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Registering a Transport Company and Obtaining a Carrier's License in Georgia

Irakli

RegHub Georgia Specialist

Registering a transport company and obtaining a carrier's license in Georgia are governed by separate procedures. State registration of a legal entity does not, by itself, grant the right to carry out freight or passenger transport. That kind of activity may only be carried out once the licensing, permitting, and technical requirements set by law have been met, including documenting the vehicles used, confirming they meet safety requirements, satisfying the qualification criteria set for drivers, and following the special rules that apply to international and dangerous-goods transport.

Registering a transport company in Georgia draws entrepreneurs working on routes between the Caucasus, Turkey, Central Asia, and European markets. The nature of the transport operations matters heavily when planning the business, since domestic and international routes are governed by different rules. International carriers also need to factor in Georgia's agreements with other states, the quotas those agreements set, and the procedure for obtaining permitting documents.

This article looks at how to register a transport company in Georgia, the cases in which a carrier's license is required, which documents international freight and passenger transport call for, what requirements the fleet has to meet, and what to keep in mind when transporting dangerous goods.

Registering a Transport Company and Obtaining a Carrier's License in Georgia: Regulation

Road transport in Georgia plays a significant role in the country's transport system, largely because of Georgia's position on the main routes between Europe and Asia. Carrying out freight and passenger transport requires compliance with the national requirements and, on international routes, with the relevant interstate agreements.

Mistakes in arranging permits for a transport company in Georgia, or missing a mandatory document, carry financial liability and create obstacles to the vehicle's onward movement. It is worth checking in advance which requirements apply to the specific type of transport, route, and vehicle. For complex or international transport operations, professional support with registering a transport company and obtaining a carrier's license in Georgia helps set up the permitting procedures correctly, lowers the risk of violations, and helps ensure the legal requirements are met.

The main piece of legislation is the Law on Road Transport. It sets out the core legal, economic, and organizational framework for the sector and applies to vehicle owners and to anyone carrying out road transport operations, regardless of their organizational and legal status.

Registering a Transport Company in Georgia

Transport activity can be carried out by a legal entity or by an individual entrepreneur, though setting up as a limited liability company, an LLC, is the recommended route for a road transport business. The business entity is registered through the National Agency of Public Registry.

Registration itself is the easy half of the process. A business that stops there, treating the certificate from the National Agency of Public Registry as the finish line, tends to discover the gap only once a shipment is turned back at the border for want of a permit that registration alone never granted.

Before opening a transport company in Georgia, it helps to settle on the intended business model first. Domestic and international freight and passenger transport, and the carriage of dangerous goods, are governed by different permitting and technical requirements, and the model chosen also determines what the fleet needs to look like. Depending on the category of transport, the law sets requirements for the type of vehicle, its technical condition, and the documents proving ownership or the right of use. In some cases, holding a set number of vehicles is itself a condition for obtaining a license for international transport in Georgia.

Who Must Obtain a Carrier's License in Georgia

This is the central question when a foreigner is opening a transport company in Georgia. The law generally allows individuals and legal entities to operate in road transport without restriction, though certain activities require a permit. These include regular urban passenger routes, passenger routes on international journeys, freight transport on international journeys, and freight transport out of Georgia carried out by foreign carriers above the quotas set by international agreements.

Accordingly, a carrier's license in Georgia needs to be considered in relation to the specific type of transport for which the law requires the relevant permitting document. The Law on Licenses and Permits sets the general rules for issuing, monitoring, and terminating permits.

Permit Regime

The permit system separates the different kinds of transport activity from one another.

International Road Freight Transport in Georgia

Depending on the route and the nature of the transport, the Land Transport Agency issues single-trip and multiple-trip permits, documents for transport to and from third countries, and multilateral ECMT permits, special documents that let carriers move freight between the member states of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport without needing separate bilateral permits.

