If either of you was married before, Georgia registers your marriage only once you prove that marriage ended. For most couples that means a divorce certificate or decree, or a former spouse's death certificate, stamped by the country that issued it and translated into Georgian. Here is which document counts, where its apostille comes from, what the translation costs and why divorce papers get turned away.
Quick summary
- Anyone married before brings a divorce certificate or final decree, the former spouse's death certificate, or a court decision declaring the spouse dead.
- A foreign document needs an apostille, or legalization for countries such as the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, from the country that issued it.
- It also needs a Georgian translation certified by a notary, whose fees for a one-page document come to GEL 11 before VAT and the translator's fee.
- A divorce registered in Georgia is already in the agency's records, so you bring nothing for it.
- Georgian law sets no waiting period after a divorce, but the divorce has to be final: an interim order does not end a marriage.
On this page
Documents That Prove a Previous Marriage Ended
Georgian law ends a marriage in 3 ways: divorce, the death of a spouse, or a court declaring a spouse dead. Whichever applies to you, the registry wants the paper that shows it. It sits on the same short list of documents a Georgian registration needs as your passports and your witnesses' IDs, and it is the only one that may need work in another country before you travel.
| Your situation | Document to bring | Stamp and translation |
|---|---|---|
| Divorced abroad | Divorce certificate or the final divorce decree | Apostille or legalization from the issuing country, plus a notarized Georgian translation |
| Divorced in Georgia | Nothing: the divorce is already in the agency's records | None |
| Widowed, with the death registered abroad | The former spouse's death certificate | Apostille or legalization from the issuing country, plus a notarized Georgian translation |
| Former spouse declared dead by a court | The court's decision | Apostille or legalization and a notarized Georgian translation if the court is abroad |
A divorce certificate from a civil registry and a court's final decree both work, as long as the document shows the marriage has ended. A certificate of no impediment from your home country does not stand in for either: it is not on Georgia's list, and the registry wants the document that ended the marriage itself.
Before the decree goes for its apostille
- It is the final decree or the divorce certificate, not an interim order
- It is a certified copy from the court or registry that issued it
- Every page is there, including the one with the date the divorce took effect
- The name on it matches your passport, or you hold the record that links the two
- You know whether the issuing country apostilles or legalizes
Apostille or Legalization for a Foreign Divorce Decree
As a rule, Georgia accepts a foreign document only once the country that issued it has vouched for it. It is the apostille on your new marriage certificate in reverse: the issuing country stamps the decree so that Georgia can rely on it.
The Apostille Convention has 130 parties, among them the UK, the US, Canada, India and the Philippines, and a decree from any of them needs one apostille from its own authorities. A country outside the convention, such as the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon or Iran, legalizes instead, through a chain of certifications that runs from its own authorities to Georgian consular officials. If the last stamp before Georgia's is the issuing country's embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia's Foreign Ministry certifies it for GEL 15 per document, within 10 working days.
The apostille has to come from the issuing country
A couple living in Dubai with a divorce granted in India cannot use a UAE attestation on the Indian decree. India has been in the Apostille Convention since 14 July 2005, so the apostille comes from India. A stamp from any other country does not count, no office in Tbilisi can add the right one, and the application stops until the decree goes back.
Georgian Translation of Your Divorce Papers
Under the agency's registration rules (opens in a new tab), every foreign document other than an identity document goes to the registry with a Georgian translation certified by a notary. Georgia has no sworn translators: a translator with a diploma translates the decree, and the notary certifies the translator's signature, or the translation itself when the notary knows both languages.
Fees for a foreign divorce decree used in Georgia
- Apostille or legalization of the decree
- Set by the issuing country
- Notary certification of the translator's signature, one-page document
- GEL 6 per signature
- The same, 2 to 10 pages
- GEL 4 per signature
- Entry in the electronic notarial register
- GEL 5 per notarial act
- Marriage registration without a ceremony
- Free
- Notary fees for a one-page decree
- GEL 11 plus VAT
The notary tariff excludes VAT, and the translator's own fee comes on top.
From our Tbilisi team
We translate a divorce decree only after the apostille or legalization is on it, so the Georgian version covers every stamp as well as the judgment, and the notary certifies one complete set.
Why Divorce Papers Get Rejected in Georgia
The problems below stop a divorce document at the registry, and each one can be caught at home before you fly.
| Problem | Why it fails | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No apostille or legalization | A foreign document counts only once it is apostilled or legalized | Get the stamp in the issuing country before you travel |
| No notarized Georgian translation | Every foreign document other than an ID needs one | Have it translated in Tbilisi and certified by a notary |
| The divorce is not final | An interim order, or a judgment still open to appeal, does not end the marriage | Bring the final decree, or the certificate issued once the divorce took effect |
| The name differs from your passport | Nothing ties the decree to the person registering | Bring the record of the name change, apostilled and translated like the decree |
Final means the stage that actually ends the marriage. In England and Wales, for example, that is the final order (a decree absolute in older cases), not the conditional order (a decree nisi) that comes before it.
The name row matters most to partners who went back to a birth surname after the divorce, since the decree then shows the married name and the passport another. A surname spelled one way on the decree and another in the passport, common when names cross scripts, raises the same kind of name mismatch.
From our Tbilisi team
We check the divorce document first in every file we take on, because it is the one paper that can only be fixed in another country. A translation or a missing witness can be sorted in Tbilisi; an apostille cannot.
Remarrying in Georgia as a Widow or Widower
A widowed partner proves the earlier marriage ended with the former spouse's death certificate, or with a court decision declaring the spouse dead. Issued abroad, either one follows the same two steps as a divorce decree: an apostille or legalization from the issuing country, then a notarized Georgian translation.
From our Tbilisi team
The death certificate comes from the country where the death was registered, which is not always where you lived or where you married. Its apostille has to come from that same country, so check the issuing office on the certificate before you order anything.
Is a Foreign Divorce Recognized in Georgia?
Yes, as a rule. Georgia's Law on Private International Law (opens in a new tab) recognizes final foreign court decisions, with exceptions such as a decision that contradicts Georgia's basic legal principles. For the registration, the registry takes a foreign divorce the way it takes any foreign document, apostilled or legalized and translated, and its requirement list names no court step.
The same law does set a formal recognition procedure at the Supreme Court of Georgia, and it waives it for a divorce granted in the country whose citizens both spouses were at the time. If yours falls outside that, for example two Indian citizens divorced by a court in Dubai, or a British and a French spouse divorced in London, send us a scan of the decree before you book anything.