The medical activity license — the legal gateway for clinics, hospitals, and specialized medical services — is regulated by the law on licenses and permits at two levels: a general rule defining issuance through public administrative proceeding, and special principles shaping the distinct logic of the medical license. On this page we explain by which types medical activity is represented, how the issuance procedure runs, and how the rule for adding additional activities works.
Medical-direction licenses
In the catalogue of license types the medical sphere appears in several positions: a license for emergency medical care; a license for forensic-medical expertise; a license for forensic-psychiatric expertise; a license for pathologoanatomic activity; a license for activity on especially dangerous pathogens; and a license for industrial transfusiological activity. The catalogue also shows the export of blood components, and directions planned for the future — organ transplantation and tissues. Other directions of the list — from infant food products to nuclear activity — revolve around health and complete the context of the medical business.
The general rule of issuance
Only license types precisely defined by law are issued through public administrative proceeding — and changing the type of proceeding is impermissible. The decision to issue, refuse, or cancel is an administrative act. The rhythm of the procedure is set by law: the issuer checks the conformity of the application and documents within three days; immediately after acceptance it publishes a notice for public familiarization; within twenty days of the notice any person may submit written opinions; within no later than seven days after the opinion deadline it holds an oral hearing; and then adopts the decision. If no refusal is communicated within twenty days of the application, the license is deemed issued.
Extension of terms
Where more time than the statutory term is needed to establish material circumstances, the issuer extends the proceeding for up to three months by a substantiated decision — to be adopted within fifteen days of the application, with notification of the extension within twenty days. In special cases the government extends the term by up to a further three months; where there is high danger and a wide circle of public interests — up to six months. One detail matters: extension is impermissible if the seeker is not notified of it within twenty days of the application — silence is resolved in the seeker's favor. This architecture of terms guarantees that the medical license demands diligence rather than formal haste.
Principles of issuing the medical license
Special principles apply to the issuance of the medical activity license: where the license holder intends to carry out an additional activity for which another license is issued, it must satisfy the differing conditions — and only those differing conditions are checked: the issuer does not re-examine conditions established when the existing license was issued. The permit seeker must satisfy, alongside the general permit conditions, additional permit conditions corresponding to the service; and where additional conditions for a particular service are not fulfilled, this is not a ground for cancelling the license — the holder is simply barred from providing that specific service. This logic secures the modular development of medical services: a new direction does not destroy the existing status but complements it.
The significance of the public familiarization stage
The twenty-day public familiarization window is not a formality: the written opinion of any person is examined, and the oral hearing is the continuation of that examination. For a medical facility this means the application enters the sphere of public interest: an opinion may come from a competitor, from patient groups, or from public organizations. Preparing the application is therefore also preparing communication — present documentation such that answers to opinions are justified.
From this frame three practical conclusions follow for a clinic or hospital: first, the public familiarization stage is real, and communication is part of the application; second, adding additional directions follows a simplified path, since only differing conditions are examined; third, a breach of permit conditions halts a specific service rather than the whole status, leaving room for renewal. This model of medical licensing is built precisely on that balance — diligence and flexibility at once.
The contour of the licensing proceeding is established precisely: only license types exactly defined by law are issued through a public administrative proceeding; the licensing organ checks the conformity of the application and attached documents within 3 days, publishes the application for public familiarization, and within 20 days of submission any person may submit written opinions; an oral hearing is held no later than 7 days after the expiry of the opinion period, and the decision is an administrative act. In relation to medical activity a further principle operates: on the addition of a new activity only the different conditions required for the new license are checked — facts already satisfied by the seeker are not re-examined; and a breach connected with additional permit conditions is not a ground for revocation of the permit — only the rendering of the particular service is prohibited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer frequently asked questions about medical licences.
Within how many days is the application checked?
Within 3 days — the conformity of the application and documents with the statutory requirements.
May opinions be submitted?
Yes — within 20 days of publication for familiarization any person may write in; an oral hearing is held no later than 7 days after.
What happens on adding a new activity?
Only the different conditions are checked — already satisfied facts are not re-examined.
How We Help on Legal.ge
A medical licence is a sphere where a procedural detail decides the fate of the decision. The lawyers of Legal.ge will prepare the application, represent you at the hearing and protect your interests. Write to us on Legal.ge.
