Legal.GeLegal.Ge
Weapons Circulation & Use

Unlawful keeping and transport of a firearm (Art. 181)

Can I receive a warning instead of a fine?

A warning appears in Article 181 only in part 1: where a person holding a firearm keeping permit breaches the rules on keeping the firearm or ammunition, the law provides for a warning or a fine of GEL 200 to GEL 400. The remaining parts name a fine only.

Will the weapon be confiscated?

Within Article 181, confiscation is named only in part 3 — repeat commission of an offence under part 1 or 2 by a person on whom an administrative penalty was imposed for the same offence within 1 year, which carries a fine of GEL 2,000 with confiscation of the weapon and the ammunition. The other parts of this article state a fine without confiscation.

I hold a valid permit. Why is this article being applied to me?

Because parts 1 and 2 are written specifically about permit holders. The question is not whether you are entitled to the weapon but whether the rules on keeping, transporting, dispatching or carrying it were observed on the occasion in question.

What are the amounts for an employee responsible for weapons at a company?

That situation falls under part 4: breach by an employee of an enterprise, institution or organisation responsible for the care and safekeeping of a firearm or ammunition of the rules on keeping, transport or dispatch, or use of the weapon otherwise than as intended, carries a fine of GEL 800 to GEL 1,000. A repeat within one year falls under part 5, with a fine of GEL 1,000 to GEL 1,500.

My weapon is a gas pistol, not a firearm. Is this the right article?

Article 181 is about firearms and ammunition. Gas weapons are dealt with by Article 181⁵ of the same Code, acoustic weapons by Article 181³, and gas aerosol or electroshock devices by Article 181⁷, each with its own sanctions. Confirming which provision is cited in the protocol is the first step, since the amounts differ.

5 min·22 Aug 2026

What Article 181 covers — and what it does not

Article 181 of the Georgian Code of Administrative Offences deals with breaches of the rules on keeping, transporting and dispatching a firearm or ammunition. A detail easy to miss: parts 1 and 2 are drafted around a person holding the relevant permit — entitled to the weapon, with the only question being whether the rules were observed.

Other categories of weapon are dealt with by separate articles of the same Code, each with its own sanctions. If you are not certain which provision has been cited against you, check that first:

  • carrying a cold weapon in a public place — Article 181¹;
  • acoustic weapons — Article 181³;
  • flintlock, matchlock and percussion firearms — Article 181⁴;
  • gas weapons — Article 181⁵;
  • gas aerosol and electroshock devices — Article 181⁷.

Breaches by a permit holder — parts 1 and 2

The first two parts of the article describe different situations and carry different sanctions:

  • part 1 — breach of the rules on keeping a firearm or ammunition by a person holding a firearm keeping permit — a warning, or a fine of GEL 200 to GEL 400;
  • part 2 — breach of the rules on transporting or dispatching by a person holding a transport or dispatch permit, or breach of the rules on carrying a civilian firearm by a person holding a civilian firearm carrying permit, in a populated area and/or in the territory adjoining it within a radius of 500 metres — a fine of GEL 500.

Part 1 is the only place where the law names a warning as an alternative to a fine; part 2 names one fixed amount but attaches a geographic condition to the carrying form.

Part 3 stands apart, because it is the provision that changes the character of the case:

  • repeat commission of an offence under part 1 or part 2 by a person on whom, within 1 year, an administrative penalty was imposed for the same offence — a fine of GEL 2,000, with confiscation of the weapon and the ammunition.

Two conditions deserve attention. First, the law names the one-year period expressly, so the date of the earlier penalty is a factual circumstance of the case rather than a background detail. Second, part 3 speaks of "the same offence" — it is not enough that some penalty existed. Confiscation appears in Article 181 in this part alone.

Updated: 14 Oct 2026

Related Services

Losing a civilian firearm and failing to notify the police (Art. 180¹)Carrying a bladed weapon in a public place (Art. 181¹)Bringing in or carrying an acoustic (blank-firing) weapon without a permit (Art. 181³)Breach of the rules on carrying flintlock, matchlock and percussion-cap firearms (Art. 181⁴)Firing a weapon in a populated area or a place not designated for it (Art. 167)Selling a cold weapon to a minor and failure to display the prohibition notice (Art. 181²)Breach of the rules on carrying gas aerosol and electroshock devices (Art. 181⁷)Breach of the time limit for registering and re-registering a civilian weapon (Art. 182)Acquiring, keeping or carrying a signal weapon without a permit (Art. 182³)Illegal circulation of an air weapon and firing it in a populated area (Art. 182¹)Operating a shooting gallery, shooting range or clay-shooting stand without a permit (Art. 182²)Breach of the rules on keeping, transporting and carrying a signal weapon (Art. 182⁴)Acoustic, gas and electroshock weapons without a licence (Art. 182⁶)