The number of permits is set separately for each country and type of transport. Within the quota distribution for third countries, 3,100 permits are allocated for Turkey and 1,500 for Uzbekistan. These quotas are not, however, a general cap on all international transport between Georgia and the country in question: bilateral, transit, and other categories of transport each carry their own separate terms and permits.

A special procedure applies to ECMT permits, which allow transport between the states that participate in that system once the applicable requirements are met. Obtaining and using such permits takes into account the technical and environmental characteristics of the vehicles involved. In 2026, Georgia's ECMT system moved to an electronic format.

Certain categories of foreign carriers have the option to obtain a permit for international transport in Georgia above the standard quota if they meet special requirements, including submitting a declaration of conformity, documents relating to how the carrier's business is organized, and proof of sufficient financial resources.

International Passenger Transport

Requirements depend on the type of transport, regular or non-regular, as well as on the route and the terms of the international agreements with the destination or transit state. Regular international transport requires obtaining the relevant permit and preparing route-specific documents, including the schedule and other route documentation. The cost of arranging this depends on distance: for routes running 100 to 1,000 km from Georgia's border, it comes to 2,000 GEL, and for routes over 1,000 km, 3,000 GEL.

One-Off International Transport

If a carrier does not run regular international routes but plans individual trips, a one-off permitting document is issued instead. The official procedure calls for filing an application together with vehicle documents, including proof of ownership and a current periodic technical inspection report. Confirmation of payment for the relevant fee or service charge is also required. Depending on the destination country, the applicable international agreements determine the content and type of the permitting document.

Changes to the Rules for Issuing International Transport Permits in Georgia

In 2026, Georgia updated the rules for issuing international transport permits. Decisions now take into account whether the carrier meets the established requirements and how it scores under a special rating system. A company's final standing is shaped by several factors, among them the number of vehicles in the fleet, the environmental characteristics of the vehicles used, and the carrier's track record of complying with the applicable rules.

Recorded violations show up in the rating and reduce a carrier's chances of getting permits. If several companies score equally, additional criteria decide the priority: fleet size comes first, followed by how many permits the carrier has already used. Companies with no recorded violations over the preceding 12 months also get an advantage.

Requirements for Carriers in Georgia

One direction the licensing reform in international transport has taken is tightening the criteria used to assess a carrier's professional and financial standing. In particular, for applicants seeking a transport license in Georgia for the first time, the law sets a minimum-fleet requirement: at least five road vehicles suited to international routes, owned by the company or held under a lawful lease.

Another key question is whether the applicant has sufficient financial resources for obtaining an international transport license in Georgia. Under the requirements applied by the Land Transport Agency, the required amount is set according to how many vehicles are engaged in international transport: 25,000 GEL for the first vehicle and an additional 15,000 GEL for each one after that.

The required financial cover has to be documented. Financial resources recognized for this purpose include funds held in the applicant's bank accounts, other monetary assets, or a bank guarantee that meets the set requirements. In cases specifically provided for by the regulations, real estate belonging to the permit holder may also be taken into account when assessing its financial position.

The two-tier structure, one figure for the first vehicle and a smaller add-on for every vehicle after it, catches out fleets that expand gradually. A carrier that grows from three trucks to six over a year needs to keep recalculating the required cover at each step rather than treating the original financial-resource figure as fixed once it clears the initial application.

An applicant obtaining an international transport permit in Georgia must also have the organizational and material infrastructure needed to actually carry out the declared activity. In particular, the Land Transport Agency's requirements call for a stationary, continuously functioning office used directly for business activity and for the administrative and other functions tied to international transport. Having such premises confirms the carrier's genuine presence at its declared place of business, allows it to receive official notices and correspondence without obstruction, and supports the proper keeping, organizing, and storage of business documentation.

Carriage of Dangerous Goods

Carriage of dangerous goods deserves separate treatment. The law defines such goods by reference to international standards and a classification covering nine classes of danger. The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, ADR, is the underlying framework.

