the apostille need translating?

Yes, translate the document together with the apostille into Georgian.

Does Georgia accept apostilles from Kosovo?

No; Georgia objected to Kosovo's accession, so the Convention does not apply between them.

Sources

1. Status table: Apostille Convention, Hague Conference on Private International Law, updated 30 June 2026 (accessed 18 October 2026)
2. Georgia: competent authority (Art. 6), Hague Conference on Private International Law (accessed 18 October 2026)
3. Law of Georgia on Notaries (Articles 55-56), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
4. Minsk Convention on legal assistance of 22 January 1993, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
5. International treaties on legal assistance in force, Ministry of Justice of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
6. Law of Georgia on Consular Fees (Article 4), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
7. Legalisation, Embassy of Georgia in the United Arab Emirates (accessed 18 October 2026)
8. Government Decree No 404 of 2016 on document legalisation, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)

Change log

• 18 October 2026 - Data page published from the HCCH status table, the Law on Notaries, the Minsk Convention, the law on consular fees and the Georgian Embassy in the UAE.