A translation bureau for Tianeti - TARGMANEBI's service for a municipality where the first year abroad often starts with a single question: "Is my driving licence valid here?". In most European countries a Georgian licence remains valid for a set period after residence is granted and then has to be exchanged for a local one - and the authority handling the exchange asks for a translation of the licence, often together with a certificate of authenticity and an apostille. The procedure differs from country to country, and those differences are exactly what the Tianeti page is about.
Alongside driving licences, Tianeti sends us other car paperwork too - documents for a car brought in from Europe that are needed in Georgian, a Georgian vehicle registration certificate for a foreign border - plus the municipality's usual flows: small forestry and honey producers, fishing and tourism on the Sioni reservoir, families whose children live in Europe. Tbilisi is two hours from Tianeti, and the licence holder is often in Italy anyway - so the package is set up from the start so that nobody has to travel, neither from Tianeti nor from Italy: a photo from wherever the licence is, the certificate and apostille handled by us, and the paper sent by post to wherever it is needed.
Exchanging a driving licence - what each country asks for
The Georgian driving licence is bilingual and many authorities can read it without a translation, but the exchange procedure almost everywhere requires an official translation or an additional document. From the experience of people from Tianeti, the typical requirements look like this:
Italy and Greece
- Translation of the licence into Italian or Greek with notarization
- A certificate from the Public Service Development Agency on the licence's authenticity and categories, with an apostille
- Translation of that certificate in the same package
- Residence document and a medical certificate obtained locally
- Often - a translation accepted only from a local sworn translator, which we check in advance
Germany and Austria
- Translation of the licence into German, matched to the European category classification
- A certificate on the date of issue and period of validity
- An apostille on the certificate
- In some federal states - a theory or practical test, which a translation does not replace
- Residence card and address registration
Poland, Czechia, the Baltics
- Translation of the licence into the relevant language with notarization
- A certificate of authenticity with an apostille, in some countries without one
- A certificate that the licence has not been revoked or suspended
- Medical and psychological checks on site for professional drivers
- Certificate of professional competence (code 95) for lorries
The most important part of a driving licence translation is carrying the categories across: the Georgian B, C, CE and D categories match the European system, but issue dates, restriction codes and the categories on old licences - Soviet-era or from the 1990s - need explanation so that the authority assigns the correct European category. For a professional driver, getting C and CE across correctly also means keeping the job - which is why we check both sides of the licence field by field.
One typical mistake people from Tianeti often make: they order the licence translation before receiving residence, while the exchange authority asks for it after residence, within a specific period, and sometimes wants a freshly issued certificate of authenticity. So we plan the package from the date residence is granted and obtain the certificate at a point when it will not expire before it is submitted.
Car documents - in both directions
To register a car brought in from Europe, the Georgian agency asks for a Georgian translation of the foreign registration certificate, the sale contract and the deregistration certificate - with the VIN, year and engine checked digit by digit. In the other direction, anyone driving a Georgian car into Europe or selling it to a foreigner needs the Georgian vehicle registration certificate and insurance translated, and anyone driving a lorry for a European company needs a certificate of Georgian driving experience and the competence certificate in the employer's language. After an accident or a fine, the foreign report and the insurer's letters are translated into Georgian - informally, just to understand them, or with certification if there is a dispute.
Forest, honey, Sioni - Tianeti's producers
Tianeti's economy rests on forest and pasture: beekeeping, timber and wooden goods, cheese and meat, fishing on the Sioni reservoir and small-scale tourism. Small producers are taking their first steps towards European buyers and grant programmes, and that comes with a short package of documents: a laboratory report and label for honey in English, documents proving the legal origin of timber, a grant application and report in the donor's language, a manual for foreign machinery in Georgian, a description of a family guesthouse at Sioni and fishing rules for guests. For business documents the bureau stamp is usually enough; a tourism text does not even need that.
Tianeti families
The driving licence is often part of a family package: the father works as a driver in Europe and is exchanging his licence, the mother needs certificates for family reunification abroad, the child needs a school leaving certificate or a school reference, and the grandmother needs a power of attorney from her son for household matters and the Soviet employment record book for her pension. We prepare such a package together, with a single transliteration - so that the father's surname is spelled with the same Latin letters on the driving licence and on the child's certificate - and send it back to Tianeti with one courier.
