Foreign Diploma Recognition in Georgia

Recognition answers two questions: is the document genuine, and which Georgian qualification does it correspond to? NCEQE checks the first itself and decides the second from the content of the document. That is why the translation has to render the degree, the programme, the courses and the grades exactly as they are, without "adapting" anything to the Georgian system.

Your documents are in English, Russian, German, Turkish or another language, and NCEQE works in Georgian. So the translation always goes in one direction: from the language of your diploma into Georgian. Below you will find NCEQE's official requirements (eqe.ge, checked on 21 October 2026), the process step by step and the mistakes that hold applications up. Requirements can change, so check NCEQE's page as well before you apply.

Who needs recognition

Recognition is not something every graduate needs automatically. It becomes necessary when an institution in Georgia has to rely on your foreign education officially. Most often that is:

• Georgian citizens who studied abroad and are coming back to Georgia;
• foreign citizens who work or study in Georgia;
• anyone applying for a master's or doctoral programme at a Georgian university with a foreign diploma;
• anyone whose employer or a public institution asks for it.

If you are a foreigner living in Georgia, the request usually comes from a Georgian university, an employer or a public body, and your first step is a Georgian translation of your diploma.

Documents you need

NCEQE's official list:

1. an application on NCEQE's form;
2. a copy of an identity document. For a foreign citizen - a notarized Georgian translation of a copy of the passport;
3. a power of attorney, if someone else submits the application for you;
4. for a minor - a notarized copy of the birth certificate;
5. a notarized Georgian translation of a copy of the education document. If a Georgian citizen started the first or second level of higher education on or after 1 July 2024, the document must also show the form of study;
6. proof of payment of the fee;
7. where applicable - proof of payment of a fee set by a foreign authority;
8. in some cases - an opinion from the receiving educational institution.

NCEQE may also ask for additional documents, including proof that you lived abroad. Translation appears twice in this list: for the education document and, if you are a foreigner, for your passport. We prepare both as one package, so your first name and surname are spelled the same way in both.

Apostille: is it required

Neither an apostille nor legalization appears in NCEQE's official list. NCEQE verifies authenticity itself: it contacts the competent authority of the issuing country or the institution that issued the document, and establishes whether the institution is recognized and whether the document was really issued to you.

In practice, keep two things in mind. First, if your document already has an apostille, the apostille is part of the document and is translated together with it. Second, an employer, a Georgian university or another institution may have requirements of its own. If they ask for an apostille, it has to be placed in the country that issued the document, before the translation. More details: apostille.

So there is usually no reason to delay your application while you arrange an apostille abroad just for NCEQE. Ask the institution that actually needs the recognized diploma what it expects, and plan the order of steps from that.

What NCEQE checks

During recognition NCEQE looks at three questions. First: was the document issued to the person named in it? Second: is the issuing institution recognized in its own country? Third: which Georgian qualification does the education correspond to?

For the first two questions NCEQE contacts the competent authority of the issuing country or the institution itself. For the third it relies on the content of the document: the length of the programme, the credits, the courses and the title of the qualification. That is why the quality of the translation directly affects how quickly and smoothly the process goes - a vague or incomplete translation pushes NCEQE to ask for additional documents.

Put simply, the people reviewing your file read the Georgian translation to understand what you studied. Everything they need for that comparison has to be in it, in clear and consistent terms.

How we translate for recognition

• From a foreign language into Georgian - from English, Russian, German, Turkish, Ukrainian, Polish and other languages;
• Your name in Georgian script is spelled the same way in every document - the diploma, the supplement and the passport translation. If your name is already registered in Georgia in a particular form, for example on your residence card, send it to us and we will use exactly that form;
• The degree is translated as it appears in the original - Bachelor of Science is rendered literally in Georgian, with the original Bachelor of Science kept in brackets, without "converting" it into a Georgian equivalent. Equivalence is decided by NCEQE;
• Grades and credits are not changed - the foreign scale stays foreign in the translation;
• An apostille or legalization stamp, if the document has one, is translated together with the document;
• Notarization is arranged as part of the same package.

We write the name of the foreign institution in Georgian transliteration and, at its first mention, add the original form in brackets, so the person checking it can find the institution in the official register.

You do not need to speak Georgian for any of this. You send us the documents in your language, tell us how your name is already written in Georgia if it is, and receive a notarized Georgian translation that is ready to submit.

Degree titles in translation: examples

The degree is translated literally, and the original stays in brackets at its first mention. That way NCEQE sees both the Georgian translation and what is actually written on the document. This is how the Georgian translation renders some common titles:

• Bachelor of Arts - ხელოვნების ბაკალავრი (Bachelor of Arts);
• Master of Science - მეცნიერების მაგისტრი (Master of Science);
• Doctor of Philosophy - ფილოსოფიის დოქტორი (PhD);
• "специалист" - სპეციალისტი, not a master's and not a bachelor's;
• "кандидат наук" - მეცნიერებათა კანდიდატი.

Russian-language diplomas from CIS countries are especially sensitive, because bachelor's, specialist and master's qualifications may have existed side by side in the same period. The translator does not decide which Georgian qualification "специалист" corresponds to - NCEQE does. The job of the translation is to give NCEQE exactly the term that is on the diploma.

Special cases

• People with international protection status - NCEQE has a separate procedure for them, because such a person often cannot submit the original document;
• An institution that has been closed or has stopped operating - if the education cannot be confirmed, NCEQE follows a separate rule;
• Applying through a representative - a power of attorney is required. If it was issued abroad, to be used in Georgia it usually needs an apostille or legalization and a notarized Georgian translation. More details: power of attorney translation;
• A minor - a parent submits the application and a notarized copy of the birth certificate. If the certificate is foreign, it also needs a notarized Georgian translation.

In these cases, confirm the list of documents with NCEQE in advance. You will get the translation from us the same or next day.

The process step by step

1. Collect your documents - the diploma, the supplement or transcript, and your passport;
2. Notarized Georgian translation - we translate and notarize it the same or next day;
3. Submit to NCEQE - in person (Tbilisi, Merab Aleksidze St, 2nd lane, No. 2, on working days 09:00-17:00) or online via my.gov.ge, which requires a new-type ID card, a card reader and an electronic signature;
4. NCEQE review - the administrative proceedings start on the working day after you submit;
5. Decision.

Most delays happen at the first two steps, not at NCEQE: a missing supplement, an unreadable scan or a name written differently in two translations. Getting the package right at the start is the easiest way to keep the whole process short.

Timing

NCEQE's own terms: ordinary proceedings - 1 month; expedited proceedings - 15, 5 or 1 working days. Check the current terms on eqe.ge before you apply.

If you have a deadline from a university or an employer, count backwards from it: allow for the translation, the day you submit, and NCEQE's term on top.

Common mistakes

• Your name spelled differently in the passport translation and the diploma translation;
• Leaving out the supplement - NCEQE also assesses the content of the programme;
• A partial scan - the back of the page, the seal or the apostille page did not make it into the file;
• "Adapting" the degree to Georgian in the translation - equivalence is decided by NCEQE, not by the translator.

All four are easy to avoid. Send every page in colour, include the supplement, and let the translation say exactly what the original says.

How to order the translation

Frequently asked questions

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