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Apostille, legalisation and translation of documents for Georgia

A document issued in one country carries no force in another by itself. For a Georgian authority, notary or bank to accept your certificate, diploma or record, the document goes through two separate procedures: confirmation of authenticity and translation. Confusing the two causes most of the work that has to be redone.

Two different things

Confirmation of authenticity answers the question of whether the document was really issued by the body named in it. This is done by the country that issued the document - not by Georgia.

Translation answers the question of what the document says. This is done for the country where the document will be used - that is, for Georgia, into Georgian.

Hence the main rule about sequence: authenticity first, translation second. Translate too early and the apostille will be affixed after the translation, so the whole thing has to be translated again - apostille included.

Apostille or consular legalisation

Which of the two applies depends on whether the country that issued the document is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention together with Georgia.

• If both countries are parties, all you need is an apostille: a single mark from the competent authority of the issuing country.
• If not, you need consular legalisation: a longer chain through the issuing country's authorities and a consular office.

The membership of the convention changes, and its application between particular countries can be restricted. This is checked on the date the documents are prepared, not from memory.

Where the apostille is affixed

In the country that issued the document, and by that country's competent authority. An apostille cannot be affixed in Georgia to a foreign document, and this is a recurring misunderstanding: someone brings a certificate expecting to arrange everything on the spot, and finds that the apostille means going back or acting through a representative.

The reverse happens too: a Georgian document is needed abroad. The apostille is then affixed in Georgia, by the competent Georgian authority.

Translation and its certification

For state procedures, documents are filed in Georgian. The translation usually has to be certified, and certification requirements depend on where the document is going: an authority, a notary and a bank may differ. Worth clarifying before the translation, not after.

The translation covers the apostille and every annotation as well - they are part of the document too.

How long certificates stay valid

Some documents are only accepted within a limited window: above all certificates that reflect a current state of affairs - marital status, absence of criminal record, statements of income. Ordering them early "so they are ready" is a way of doing the work twice.

The sensible order is the opposite: first establish the procedure and what it consists of, and only then order the documents with a limited shelf life.

The spelling of a name

The most common and the most galling reason for refusal. A name rendered in Latin letters in the passport, in the birth certificate and in the translation can differ by a single letter - because transliteration rules varied across years and countries. To an authority, those are formally different people.

So the spelling is reconciled across all documents in advance, and the model is the way the name appears in the current international passport. Discrepancies are resolved before filing, sometimes through a separate procedure confirming that the person is one and the same.

Original, copy, duplicate

Not every procedure accepts a copy, even a certified one, and not every original is handed over. Sometimes it is easier to obtain a repeat certificate or a duplicate than to try using the single copy you need both here and in another country. This too is settled in advance.

What to prepare for the consultation

• A list of the documents you intend to use in Georgia.
• The country of issue for each document.
• What has already been apostilled or legalised, and what has not.
• What has already been translated and how the translation was certified.
• The issue dates of certificates with a limited validity period.
• A current international passport - as the model for the Latin spelling of the name.
• Older documents where the name may have been spelled differently.
• A view on the procedure the documents are for: an authority, a notary or a bank.

Disclaimer. This material is for reference, sets out the general procedure and is not legal advice. It has been prepared without regard to the circumstances of any particular matter and cannot serve as a basis for decisions on filing documents, entering transactions or taking other legally significant steps. Reading it or relying on it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Document requirements, fee levels and time limits are set by Georgian legislation and secondary rules; the law and the practice of applying it change, so the currency of any information is checked on the date of the enquiry. Decisions in state procedures are taken by the competent authority, and no outcome can be guaranteed.