How to register as a sole proprietor (individual entrepreneur) in Georgia

A foreigner registers as an individual entrepreneur in Georgia at a Public Service Hall in one visit. You need a passport and a legal address with the owner's consent, and the fee is 26 GEL for registration by the next working day or 75 GEL for same-day. No residence permit is required. Since 1 March 2026, working for Georgian clients also requires a right to work, while services for foreign clients fall outside that rule. Apply for small business status right after registering: the 1% tax applies from the day you apply.

Who can register

Any adult foreigner. Citizenship and residence permits don't affect registration. You get a taxpayer number at registration: an 11-digit personal number for holders of a Georgian ID, and a 9-digit identification number for everyone else.

Government Resolution No. 70 has been in force since 1 March 2026. A foreigner without permanent residence who works for themselves in Georgia, including as an individual entrepreneur, needs a right to work. You apply on labourmigration.moh.gov.ge and go through a video interview. A decision within 30 days costs 200 GEL, within 10 working days 400 GEL. The right lapses if you spend more than 6 months outside Georgia.

The exemption that matters for freelancers is in the Law on Labour Migration itself. The law doesn't apply to work or services for a non-resident that relate to its activity outside Georgia (article 1(4)(ლ)). A developer working for an American company doesn't need the right to work; a designer whose clients include a Tbilisi café does. Practice on mixed cases is still forming, so if in doubt, ask through the same portal.

Step 1. A legal address

The entrepreneur's address must be in Georgia. If you own the flat, nothing else is needed. If you rent, you need the owner's consent, signed in front of a registry officer at the Public Service Hall or before a notary.

Without an address of your own, you can pay for one. Informal helpers charge 150–300 GEL, but without a contract the address may later be withdrawn or come with a new bill. Virtual office services work on a yearly contract. Watch the renewal: if the address is removed, you can't get a new registry extract.

Step 2. Registration at the Public Service Hall

At the Public Service Hall the registration takes about 20 minutes at the counter. Bring your passport, the address details and a Georgian phone number, which will receive the code and the login details for the tax cabinet. To register remotely, send a representative with a notarised power of attorney and a passport copy translated into Georgian.

Service	Next working day	Same day
Entrepreneur registration	26 GEL	75 GEL
Registry extract	20 GEL	75 GEL
Electronic extract	13 GEL	52 GEL

These are the National Agency of Public Registry's official tariffs. People who registered in 2025 report paying 50–110 GEL at the counter, so bring some margin. After registration you get an SMS with the decision and your rs.ge login details.

Step 3. Small business status in rs.ge

On its own, an individual entrepreneur pays 20% on profit. To pay 1% of turnover instead, apply for small business status in the eservices.rs.ge cabinet or at a Revenue Service centre. Since March 2026 the status takes effect on the day you apply (Minister of Finance Order No. 38). Income received earlier is taxed under the general rules, so apply on the day you register, before the first invoice.

If logging in to the cabinet gives you trouble, see the rs.ge login guide. The 1% tax guide lists the activities that can't get the status.

Step 4. A bank account

Individual entrepreneurs bank with Bank of Georgia, TBC or Credo. The large banks prefer an in-branch visit and may ask for client contracts and six months of statements from your current account. People who registered report that Credo asks for less. Contracts signed with you as a private person are worth reissuing in the entrepreneur's name, since that money counts as turnover for the 1% tax.

From the first month you have one recurring duty: a declaration with your turnover in lari by the 15th. MyIncome.ge starts counting that turnover from your first payment, converting each one at the NBG rate for the day it arrived. Signing up is free.

Closing an individual entrepreneur

Before closing, file every declaration, pay any debt in the rs.ge cabinet and cancel small business status separately. Then submit a termination application at the Public Service Hall. The fee is the same as for registration: 26 GEL by the next working day or 75 GEL same-day. The Revenue Service checks your tax position first, which usually takes one to five working days.

This is general information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change, so check the Public Registry's website or a lawyer before you go.