Physician licensing is an exact popular name, but in the Georgian system it covers a different institution: the Law on Medical Practice does not issue physicians a license — the right to independent medical practice is confirmed by a state certificate, and that document is the centre of the system assembled by Articles 7, 19, 25, 26 and 28 of the Law. Foreign medical-examination and professional-recognition frameworks do not operate directly in the Georgian system — the page is carried by the Georgian law.
The source of the right and its boundaries
Under Article 7 of the Law the right to independent medical practice belongs to a citizen of Georgia or a foreign state or a stateless person who has graduated from a Georgian state-accredited higher medical institution and has received, in the manner established by the law, a state certificate. The right is limited by specialty: the holder possesses it only in the specialty or specialties indicated in the certificate, apart from the exceptions established by the law. A negative precondition also exists: the right cannot be held by a person from whom a court, on the basis of the law on the fight against crimes against sexual freedom and inviolability, has revoked the right to medical practice.
The essence of the certificate and its termination
Article 19 determines the nature of the document: the state certificate is a state certificate confirming the right to independent medical practice and defines the medical specialty. It is mandatory only for independent medical practice — no such document is required by law for other medical roles. The certificate is a document of strict accounting: it has a series, a number and security marks, and its transfer to another person is prohibited. It becomes void by decision of the issuing body upon the death of the holder or the declaration of death, upon the holder's written demand, or upon the discovery that a forged document was used as the basis of the certification decision.
Term and registry
Article 25 resolves the term: the state certificate is valid for an indefinite period, and the activity defined by it begins from the day the Council adopts the decision on its issuance. Article 26 creates transparency: the state certification registry is the basis of a complete and unified database of data on issuance, suspension, renewal, annulment and the provision of copies; it is maintained by the secretariat of the Council, which enters the data no later than 2 weeks from the adoption of the decision, and any person has the right to examine and receive in writing the data of the registry.