Driving License in Georgia: Exchange and Requirements

A foreigner does not need a Georgian driving license to get behind the wheel right away: a valid foreign license works on its own for the first year. What happens after that year, and how painless the switch to a Georgian license actually is, depends on paperwork most people do not think about until they are standing at the counter.

Driving on a Foreign License: The One-Year Window

A foreign driving license remains valid to drive in Georgia for one year from the holder's last entry into the country, as long as the license itself has not expired sooner. There is no need to register anything in advance; the license and a passport showing the entry date are enough for that first year.

None of this is tied to how long someone has actually lived in Georgia: a brand-new arrival can walk into the Service Agency and exchange a license on day one if they want to, well before the one-year grace period even starts to matter, which is worth doing early simply to avoid tracking a second expiration date on top of a visa or residence permit.

Exchanging Without a Test

Once the year is up, or sooner if preferred, a foreign license can be swapped directly for a Georgian one without taking the local driving test, regardless of which country issued it.

The fee is 16 lari, and the whole exchange is handled at the Service Agency of Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, a different agency from the House of Justice that handles most other paperwork, such as address registration and residence permits. Processing is fast once the documents are in order: a new license is typically issued within 15 to 20 minutes of applying.

Category B itself covers standard passenger cars, the license nearly every relocating foreigner actually needs, rather than motorcycles, trucks, or buses, which sit under their own separate categories with their own age minimums and validity terms.

The document list is short but specific: the original foreign license, a passport, and an official notice from the foreign licensing authority confirming the license is genuine and currently valid.

The notice itself typically comes from whichever authority actually issued the original license, a state DMV, a national transport ministry, or the equivalent body, confirming the license number, category, and that it has not been suspended or revoked; a photocopy of the license itself is not treated as equivalent proof.

If the applicant already holds a residence permit in Georgia, the passport does not need a separate certified translation; without one, it does. The notice needs the full document chain: an apostille for Georgia from the country that issued it, then a certified Georgian translation, done either through a notary in Georgia or the same agency that handles apostilles.

A 90-Day Trap Worth Knowing About in Advance

The notice from the foreign licensing authority has a shelf life: it will not be accepted if more than 90 calendar days have passed since it was issued. Getting the apostille and translation chain done, then sitting on the paperwork for a few months before finally visiting the Service Agency, is a common way to have to start the notice process over from scratch with a freshly issued document.

Do You Also Need an International Driving Permit?

Sources disagree on how strictly this is enforced, but it is worth carrying an International Driving Permit alongside a foreign license regardless: most companies offering car rental in Georgia accept a Latin or Cyrillic license on its own during the one-year window, but some still ask for a permit, and having it removes any argument at a police checkpoint or with an insurer after an accident.

It costs little and takes minutes to arrange before travel, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to avoid a dispute over a technicality.

How Long a Georgian License Lasts Once Issued

Whether obtained by exchange or by passing the local test, a standard category B license for cars and most personal-use categories is valid for 15 years. Commercial and heavy-vehicle categories, trucks and buses among them, get a shorter 5-year term. Renewing after expiry does not require retaking the driving test: a current medical certificate is enough to get a fresh one issued.

The minimum age for a standard category B car license is 17, younger than the 18 most foreigners expect by default, while a full category A motorcycle license generally requires being 24, or 21 with at least two years already held on a lighter A2 license.

Taking the Georgian Test Instead

A foreigner can also skip the exchange route entirely and take the Georgian driving exam directly, available in Georgian, English, and Russian. This matters mainly for someone whose home country either does not issue the kind of official notice the exchange requires, or where obtaining it is more hassle than sitting the local test.