The Legal Framework of Charitable Organization Registration in Georgia
Registering a charitable organization in Georgia follows the general procedure for a non-commercial legal person: "charitable" is not a separate registry category — an NPLE registers identically whatever its purpose. The difference arises in the tax sphere, where charitable status is defined by tax legislation and is a separate question. This page covers the registration procedure itself: where the registration takes place (Article 28), what documentation is required (Article 29), how changes are registered (Article 31), and within which decision framework (Article 32).
The Registering Organ and the Registry — Article 28
The registration of a non-commercial legal person — and of the branch or representation of a foreign NPLE — is carried out in the Register of Entrepreneurs and Non-Commercial Legal Persons. The registry is maintained by the National Agency of the Public Registry, a public-law legal person operating within the governance of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, referred to in the legislation as the registering organ. The procedure of registration is governed by the Civil Code itself and by the rules established for the registration of entrepreneurial entities — a single registration infrastructure in which commercial and non-commercial entities appear in one and the same registry.
The Registration Documentation — Article 29
On applying for registration, the interested person submits to the registering organ a partners' agreement and an application; the application must contain the mandatory data established by the Code and by the Law on Entrepreneurs. The founding documentation must additionally indicate: the purpose of the organization's activity; the procedure of admission, withdrawal and expulsion of members — where the organization is membership-based; the organ empowered to decide on reorganization or liquidation, together with the decision-making procedure; and the manner of creation of the governing organ and the term of its authority. Together with the registration, the registering organ creates the organization's electronic address within the unified electronic portal; the organization may maintain a registered telephone number or e-mail address to which an electronic notice is deemed delivered. Writing down the charitable purposes precisely and thoughtfully matters precisely at this stage — future assessments of disposals and of the organization's activity will return to these formulations.