The Service: Deposit as a Statutory Notarial Act (Article 38)
Article 38 of the Georgian Law on Notarial Practice sets out the full list of notarial acts a notary performs, and the deposit appears on that list directly: the notary takes money, securities and valuables into deposit. That drafting detail matters more than it first seems. Placing value with a notary is not a matter of an individual notary’s discretion or local custom — it is a statutory notarial act with a formally defined procedure. The Legal.ge team walks you through this route end to end: we assess how well a deposit fits your situation, plan the formalisation of the property to be deposited, and prepare the documentation the act requires.
In practice, a deposit is used when money or another valuable must change hands under a formal, independent procedure — for example, to secure the performance of obligations arising from a transaction. The rules governing the subsequent release or return of the deposited value are established by other norms of the legislation; we verify those details against your specific case at the consultation stage and explain each one separately, so that nothing remains vague.
What the Notary Takes into Deposit (Article 38)
The law names three categories, and all three appear verbatim in the text of the article: money, securities and valuables. The formulation is broad and covers different types of property — yet whether a particular item, sum or paper can be accepted into deposit is determined by the notary in each individual case. That is precisely why the first step with us is an assessment: we establish whether your value falls within the statutory categories, and only then plan the further steps.
The worth of the deposit lies in the fact that receipt and safekeeping of the property are recorded under notarial rules: the fact of acceptance, the composition of what was received and its legal grounds are officially documented. This reduces disputes between the parties that are not about the merits, and makes the procedure transparent — for the transferor as much as for the recipient.
Storage of Documents and Related Notarial Acts (Article 38)
Beyond taking valuables into deposit, the same article provides that the notary accepts documents for storage — and in practice the two acts often work together: the money or the papers sit in the deposit, while the documents constituting their basis sit in notarial storage. Article 38 also provides that, in addition to the notarial acts envisaged by this law, the notary performs other notarial acts provided for by Georgian legislation. From the full list we single out what most often accompanies a deposit:
- issues a certificate of ownership right;
- issues a certificate of inheritance right;
- takes measures to protect estate property;
- verifies the correctness of a copy or extract of a document against the original;
- verifies the authenticity of a signature on a document;
- issues an enforcement sheet;
- performs a protest of a bill of exchange and a sea protest.
This list creates the context: a deposit is rarely an isolated step. Measures to protect estate property or the issue of an enforcement sheet are frequently connected to values held in deposit or transferred through it. Our task is to plan the correct sequence of these acts so that every visit yields the maximum result.
Consultation, Drafts and the Enforcement Sheet (Article 38)
Article 38 also establishes the advisory function: in connection with notarial acts, the notary provides legal consultations to persons and, at their request, prepares drafts of documents; the notary is also authorised to provide a legal consultation to an interested person even where it is not connected with the performance of a notarial act. In other words, the possibility of professional assessment before and after a deposit is built into the law itself — and on Legal.ge we use exactly that, so that your decision is made with complete information.
Under the same article, the notary issues an enforcement sheet on the basis of a matured claim for recovery of a monetary debt, on transfer of a right in property, and on a claim to direct forced execution against pledged or mortgaged property — provided there is an agreement of the parties and the notary has explained in writing, in the notarial act, the legal consequences of issuing the enforcement sheet. The law also grants the notary the right to make a public offer of a thing, carried out through an electronic auction or other electronic means — the forms of such offers are determined by the Minister of Justice of Georgia.
The Fee for a Deposit: The Established Rule
The fee for acceptance into deposit is established by the legislation on notarial fees and can be traced document by document: the fee amounts to a quarter of the applicable tariff norm and is at least 4 GEL per month. Where money is taken into deposit, a special rule applies — the interest accrued on the deposited sum counts as the fee. This means the accumulation of the fee over the months of storage can be calculated in advance, and at the consultation we produce an exact computation for your sum and your timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the notary take into deposit?
Article 38 states it directly: the notary takes money, securities and valuables into deposit. Whether a particular item of property can be accepted is determined by the notary in each case — we run that assessment in advance.
What is the fee for a deposit?
Under the legislation on notarial fees, the fee is a quarter of the tariff norm and at least 4 GEL per month; for a monetary deposit, the interest accrued on the deposit remains as the fee. We compute the exact amount for your case at the consultation.
Can documents be handed over together with a deposit?
Yes — the notary accepts documents for storage. In practice the two acts are often combined: the value sits in the deposit, while its supporting documents sit in notarial storage.
Who sets the rules for release from the deposit?
That is regulated by other norms of the legislation. We verify the specific conditions for your case at the consultation and explain every step before the deposit is formalised.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Contact us on Legal.ge: we will assess your situation and determine whether a deposit is the right instrument for your money, securities or valuables; prepare the documentation, plan the documents to be transferred for storage and, where necessary, connect the deposit to other notarial acts. Placing a value with a notary is a precisely calculated step — and we will take that step together.