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Witnesses for Your Wedding in Georgia: Rules and Provision

Every marriage in Georgia is registered in the presence of at least two adult witnesses. Bring your own, or travel light and we provide two witnesses who know the procedure.

Request two witnesses Read the rules

Last reviewed 21 October 2026 against the Law of Georgia on Civil Status Acts and the Public Service Development Agency rules.

The rules

What Georgian law says about witnesses

The rule is one sentence long, which is why so many myths grow around it. Here is what it says, and what it does not.

What the law requires

  • At least two witnesses at every marriage registration (Art. 52(4)).
  • Each witness is an adult: 18 or older.
  • Each witness has legal capacity.
  • The witnesses attend in person, together with both of you.
  • Each witness presents an identity document.

Sources: Law of Georgia on Civil Status Acts, Art. 52(4); Public Service Development Agency.

What the law does not require

  • Witnesses do not have to be Georgian citizens.
  • They do not have to live in Georgia.
  • The law sets no rule about being related or unrelated to you.
  • Witnesses do not need to speak Georgian, but they should understand the procedure.
  • There is no rule that the witnesses must be a man and a woman.

The law sets two conditions: full age and legal capacity. Everything else is practice, and we tell you when practice differs.

Your options

Bring your own witnesses or use ours

Both options work. The difference is in the paperwork your witnesses need and in how much you want to organize yourself.

Your own foreign witnesses

  • Original passports, no photocopies
  • Passports valid on the day
  • Names checked against the translations
  • Interpreter covers them too

Your own Georgian witnesses

  • Georgian ID card or passport
  • Present at the agreed time and place
  • Briefed on your names and the plan
  • Useful if you have friends or family in Georgia

Witnesses we provide

  • Two adults with Georgian identity documents
  • Experienced with registrations
  • Meet you at the Public Service Hall or your venue
  • Included in our VIP elopement package

Witness provision is part of our VIP Stress-Free Elopement package and can be added to any other package.

Good to know

Getting the witnesses right on the day

Foreign witnesses: passports are the whole job

If your witnesses are friends travelling with you, the only thing that can go wrong is their documents. Each witness must present an identity document, which for a foreign witness means the original passport. A photo on a phone or a photocopy is not enough. We include foreign witnesses' passports in the same notarized translation set as yours, with the same spelling rules, so their names appear consistently in Georgian. Send their scans with yours for the document audit.

Who makes a good witness

The law asks only that a witness is an adult with legal capacity. In practice, choose people who will be on time, who will have their passport with them and who are comfortable standing through a short formal procedure. Parents, siblings and friends can all serve. If one of your intended witnesses is under 18, they cannot act as a witness, but they can of course attend the ceremony as a guest.

When we provide the witnesses

Many couples come to Georgia to elope, often without family. In that case we provide two adult witnesses with Georgian identity documents from our team and our network of local partners. They are briefed in advance on your names, the time and the place, they arrive before you do and they stay until the registration is completed. For an off-site ceremony at a hotel, a winery or in the mountains, they travel to the venue with the interpreter.

Witnesses and language

Witnesses do not need to speak Georgian, but they take part in the registration, so they should understand what is happening. If your witnesses are foreign friends, our interpreter covers them as well as you. If the witnesses are ours, they speak Georgian, and the interpreter makes sure you know who they are and what they confirm.

Privacy

Witnesses present their identity documents to the registrar, and the details are used for the registration. When we provide witnesses, you share nothing with them beyond what the registration requires: your names and the time and place of the appointment.

A quick check before the day

  • Two witnesses confirmed, both 18 or older
  • Original passports or Georgian ID cards ready
  • Foreign witnesses' passports sent to us for translation
  • Meeting time set before the registration
  • Venue address shared with everyone for an off-site ceremony
How it works

How we arrange your witnesses

Three short steps, usually handled together with your document audit and interpreter booking.

1
When you book

Tell us the date and place

Send the date, time and place of the registration, and say whether you bring witnesses of your own. If you do, send scans of their passports with yours.

2
Before the day

Witnesses confirmed and briefed

We confirm two adult witnesses with Georgian identity documents, or check the documents of your own witnesses, and share the plan for the day with everyone involved.

3
On the day

Everyone in place before you

The witnesses and the interpreter arrive before the appointment, meet you at the entrance or the venue and stay until the registration is completed and the certificate has been checked.

FAQ

Questions about witnesses for a wedding in Georgia

At least two. Article 52(4) of the Law on Civil Status Acts requires the registration to take place with both of you and at least two legally capable witnesses of full age present.

Yes. The law sets no citizenship or residence condition. A foreign witness must be an adult with legal capacity and present an identity document, which in practice means the original passport.

The law does not exclude relatives. It requires only that each witness is of full age and has legal capacity, so parents, siblings and friends can all serve.

No, but they take part in the registration and should understand it. Our interpreter covers foreign witnesses as well as the couple.

An identity document in the original: a Georgian ID card or passport for Georgian witnesses, the passport for foreign witnesses. We recommend translating foreign witnesses' passports together with yours.

Yes. We provide two adult witnesses with Georgian identity documents from our team and local partners. They are briefed in advance and meet you at the Public Service Hall or your venue.

Yes. When the registration takes place at a venue you choose, the witnesses travel there with the interpreter and arrive before the registrar.

No. A witness must be of full age. Younger family members can attend the ceremony as guests.

Contact

Tell us your wedding date

Send your passports and your planned date. We reply with a document checklist and a timeline for your wedding.

WhatsApp

+995 501 113 200

Email

info@targmanebi.ge

Office

118 Davit Aghmashenebeli Ave, Tbilisi 0102, Georgia

Business hours

Mon-Fri 10:00-19:00
Sat 11:00-19:00