Driving in Georgia with a Foreign Licence: Validity, Exchange, and Tests

A source-backed guide for foreigners driving in Georgia: the one-year rule, translations, exchanging a valid foreign licence without exams, and getting a Georgian Category B licence.

Last updated: July 22, 2026

Foreigners in Georgia usually face one of three different questions: whether they can keep driving on their current foreign licence, whether they can exchange it for a Georgian licence, or how to obtain a Georgian licence through the local exams. The documents, deadlines, and costs are different for each route.

This guide separates those routes and uses the current rules published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Service Agency and Georgia's consolidated legislation. It focuses on ordinary private-car driving under Category B. Commercial driving and motorcycle, trailer, truck, or bus categories have additional rules.

Official procedures can change. Check the linked Service Agency pages before paying for translations, apostilles, medical certificates, or exam bookings. This is practical general information, not legal advice.

Quick decision: which route applies to you?

Use this starting point:

You are visiting or recently arrived and your foreign licence is valid. You can generally drive in Georgia until the earlier of the licence's expiry date or one year after your latest entry into Georgia.
You want a Georgian licence and your foreign licence is still valid. Georgia provides an exchange route without theory or practical exams, subject to the document and category requirements described below.
Your foreign licence is expired, cannot be verified, or does not qualify for exchange. You may need to obtain a Georgian licence through the normal theory and practical exams.

Do not wait until the last week before expiry to choose. The exchange route requires a fresh confirmation from the foreign licensing authority, and that confirmation may need an apostille or legalization before it comes to Georgia.

How long is a foreign licence valid in Georgia?

For a foreign citizen or stateless person, Article 49 of the consolidated Ministerial Order No. 598 permits driving with a foreign-issued licence until the earlier of:

the licence's own expiry date; or
one year from the person's latest entry into Georgia.

The wording matters. The one-year period is tied to your latest entry, not to the day you first moved to Georgia and not to the licence's issue date. Keep evidence of your latest entry available, especially if your passport was not stamped or you used an identity card.

The rule does not make an expired or suspended licence valid. It also does not override a Georgian disqualification or another legal restriction on your right to drive.

Georgia's Law on Road Traffic requires a duly certified translation if the relevant data in a driving or vehicle document is not written in the Georgian or Latin alphabet. A licence written only in Cyrillic, Arabic, or another non-Latin script can therefore require more than simply carrying the original card.

An International Driving Permit is a companion to a national licence, not a replacement for an expired or invalid licence. A rental company or another country may impose its own documentary requirements, so confirm those separately before renting a car or driving across a border.

Exchanging a valid foreign licence for a Georgian licence

The consolidated order provides an exam-free exchange route for foreign citizens and stateless persons who hold a valid foreign licence. This is an exchange of an existing driving entitlement, not a shortcut for someone who has never held the relevant category.

The Service Agency's current foreign-licence exchange page says the service is available at any Service Agency branch, is not provided remotely, costs GEL 15, and the replacement licence is normally issued within a few minutes once the application is accepted.

Treat that quick production time as the final card-printing step. Obtaining, authenticating, and translating the supporting documents can take much longer.

Exchange document checklist for a foreign citizen

The Service Agency currently lists the following core documents for a foreign citizen or stateless person:

A passport or Georgian residence permit.
The valid foreign driving licence being exchanged.
A formal driving-licence confirmation from the competent foreign authority.
A health certificate, Form IV-100/a.
Proof of payment of the service fee.

The consolidated ministerial order additionally identifies proof of a Georgian registered or temporary address, or another permitted form of residence-address evidence, as part of the exchange application. The Agency can also request additional documents when the submitted material does not contain enough information to decide the application.

Because the website checklist and the consolidated legal text are not worded identically on every point, the safest sequence is:

Contact the Service Agency before ordering foreign documents.
State your citizenship, the country that issued the licence, its categories, its expiry date, and whether you hold Georgian residence status.
Ask which address evidence and translations your branch will accept.
Obtain the foreign authority confirmation only after you know the required wording and authentication route.

The Service Agency hotline is 12 72 inside Georgia and +995 32 2 41 91 91 from abroad.

The licence confirmation is the difficult document

The confirmation is not merely a photocopy or an informal online status screenshot. The Service Agency describes it as a written statement or certificate from the competent foreign authority confirming that the presented licence was issued and that the driving entitlement has not been suspended or terminated.

The confirmation must be legalized or apostilled as required by Georgian law. The Agency recommends that it also explain the categories shown on the licence, which is especially important when the foreign category labels do not map neatly to Georgian categories.

Timing is critical: the Service Agency says a foreign licence confirmation is not accepted if more than 90 calendar days have passed between its issue and submission to the Agency. Do not obtain it too early and then leave the apostille, shipping, or translation until later.

A practical order is:

Confirm the required document and issuing authority with the Service Agency.
Request the confirmation in the licensing country.
Obtain the apostille or legalization, as applicable.
Arrange any required Georgian translation and notarization.
Submit the complete packet within the 90-day acceptance window.

An apostille verifies the origin of a public document; it does not translate the document or prove that every statement in it is substantively correct. Translation and authentication are separate steps.

When the exchange can be refused

The Agency can refuse an exchange when, among other reasons:

the foreign licence has expired;
the applicant is currently prohibited from driving under Georgian law;
the submitted foreign category has no corresponding Georgian category, or only some categories can be matched and the applicant will not accept a licence with fewer categories;
the required documents are missing or insufficient;
an applicable international agreement restricts the exchange; or
another legal ground for refusal applies.

There is no reliable reason to build your plan around an unofficial internet list of “countries that exchange.” The current Georgian rule is framed around the foreign licence, the applicant, the matching category, verification, and any applicable treaty. Ask the Service Agency about your exact issuing country before spending money.

