The certificate is the most "varied" educational document, and that is exactly why it is the one most often processed wrongly. One folder can hold a state diploma from a vocational college with a welder's qualification, a medical association's continuing education certificate worth 20 credits, an accounting course certificate from a Tbilisi training centre, an online Google certificate and a certificate of participation in a three-day seminar. To a foreign authority these are five documents of completely different weight, each with its own certification and apostille route, and if you treat them all the same, you either add steps you do not need or miss a required seal. Our bureau in Tbilisi sorts this out first of all: which category your certificate belongs to and what it needs at the specific place where you will submit it.
Two categories, two different routes
State-recognised documents
Diplomas of authorised vocational colleges (for example with the qualification of an electrician, cook, nurse's assistant, web developer), state certificates of vocational training and retraining, and continuing education certificates issued by universities are recorded in the education register. The apostille on them, as on a higher education diploma, is placed by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement after verification with the issuing institution. These are the documents that serve for recognition of a professional qualification abroad: in Germany through IHK FOSA and ZAB, in Austria and Switzerland through the relevant chambers, in Canada with the provincial regulators.
Private certificates
Certificates of training centres, companies, international vendors (Cisco, Microsoft, PMI, ACCA), online platforms and conferences are private documents. An apostille is not placed on them directly; if an authority requires legalization, a notarized copy is prepared first, the Ministry of Justice places the apostille on it and only then is the copy translated together with the apostille. In practice this is rarely needed: most employers and universities accept a private certificate with a certified translation, without an apostille.
Where and why certificate translations are required
- Employment and work visa. Germany's skilled worker visa, work permits for Poland and the Czech Republic, Gulf contracts: the vocational diploma and training certificates, together with the CV and the employment certificate, confirm work experience.
- Medical and pharmaceutical licensing. Continuing professional education certificates of doctors and nurses, documents confirming specialisation and subspecialisation, BLS/ACLS courses: the regulator counts hours and credits.
- The application portfolio. Olympiad diplomas, certificates of summer schools, research projects and volunteering are attached to the school certificate or diploma and are often decisive for a scholarship committee.
- State tenders and public service in Georgia. This is the opposite direction and the most in demand in Tbilisi: a tender commission, the State Procurement Agency's platform and public institutions accept foreign certificates (PMP, ISO auditor, CISA, IELTS trainer, AutoCAD, SAP) only with a Georgian notarized translation. One missing certificate is grounds for disqualifying the bidder.
- Confirming education obtained abroad in Georgia. Courses completed abroad are translated into Georgian for an employer or a qualification commission; for a full qualification the recognition procedure is completed.
What we translate, and how
The course title and content
"Fundamentals of accounting under international financial reporting standards" must sound in English the way the field says it: Fundamentals of Accounting under IFRS. If the certificate is accompanied by a programme or a list of modules, that is translated too, because it is by the modules that a regulator establishes correspondence. The names of vendor certificates (Cisco Certified Network Associate) stay unchanged and are translated in brackets.
Hours, credits, level
Academic hours, CPD/CME credits, ECTS and the qualification level (EQF 3-5 of the European Qualifications Framework for vocational education) are carried over numerically, unchanged; the level of the Georgian National Qualifications Framework is noted with its correspondence to the EQF, because that is exactly what interests IHK and ZAB.
Issuer, number, verification
The name of the issuing organisation is rendered by transliteration and its official English name, the certificate number, the date of issue and, if there is one, the validity period stay unchanged. The QR code and verification link are described, so that the foreign official can check the authenticity themselves. The name is always written according to the passport, even if the training centre printed it differently on the certificate; in that case we add a note.
The German example: recognition of a professional qualification
The most complex and the most frequent case is moving to Germany under the Skilled Immigration Act. There a professional qualification needs recognition, and the recognition body (the Chamber of Crafts for trades, IHK FOSA for commercial and industrial professions, the state ministry for medical professions) asks not only for the college diploma but for the curriculum with hours, certificates confirming practical training and the employment record. All these documents must be translated with one terminology, and in such a way that the Georgian profession title matches the German Ausbildungsberuf: an "electrician" must be described as corresponding to Elektroniker für Energie- und Gebäudetechnik, not simply as an Elektriker. We prepare these packages separately, based on the German occupational classifier, and translate the employer's references with the same vocabulary.
When a translation is not needed
English-language, online-verifiable certificates (Coursera, edX, Google, AWS, LinkedIn Learning) need no translation for a foreign employer; they are verified by link or badge. Bilingual Georgian-English certificates are also sufficient for an English-speaking authority. A translation becomes necessary when the target language is not English, when the authority requires a paper, certified version, or when the document is intended for a Georgian state body. We tell you this before the order.
Certification and the package
For one or two certificates notarization is the standard route: the notary certifies the translator's signature and binds the translation to a copy of the certificate. In a tender or application package with 5-15 certificates, all are certified in one visit and translated with one glossary; language certificates and course programmes go in the same package. For English-speaking countries a translation certified on the bureau's letterhead as a PDF is faster. The general principles are summarised on the category page.
Turnaround
A one-page certificate is ready with notarization within one working day; a package of 5-10 documents within one or two days. Urgent orders tied to tender deadlines are completed within a few hours. Send the scans as one file or separately; you receive the finished package at the office, by courier or as a PDF for uploading to the tender platform.
Frequently asked questions
Can an apostille be placed on a private training centre's certificate?
Not directly: an apostille is placed only on state or state-recognised documents. For a private certificate a notarized copy is prepared, the Ministry of Justice places the apostille on it, and the copy is then translated together with the apostille.
Does an online certificate (Coursera, Google, Cisco) need a translation?
For a foreign employer usually not; it is in English and verified by link. For a Georgian state tender, public service or a licensing body a Georgian notarized translation is often mandatory.
Which certificates count as state-recognised in Georgia?
Diplomas of authorised vocational colleges and state certificates of vocational training. The apostille on them is placed by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement. Certificates of training centres, companies and online platforms are private documents.
How soon will it be ready?
A one-page certificate with notarization within one working day; a package of 5-10 certificates within one or two days, certified in one visit.