Ukrainian translation with notarised certification

In the Ukrainian-Georgian direction notarisation is the central and often the only step of the procedure: by virtue of the treaty on legal assistance between Georgia and Ukraine, documents do not need an apostille, and a translation certified by a Georgian notary is the full basis for accepting a Ukrainian document in Georgia, just as a Ukrainian notary's certification is for a Georgian document in Ukraine. This simplifies the process but increases the responsibility on the notarised translation, because the subsequent legalisation stage, which in other countries would "filter out" an error, does not exist here. This page explains in detail how notarisation works in the Ukrainian-Georgian pair, which documents need what, and which details cause rejection.

Notary, translator and treaty: the legal framework

In Georgia notarisation of a translation means that the notary certifies the authenticity of the signature of a translator registered with them, whose qualification in the Ukrainian-Georgian pair has been verified in advance. The same institution exists in Ukraine: a Ukrainian notary ("нотаріус") certifies the translator's signature ("засвідчення справжності підпису перекладача"), and often at the same time the accuracy of the copy of the document. Both systems come from the Soviet notarial tradition and "understand" each other well, and the 1995 treaty recognises a notarial act of one country in the other without legalisation. So a Georgian translation notarised in Ukraine is directly valid in Georgia, and vice versa. In practice we nevertheless advise having the translation certified in the country where it will be submitted, because a local notary knows the terminological expectations of the local body.

Residence permit and Ukrainians' documents

For a residence permit at the Public Service Development Agency, a notarised Georgian translation of the Ukrainian documents is submitted: the marriage certificate for family reunification, the birth certificate for children, the diploma or employment contract for work residence, the criminal record certificate for some categories. Both the Ukrainian ID card (the plastic passport issued since 2016) and the international passport are translated, and for the ID card an extract from the Unified Demographic Register ("витяг з ЄДДР") on the registered address is often needed separately, because the ID card does not contain the address. The agency does not require an apostille but checks the completeness of the document strictly: the entries on the back of the marriage certificate, the parents' fields of the birth certificate, seals and signatures must be translated in full.

The criminal record certificate: MVS, Diia and validity

The Ukrainian criminal record certificate ("довідка про несудимість") is issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, online through the Diia platform, with an electronic signature and a QR code, and for Ukrainians abroad this is the only realistic route. A Georgian notary accepts this electronic certificate for certification if the verification data (number, QR code, indication of the electronic signature) is legible, and in the translation this data is rendered in full. There are two types of certificate: full ("повна") and abbreviated ("скорочена"), and a Georgian body usually requires the full one. The absence of a record is translated with the standard formula ("відомості відсутні"). The validity of the certificate in Georgian practice is three to six months, so we prepare the translation as soon as the certificate is received. In the opposite direction, a Georgian criminal record certificate is translated into Ukrainian for the Ukrainian migration service, an employer or a court.

Civil status acts: marriage, divorce, children

When marrying a Ukrainian citizen in Georgia, the Public Service Hall requires a translation of the Ukrainian passport, birth certificate and a document confirming marital status; in Ukraine a separate "certificate of no impediment to marriage" is not issued, and instead an extract from the civil status acts register ("витяг з Державного реєстру актів цивільного стану") or a notarial statement is used, which must be reflected correctly in the title of the translation. Ukrainian divorce takes place either at the civil status registration body (ДРАЦС, formerly РАГС), if there are no minor children, or in court, and the document of either form (divorce certificate or court judgment) is translated for recognition in Georgia. To register a child born in Ukraine in Georgia, the Ukrainian birth certificate ("свідоцтво про народження") is submitted with a notarised translation, without an apostille. In wartime many Ukrainian civil status acts are issued through Diia or at the consulate, and these forms are also suitable for certification.