After an exchange, the original foreign licence is returned to a foreign citizen together with the Georgian licence, but the foreign licence loses legal force inside Georgia. Do not assume that holding both cards gives you two independently valid licences in Georgia.

Do you need a Georgian residence permit to exchange?

The official checklist allows a foreign citizen to identify themselves with a passport or a residence permit, so the residence card is not presented as the only possible identity document. However, the consolidated order also requires a Georgian registered, temporary, or otherwise permitted residence address to be recorded.

That distinction is important: “a residence permit is not the only accepted identity document” does not mean “no Georgian address evidence is needed.” Confirm the address route with the Agency for your situation, particularly if you are visa-free, rent informally, or are registered without a full address.

Getting a Georgian Category B licence through exams

If exchange is not available, an adult can obtain a Georgian Category B licence through the standard process. Category B covers ordinary passenger cars within the statutory category limits.

The process has three examination stages:

A theory exam.
Practical exam stage one on a closed course.
Practical exam stage two in real traffic.

For an adult Category B candidate, the Service Agency's Category B page currently lists an identity document and health certificate Form IV-100/a for theory-exam admission. The initial fee is GEL 55, consisting of GEL 40 for the exam and GEL 15 for producing the licence. Each later theory attempt costs GEL 40.

An adult applying for Category B can prepare independently; the official online reservation terms do not require a driving-school training certificate for a person aged 18 or older applying for Category B. Lessons may still be a sensible practical choice.

Theory exam: languages, score, and booking

The theory exam must be booked. The Service Agency publishes questions through my.sa.gov.ge and its SERVICE AGENCY mobile application after registration.

For Category B, the current test contains 30 questions and requires at least 25 correct answers. The Agency says the theory exam is available in Georgian, Abkhazian, Ossetian, English, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian.

Study from the current official question bank. Translated third-party apps can be useful for repetition but may contain outdated road signs, awkward translations, or old scoring rules.

Practical exam stage one: closed course

After passing theory, a Category B candidate has 30 calendar days to pass the first practical stage. The official page describes free scheduled attempts at seven-day intervals during that window.

The closed-course elements currently include:

parallel parking;
a slalom;
turning in a limited-width area;
reverse parking;
a figure eight; and
a hill-start section.

The exam can be taken in a manual or automatic-transmission vehicle. Passing in an automatic can place a restriction on the resulting licence, so choose deliberately if you expect to drive a manual vehicle.

Practical exam stage two: real traffic

After passing stage one, the candidate has 365 calendar days to pass stage two. The first scheduled attempt is available after 15 calendar days; later scheduled attempts are spaced at 30-day intervals. A scheduled Category B stage-two attempt currently costs GEL 90 and must be booked.

The second stage takes place on roads with different traffic conditions. Before driving, the candidate must answer vehicle roadworthiness questions. The Service Agency publishes the current question material from its practical-exam page.

Arrive early. The official Category B page requires the candidate to appear 15 minutes before the booking. Late arrival or non-attendance can cause a 90-day disqualification and partial loss of the paid fee, subject to the cancellation and notification rules. If plans change, cancel at least 72 hours before the appointment or contact the Agency under its published procedure.

Receiving and using the Georgian licence

After all Category B exams are passed, standard production takes up to five working days. The Service Agency currently lists accelerated production at GEL 50 for one working day or GEL 40 for two working days.

Georgian licences for categories including B are generally valid for 15 years, although medical or legal restrictions can affect an individual case. Check the categories and restriction codes printed on the card before leaving the branch.

If you later need to drive abroad, the Service Agency can issue an International Driving Permit on the basis of a Georgian national licence. Its international-permit page distinguishes a one-year permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention and a three-year permit under the 1968 Vienna Convention. The current fee is GEL 109. Which permit is useful depends on the destination country, and it remains a companion to the national licence.

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting one year from the wrong date. For a foreign citizen, the order says the latest entry into Georgia.
Trying to exchange an expired licence. The exam-free exchange must be completed while the foreign card remains valid.
Ordering the confirmation too early. It becomes unacceptable after the Agency's 90-calendar-day window.
Bringing only the plastic licence. The formal confirmation and authentication are central to the exchange packet.
Assuming English eliminates every translation requirement. Confirm the branch's requirements for each foreign document.
Ignoring the address-evidence rule. Passport identification and Georgian residence-address evidence are separate issues.
Using an unofficial country list. Treaty and category details can change the answer for an individual licence.
Missing an exam deadline. Theory, stage one, and stage two have separate validity windows.
Booking an automatic car by accident. The resulting licence can carry an automatic-transmission restriction.
Treating an International Driving Permit as a standalone licence. It does not revive or replace an invalid national licence.

Before you visit: final checklist

For driving on a foreign licence:

Confirm the card is valid and your category covers the vehicle.
Calculate one year from your latest Georgian entry.
Carry a duly certified translation if the document data is not in Georgian or Latin script.
Check separate rental-company and border-crossing requirements.

For exchanging a foreign licence:

Confirm your case with the Service Agency.
Obtain the fresh licence confirmation from the competent authority.
Complete the required apostille or legalization.
Arrange required Georgian translations and notarization.
Prepare identity, health, address, and payment documents.
Submit before both the licence expiry and the confirmation's 90-day limit.

For taking the Georgian exams:

Obtain Form IV-100/a and prepare your identity/address documents.
Book and pass theory using the current official question bank.
Pass closed-course stage one within 30 days.
Book and pass real-traffic stage two within 365 days.
Check the category and restriction codes on the issued card.

Official starting points: the Service Agency driving-licence hub, the foreign-licence exchange checklist, and consolidated Ministerial Order No. 598.