Why is registration the step that matters most?
In Georgia you do not own a property because you signed for it or paid for it. Under Article 183 of the Civil Code, ownership of immovable property passes when a written transaction exists and the acquirer's title is registered in the Public Registry. Until that registration, the seller is still the owner in law, and anything registered against the property in the meantime, a mortgage, a seizure or a second sale, is registered against the seller's property. That is why the registration application, not the signature, is the moment every careful purchase is built around.
The Law on the Public Registry adds a second reason for urgency. Article 13(4) says the priority of registered rights is determined by the time the application for registration is submitted. Two applications concerning the same property are not decided by who signed first or who paid first, but by whose application reached the registry first. This guide explains how the application is made, what happens to it inside the registry, the three outcomes it can have and how to read the extract that proves the result.
Who files the application, and where?
Registration starts with an application, under Article 8(1) of the law. The National Agency of Public Registry acts directly and through its territorial registration offices and authorised persons, and an application with its documents may be submitted through any territorial office or authorised person. In practice that means a Public Service Hall, a registry office or a notary acting as an authorised person; each submission is logged with a registration number, which is your proof of the time of filing.
Either party can file, and either can be represented. A buyer abroad files through a representative under a power of attorney, and a deal made under a power of attorney issued abroad is certified by a Georgian notary as a public deed, according to Revera Legal. The registry's own online Smart Contract service, which lets parties sign and register electronically, is reserved for holders of a Georgian ID card or Georgian passport, which leaves foreign buyers with the counter and the notary.
What goes with the application?
The law leaves the exact list to the registry's instruction and allows the registry to ask for any further document a particular case needs (Article 8(2) and (3)). For an ordinary purchase of a registered flat, the file is built around the following.
How does the registration go, step by step?
Read a fresh extract the same day
Any person can obtain an extract. Check again, just before signing, that the seller is the registered owner and that nothing new has been registered.
Sign the written contract
With the cadastral code, the price, the payment route and the date of possession. Under Article 323 of the Civil Code the contract must be in writing.
File the application at once
The time of filing sets your priority under Article 13(4). Filing the same day as the signature closes the window in which something else can be registered first.
Choose the speed and pay
Up to four working days costs GEL 150, next-day service GEL 270 and same-day service GEL 350. Who pays is for the contract; if it says nothing, the Civil Code puts the costs of registration on the seller (Article 479).
Answer any suspension
If the registry finds a defect, it suspends the procedure and says what is missing. You have 30 calendar days to cure it, or 3 working days for an unpaid fee.
Receive the decision and the extract
The extract is prepared together with the decision to register and shows you as the owner.
Registered, suspended or refused: what each outcome means
| Outcome | Typical reasons | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Registered | The documents are complete and consistent with the register | Check the extract line by line; keep it with the contract and payment records |
| Suspended | A missing document, an unpaid fee, an improper form, unclear identification of a party or the property, a cadastral overlap, a court order | Supply what is missing within 30 calendar days (3 working days for the fee); the procedure then resumes and its period starts again |
| Refused | A right that cannot be registered, a conflict with existing entries, a document from an unauthorised person or one that was cancelled, ownership already transferred, a duplicate application | Find out why before paying anything further; a refusal often means the deal itself has a problem |
An applicant can also ask the registry to end the procedure, under Article 22(a). That option matters if the parties agree to stop before a decision, for example because a problem came to light after filing.
How do you check the extract after registration?
The extract is the document that proves the result, and the one a bank, a tenant, the residence permit authority or a later buyer will ask for. Check it the day you receive it, against the contract.
- Owner. Your name, spelled as in your passport, and the share if you bought jointly.
- Property. The cadastral code, the address and the area match the contract.
- Category. For land, the category, which decides, among other things, whether it can count towards a residence permit.
- Burdens. A mortgage that was to be cleared at the sale should no longer appear; anything that remains should be one you agreed to.
- Basis. The contract recorded as the ground of your ownership is the one you signed.
The law presumes registered data to be accurate until they are declared invalid (Article 5), and the registry does not answer for the authenticity of the documents it receives (Article 3(6)). Both rules point the same way: the check of the documents happens before the application, by you and your lawyer, not at the registry.
What changes for an apartment bought off-plan?
An unfinished apartment cannot be registered as your property because it does not yet exist as a separate unit. What can be registered is a preliminary ownership right; registering it is charged at the registry's standard fee (GEL 150) and takes up to four working days. It puts your claim on the public record, and under the priority rule it ranks from the time its application was filed. Your ownership is registered later, after the building is commissioned and the developer registers the units; that second registration is the one that makes you the owner and that a residence permit application relies on.
Which records should you keep after registration?
Keep four documents together, on paper and as scans: the signed contract, the bank confirmation of every payment, the registration number you received at filing and the extract that names you as owner. Together they show what you bought, what you paid, when your claim was filed and what the register now says. They are what a bank asks for before a mortgage, what a tenant's lawyer may ask to see, what the residence permit file relies on and what the tax calculation on a future sale starts from.
Risks and exceptions
- A gap between signing and filing. Priority follows the time of the application, not the date of the contract.
- An old extract. An extract from last week does not show what was registered yesterday.
- A suspension left unanswered. After the suspension period, an uncured defect can end the application.
- Names that do not match. Unclear identification of a party is a ground for suspension.
- Relying on the registry to check documents. It registers what it receives; checking is your lawyer's job.
Frequently asked questions
Can I register a purchase online as a foreigner?
The registry's Smart Contract service is only for Georgian citizens. A foreign buyer files at a Public Service Hall, a registry office or through an authorised person such as a notary, in person or through a representative.
Is the extract I receive enough to prove ownership?
Yes. It is the document that shows the registered owner, and it is what banks, tenants and the authorities ask for.
What if the registry asks for an extra document?
The law allows it to request any document a case needs. Supply it within the period stated; the procedure then continues.
Can the seller sell to someone else after we sign?
Until your application is filed, someone else's application could be filed first, and priority follows the time of filing. That is why the application should follow the signature immediately.
Who pays the registration fee?
Whoever the contract names. If it is silent, the Civil Code puts the costs of registering a sale on the seller.
How do I know my application was received?
The registry logs each submission with a registration number. Ask for it at filing and keep it.
The money side of the same moment is covered in safe payment; the full sequence of a purchase is in the complete guide to buying property in Georgia.
Sources
- Law of Georgia on the Public Registry (Articles 3, 5, 6, 8 to 10, 13 and 21 to 23), consolidated 1 April 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Civil Code of Georgia (Articles 183, 323 and 479), consolidated 25 June 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Immovable property registration: fees and terms, National Agency of Public Registry (accessed 11 October 2026)
- Smart Contract: frequently asked questions, National Agency of Public Registry (accessed 11 October 2026)
- New notary requirements for transactions subject to public registration in Georgia, Revera Legal (accessed 12 October 2026)
Change log
- - Guide published from the Law on the Public Registry, the Civil Code and the registry's fee table; being reviewed by the partner lawyer.