We translate birth and marriage certificates, certificates of no criminal record, diplomas and diploma supplements, extracts from the Register of Enterprises, court decisions, powers of attorney and medical reports from Latvian into Georgian and from Georgian into Latvian, and into English where needed. The translation is certified by a Georgian notary, who confirms the authenticity of the translator's signature. A standard personal document is ready in 1 working day, and a notarised translation of a document received during working hours can be done as an express order in 1-2 hours. Latvia is a party to the Apostille Convention, so a Georgian original needs an apostille rather than legalization, and since Latvia has no institution of sworn translators, a translation notarised in Georgia and submitted with the apostilled original is normally accepted by Latvian authorities; state authorities, under the State Language Law, require a translation into Latvian. Send us a scan of the document online or bring it to our office at 115 Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, and if you are in Latvia we send the certified document to you by international courier.
A name that is written differently in Latvia
Under Latvian legislation every given name and surname, foreign ones included, is written in an official document in Latvian spelling, according to pronunciation and with a grammatical ending: a man's name takes the ending -s or -is, a woman's -a or -e, and the surname is inflected too. The Georgian Giorgi Beridze becomes Giorgijs Beridze or Beridzes on a Latvian residence card, while the passport form is entered in a separate field, the original form of the personal name (personvārda oriģinālforma). This rule is supervised by the State Language Centre (Valsts valodas centrs), which issues an opinion in case of a dispute.
Georgian sounds pass into Latvian like this: ch becomes č, sh becomes š, zh becomes ž, ts becomes c, dz stays dz, j becomes dž, kh is usually h, the Georgian glottal q often k and gh g. Levan becomes Levans and Tamar becomes Tamara, while Nino stays unchanged, because female names ending in -o are not declined in Latvian; surnames ending in -dze and -shvili keep the forms -dze and -švili. If the client already has a Latvian residence card, we use exactly the form shown on it, because the Latvian system records two different Latvian forms of one person as two people.
A Georgian authority, on the contrary, sees Giorgijs and Giorgi as two different people. So in a Georgian translation of a Latvian document we write the name in the passport form and add the Latvian form in a note. This is the most frequent reason why a translation of a Latvian document done elsewhere is returned in Georgia. Before a client obtains residence in Latvia, we tell them in advance how their name will be recorded, so that they use one form at the bank, with the employer and at the university.
Who comes to us for Latvian translation
- Students at the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University and Riga Stradins University (RSU), whose medical programmes are popular among Georgians
- IT specialists, engineers, drivers, builders and logistics workers who need documents for a work residence permit
- Doctors and nurses whom Latvia's Health Inspectorate asks for documents for registration
- Georgian-Latvian families: marriage, registration of a child in both countries, divorce, inheritance
- Georgian and Latvian companies: the port of Riga and transit logistics, timber, wine, tourism, IT
- Latvian development programmes, municipalities and universities carrying out projects in Georgia
Notarised translation into and from Latvian
The Latvian system: Regulation No. 291 and the sworn notary
Latvia has no state institution of sworn translators. The official status of a translation is governed by Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 291 of 22 August 2000: the translator adds a certification note at the end of the translation with the words TULKOJUMS PAREIZS in capital letters, their name, surname, personal code, signature, place and date, and assumes the liability provided by law for the accuracy of the translation. If a document requires special reliability (a notarial transaction, a court, some registers), the translator's signature is certified by a sworn notary (zvērināts notārs). In Latvia notaries, advocates and bailiffs are called sworn professions, and the word must stay in the Georgian translation, because it denotes a specific legal status.
In Georgia the notary certifies the authenticity of the translator's signature on the translation, not the content of the translation. This is similar to the Latvian logic, so a Latvian authority places a Georgian notarised translation in the category its instructions call notariāli apliecināts tulkojums, a notarised translation. Translators of Georgian working in the format of Regulation No. 291 hardly exist in Latvia, and Latvian agencies often translate a Georgian document via Russian, which distorts the names of Georgian authorities. We translate from and into Latvian directly.
The apostille: at a notary in Latvia, on the original in Georgia
Latvia has applied the Hague Apostille Convention since 1996, and since 1 July 2019 the apostille on a Latvian document has been issued by sworn notaries instead of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on paper or electronically, and an electronic apostille is verified online in the register of the Latvian Council of Sworn Notaries. A Latvian notary places the apostille on the signature and seal of a state authority, a court or a notary; a private document (a power of attorney, a consent) first needs notarial certification and then the apostille, and both are done in one visit.
