In Georgia the acquisition of civil weapons — defence, sport and hunting firearms, gas weapons and signal weapons — is lawful only on the basis of an appropriate permit issued by the Legal Entity of Public Law, the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. This rule is written directly into the Law of Georgia on Arms, and no alternative route exists. If you intend to acquire a weapon lawfully, your path starts with the permit and ends with registration of the weapon — and at every stage along that path there is a real risk of refusal if the documentation is incomplete or a procedural detail has been missed.
The service described on this page is precisely the full legal support of that process: from preparing for the examination and arranging the health certificate, through filing the application with the Service Agency, to the issuance of the permit and the registration of the weapon. We do not replace the Agency — we make sure your file succeeds the first time.
Types of permit — which permit is issued for which weapon
The law distinguishes permits by the right they confer — acquisition with the right of storage only, or acquisition with the rights of storage and carrying. An acquisition permit (with the right of storage) is issued for defence firearms and sport short firearms. An acquisition permit (with the rights of storage and carrying) is issued for defence gas weapons, hunting firearms, sport long firearms, and signal weapons. The distinction matters in practice: a permit for a short firearm does not include the right to carry it, while permits for hunting and long sport weapons do.
The law also regulates separately the weapons of persons who retained the carrying right after leaving service, and weapons transferred with service-weapon status. Framing your request correctly begins with determining which of these categories your plans fall into.
The examination on the rules of circulation of firearms and gas weapons
An applicant for a permit to acquire a civil firearm or gas weapon sits an examination at the Service Agency on knowledge of the circulation rules. The examination types follow the weapon: the rules of circulation of defence firearms and gas weapons; of hunting firearms; and of sport firearms. A passed examination is valid without time limit — once passed, you do not sit it again.
Persons entitled to carry service weapons are exempt from the examination; in the case defined by law they submit only a health certificate. The examination instructions, qualification requirements and examination tickets are approved by an order of the Minister of Internal Affairs — and that is the material we use for your preparation.
The health certificate and its validity
The applicant must submit to the Agency a certificate on his or her state of health. The certificate is valid for one year, which means it must be current at the moment the application is filed. The law also provides a simplified route: if you already own a registered civil firearm, signal weapon or gas weapon, or hold the right to drive a motor vehicle, the Agency may in defined circumstances issue the permit without the health documentation. We establish in advance whether this simplification applies to you and time the validity of your certificates so that the application does not fail on a formality.
Acquisition, registration and the registration certificate
The issuance of a permit is confirmed by registration and the issuance of a weapon registration certificate. For the subjects defined by law, the weapon must be registered with the Service Agency within ten working days of acquisition, and until that obligation is fulfilled the weapon may not be disposed of or transferred to another person. To enter changes or additions into the registration data, or to restore an annulled registration, re-registration is mandatory within ten working days of the arising of the relevant ground.
Two practical details regularly trip applicants up. First: if at the moment of the request you already have more than three units of defence and/or sport short firearms registered in your ownership, the Agency may additionally require their presentation for technical inspection. Second: for the acquisition of weapons of identical make and model, or of a certain quantity of weapons, in the case defined by law the written consent of an authorised officer of the relevant territorial body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is required. Thinking about these requirements in advance saves you time and cost.
What we do and why this is the sound route
Our support covers: selecting the permit type that matches your objectives; preparing you for the examination in the blocks of circulation rules relevant to your weapon; scheduling the validity of health certificates; assembling the application package and eliminating defects in advance; where necessary, steering the procedure for obtaining the territorial body's consent; and accompanying the registration after acquisition. The circumstances set out by law — including the prohibition on acquiring a weapon while a protective or restraining order is in force — we check in advance so that your matter does not become entangled in a separate legal conflict. A breach of the rules entails liability defined by the Code of Administrative Offences, which is why every step of the route must be taken lawfully.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a passed examination valid?
The results of a passed examination are valid without time limit. The health certificate, by contrast, is valid for one year for the purposes of obtaining a permit, so it must be current when the application is filed.
Can I obtain a carrying permit for a short firearm?
No — under the law, an acquisition permit (with the right of storage) is issued for defence and sport short firearms. A permit with carrying rights is designed for gas weapons, hunting firearms, sport long firearms and signal weapons.
What happens after I acquire the weapon?
In the cases defined by law the weapon must be registered with the Service Agency within ten working days of acquisition, and until that obligation is fulfilled the weapon may not be disposed of. The issuance of a permit is confirmed by registration and the issuance of a weapon registration certificate.
Must everyone sit the examination?
No — persons entitled to carry service weapons are exempt and, in the case defined by law, submit only a health certificate. There are also circumstances defined by order of the Minister of Internal Affairs in which the examination is not mandatory.
How We Help on Legal.ge
We start by understanding which weapon and which right you need, and build the entire route around that: examination, certificates, application, registration. Contact us — we will evaluate your situation and prepare the complete permit package for weapon acquisition, grounded in every requirement of the Law on Arms.