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10.10.2026

Surrogacy and IVF Law in Georgia (the Country): A Legal Guide

Surrogacy and IVF are legal in Georgia, the country in the South Caucasus with its capital in Tbilisi. Four legal acts govern them: Article 143 of the Law of Georgia on Health Care, Article 19 of Order No. 18 of the Minister of Justice (in Georgian), Article 54¹ of Order No. 71 of the Minister of Justice (in Georgian), and the Law of Georgia on Patient Rights. Surrogacy is available only to a couple consisting of a man and a woman who have been married, or have lived together, for at least one year. The surrogacy contract must be signed before the embryo is created and certified by a notary as a public notarial deed. The intended parents are registered as the child's parents; the surrogate and any donor can never be. A government bill introduced in 2023 to ban surrogacy for foreigners has not been adopted.

Key points:

Surrogacy is permitted by Article 143(1)(b) of the Law on Health Care.
Only a man and a woman can be the intended parents, and they must have been married for at least one year or have lived together for at least the last year (Order No. 18, Article 19(1¹)).
The contract must be signed before the embryo is created and certified by a single notary as a public notarial deed (Order No. 71, Article 54¹).
The surrogate must appear before the notary in person. She cannot sign through a representative.
Birth registration documents must be filed within 7 calendar days of the medical birth certificate. Otherwise the child is registered without the parents' names.
Georgian law does not distinguish between Georgian citizens and foreigners. The bill to ban surrogacy for foreigners (No. 07-2/299/10) has been pending in Parliament since 2023.

Is surrogacy legal in Georgia?

Yes. Article 143(1)(b) of the Law of Georgia on Health Care permits in vitro fertilisation where a woman has no uterus, by transferring the resulting embryo into the uterus of another woman (the "surrogate mother") who carries the pregnancy. The couple's written consent is required.

The Georgian statute uses the term "extracorporeal fertilisation". In practice this means IVF.

Three consequences follow from the text:

Georgian law regulates gestational surrogacy only. The surrogate carries an embryo created in the laboratory. Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate's own egg is used, is not provided for by Article 143.
The statute names a single medical indication: the absence of a uterus. No other indications are listed. The medical grounds for surrogacy should therefore be clearly recorded in the intended mother's medical file.
The law is silent on compensation. It neither expressly permits nor prohibits paying the surrogate. Compensated (commercial) surrogacy has operated in Georgia for years; the 2023 bill would have replaced it with an altruistic-only model.

Note that Georgia the country should not be confused with the US state of Georgia. Much of what appears online about "Georgia surrogacy law" concerns the US state, where the rules are entirely different.

Which laws govern surrogacy and IVF in Georgia?

There is no single surrogacy statute. The legal framework is made up of four acts:

Law of Georgia on Health Care, Article 143. Sets out when IVF and surrogacy are permitted and who is considered the child's parents.
Order No. 18 of the Minister of Justice of 31 January 2012 on the Approval of the Rules for Registration of Civil Acts (in Georgian), Article 19 and Annex 2. Defines who can be a party to the surrogacy contract, when the contract must be signed, which documents are required and how the child's birth is registered.
Order No. 71 of the Minister of Justice of 31 March 2010 on the Approval of the Instruction on the Procedure for Performing Notarial Acts (in Georgian), Article 54¹. Sets out how the surrogacy contract is notarised.
Law of Georgia on Patient Rights. Applies to everyone involved as a patient: informed consent, access to medical records and confidentiality.

Most of the current framework dates from 2020. Order No. 598 of 25 August 2020 (in Georgian) added the couple requirement to Order No. 18, and Order No. 614 of 21 September 2020 added Article 54¹ to Order No. 71.

Who can use surrogacy in Georgia?

Under Article 19(1¹) of Order No. 18, a party to the surrogacy contract may be a couple consisting of a woman and a man who intend to raise the child born through IVF, provided that they:

(a) are married, and at least one year has passed since the marriage; or
(b) have lived together in a de facto relationship for at least the last year.

Article 2(g) of the same Order also defines a "couple" as a woman and a man. As a result, single people and same-sex couples cannot be parties to a surrogacy contract in Georgia.

Cohabitation must be proven to the notary with documents (Order No. 18, Article 19(1²); Order No. 71, Article 54¹(4)), such as:

an address registration record showing that both partners are registered at the same address;
a Public Registry extract showing joint ownership of property intended for shared use;
a document confirming a religious marriage;
any other public document confirming that the couple lives together.