To transport certain categories of dangerous goods, the driver needs an ADR certificate confirming specialized training, and the vehicle has to meet the applicable requirements and, in the cases provided for, carry a certificate of approval for the international carriage of specific dangerous goods. Depending on the cargo's characteristics, the relevant transport documentation, marking, and equipment are also required. These requirements have to be determined against the specific cargo: its UN number, class of danger, method of transport, and the type of vehicle involved.

A shipment can hold more than one type of danger class at once, packed side by side in the same load, and each class carries its own documentation and equipment requirements rather than one blanket standard for the whole consignment. Sorting dangerous goods transport in Georgia by a single dominant hazard, rather than checking every class actually present, is a shortcut that tends to surface as a gap only once an inspector opens the manifest.

Procedure for Arranging a Carrier's License in Georgia

Obtaining a permit for road transport in Georgia depends on the type of transport, the route, the carrier's status, and whether the transport is domestic or international. The step-by-step procedure is set out below.

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Documents for Obtaining a Carrier's Permit in Georgia

Arranging a license to carry out transport operations in Georgia requires the applicant to submit an application to the Land Transport Agency together with a set of documents confirming that the carrier and the vehicles it uses meet the applicable requirements. The base package includes registration details for the carrier, documents confirming ownership or another lawful basis for holding the relevant vehicle, the vehicle's registration documents together with a current periodic maintenance record, and a copy of the driver's license of the relevant category.

If the application is filed through a representative, a document confirming that representative's authority is submitted as well. Payment of the required permitting fee also needs to be confirmed.

The final list of documents is set according to the specific type of transport. In the course of review, the regulator may request additional documents confirming the carrier's professional competence, the vehicles' compliance with the applicable technical requirements, the availability of the necessary financial resources, and the employment relationship with the transport manager and drivers.

How Much It Costs to Open a Transport Company in Georgia

Costs fall into several groups. The first covers registration costs, setting up the company and obtaining the necessary extracts. The National Agency of Public Registry publishes the official rates for business registration and for obtaining documents.

The second group covers the vehicles themselves, whether purchased or leased: trucks, tractor units, trailers, semi-trailers, buses, or minivans. The third is technical operation, periodic technical inspections, repairs, maintenance, insurance, fuel, and other running costs.

The fourth group covers permitting documents. Their cost depends on the type of transport, the international route, the specific permit, and the applicable international agreement. The fifth covers administrative and accounting costs: bookkeeping, tax support, drafting contracts, and handling international transport documentation and customs procedures.

Groups three and four are the ones a first-time budget usually underestimates, since neither shows up as a single line item the way the registration fee or the vehicle purchase does. Inspection cycles, insurance renewals, and the specific permit fee for each route accumulate quietly across a full year of operation, and a plan built only around the upfront registration and fleet cost tends to run short well before the first renewal comes due.

The cost of a carrier's license in Georgia itself depends on the type of permitting document. The Law on Licensing and Permit Fees sets a fee of 500 GEL for a permit to transport passengers and freight by road. For a one-off international freight transport out of Georgia above the established quota carried out by a foreign carrier, the fee is 1,500 GEL.

Conclusion: How to Arrange a Carrier's License in Georgia

Registering a transport business and obtaining a carrier's license in Georgia is a multi-step process. First, a business entity, usually an LLC, is set up, and its details are entered in the National Agency of Public Registry. The fleet is then organized, documents for the vehicles are prepared, and their registration and technical compliance are secured.

Once these steps are complete, it becomes possible to obtain a carrier's permit in Georgia, though the process should start with pinning down the exact type of transport involved. The Law on Road Transport defines the activities that require a permit, sets the core requirements for vehicles and documents, and provides for oversight of compliance with the permitting documents. For an international carrier, it is additionally necessary to take into account Georgia's international agreements, the applicable quotas, the route, and the requirements of the destination or transit country.