---
title: "Apostille Services"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/migration-and-immigration-law-en/apostille-services-en"
field: "Migration & Immigration Law"
description: "Apostille and legalization in Georgia: Hague Convention 1961, rules for registering civil acts. Legal.ge."
reviewed: "2026-03-25"
updated: "2026-10-14"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Apostille Services

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/migration-and-immigration-law-en/apostille-services-en

## Legalization and Apostille: Two Routes to Recognizing a Foreign Document

Presenting a document issued abroad in Georgia often requires its external certification, and the law recognizes two routes for it. Article 3 of the Law of Georgia on Civil Acts defines both concepts: legalization is the confirmation, by a state organ of due competence, of the authenticity of the signature on a document, of the authority of the signatory, and of the authenticity of the seal or stamp; apostille certification is the same confirmation, but in a simplified procedure — on the basis of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.

The difference is practical: between states parties to the Hague Convention, the apostille is a single, simplified form of confirming the authenticity of a document, while legalization is the full, multi-stage procedure — beginning with the organs of the issuing country and ending with the foreign department of the receiving state. Which route your case requires is determined by the state that issued the document and by the legal act for which it is needed in Georgia.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/migration-and-immigration-law-en/apostille-services-en

### What is an apostille?

A simplified certification under the Hague Convention — state confirmation of the authenticity of the signature, of the signatory's authority and of the seal.

### When is it mandatory?

When a document issued by another state is submitted to the civil-acts registration organ — without legalization or an apostille it is not accepted.

### Can legalization replace an apostille?

Yes, the law recognizes both forms; the choice depends on the issuing country and international obligations.

### What does an apostille attest?

Only external features — the signature, authority and seal; it does not attest the content's correctness.