Criminal record certificate: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Who and how: the certificate is issued by the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; it shows convictions and whether the person is wanted (MIA Order on the Criminal Record Certificate, Art. 15); an application may be submitted through the Public Service Hall (Regulation on Fees and Deadlines of the MIA Service Agency, Art. 11¹); an application and a copy of the identity document are required (MIA Order, Art. 16).
2. Deadlines and cost: the standard issuance period is 3 working days (Regulation on Fees and Deadlines, Art. 7); the fee is 20 lari (Regulation, Art. 6); expedited service is provided within 1 working day, with the expedited-service rate of 20 lari (Regulation, Art. 11).
3. From abroad: abroad, the certificate is issued by a consul, and only to citizens of Georgia and to stateless persons with status in Georgia (Procedure for Issuing Criminal Record Certificates by a Consul, Art. 1); the consul issues it within 5 working days (where access to the MIA database is available), otherwise within a month (Consul Procedure, Art. 4); a consular certificate is issued in the language of the country of residence or in English, free of charge (Consul Procedure, Art. 4). For a foreigner the consular route is closed; a representative may obtain the certificate under a power of attorney, presenting their own identity document and the power of attorney or its notarised copy (MIA Order, Art. 16). A power of attorney issued abroad must be apostilled or legalised.
4. Apostille: the apostille on the certificate is issued by the MIA Service Agency itself (Apostille Rules, Art. 5); an electronic apostille on an electronic document of the Agency takes 5 working days (MIA Rules on Electronic Apostille, Art. 5); documents of Georgian consulates are not apostilled (Apostille Rules, Art. 4), so if the receiving country requires an apostille, obtain the Agency's certificate, not the consular one.
5. Content and errors: a person is considered to have a criminal record from the entry into force of the conviction until the conviction is served or expunged (Criminal Code, Art. 79); for incorrect data, demand correction: the controller must correct it or refuse with reasons within no more than 10 working days (Law on Personal Data Protection, Art. 15); a refusal is appealed through the administrative procedure.
6. Where to apply: the Service Agency of the MIA (including via the Public Service Hall); a Georgian consulate, for citizens and stateless persons with status.
7. Evidence: the identity document or passport (for a foreigner, the passport used while living in Georgia, and the personal number if available), the representative's power of attorney; the receiving country's requirements (apostille, translation, age of the certificate).
8. Pitfalls: a consular certificate cannot be apostilled; the apostille is issued by the MIA Service Agency, not by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Public Service Development Agency; the deadline in an older MIA order differs from the law, and the law applies.

Be sure to check

• issued by the MIA Service Agency (via the Public Service Hall); 3 working days; fee of 20 lari; expedited within 1 working day
• from abroad: a consul (only citizens and stateless persons with status) or a representative under a power of attorney
• apostille is issued by the MIA Service Agency; a consular certificate cannot be apostilled
• an error in the certificate: a request for correction; 10 working days to respond