A Georgian document receives its apostille at the Public Service Development Agency (applications are also accepted at the Public Service Hall), and we arrange this as part of the order. The sequence is: the apostille is placed on the Georgian original, then the document is translated including the apostille, and finally the notary certifies the authenticity of the translator's signature. In Georgia no apostille is placed on the notarised translation itself: under the Agency's rules, the notarial certification of a translation or of a copy cannot be apostilled. Nor is an apostille placed on an identity document or its copy (the exception is a copy of a Georgian passport certified by the issuing authority), on a driving licence or on a certificate from a private company, except medical and educational institutions. If a Latvian recipient requires a translation certified with an apostille, the alternative is the Agency's own service: it translates a document that is subject to apostille itself and certifies that translation with an apostille. Some Latvian authorities require the translation to be made or certified in Latvia, so check the requirement with the recipient in advance; details: document route and apostille in Georgia.
Electronic Latvian documents
A large share of Latvian state certificates is issued from the Latvija.lv portal with a secure electronic signature (eParaksts), while a Georgian authority asks for a printed version with an apostille. In this case a Latvian sworn notary confirms that the printout matches and attaches the apostille, and in our translation we also translate the electronic signature data. In the opposite direction, we keep the QR code and verification link of a Georgian electronic certificate unchanged in the Latvian translation and explain in Latvian how the document is verified.
What each Latvian authority needs
The PMLP, the Register of Enterprises, courts, sworn notaries and civil registry offices (dzimtsarakstu nodaļa) as a rule require a notarised Latvian translation. English-taught university programmes, private companies and most banks accept English documents, often also with the agency's stamp. A Russian translation will not do for a Latvian state authority, even if the official speaks Russian. That is why the first question at ordering is the recipient: for the PMLP a Georgian birth certificate and a certificate of no criminal record go with an apostille and a notarised Latvian translation, while for an RSU application a diploma in English is enough.
Typical documents and reasons for rejection
The documents we certify most often are birth, marriage and death certificates (dzimšanas, laulības, miršanas apliecība), certificates of no criminal record (izziņa par sodāmību), Register of Enterprises extracts and articles of association (statūti), court judgments (spriedums), powers of attorney (pilnvara) and certificates of inheritance (mantojuma apliecība) issued by sworn notaries, certificates of the State Revenue Service (VID) and the State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA) on income, taxes and length of service, and PMLP decisions.
A translation done elsewhere is most often returned for these reasons: the name without the Latvian form for the PMLP, or with a Latvian ending for a Georgian authority; an institution's name left in an inflected case; lost diacritics; no apostille at all, because the client looked for it at the ministry; zvērināts notārs shortened to just notary; an electronic document printed out without a notary's certification. In such a case we first establish the exact reason for the rejection and correct only what needs to be corrected.
Recipients usually accept a certificate of no criminal record and a certificate of no impediment to marriage only if recently issued, and an extract from the Register of Enterprises often has to be less than a month old for banks. So we plan the request, the apostille, the translation and the courier together, so that the document is not out of date when it is submitted.
Translation in both directions
From Latvian into Georgian: cases and the nominative form
Latvian has seven cases and every noun, proper names included, is declined. In a document an institution is almost always in the genitive: Rīgas Stradiņa universitātes diploms, Latvijas Republikas Uzņēmumu reģistra izziņa. The translator must know that the nominative of universitātes is universitāte and of reģistra is reģistrs, and the institution must appear in the Georgian text under its official name. The same happens with personal names: Jāņa Bērziņa is Jānis Bērziņš in the nominative, in Georgian Ianis Berzinshi, and not Iana Berzina, which would be a woman's name. Official Latvian text is dense, with compounds and participial constructions, and one Latvian page often becomes one and a half pages in Georgian. The female and male forms of Latvian surnames (Bērziņš and Bērziņa, Ozols and Ozola) are one family's surname, and we explain this in a note for a Georgian authority.
From Georgian into Latvian: the State Language Law
Latvia's State Language Law (Valsts valodas likums) makes Latvian the language of dealings with authorities, courts and notaries. A translation for the PMLP or the Register of Enterprises is written in Latvian official style: terms from Latvian legislation, dates in the Latvian format (2026. gada 15. septembrī, where both the year and the day are ordinal numbers), and the standard phrases of a Georgian certificate replaced with the matching formulas of a Latvian certificate. An extract from the Georgian Registry of Entrepreneurs corresponds to Uzņēmumu reģistra izziņa in Latvian, the Public Service Hall is translated descriptively, and we keep the Georgian LLC form and add the Latvian equivalent (SIA) in brackets. A translation from Georgian into Latvian is read by a Latvian-speaking editor without the original, who checks the forms of names, the cases and the style.
