⚖️ House of Justice in Georgia: What Services Are Available to Foreigners
⚖️ What is the House of Justice in Georgia
The House of Justice, known officially as the Public Service Hall, is Georgia's one-stop government services centre. According to the agency itself, it brings together up to five hundred state and private services under one roof, everything from passports to business registration.
If you're moving to Georgia, or already living there, you'll end up in one of these buildings sooner or later. The House of Justice isn't somewhere you go for one specific thing; people register marriages, file for residency, open companies and get documents notarised all under the same roof.
Here's exactly what foreigners can get done here, and how to avoid burning half a day in line.
⚖️ What services are available to foreigners at the House of Justice
The list is long, but a specific slice of it matters most to people arriving.
Civil records. Marriage registration, birth, marriage and divorce certificates. These documents often get needed abroad later, for a visa, for family reunification, for handling an inheritance.
Residency paperwork. Filing a residence permit application, getting your ID card, the one with your registered address on it.
Business registration. Setting up a sole-trader business or a company, updating registration details. One of the main reasons foreigners come here in the first place: you can't open an account under the preferential tax regime without it.
Notary services. Certifying powers of attorney, consent forms, document copies.
Apostille and legalisation. So a Georgian document is recognised abroad, and the reverse, so a foreign document is recognised here.
Registry extracts. Property records, legal entities, criminal record checks.
Worth knowing: a lot of these services can be handled without showing up in person. Through a representative with power of attorney, remotely via online services, or through an intermediary company. That's a real help if you're still preparing paperwork before you've even arrived.
🏠 Applying for residency and filing paperwork as a foreigner
This is where the House of Justice becomes something nearly every relocating foreigner passes through.
What actually gets filed here. The residence permit application, once you already have a basis for it: a registered sole-trader business, a lease agreement, a property purchase, an employment contract. The basis itself is prepared in advance; the House of Justice processes the completed package.
Fees. The residence permit and the ID card each carry their own fee, and the amounts and processing times vary with how urgent you make it. Check current figures on psh.gov.ge rather than an old article; fees change.
Address registration is separate from residency. Changing your address doesn't cancel a residence permit you already have; that's a separate process.
The criminal record certificate requirement. By practical accounts, this is a common cause of delays: the certificate needs to be recent and apostilled specifically in your country of citizenship, not somewhere else.
Since 2026, foreigners working in Georgia have faced an additional requirement, a right-to-work permit. How that connects to residency and who it affects is covered in working in Georgia as a foreigner.
📜 Getting an apostille, notary services and document translation
The most common practical errand for anyone already living in the country.
An apostille is what makes a Georgian document, a certificate, a diploma, a certification, recognised abroad. And the reverse, for a foreign document to be recognised here.
Notary actions, certifying powers of attorney and document copies, are handled on the spot.
There's a catch worth knowing about translations. According to several practical sources, the agency accepts translations only from translators on the Ministry of Justice's official list, not from any translation agency. If you're arranging a translation in advance, confirm with the translator that they're on that list, or your document gets turned away on the spot.
Where to find certified translators is in the directory: translation agencies in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi.
⏱️ How to book an appointment online and skip the queue
Practice shows the difference between just showing up and booking ahead is enormous.
Walk-in queues can run two to four hours, especially at the central branches in Tbilisi and Batumi during the first half of the day.
Booking online lets you pick a specific time and walk in with almost no wait. Bookings are made through the agency's official website.
A practical tip on timing. If no slot is available for the day you need, come right at opening or in the afternoon; the middle of the day at busy branches sees the heaviest traffic.
What to bring. An original passport is required for nearly every service. Have any translations done in advance by a certified translator; don't count on arranging them on the spot.
Bring a fuller folder than the specific service technically requires. Passport, a copy of it, translations stamped by a certified translator, whatever your basis is, a lease, a business registration. An extra document doesn't hurt; a missing one means a second visit and standing in line all over again.
And check requirements are current before you go. Rules, fees and document lists change in Georgia, and old articles online, this one included in a year or two, can go stale. The agency's official site is more reliable than any secondhand summary.
📍 Where to find a House of Justice branch
Branches exist in nearly every major city in Georgia. Addresses, hours and contact details change, so rather than copying them here, these link straight to the current listings in our directory.
- House of Justice in Tbilisi,
- House of Justice in Batumi,
- House of Justice in Kutaisi,
- House of Justice in Rustavi,
- House of Justice in Kobuleti and
- House of Justice in Kazbegi, the mountain-view branch popular for weddings.
Tbilisi has several branches across different districts, including Varketili and Gldani, so if one is packed, check whether another is closer.
Opened an account at a Georgian bank? A similar logic around queues and paperwork applies there too; more in opening a bank account in Georgia. And if you'll need to exchange your driving licence after getting residency, we've covered driving licence exchange in Georgia.
Been to the House of Justice? Leave a review on Madloba: tell us which service, which branch, whether booking online actually helped, and what took longer than expected. Real experience here is worth more than any set of instructions.
Information is current as of September 2026 and is provided for general guidance. The list of services, document requirements, fees and branch hours change, and official current information is published by the agency at psh.gov.ge. For your specific situation, especially anything involving residency or business registration, it's worth consulting a lawyer.
❓ Frequently asked questions
💬 A government services centre, officially the Public Service Hall, where up to five hundred state and private services are brought together in one place: civil records, passports, registries, business services, notary work, apostilles. Think of it as a supercharged version of a one-stop government office.
💬 Yes, citizenship is almost never a requirement. Foreigners register marriages, open sole-trader businesses and companies, get apostilles, and have translations certified here.
💬 Both parties need passports, often with a notarised Georgian translation. Registration is possible the same day you apply, with no mandatory waiting period. Confirm witness requirements with the specific branch.
💬 Yes, if you already have a basis for it: a sole-trader business, a lease, a property purchase, or an employment contract. Both the application and the ID card itself are processed through the House of Justice, and fees vary with how urgent the request is.
💬 An apostille is issued through the House of Justice, and it's what makes a Georgian document recognised abroad. For submissions, translations are accepted only from translators on the Ministry of Justice's official list.
💬 Walk-in queues can run two to four hours, especially at central branches in the morning. Booking online lets you arrive at a specific time with almost no wait.
💬 An original passport is required for nearly every service. Have translations done in advance by a certified translator from the official list; you can't arrange them on the spot.
💬 The House of Justice branch in Stepantsminda sits with a view of Mount Kazbek, and couples travel there specifically for a ceremony with that backdrop. The procedure is the same as at any other branch.
💬 Many services are available through a representative with power of attorney, and some through online services. That's especially useful if you're preparing documents while still outside Georgia.
💬 Branches exist in most major Georgian cities, and Tbilisi has several across different districts. Current addresses and hours are easiest to check in the directory listings for each city, linked in this article.
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