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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.

In short

• Two separate procedures. The country that issued a document confirms its authenticity; the translation into Georgian is made for Georgia.
• Apostille first, translation second. Translate too early and the translation has to be redone together with the apostille.
• Apostille or legalisation depends on whether both countries are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention; between parties to the Minsk Convention an apostille is generally not needed.
• The apostille is placed in the issuing country. It cannot be added to a foreign document in Georgia.
• Order certificates with limited validity last, and check the spelling of your name against your current passport.

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.

So: apostille 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.

Legal basis: Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, Arts 2 and 3.

Between states that are parties to the Minsk Convention, documents covered by that convention generally do not require an apostille.

The membership of the convention changes, and its application between particular countries can be restricted. We check the specific pair of countries before preparing documents.

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. People regularly come to us with a certificate expecting to arrange everything here, and the apostille means going back home 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.

Legal basis: Law of Georgia on Notaries, Art. 7(1) and 7(2).

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.

So first establish the procedure and what it involves, and order certificates with a limited shelf life last.

The spelling of a name

This is the most common 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.

A copy can be certified by a notary in any country. You show the notary the original, and the copy is certified as a true copy of it and acquires legal force. You do not need to hand the original to any institution or order a duplicate for this.

What to send before 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.

This is reference material, not legal advice. Requirements change, so check with us before you file documents. See our terms of use.