Certification of educational documents

The Ukrainian school certificate ("свідоцтво про здобуття повної загальної середньої освіти", in the old form "атестат"), diploma and supplement are submitted with a notarised translation for university admission in Georgia, for mobility or for recognition at the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement. The Ukrainian system follows the three-cycle Bologna system (бакалавр, магістр, доктор філософії), but diplomas from the 2000s with the "спеціаліст" and "молодший спеціаліст" qualifications need a separate explanation. The Ukrainian 12-point school and 100-point (together with ECTS) university grading systems must be compared with the Georgian one with a note. The diploma supplement ("додаток до диплома") is in the European format and contains English fields too, but the Georgian body requires a full Georgian translation. Because of the war many Ukrainian universities have relocated, and the new address or the fact of online study indicated in certificates is rendered exactly in the translation.

Certification of business documents: EDR, TOV, FOP

When a Ukrainian company is registered in Georgia, the Public Registry requires a notarised translation of the extract from the Unified State Register ("витяг з ЄДР"), the articles of association ("статут") and the founders' decision, in which the signatory's powers ("директор", "керівник", "підписант") are unambiguous. The extract is issued in Ukraine electronically, through an online service, and the Georgian notary accepts the printed version if the verification code on it is legible. The FOP (individual entrepreneur) extract is translated for banks to confirm the source of income, and the Ukrainian "ТОВ" is rendered as the analogue of the Georgian LLC, "ПрАТ" and "ПАТ" as joint-stock companies. A power of attorney drawn up before a Ukrainian notary is valid in Georgia without an apostille, but the Georgian notary requires a specific list of powers, and the Ukrainian "генеральна довіреність" is sometimes too general; so before a power of attorney is drawn up in Ukraine, we give clients a list of the Georgian notary's requirements.

Driving licence, car and vehicle documents

The Ukrainian driving licence ("посвідчення водія") is submitted with a notarised translation for exchange for a Georgian one at the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and for Ukrainians in Georgia with a Ukrainian car, whose number has been significant since 2022, a translation of the registration certificate ("свідоцтво про реєстрацію транспортного засобу") is needed for customs, insurance and registration procedures. The Ukrainian licence is bilingual (Ukrainian and English), but the Georgian body requires a full Georgian translation. In the translation the categories and dates stay unchanged, and the Ukrainian and Georgian category systems, which both follow the European one, practically match. In the opposite direction, a Georgian driving licence is submitted with a Ukrainian translation at the service centre when exchanged in Ukraine.

Certification of medical and social documents

When Ukrainian patients are treated in Georgian clinics, when disability status is recognised in Georgia and when they join social assistance programmes, a notarised translation of Ukrainian medical documents is needed: the extract from the medical record (form 027/о), the certificate of the medical-social expert commission (МСЕК) on the disability group, the vaccination card (form 063/о) for school and kindergarten, the health certificate (form 086/о). Ukrainian and Georgian medical documentation comes from a shared tradition of Soviet forms, so the form numbers and structure resemble each other, which makes translation easier; the system of disability groups (groups I, II, III) is structurally similar too, though the criteria differ. Since 2023 the МСЕК system in Ukraine has been undergoing reform and new examination forms are appearing, which we take into account in the translation. The notary checks completeness at certification, including handwritten entries.

Soviet and bilingual documents

Old documents from Ukraine (birth certificates issued before 1991, Soviet diplomas, employment record books) are in Russian or bilingual (Ukrainian and Russian), and 1990s documents are often filled in on bilingual forms too. For notarisation such a document is translated in full, including the entries in both languages, and the translation is prepared with the participation of translators of both languages and certified as one document. The employment record book ("трудова книжка") is especially in demand in Georgia for calculating pension service, and every entry (hiring, transfer, dismissal, order number and date) must be transferred exactly. In the case of names, old documents carry the Russian form (Николай, Елена), while the modern passport carries the Ukrainian one (Mykola, Olena), and the translation reflects both with a note so that the body identifies the same person.

A Georgian document in Ukraine: the reverse route

A Georgian document is translated into Ukrainian and notarised for submission in Ukraine, without an apostille. Under the requirement of Ukraine's law on the state language, the translation must be in Ukrainian, not Russian, and in Ukrainian administrative terminology: the Georgian certificate as "довідка", the extract as "витяг", the certificate as "свідоцтво", the Public Service Hall as "Будинок юстиції" with a functional explanation. A Ukrainian notary, the migration service (ДМС), the civil status registration body (ДРАЦС) and a court accept a Georgian notary's certification by virtue of the treaty, though in practice a Ukrainian notary sometimes requires that the translation be re-certified in Ukraine by a local translator; in that case our translation makes the work considerably easier for the Ukrainian colleague. In wartime delivering documents to Ukraine is difficult, and we plan delivery by international courier or through a representative in Ukraine.

