This guide is the checklist behind a bid in Georgia: each document and step in the order a tender needs it, and who may lawfully handle it. For how Georgian procurement works overall (the law, thresholds, tender types, who may bid, auctions and complaints), see How to bid for government tenders in Georgia.
Before you bid
1. Supplier registration in the e-system (tenders.procurement.gov.ge). E-tenders are used from GEL 10,000 for goods and services and GEL 20,000 for works, and every one of them needs a supplier account. You fill in the online application, accept the terms of use and activate the account from the link sent to your e-mail. It is free, done the same day, and stays open. A non-resident needs full registration to bid, not the simplified one.
- Who does it: the form can be completed with you; your company accepts the terms of use and clicks the activation link from its own mailbox.
2. Your company’s identification code. A Georgian company already has its registration data and identification code from the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR). The e-system registration uses them, and the winner may later be asked for the registry extract.
3. A clean Blacklist record. Suppliers on the State Procurement Agency’s Blacklist are barred for 1 year. From 1 December 2026, the bar for bad-faith conduct is 2 years and extends to firms linked to the same founder or manager. The Blacklist and the Warned Suppliers registry are public, so the check takes minutes and costs nothing.
4. The Whitelist (optional). Regular suppliers can apply for the Whitelist of qualified suppliers, which brings simplified conditions; reportedly they lodge 50% of performance and advance guarantees. To qualify, a supplier must have had no Blacklist entry or warning in the last year, must not be in the debtors’ register, and must not be in reorganisation, liquidation or insolvency. The application can be prepared for you; your company submits it.
5. A qualified e-signature or qualified e-seal. Since 1 January 2019, every document you create and upload, such as the price table, experience information and warranty terms, must carry a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal. One of the two is enough. Without it, an upload doesn’t count as a document.
- How it works: the signature works only with the signer’s electronic ID card (or residence card) and its PIN envelope; the e-seal belongs to the company. Both come through the Public Service Hall and the House of Justice of the Ministry of Justice.
- Only PDFs can be signed: several files or one merged file, up to 20 MB each.
- Third-party documents (plans, translations, permits, certificates, contracts, acceptance acts, diplomas) need no extra signature.
- Who does it: only the card holder or the company signs or seals. Nobody else ever holds the card, the PIN or the seal.
With your bid
6. The affidavit. The first step of every submission is to accept a standard statement set by the SPA, covering, for example, the absence of conflicts and the truthfulness of the bid. It takes minutes and costs nothing. Its text can be explained to you; your authorised user accepts it for the company.
7. The 1% e-guarantee. An electronic guarantee in favour of the SPA for exactly 1% of the estimated value, lodged through the system before the bid. It comes from a bank or insurer in the system’s register and must remain valid for at least 120 days, or 160 if the bid period is 20 days or more. Instead of a guarantee you can pay by card to the SPA. You contract the guarantee or make the payment; the issuer charges its own fee.
8. The bid fee. A mandatory, non-refundable fee paid to the SPA by card through the system. The law sets it at GEL 100; the SPA’s FAQ still states GEL 50. You pay it with your own card.
9. Technical documents and experience evidence. The documents you create (experience information, price table, warranty) are uploaded as signed PDFs; contracts, acceptance acts, diplomas and accreditation or permits from others go in as they are. A consultant can prepare the PDFs; you sign or seal your own statements. Once the technical documents are in, you enter the price in GEL, and the documents then lock.
10. Permits, accreditation or licences the tender names. Where the activity is regulated, the tender documents ask for them, and they go in as third-party documents. The requirements can be identified for you; you must hold the permit.
11. Georgian translations. Qualification documents may be in a foreign language only if the buyer allows it, and then with a Georgian translation made as Georgian law requires; the buyer decides which version prevails. A translator produces it and a notary certifies it where required. It is uploaded as a third-party document, so it needs no signature from you.
12. Consortium agreement and subcontractors, where they apply.
- Consortium: a written joint-activity agreement signed by all members, with qualified signatures or as a notarised copy. Members can’t change until the contract is performed. A lawyer can draft it; each member signs.
- Subcontractors: since 1 September 2026, any subcontractor performing at least 10% of the contract value must be named in the bid. The subcontractor data can be collected for you; you confirm the plan.