Bilingual Latvian-Russian documents
Latvian is Latvia's only state language, but Russian appears regularly in the files of Georgian clients: Soviet-era birth certificates, employment record books and diplomas are in Russian or bilingual, and private contracts and documents of logistics companies are often written in Russian. Our Latvian translators also know Russian, and a bilingual document is prepared as one translation, where the text in both languages is rendered and a note shows which part is in which language in the original.
Latvian names, dates and codes in a Georgian translation
Latvian names are rendered in Georgian by pronunciation: Jānis becomes Ianisi, Liepiņa Liepinia, Daugavpils Daugavpilsi, Liepāja Liepaia, Jūrmala Iurmala. The macron (ā, ē, ī, ū) is lost in Georgian, č is rendered as ch, š as sh, ž as zh, and a form once chosen stays unchanged in all documents of that person. Amounts in Latvia have been in euro since 2014 and in lats before that, and we keep a lats amount in an old document without conversion. A Latvian address with its postcode (LV-1010) stays in Latin script, with a Georgian transcription in brackets. The personal code (personas kods) has 11 digits and since 2017 has been issued in a new format that no longer contains the date of birth; it stays unchanged in the translation.
Education documents: the 10-point scale, AIC and RSU
In Latvia both schools and universities use a ten-point scale, where 10 (izcili) is the best and 4 (gandrīz viduvēji) the minimum pass, unlike Lithuania, where the pass mark is 5; this is explained separately in the translation of a Latvian diploma. Recognition of a Georgian diploma in Latvia is handled by the Academic Information Centre (AIC, Akadēmiskās informācijas centrs), Latvia's ENIC/NARIC centre, which accepts documents in Latvian or English and asks for the diploma supplement together with the diploma; its opinion is issued in Latvian. For admission to RSU's English-taught medical and dental programmes, the school certificate and transcript are translated into English, and after enrolment the same documents are translated into Latvian for the PMLP. On return, a Latvian diploma and its supplement (diploma pielikums) with ECTS credits are submitted with a notarised Georgian translation to the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement; the RSU supplement is often bilingual, and we translate from the official Latvian version and use the English one for checking. A Latvian school-leaving certificate is issued together with a certificate of centralised examinations with results in percentages, and the two are translated together. Details: diploma recognition.
Residence, marriage and registering a child
In Latvia residence permits are issued by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP, Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde), and a work residence permit starts with an invitation registered by the employer. The package includes a Georgian diploma or professional certificate, a certificate of work experience, a certificate of no criminal record and, for families, marriage and birth certificates, with state documents apostilled; a certificate of work experience from a private employer cannot be apostilled. The pay criterion for a residence permit is linked to Latvia's average pay and changes, so the pay clause of an employment contract is translated with particular precision. Proof of knowledge of Latvian is compulsory for permanent residence and citizenship.
In Latvia a marriage is registered by a civil registry office or a church. The Georgian party submits a certificate of no impediment to marriage, a birth certificate and, after a previous marriage, a divorce document, with an apostille and a Latvian translation, with names in their Latvian form. The Latvian birth certificate of a child born in Riga goes with a notary's apostille and our Georgian translation to the Georgian embassy in Riga or to the Public Service Hall. The certificate writes the child's name in the Latvianised form, and we agree the Georgian form with the parents in advance, because it will stay in the child's Georgian passport. A Latvian certificate can also be issued with the European multilingual standard form, but Georgian is not among its languages, so a translation is still needed.
Legal and medical translation
Companies: SIA, AS and the Register of Enterprises
A Latvian company is usually an SIA (sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību, the counterpart of a Georgian LLC) or an AS (akciju sabiedrība) and is registered in the Register of Enterprises (Uzņēmumu reģistrs), which issues extracts electronically, in Latvian and English. An extract contains the share capital (pamatkapitāls), the board members (valdes locekļi) and the right of representation (pārstāvības tiesības), and the terms are carried over to the equivalents of Georgian company law: valde is the management board and not a supervisory board, padome is the supervisory board, dalībnieks a partner, prokūrists a procurator. We explain the existence of the small-capital SIA in a note in the translation of the articles. A particularity of Latvian practice is the mandatory registration of the beneficial owner (patiesais labuma guvējs), so a Georgian founder's package, the Registry of Entrepreneurs extract and the articles of association, is prepared with a notarised Latvian translation; the apostille is placed on the Public Registry extract, not on the passport. For registering a branch of a Latvian company in Georgia, the Public Registry requires the Latvian extract, articles and board decision with a sworn notary's apostille and a notarised Georgian translation.