For foreign couples this list is often the hardest part, because they have no Georgian address registration or Public Registry records. They need equivalent public documents from their home country, properly legalised or apostilled and translated into Georgian.

Can foreigners use surrogacy in Georgia?

Yes. Current Georgian law does not make access to surrogacy depend on citizenship. Neither Article 143 of the Law on Health Care nor Article 19 of Order No. 18 distinguishes between Georgian citizens and foreign nationals. In fact, the official IVF certificate form (Annex 2 to Order No. 18) asks for the citizenship of every participant and, for embryos brought from abroad, the date of import and the border crossing point. The rules expressly anticipate foreign participants.

The proposed ban. On 14 June 2023 the Government of Georgia submitted the bill on Medically Assisted Reproduction (No. 07-2/299/10) to Parliament, together with a package of related amendments. The bill would have limited surrogacy and IVF to Georgian citizens on an altruistic basis and banned advertising of these services. The Bureau of Parliament opened the review procedure on 19 June 2023 and a plenary vote was scheduled for autumn 2023. As at 10 October 2026, the bill has not been adopted and the current framework remains unchanged.

What this means for foreign intended parents. The bill remains on Parliament's record and could be revived at any time. It does not yet contain transitional provisions, so it is unclear how it would treat programmes already under way. Foreign couples should therefore address a change in the law directly in their contracts: who bears the costs, what happens to embryos already created, and how they can be transferred abroad.

What rules apply to IVF in Georgia?

Under Article 143(1)(a) of the Law on Health Care, IVF is permitted:

to treat infertility; or
where there is a risk that the wife or the husband will pass on a genetic disease.

The couple's own gametes or embryos, or donor gametes or embryos, may be used. The couple's written consent is mandatory.

Donors. Under Article 143(2), a donor has no right to be recognised as the parent of the child. Donation is not fully anonymous, however: the donor's name, personal number and identity document details are entered on the IVF certificate (Annex 2 to Order No. 18), which is filed with the civil registry.

The couple requirement and IVF. The couple requirement introduced in 2020 applies to the surrogacy contract. When the amendments were adopted, the Ministry of Justice publicly stated that they concern surrogacy procedures only.

How is a surrogacy contract made in Georgia?

Who signs. Article 19(1)(b) of Order No. 18 allows three configurations:

(b.a) the surrogate and a couple who are the child's genetic parents;
(b.b) the surrogate, the member of the couple who is the genetic parent, the other member of the couple who is not, and the donor;
(b.c) the surrogate, the couple and the donors.

When. The contract must be signed before the embryo is created, meaning before the gametes are combined in the laboratory. This requirement is frequently overlooked and causes serious problems when the birth is registered. The only exception concerns frozen embryos (Article 19(2)): if the embryo was cryopreserved and no more than 10 years have passed between its creation and implantation, the contract must be signed before implantation. In that case, a certificate drawn up before freezing that names the couple must also be filed at registration.

How. Article 54¹ of Order No. 71 provides that:

all parties apply to a single notary and sign one notarial deed (paragraph 1);
the surrogate must appear before the notary in person and may not sign through a representative (paragraph 2);
the donor must provide the notary with a certificate from a medical institution confirming the donation (paragraph 3);
cohabitation is proven with documents (paragraph 4);
if the required documents are missing or unreliable, the notary must refuse to certify the contract (paragraph 5);
the contract is certified as a public notarial deed (paragraph 6).

Who is registered as the child's parents after surrogacy in Georgia?

Under Article 143(2) of the Law on Health Care, when the child is born, the couple are its parents, with all the responsibilities and rights that follow. Article 19(3) of Order No. 18 recognises as parents the genetic parents, a genetic parent together with the other person named in the contract, or the couple. Article 19(4) expressly prohibits naming a donor or the surrogate as a parent on the birth record.

Documents for registration (Article 19(1)):

the IVF certificate (Annex 2), which the clinic must issue immediately on embryo transfer and no later than the next working day, signed or sealed with a qualified electronic signature or seal;
the notarised surrogacy contract;
applications from both parents (Article 19(5)). One parent's application is sufficient if the other has died between signing the contract and the birth, or has been recognised by a court as a recipient of support.

Deadlines (Article 19(6) and (7)):

documents must be filed within 7 calendar days of the medical birth certificate;
the birth is registered within 5 working days of filing;
if the IVF certificate is incorrect or incomplete, the civil registry gives the clinic 15 working days to correct it.