Consular and military registration matters

The consular section of the Ukrainian Embassy in Tbilisi provides Ukrainian citizens with passport, consular certificate and notarial services, and a document drawn up at the consulate (power of attorney, statement, certificate) is in Ukrainian, which requires a Georgian notarised translation for use in Georgia. Since 2024 Ukrainian legislation links consular services to the updating of military registration data for men of a certain age, which in practice means that for some Ukrainians obtaining a consular document has become complicated and alternative routes (a Georgian notary, Diia, a representative in Ukraine) become more relevant. In these situations we help the client prepare the document so that a Georgian notary accepts it without consular certification, where this is legally possible.

Pension, service and social documents

For Ukrainian pensioners living in Georgia and for Georgians who worked in Ukraine, a notarised translation of pension documents is needed: the certificate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine ("довідка про розмір пенсії"), the insurance service extract (form ОК-5 or ОК-7), the pension certificate ("пенсійне посвідчення"), the employment record book. The agreement between Georgia and Ukraine in the field of social security provides for mutual recognition of pension rights, and the Georgian Pension Agency accepts Ukrainian service documents with a notarised translation, without an apostille. Ukrainian pension terminology ("страховий стаж", "пенсія за віком", "пенсія по інвалідності", "надбавка") structurally matches the Georgian one, which makes translation easier. In wartime receiving a Ukrainian pension abroad happens through Diia or "Ощадбанк" and requires periodic physical identification, for which a certificate of being alive certified by a Georgian notary is translated into Ukrainian.

What a finished notarised translation looks like

The completed document is a bound package: a copy of the original (or a document printed from Diia with verification data), the translation with the translator's signature, the notary's certification inscription with a register number and seal. No apostille is attached, because none is needed, and this makes the package simpler and faster compared with the European languages. For a Georgian body we add a translator's note explaining the function of the Ukrainian body, the link between the Russian and Ukrainian forms of the name or the grading system. We also attach a scanned version of the finished package for uploading to the agency's, bank's or school's online system while the paper version reaches you by courier. A Ukrainian translation of a Georgian document is prepared in the same format, with Ukrainian certification terminology, so that a Ukrainian notary or official sees a familiar structure.

Who performs a Ukrainian notarised translation

A notarised Ukrainian translation is performed only by a translator registered with a specific notary in the Ukrainian-Georgian pair, whose qualification the notary has verified in advance. Our Ukrainian translators command Ukrainian at native or professional level, know Ukrainian administrative formats and, which is especially important, clearly distinguish Ukrainian from Russian: the forms of names, the names of bodies and the terminology are taken from the Ukrainian source, not by Russian analogy. A translation from Georgian into Ukrainian is checked by a Ukrainian-speaking editor so that the text is natural for a Ukrainian official. A Russian translator also joins for bilingual Soviet documents.

What causes rejection at a Georgian or Ukrainian body

• Transferring the name in the Russian form, which does not match the Ukrainian Latin version of the passport
• A document exported from Diia without verification data (a screenshot)
• Submitting the abbreviated criminal record certificate where the full one was required
• Leaving the entries on the back page, seals and handwritten annexes untranslated
• Submitting a Russian translation of a Georgian document to a Ukrainian body
• A translation of the ID card without the address extract where the address was required
• Translating the entries of only one language of a bilingual document

Deadlines, organisation and delivery

A notarised translation of a one-page document is ready in one working day, in express mode in 1-2 hours, which is especially often needed in the Ukrainian direction because residence, school and bank deadlines are short. No apostille is needed, so the process is two steps: translation and certification. The whole process is managed online, and you receive the finished document electronically and by courier in any city in Georgia where Ukrainians live: Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi. Delivery to Ukraine is planned by international courier or through a representative. Every order is handled under a confidentiality agreement, which is especially important for the protection of personal data in wartime.

Frequently asked questions