A foreign licence works in Georgia only while you are a tourist. Once you start living here the clock starts running: one year from your last entry, and after that you need a Georgian licence. Here is exactly what to bring to the Service Agency, what it costs, and what changed in May 2025.
- One year from your last entry — that is how long a foreign licence is valid. The clock runs from your last border crossing, not from the date the licence was issued.
- Exchange without exams: a valid foreign licence is swapped for a Georgian one for 16 GEL in 15–20 minutes, with no test to pass.
- Since 27 May 2025 you may sit the exams (if you have no licence at all) only with a residence permit or 185 days of legal stay in the last 12 months.
- A car: importing means 5% duty and 18% VAT plus excise based on engine size — buying locally is usually cheaper than shipping your own.
How long a foreign licence lasts
A foreign licence — including an international one — is valid in Georgia for one year from the date of your last entry into the country. The wording matters: the countdown starts from your last border stamp, not from the day you moved or the day the licence was issued. Leaving and re-entering resets the counter, which is why people who travel to neighbouring countries anyway have relied on it for years.
The reset technically works, but insurers take a dim view of it after an accident. If you live in Georgia permanently, exchanging the licence once for 16 GEL is cheaper than explaining yourself later.
Exchanging your licence: documents, price, timing
The key fact: a valid foreign licence is exchanged for a Georgian one without exams. No theory test, no city drive — your categories and restrictions are carried over to the new licence as they are.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| State fee | 15 GEL + 1 GEL bank charge = 16 GEL |
| Waiting time | 15–20 minutes, the licence is issued during the same visit |
| Medical certificate | Form 100/a, issued no more than 180 days ago, 15–25 GEL at any clinic |
| Your old licence | Surrendered — the original stays with the agency |
| Validity of the new licence | 15 years for AM, A, A1, A2, B, B1, BE, T, S; 5 years for C, C1, CE, C1E, D, D1, DE, D1E |
What to bring:
- Passport. With a Georgian residence permit, bring the passport and the permit — no translation needed. Without a permit, bring the passport with a notarised translation into Georgian.
- The original valid foreign licence. Expired licences are not exchanged — renew it in the issuing country first.
- Confirmation from the issuing authority — a statement that the licence was indeed issued, when, which categories and restrictions it carries, and whether it was ever suspended. It must be apostilled or legalised, translated and notarised, and be no older than 90 days when you submit it.
- Medical form 100/a — no older than 180 days.
Order the confirmation from your home authority before you move, or through your consulate: it is the only document on the list you cannot obtain in Tbilisi in a single day. Everything else is one morning's work.
No licence yet: exams and the 185-day rule
A different case is having no licence at all, or an expired one. Then you have to sit the exams, and since 27 May 2025 a restriction applies (Ministry of Internal Affairs Order No. 40): a foreigner is admitted to the exams only with a residence permit (temporary or permanent) or documented legal stay in Georgia of at least 185 calendar days within the last 12 months. Diplomats sit the exams on an accreditation card without these conditions.
The exam has a theory part (a computer test) and a practical part. Indicative fees: theory 40 GEL, practical 40 GEL per attempt. The finished licence can be collected the same day for around 55 GEL, or free of charge after three working days.
The 185-day rule applies only to people sitting the exams. It does not apply to exchanging a valid foreign licence — that works without a residence permit.
Where to go: Service Agency addresses
Licences are issued by the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (sa.gov.ge), not by the House of Justice — the two are often confused. The House of Justice handles property documents, registrations and certificates; driving licences and vehicle registration belong to the MIA agency.
Service Agency, Saburtalo
The most convenient office if you live in the city: Delisi and Technical University metro stations are nearby, and a taxi from the centre costs 5–8 GEL. The bank where you pay the fee is in the same building.
Head office, Red Bridge highway
A large centre on the way out of the city towards Rustavi. This is where you go to register a car or when you need everything done in one place; about 25–35 minutes by car from central Tbilisi.
Your own car: import or buy locally
The second question after the licence is the car. You can bring your own into Georgia, but the tax maths usually favours buying locally.
| Payment | How much | Charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty | 5% | CIF value (price + insurance + freight) |
| VAT | 18% | CIF + duty + excise |
| Excise | per cm³ of engine, the rate rises with the car's age | Engine displacement |
| Right-hand drive | excise ×3 | Penalty coefficient |
| Electric vehicle | excise 0 | Full exemption |
| Paperwork and technical passport | roughly 270–470 GEL | Fixed fees + registration |
Excise is the largest and the most volatile part. Rates depend on the age of the car and change periodically, and commercial calculators disagree with each other. Run the numbers on a current customs calculator before you buy and leave a margin: for a 1.6-litre car older than six years the bill can run into several thousand GEL — often more than the price gap with a local equivalent.
The practical conclusion is simple: shipping a car makes sense if it is expensive, nearly new, or electric. An ordinary petrol car aged 7–12 years is almost always cheaper to sell at home and replace in Georgia — the local market is large, and the car market in Rustavi covers nearly any request.
Technical inspection and insurance
Technical inspection is mandatory in Georgia. A passenger car costs 60 GEL; trucks and passenger transport cost 100 GEL. The interval depends on age: cars from 4 to 8 years old are inspected every two years, cars over 8 years old every year.
Third-party motor insurance for cars on Georgian plates is not compulsory in the form drivers know from Russia or the EU — mandatory cover was introduced for vehicles on foreign registration. Voluntary comprehensive and liability policies are sold by local companies; the same logic for choosing an insurer is covered in our article on health insurance.
Where to live if you drive
Having a car changes which district makes sense. The centre — Sololaki, Mtatsminda, Vera — has narrow streets and almost no parking: people rent there for walkability, not for the car. If you drive, look at districts with decent exits and parking in newer buildings: Saburtalo, Didube, Vake closer to Nutsubidze, and the new developments in Didi Dighomi.
Comparing prices and parking is easiest straight from search: browse apartments for rent and for sale, and see live numbers for every district on the district pages. If proximity to a specific place matters — work, school, the Service Agency — search by radius from a point on the map.