If you rank first
Only the first-ranked bidder submits registration and legal documents, within 5 working days. A missing or out-of-date document means disqualification, with no chance to correct it, so assemble the pack before bids open. For tenders of GEL 200,000 or more the buyer may ask for the documents below; below that amount only in justified exceptional cases.
| Document | Issued by | Who handles it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extract from the Registry of Entrepreneurs (registration data and identification code) | NAPR | The public extract can be obtained for you | Upload it from your account |
| Certificate of no budget arrears | Revenue Service (rs.ge) | An accountant resolves any arrears | Request it through your own tax cabinet, or in person |
| Certificate of no public-law restrictions on property (such as tax liens), when the tender asks | NAPR | Requested for you where publicly available, otherwise by you | — |
| Criminal-record certificates for the manager and founders, where the tender provides for this exclusion (bribery, fraud, money laundering, terrorism and similar) | Ministry of Internal Affairs, through the Public Service Hall | — | Each person requests their own certificate |
| Price justification, if your final price is at least 20% below the estimate and the documents require it | You | A partner or accountant prepares the cost breakdown | Sign the justification |
Dating rules. A resident’s registration documents must be issued after the tender is announced (or after bid acceptance starts, if the study period is 15 days or more). A non-resident’s must be dated no earlier than 30 days before the relevant tender status.
Conviction exclusions apply to procurements at or above thresholds the Government sets, and in central purchasing, where the tender documents say so. A failed price justification means disqualification.
Before the contract
13. The performance guarantee. Mandatory when the contract is worth GEL 200,000 or more, although the buyer may waive it except in centralised procurement. It is 2–5% of the contract value, or up to 10% if your price is at least 20% below the estimate, and is lodged within 4–10 working days of the invitation, from a bank or insurer, for the contract term. You contract it and pay the fee.
14. The advance-payment guarantee, if you take an advance. Equal to the advance, with exemptions, for example for contracts above GEL 30 million by reputation, or where a controlled separate bank account is used. You obtain it from a bank or insurer.
15. Signing the contract. It can’t be signed within 3 working days of the “contract being prepared” status. The contract and performance documents are uploaded signed with a qualified e-signature or e-seal, or as notarised electronic copies. Your authorised person signs. In the Central Purchasing Body’s consolidated tenders, the winner pays it up to 1% of the contract value.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier registration | The form is completed with you | Accept the terms of use; activate from your own e-mail |
| Blacklist check | Checked for you in the public registry | — |
| Whitelist application | Eligibility checked and the application prepared for you | Submit it as the supplier |
| Qualified e-signature or e-seal | — | Hold your ID card, PIN and company seal; sign and seal |
| Affidavit | Its text explained to you | Accept it as the bidder |
| 1% e-guarantee and bid fee | The amount and validity checked for you | Contract the guarantee or pay by card; pay the fee with your own card |
| Technical documents and uploads | A consultant prepares and uploads them as a named user | Sign or seal your own documents; decide the price |
| Translations | A translator, with a notary where required | — |
| Consortium agreement | A lawyer drafts it | Each member signs |
| Subcontractor disclosure | Data collected for you | Confirm the subcontracting plan |
| Winner’s documents | Pre-assembled by partners | Sign or seal the uploads; request your tax certificate and personal criminal records |
| Performance and advance guarantees | Your bank or insurer | Contract the guarantee |
| Contract | — | Your authorised person signs |
| Complaint to the Dispute Resolution Council | A lawyer files it through the e-system and appears under a power of attorney | Grant the power of attorney; pay the fee |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Advocate (advokati) or other legal representative | Georgian Bar Association | Represent you before the Dispute Resolution Council under a power of attorney; draft complaints about tender conditions (before bid acceptance opens) and about decisions (within 10 days); draft the joint-activity agreement and review contracts; represent you in court appeals against Council decisions |
| Notary (notariusi) | Ministry of Justice; Notary Chamber of Georgia | Certify powers of attorney; certify electronic copies of paper documents, which can then be uploaded instead of being re-signed; certify Georgian translations where the buyer requires |
| Translator | No licence; a notary certifies the translation | Translate foreign-language qualification documents into Georgian as Georgian law requires |
| Bank or insurer issuing e-guarantees through the e-system | National Bank of Georgia | Issue the 1% tender e-guarantee in favour of the SPA for exactly the amount in the notice; issue performance and advance-payment guarantees or insurance |
| Procurement consultant | None today; certified procurement specialists are planned under the 2023 law from 2032 | Prepare the technical documents, price table and experience statements as PDFs ready for your signature or seal; work in your e-system profile as an added user; prepare the winner’s registration pack within 5 working days |
| Accountant or auditor | Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision (SARAS) | Keep tax filings clean so the Revenue Service certificate can be issued; prepare financial statements when the tender asks for financial capacity |
If your company is from abroad
No Georgian company or branch is needed: a foreign firm registers as a supplier in the e-system and bids directly, though individual tenders may ask for specific documents; see How to bid for government tenders in Georgia. For the paperwork:
- Registration: full supplier registration as a non-resident.