If the documents or the fee are not filed on time, the civil registry refuses registration on the requested terms. The child is then registered without the parents' names, and the child's name is entered on the application of the guardianship and custody authority. This is one of the most serious legal outcomes in a surrogacy programme, and correcting it later requires court proceedings.

What rights does the surrogate have in Georgia?

The surrogate has no right to be recognised as the child's parent (Law on Health Care, Article 143(2)), and she cannot be named as a parent on the birth record (Order No. 18, Article 19(4)). These provisions are mandatory and cannot be changed by contract.

At the same time, throughout the pregnancy and birth the surrogate is a patient in her own right and has every patient right:

medical interventions require her informed consent (Law on Health Care, Article 8);
she may refuse any medical intervention, except where the law expressly provides otherwise (Law on Health Care, Article 9);
information about her health is confidential (Law on Patient Rights, Articles 27 and 28).

For this reason, a contract cannot oblige the surrogate to undergo a particular medical intervention. It can only set out the legal and financial consequences if she refuses. Her personal appearance before the notary (Order No. 71, Article 54¹(2)) is the safeguard that she agrees to the terms herself and on an informed basis.

What happens to frozen embryos and medical records?

Frozen embryos. Georgian law sets no maximum storage period for embryos. The 10-year period in Article 19(2) of Order No. 18 relates to birth registration, not storage. Who decides what happens to a frozen embryo depends largely on the informed consent forms and the contract with the clinic.

Medical records. Under Article 17 of the Law on Patient Rights, a patient may access their medical records and request a copy of any part of them. The request is made to the clinic in writing. In a surrogacy programme this matters a great deal: the informed consent forms, the embryology report and the cryopreservation record are the key evidence in any dispute.

What legal risks arise in practice?

In our practice, most surrogacy and IVF disputes in Georgia come down to a handful of recurring mistakes:

The contract was signed after the embryo was created. Article 19(1)(b) of Order No. 18 requires the contract before the embryo is created. A late contract may be treated as non-compliant at registration.
Only one partner signed the consent forms. Article 143 requires the couple's written consent. A document signed by one partner puts the other partner's rights in doubt.
It is unclear which legal entity the clinic actually is. Several legal entities often operate under one clinic brand. Check in advance which entity signs the contract, which holds the licence and which stores the embryos.
The IVF certificate contains errors. A blank donor field or a mismatch in the number of embryos delays registration, and if it is not corrected within 15 working days, the child is registered without the parents' names.
The 7-day deadline is missed. This particularly affects foreign couples who are not in Georgia at the time of the birth.
The home country's law was not considered. Georgian law ends at birth registration. The child's citizenship, passport and the recognition of parentage are decided under the law of the intended parents' home country, and this is where most problems arise.

If you are planning a surrogacy or IVF programme in Georgia, or a dispute has arisen in an ongoing one, the L&L Consulting team can help draft the contract, review the documents and deal with the clinic and Georgian authorities on your behalf. Learn more about our medical law practice.

Frequently asked questions

Is surrogacy legal in Georgia? Yes. Surrogacy is permitted by Article 143 of the Law of Georgia on Health Care, and the procedure is governed by Orders No. 18 and No. 71 of the Minister of Justice.

Can a single person or a same-sex couple use surrogacy in Georgia? No. Under Article 19(1¹) of Order No. 18, only a couple consisting of a woman and a man can be a party to the surrogacy contract.

Is surrogacy banned for foreigners in Georgia? No. The 2023 bill (No. 07-2/299/10) has not been adopted as at 10 October 2026, and current law does not distinguish between Georgian citizens and foreigners.

When must a surrogacy contract be signed in Georgia? Before the embryo is created. For a frozen embryo, if no more than 10 years have passed between its creation and implantation, the contract must be signed before implantation.

Can the surrogate keep the baby? Legally, no. Under Article 143(2) of the Law on Health Care, the surrogate has no right to be recognised as the child's parent and cannot be named as a parent on the birth record.

What happens if the registration documents are filed late? The child is registered without the parents' names, and the child's name is entered on the application of the guardianship and custody authority (Order No. 18, Article 19(6)).

Are egg and sperm donors anonymous in Georgia? Not completely. A donor cannot be registered as a parent, but the donor's personal details are entered on the IVF certificate filed with the civil registry.