Apostille and legalisation of documents: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Who and when: the apostille is issued by the Public Service Development Agency (Public Service Hall), except for documents of another body (Apostille Rules, Art. 5); documents of the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (a criminal record certificate and others) are apostilled by that Agency itself (Apostille Rules, Art. 5); the deadline is no later than 10 working days (Apostille Rules, Art. 9); from abroad, an electronic application with video identification (Apostille Rules, Art. 7).
2. What it confirms and what it applies to: it applies in the countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention (Apostille Rules, Art. 1); it confirms the signature, powers and seal, not the content (Apostille Rules, Art. 2); the original or a notarised copy is apostilled (Apostille Rules, Art. 3). Exceptions: documents of private companies (other than medical and educational ones), identity cards, driving licences, vehicle registration certificates and receipts are not apostilled (Apostille Rules, Art. 4); documents of Georgian embassies and consulates are not apostilled either (Apostille Rules, Art. 4), so neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Agency apostilles a consular certificate; for an apostille, a new certificate from the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is needed.
3. Non-Hague country: legalisation applies to countries without an agreement abolishing or simplifying legalisation (Legalisation Rules, Art. 1); it is done in two stages: the Agency (Public Service Development Agency or the MIA Service Agency), then the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Legalisation Rules, Art. 6).
4. A foreign document in Georgia: from a Hague Convention country, only an apostille is required (Hague Apostille Convention, Art. 3); for the civil registry office (ZAGS), an apostille or legalisation is required unless the law provides otherwise (Law on Civil Acts, Art. 11); a notary accepts only a legalised or apostilled document (Law on Notaries, Art. 55); under the Minsk Convention, documents bearing an official seal are accepted without a special certificate (Minsk Convention on Legal Assistance, Art. 13) (check with the receiving body); a document not in Georgian must be accompanied by a notarised translation (GAC, Art. 73).
5. Where to apply: the Public Service Development Agency (Public Service Hall); the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for its own documents; the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for legalisation.
6. Evidence: the original or a notarised copy, identity document, payment receipt.
7. Pitfalls: an MIA certificate is apostilled by the MIA Service Agency; a consular certificate cannot be apostilled anywhere, so obtain a new certificate from the MIA Service Agency instead; an apostille does not replace a translation.

Be sure to check

• who issues the apostille (Public Service Development Agency; MIA Service Agency for its own documents) and the deadline
• which documents cannot be apostilled (consular, private company and identity documents)
• when a two-stage legalisation is needed instead of an apostille
• foreign documents in Georgia: apostille or legalisation and a notarised translation