Contracts, inheritance and the sworn professions
Latvia's Civil Law (Civillikums) was adopted in 1937 and restored in 1992-1993, so its language is both historical and in force: līgumsods is a contractual penalty, atkāpšanās no līguma withdrawal from a contract, uzteikums termination by notice, ķīla a pledge. These terms are carried over to the equivalents of the Georgian Civil Code, without Russian or English approximations. An employment contract is based on Latvia's Labour Law (Darba likums), and we translate it into Georgian for a Georgian employee, with short notes on the differences. In Latvia a sworn notary conducts the inheritance case and issues the mantojuma apliecība; Latvian law knows the forced heir (neatraidāmais mantinieks) and the inheritance contract (mantojuma līgums), which does not exist in Georgian law, and we explain this in the translation. It is best to agree the text of a Latvian power of attorney prepared for property in Georgia with us before going to a Latvian notary, because the Public Registry requires specific powers.
Courts, the Land Register and tax certificates
Latvia's court system has three tiers: the district (city) court, the regional court (apgabaltiesa) and the Supreme Court (Augstākā tiesa). Judgments (spriedums) and decisions (lēmums) in divorce, parental custody (aizgādība) and maintenance (uzturlīdzekļi) cases are translated for recognition in Georgia, and the note on entry into force must be in the translation. Rights to real estate are registered in the Land Register (zemesgrāmata), and its extract is translated for inheritance, divorce or banking matters. A VID tax residence certificate and tax returns are translated for the Revenue Service of Georgia, and we align the terms of the double taxation agreement with its official text.
Medical documents: e-veselība and SSK-10
A Latvian medical document, whether a hospital discharge summary (izraksts no stacionāra) or an outpatient record, is created in the unified e-veselība system, with the diagnosis coded in SSK-10, the Latvian version of ICD-10, whose codes match it. In the translation we keep the codes unchanged, leave the Latin diagnosis in place and translate laboratory tables together with the reference ranges. Prescriptions are issued in the e-recepte system, and for a Georgian doctor we trace trade names back to the active substance (aktīvā viela); in the opposite direction, Georgian medicines are translated for a Latvian doctor by their international non-proprietary name. The discharge summary and test results of a Latvian tourist treated at a Georgian clinic are translated into Latvian or English for a Latvian insurer; in an emergency we deliver a working translation to the doctor within a few hours.
Doctors: the RSU diploma and the Health Inspectorate
An RSU graduate's diploma, supplement and specialty certificate go for registration in Georgia with a sworn notary's apostille and a notarised Georgian translation, in which ārsta grāds, rezidentūra and sertifikāts specialitātē are carried over to the equivalents of the Georgian system. A Georgian doctor or nurse going to work in Latvia submits a diploma, a residency certificate, a specialty certificate and a certificate of work experience to the Health Inspectorate (Veselības inspekcija) with an apostille (where the document is subject to one) and a Latvian translation; AIC recognition and proof of language level are separate procedures.
Simultaneous and consecutive interpreting
A Latvian interpreter is needed in Georgia for visits of Saeima and ministry delegations, seminars of Latvian development cooperation projects, business visits of Latvian companies, partnership meetings of municipalities, and at a notary, in court or at a clinic when a Latvian citizen takes part. A Georgian notary must make sure that a party understands the content of the document, and the interpreter's participation is recorded in the notarial act. Latvians speak English well, and if Latvian is not required by protocol, English-Georgian interpreting is a one-step and faster option.
Modes: consecutive, whispered, relay
In consecutive and whispered interpreting, an interpreter who knows Latvian works directly, in both directions; this is our most requested Latvian interpreting service. Direct Latvian-Georgian simultaneous interpreting from a booth is a rare skill, so at a large conference we use relay: from Latvian into English in one booth and from English into Georgian in another, as in the EU institutions, and we warn the organiser about the lag in advance. Two interpreters in a booth take turns every 20-30 minutes. For online meetings with Riga we offer remote simultaneous interpreting and ask the Latvian side to use a headset microphone, because the difference between long and short Latvian vowels is lost in poor audio.