- Company extract: your home-country registry extract, dated no earlier than 30 days before the relevant tender status, with a Georgian translation.
- Tax: your home-country tax certificate, translated.
- Property restrictions: the home equivalent, or an explanation.
- Criminal records: home-country certificates, translated.
- Experience documents: translated.
- E-guarantee: it must come from an issuer in the system’s register, a Georgian bank or insurer.
- Bid fee: card payment works for non-residents, if your bank permits.
- Contract: it may be in a foreign language, with a Georgian translation.
- Timing: prepare the winner’s documents in advance, within the 30-day window.
Pitfalls
- Keep your card, PIN, seal and login to yourself. Anyone helping you works as a named user added from your profile, under their own login.
- Sign every document you create. A bidder-created PDF without your qualified signature or seal isn’t a document.
- Assemble the winner’s pack before bids open. You get 5 working days, a non-resident’s documents must sit inside the 30-day window, and there is no chance to correct.
- Match the e-guarantee exactly. It must equal exactly the amount in the notice.
- Upload documents before the price. Once the price is entered in GEL, the documents lock.
- Check the Blacklist and Warned Suppliers registry, for linked founders and managers too from 1 December 2026.
- Complain about the documents early. Complaints about the notice or documents must come before bid acceptance opens, and carry no fee; complaints about decisions are due within 10 days and cost 2% of the estimated value, within the band the law sets.
Doing it with askTender
In Georgia, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on the State Procurement Agency portal and works under their own login. You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign. Everything else is prepared for you: the askTender Desk handles the registration form, the Blacklist and Whitelist checks, the technical documents, the guarantee check and the winner’s pack, and tracks the deadlines and dating windows; askTender Partners, such as an advocate, a notary, a translator or an accountant, do the steps their licence covers. You sign only what the law reserves to you: your qualified signature or seal on your documents, the affidavit, the guarantees and the contract.
Questions
Which documents go in with a bid in Georgia?
The affidavit you accept as the first step, a 1% e-guarantee (or a card payment to the SPA) and the bid fee, then your technical documents, experience information, price table and warranty terms as PDFs carrying your qualified e-signature or e-seal, any permits the tender names, Georgian translations of foreign-language documents, a joint-activity agreement for a consortium and the names of subcontractors doing 10% or more of the contract. The price is entered last, in GEL.
Do I need a qualified electronic signature to bid in Georgia?
Yes. Since 1 January 2019, documents the bidder creates and uploads must carry a qualified e-signature or a qualified e-seal; one is enough, and unsigned uploads don’t count as documents. The signature works with the person’s electronic ID or residence card and its PIN envelope; the e-seal belongs to the company. Third-party documents such as contracts, permits, certificates and translations need no extra signature.
What does the winner have to provide?
Only the first-ranked bidder submits registration and legal documents, within 5 working days. For tenders of GEL 200,000 or more these can include an extract from the Registry of Entrepreneurs, a Revenue Service certificate of no budget arrears and a NAPR certificate of no public-law restrictions on property. Documents that are missing or wrongly dated mean disqualification, with no chance to correct them.
How recent must a foreign company’s documents be?
A non-resident’s registration documents must be dated no earlier than 30 days before the relevant tender status, and come with a Georgian translation. Because the winner has only 5 working days, prepare them in advance inside that window.
Can a consultant work on my bid in the Georgian e-system?
Yes. The account holder adds users from its own profile, and can deactivate them at any time. A consultant added as a named user prepares and uploads the documents under their own login. The qualified signature or seal on your company’s documents, the guarantee, the bid fee and the price decisions stay with you.
Sources
- Law of Georgia on State Procurement, No 1388 of 2005 (Matsne, English)
- SPA Order No 12 on the e-tender procedure (Matsne, Georgian)
- Amending law of 28 May 2026, No 1627 (Matsne, Georgian)
- State Procurement Agency: frequently asked questions (Georgian)
- Unified Electronic System of State Procurement: supplier registration
- State Procurement Agency: Blacklist
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.