Apostille of Georgia, Tbilisi
What is the Georgian apostille?
The Georgian apostille is a stamp, the form, content, and purpose of which are determined by the Apostille Convention of 1961. This means that the apostille in Georgia is no different from the international standard of an apostille. However, the Georgian apostille contains information both in English and in the official Georgian language.
Georgia joined the Hague Convention “on the Apostille” on August 26, 2006. The apostille came into effect in May 2007. This means that documents obtained before May 2007 cannot be apostilled. Such documents must be reissued as new standard documents.
The Convention entered into force between Georgia and the following contracting states on different dates: Germany on February 3, 2010, and Greece on December 17, 2015.
Accordingly, documents obtained before February 3, 2010, and apostilled in Georgia, will not be recognized in Germany. Also, documents with an apostille obtained before December 17, 2015, will not be recognized by Greece.
The Convention does not apply to documents issued by Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Apostilles in Georgia are affixed in two languages: Georgian and English, regardless of whether the document is translated or not.
What does the Georgian Apostille look like?
Photo of the Georgian apostille:
Apostille certification is carried out by typing (printing or typographic printing) or by stamping on a self-adhesive paper document equipped with security means.
Text of the Georgian Apostille
Georgian Language
(Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)
1. แฅแแแงแแแ /Country: แกแแฅแแ แแแแแ /Georgia
แแแชแแแฃแแ แแคแแชแแแแฃแ แ แแแแฃแแแแขแ /This public document
2. แฎแแแแแฌแแ แแแแ /has been signed by: ___________________________
3. แ แแแแแก แแแแแแแแแแแแช แแ แแก / acting in the capacity of: ________________
4. แแแแขฑแขแแแชแแแฃแแแ / bears the seal/stamp of ________________
แแแญแแแ / แจแขแแแแแ แแแแแฌแแแแฃแแ /Certified
5. แแแแแแ / at: __________________
6. แแแ แแฆแ / the __________________
7. แแแแแฌแแแแฃแแแ /by: ________________
8. โ ____________________
9. แแแญแแแก / แจแขแแแแแก แแแแแแ /Seal/stamp
10. แฎแแแแแฌแแ แ/ signature
Translation of the Georgian Apostille into English
(The Hague Convention of October 5, 1961)
1. Country: Georgia
This official document
2. Signed by: __________________ (who, surname name)
3. Acting in the capacity of: _________________ (position)
4. Seal:
Authenticated by seal
5. Place: _______________ (city)
6. Date: __________________
7. Organization: ______________________
(Note: BUSINESS LAWYERS SRL: Agency for Development of Civil Service under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia)
8. โ ____________________
9. Seal / stamp
(Note: BUSINESS LAWYERS SRL: The seal of an authorized body for apostille certification)
Apostille for company, enterprise, LLC, JSC documents (apostille for founding charter documents)
ย
ย
Why is an apostille needed if documents from Georgia already have an official’s seal and signature?
The fact is that many officials work in ministries, departments, government bodies, archives, and civil registration offices in Georgia.
Officials change periodically. This means there are many signatures, and they also change. To verify the authenticity and truthfulness of a document and to avoid forgeries, one must check if the official’s signature matches the sample of his signature and if he indeed signed the given document.
Given the scale of such a large number of documents and such a large number of officials, this is very challenging. Especially challenging for the officials who accept your documents abroad.
Hence, a system of confirming all signatures and seals by a few individuals emerged to ease the work for foreign officials. This also reduces the document review time abroad, as well as the waiting time for applicants. In such a system, local officials responsible for the Apostille find it easier to verify signatures, seals, and the documents themselves (their forms and content).
Staff with access to the internal database of signatures, seals, and document samples also get listed in a special register with their signatures. However, this registry is limited to a dozen signatures, the samples of which are shared with partner countries or are easily verified by other means.
There are two procedures for such verification. The first procedure, the most reliable one, is the legalization of documents. When an official signs the document, it is then certified by a ministry employee (usually the foreign affairs ministry), and then the last signature is verified and authenticated by the consulate of the country where the document is to be submitted. Verification is based on a current database (list) of signatures – following a chain of three agencies (institutions, state bodies).
The second procedure is based on greater trust and bypasses one department, typically the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this case, we’re talking about the apostille. An apostille, a special stamp of a set design, significantly simplifies the procedure for recognizing documents from one state within another state’s territory.
Why get an apostille if Georgian documents can be verified online?
Online document verification systems are a new solution for verifying the authenticity of documents. It can be said that such systems are still in the testing phase and need further improvement.
When governments and societies are ready for this kind of document verification system, the need for an apostille will likely disappear.
However, a significant number of officials will have access to such a system. This again raises the issue of the vast number of signatures and their relevance.
Is it possible to get an apostille at the Georgian consulate?
According to the Hague Apostille Convention, it’s not possible to obtain an apostille for Georgian documents at a Georgian consulate. This is irrespective of the country where the consulate is located, be it Ukraine, Italy, Germany, and so on.
Does Georgia have an electronic apostille – E-apostille?
Since 2020, Georgia has been using an electronic apostille for online verification. Up to 100 types of documents issued by Georgian state bodies, as well as healthcare and educational institutions, can be verified.
The electronic apostille allows the authentication of birth and marriage certificates, medical records, court rulings, and other documents for use abroad. By launching this innovative electronic service, Georgia became the 19th country out of 119 members of the Hague Convention to implement an electronic apostille program.
In October 2020, the electronic apostille was integrated into the national electronic services system.
On the official website of Georgia’s state services, explanatory information was posted:
The electronic apostille registry was developed to combat fraud and abuse. With the help of the electronic apostille registry, any interested party can visually check the apostillation of a document and the scanned document.
How can one verify an electronic apostille?
The apostille is verified by its apostille number and date of issue (the apostille has a 15-digit unique number (in line under number 8) and a date of issue (in line under number 6)). This information should be entered into the corresponding fields on the web page. When the search button is pressed, a window opens where you can view the Apostille and the apostillized document.
ย