Russian as the working language: why not
Organisers sometimes suggest using a Russian interpreter instead of a Latvian one. We do not recommend this unless the Latvian side asks for it: with an official Latvian delegation Russian is inappropriate in protocol terms and may even be perceived as offensive, and the younger generation often does not speak Russian. We agree the working language with the Latvian side in advance.
Booking and preparation
Book a consecutive interpreter at least two weeks ahead and simultaneous relay earlier; the minimum booking is two hours, and one hour for a visit to a notary. The interpreter needs the slides, the agenda and a list of speakers with names, so that Latvian names (Jānis, Ieva, Kristaps) and titles (Saeimas deputāts, valsts sekretārs) are pronounced correctly. After the event the same team translates the minutes and the memorandum, so that the terms stay consistent.
Official sources
- Public Service Development Agency: apostille and legalization: which Georgian documents can be apostilled, which cannot, and the processing times
- Hague Conference: Apostille Convention contracting parties: the current list of countries: apostille or consular legalization
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia: the apostille on a Latvian document at a sworn notary, and legalization
Frequently asked questions
Should I translate Georgian documents for Latvia into Latvian or English?
It depends on the recipient. The PMLP, the Register of Enterprises, courts, sworn notaries and civil registry offices as a rule require Latvian, while universities, the AIC, companies and most banks also accept English. A Russian translation will not do for a Latvian state authority, and we prepare both options directly, with notarisation.
Is there a sworn translator in Latvia?
No, unlike Estonia. In Latvia a translation is certified by the translator with the TULKOJUMS PAREIZS note under Regulation No. 291, or a sworn notary certifies the translator's signature. A translation notarised in Georgia, together with the apostilled original, is normally accepted in Latvia as a notarised translation.
My Latvian residence card says Giorgijs, my passport says Giorgi. Is this a problem?
It is a problem in Georgia if the translation does not explain it. Latvia writes every name with Latvian spelling and an ending and keeps the original form in a separate field, so in the Georgian translation we write the name in the passport form and explain the Latvianisation rule in a note.
Who issues the apostille in Latvia?
Since 1 July 2019, sworn notaries, in any town in the country, on paper or electronically. The apostille on a Georgian document is attached by the Public Service Development Agency, and we arrange this as part of the order.
Can an apostille be placed on my notarised translation?
No, in Georgia the notarial certification of a translation cannot be apostilled. The apostille goes on the Georgian original, then the document is translated including the apostille and the notary certifies the translator's signature; if the recipient requires a translation certified with an apostille, the Agency certifies its own translation with an apostille.
The Latvian certificate is a file signed with eParaksts. Is it accepted in Georgia?
Not directly. A Latvian sworn notary has to confirm that the printout matches and attach an apostille, or create an electronic apostille; after that we translate it with the electronic signature data and have it notarised.
A Soviet-era Latvian document is in Russian. Does it need a separate translator?
No, our Latvian translators also know Russian. A bilingual or Russian-language Latvian document is prepared as one translation, and a note shows which part is in which language in the original.
Is a Latvian diploma on a 10-point scale, like a Lithuanian one?
The scale is the same, but the pass mark is different: 4 in Latvia, 5 in Lithuania. The translation comes with an explanation of the Latvian system and ECTS credits, so that a Georgian authority reads the grades correctly.
Our child was born in Riga. What do we need for a Georgian passport?
The Latvian birth certificate with a notary's apostille and our notarised Georgian translation, submitted to the embassy in Riga or to the Public Service Hall. We agree the Georgian form of the child's name with the parents in advance, because it will stay in the Georgian passport.
A Latvian discharge summary has SSK-10 codes. Is that ICD-10?
Yes, SSK-10 is the Latvian version of the International Classification of Diseases and its codes match ICD-10. We keep the codes unchanged in the translation and note the correspondence.
Is direct Latvian-Georgian simultaneous interpreting possible?
In consecutive and whispered mode, yes, directly. For simultaneous interpreting from a booth we use relay with Latvian-English and English-Georgian booths, and if the Latvian speaker talks in English, one booth is enough.
How long does a Latvian translation take?
A personal document takes 1 working day, and a document received during working hours can be done as an express order in 1-2 hours. Articles of association, a court decision or a diploma supplement take several days depending on volume, and the apostille follows the Agency's processing times.
Upload a scan of your Latvian document or call us: we will check what the recipient needs, agree both forms of the names with you and prepare the translation with notarisation, for collection at our Tbilisi office or by courier to Latvia.