Languages in orders from Tianeti
Because of driving licences, the most frequent languages in Tianeti are Italian, German, Greek and Polish - these are exactly the countries where drivers from Tianeti work. English is the language of cars, exports and grants, Czech and Dutch of haulage companies, Russian of old employment record books and imported cars. Spanish, French, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic and Chinese are rare in orders from Tianeti.
The process for a driving licence package
Both sides of the licence and the country
A clear photo of the front and back of the licence by WhatsApp or by email to info@targmanebi.ge, with the country and region. If you have the authority's requirements, send the link or a screenshot too.
What this country needs
We tell you whether a translation is enough, whether a certificate of authenticity and an apostille are required, and whether the authority accepts a Georgian notarized translation. We do not translate anything unnecessary.
Certificate, apostille, translation
You obtain the certificate of authenticity from the agency, or we obtain it under your power of attorney; the apostille is added, and the translation is prepared with the categories checked and then notarized.
The package to Tianeti or abroad
The file - straight away; the paper package - by courier to your family in Tianeti or by international post directly to your European address, as agreed.
Price and deadlines
An order from Tianeti is handled on the same terms as Tbilisi, and the price is by agreement, set after we see the document. A driving licence is a standard two-page document and its notarized translation is in the simple category; the timing of the package depends on obtaining the certificate of authenticity and the apostille - usually a week for the full package, while the translation itself is ready in two days. Car registration documents take one to two days, a honey report and label two to three, a family package with apostilles one to two weeks. International post abroad is a separate item, known in advance. A driving licence translation, like every other, is confirmed by the signature of the bureau's founder, the sole trader Mariam Zumadze (ID 30601010853); if a foreign authority finds an inaccuracy of ours in the category field, the translation is corrected free of charge and certified again.
From Tianeti, working in Italy, Germany or Poland, and need to exchange your driving licence? Or brought a car home and need the papers in Georgian? Send us a photo of both sides of the licence and the country - we will tell you exactly what is needed there and what is not.
Call: 501 113 200Frequently asked questions - driving licences and documents from Tianeti
I am in Italy and need to exchange my licence. Will a Georgian notarized translation do?
Many Italian Motorizzazione offices accept a translation only from an Italian sworn translator or certified by the consulate - in that case our job is the certificate of authenticity and the apostille, and the translation is done locally. Tell us the province and we will say exactly which option applies before you order.
How do I get the certificate of authenticity from Tianeti if I am abroad?
The certificate is issued by the Public Service Development Agency and can be collected by a family member or a representative with a power of attorney; an apostille is then added. We prepare the translation of the power of attorney and the whole package together, and send the finished package by international post directly to your address.
I work as a lorry driver in Germany. Will the C and CE categories carry across correctly?
Yes - the categories are carried across according to the European classification, and issue dates and restriction codes are checked field by field. For a professional driver, the competence certificate (code 95) and the certificate of driving experience are translated in the same package if the employer asks for them.
I brought a car in from Germany. What needs translating for the agency?
The registration certificate (Zulassungsbescheinigung), the sale contract and the deregistration certificate - into Georgian, with the bureau stamp or notarized, depending on what the branch requires. The VIN, year, engine and emission class are checked separately against the original; it is ready in one to two days.
I received a fine and an accident report in Polish. Do I need them translated into Georgian?
To understand them - an informational translation without certification, in one day; if you are submitting them to a Georgian insurer or a court - notarized. Tell us the purpose first and we will choose the option; that often halves the cost.
I am sending honey to Europe for the first time. Which documents will I need?
The laboratory report, certificate of origin, invoice, packing list and label text in the destination country's language - the bureau stamp is usually enough. The report's values are checked figure by figure, and we keep the package as a template for the next shipment.
Translation bureau in the other cities of Mtskheta-Mtianeti
The driving licence package is prepared the same way for the whole region, but in Tianeti it is needed most often because of the drivers. The other cities' pages show their local focus and delivery options.