How do you change your first name or surname in Georgia?
Who can apply, documents, fee and timing.
Short answer
A first name or surname in Georgia is changed on an application at a Public Service Hall or an Agency office, for a 75 GEL fee within 60 calendar days. The service is described for Georgian citizens and stateless persons in Georgia whose birth is registered in Georgia. Data from sda.gov.ge as of 10.11.2026.
Why
- The rules for changing a first name or surname are set by the Law of Georgia on Civil Status Acts (Articles 64–69).
- An adult can change a surname on most of the listed grounds only once (Article 64).
- The application is heard at an oral hearing, and if the applicant does not attend after being notified, the application is dismissed (Article 67¹).
Details
Applicants aged 16 or over file in person, and for ages 16 to 18 written consent of the parents or legal representative is also needed. For a child under 16 a parent or representative applies, with the other parent's consent and the child's own consent from age 10. You need an identity document, a birth certificate, birth certificates of minor children (if any), and a document proving the grounds for the surname change. The application can be filed at the Public Service Hall at 1 Zviad Gamsakhurdia Sanapiro Street, Tbilisi, or at any territorial office of the Agency. Phone +995 32 2 40 10 10.
A first name cannot contain digits or punctuation marks or consist of more than two names. The application is refused if the person is wanted on suspicion of a crime, is under criminal prosecution, or was deported or readmitted to Georgia less than five years earlier (Article 68). The decision is registered on the 60th day after filing, and there is no expedited service for it (Article 69). For the meaning of the endings -shvili and -dze see what Georgian surname endings mean.
Tip
Prepare the document proving the grounds for the surname change in advance and attend the oral hearing in person: if the applicant does not appear after being notified, the application is dismissed.
What may differ
Internally displaced persons are exempt from the fee, and students with an electronic ID card marked student get a 10% discount. In case of severe illness confirmed by a certificate, the application can be filed electronically or through a representative. Rules and fees change, so check sda.gov.ge. Foreigners with a residence permit should confirm the conditions with the Agency by phone.
Common misconception
You can change your surname in Georgia as many times as you like.
What actually happens
An adult can change a surname only once unless the law provides otherwise (sda.gov.ge, Article 64 of the law).
People also ask
- How to change a surname in Georgia?
- How to change a first name in Georgia?
Sources
This answer is for reference and does not replace legal advice. Fees and terms change, so check sda.gov.ge.
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