What is the fine for carrying a knife in a public place in Georgia?

Article 181¹ provides a fine of 500 GEL, with confiscation of the cold weapon. That is one fixed amount rather than a range, and confiscation is not an alternative to the fine — the text places them together.

Does a knife in my backpack count as "carrying"?

The Code defines carrying as having the cold weapon with you: holding it in your hand, attached to your body, kept in your clothing, or possessed so that you can use it immediately. Whether a given situation meets that definition is assessed on the facts, so how and where the object was kept at the moment of the check should be recorded precisely.

I carry knives for my job. Am I covered by an exception?

Note 2 disapplies the article to a person carrying a cold weapon for the purpose of their professional activity, and also for preparing or consuming food. The exception stops applying if the carrying causes a breach of public order or creates an obvious threat of one.

Is a dagger worn as part of Georgian national dress an offence?

Under note 2 the article does not apply to a person while wearing national dress of which the cold weapon — a dagger, a sword and so on — forms a part. The same public-order condition applies to this exception as to the others.

Can this become a criminal matter rather than an administrative one?

Yes, for four categories named in note 1: a person already administratively penalised for carrying a cold weapon, a person administratively penalised for drug use, a person under a protective or restraining order while it is in force, and a person convicted of an intentional crime. For them liability is determined under Article 238¹ of the Criminal Code of Georgia, whose sanction this article does not describe.

Carrying a bladed weapon in a public place (Art. 181¹)

What Article 181¹ prohibits

Article 181¹ of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia penalises one specific act — carrying a cold weapon in a public place. The article lists those places expressly: the street, a yard, a stadium, a public garden, a park, an educational institution, a court, an airport, a cinema, a theatre, a concert hall, a cafe, a restaurant, public transport of every kind, a bus station, a railway station, and other places of public gathering.

The last item leaves the list open — the law also captures "other places of public gathering", so in practice the argument often turns on whether a particular location was one. The article does not restrict liability to any category of person: it describes conduct, so the question can arise for anyone carrying a cold weapon in such a place, unless an exception in the article's notes applies.

The sanction the law provides

Article 181¹ provides a single fixed sanction: a fine of 500 GEL, with confiscation of the cold weapon. The law sets no minimum-to-maximum band here — there is one amount, and it does not depend on what kind of cold weapon was involved or how long it was carried. Confiscation stands alongside the fine rather than as an alternative to it, so the sanction has two elements.

The article provides no warning and no lighter sanction, and no increased figure for a repeat offence. What it does carry is four notes that narrow its scope substantially — most cases here are decided on those notes rather than on the size of the fine.

What "carrying" means for the purposes of the Code

The Code defines the term itself. Under note 3, carrying a cold weapon means a situation in which a person has the cold weapon with them, namely where the person:

is holding it in their hand;
has it attached to their body;
keeps it in their clothing;
possesses it in such a way that they are able to use it immediately.

The last limb matters most, because it gathers the other three into one criterion: immediate availability for use. The law does not list which factual situations satisfy that criterion, so it is assessed on the circumstances of each case. That is why it is worth recording precisely where and how the object was kept at the moment of the check.

Who the article does not apply to — six exceptions

Note 2 identifies six situations in which the article does not apply to a person. The exception is conditional: it falls away where carrying the cold weapon causes a breach of public order or creates an obvious threat of such a breach. Otherwise, the article does not apply to a person who carries a cold weapon:

for the purpose of personal hygiene;
for the purpose of preparing and/or consuming food;
for the purpose of carrying out their professional activity;
for the purpose of hunting, fishing and/or gathering plant products;
for the purpose of agricultural activity and/or livestock keeping;
while wearing national dress of which the cold weapon — a dagger, a sword and so on — forms a part.

Note 4 adds a separate rule: a person who holds the right to carry a short firearm also holds the right to carry a cold weapon. If that right applies to you, it needs to be documented in the case file, because the article lays down no procedure for proving it.

When the matter moves into criminal law

Note 1 runs in the opposite direction. It excludes four categories from this article precisely because liability for them is established elsewhere. The article does not apply to a person on whom an administrative penalty has been imposed for carrying a cold weapon, to a person administratively penalised for drug use, to a person against whom a protective or restraining order has been issued — during the period that order is in force — or to a person with a conviction for an intentional crime. In those cases liability is determined in accordance with Article 238¹ of the Criminal Code of Georgia.

Article 181¹ says nothing about the sanction that criminal provision carries, so no amount and no term is stated here. In practical terms, if you fall into one of those categories the matter leaves the administrative-offence framework altogether and is handled differently. That is the first circumstance to check.

What you can do, and where a lawyer changes the outcome

Article 181¹ does not say which body draws up the protocol, nor within what period or before which forum the decision may be challenged — those questions are governed by other provisions of the Code. The first step is therefore to read the document handed to you at the scene: the deadline and the competent body are stated there. A lawyer's work then normally turns on four questions:

whether the location falls among those listed, or among "other places of public gathering";
whether your conduct meets the definition of carrying given in note 3;
whether one of the six purposes in note 2 applied, and whether public order was being breached at the same time;
whether you fall into one of the categories in note 1, which changes the entire track of the case.

Nobody can promise the penalty will be annulled here: the amount is fixed and confiscation accompanies it. What properly framed factual questions often decide is something more basic — whether the article applies to your situation at all.