In vitro fertilisation (IVF): who pays, what the law says and which documents you will need

What is IVF and who makes the decisions?

In vitro (extracorporeal) fertilisation, IVF, means that the egg and sperm are combined outside the body in a laboratory, and the resulting embryo is then transferred to the uterus. Related methods belong to the same group: insemination, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), freezing of embryos and reproductive cells, and genetic testing of embryos. Which method, how many cycles and which medicines are decided by the reproductive specialist and the treating doctor on the basis of the test results.

What does the state fund in 2026?

The short answer: nothing for the IVF cycle itself. Infertility treatment is expressly listed among the exclusions from the basic package of the Universal Healthcare Programme; the list is set out in detail in the Universal Healthcare Programme guide. We checked the 2026 state healthcare programmes (Government Resolution No. 655) in the consolidated version of 7 October 2026, and they contain no separate programme or component for IVF or infertility treatment.

State programmes come in once a pregnancy is established. The Maternal and Child Health Programme (code 27 03 02 08) funds antenatal care for every pregnant woman who is a citizen of Georgia or permanently resident in the country. The programme's genetic component, which covers the triple screening test and, if needed, amniocentesis with karyotyping, is available in Tbilisi to high-risk pregnant women. In the list of high-risk groups, IVF is named as a separate item, alongside, for example, age 35 or over. So when your pregnancy is registered, be sure to tell the doctor that it was achieved through IVF, and have this recorded in the medical documentation.

Other public sources are less predictable. Municipalities approve their own healthcare sub-programmes, and Tbilisi's 2026 healthcare sub-programmes do not include IVF. The referral commission's rules do not name infertility treatment as a separate area and consider applications individually under the general procedure; how this route works is explained in the Referral Services Programme guide. If the family has socially vulnerable status, attach the extract to every application, because the thresholds for municipal and other assistance are often tied to the rating score.

Funding sources in one table

The table is based on the rules in force in 2026. Municipal rules change every year, so check your city's resolution on matsne.gov.ge before applying.

How to plan the costs when the family bears most of them?

Because public funding is minimal, your main tool is a clear, transparent picture of the costs in advance. Ask the clinic for a written cost estimate with each stage as a separate line, not a single "package price". A typical cycle has several cost components:

• Diagnostics: consultations, hormone tests, ultrasound, semen analysis, and genetic tests if needed.
• Stimulation medicines: often not included in the clinic's price and bought separately at a pharmacy; the dose is individual, so the total cannot be calculated precisely in advance.
• Procedures and laboratory: follicle puncture, anaesthesia, the embryology stage, embryo transfer.
• Additional services: embryo freezing and the annual storage fee, genetic testing, a donor programme.

Before signing the estimate, ask three things: what happens if the cycle is stopped midway (whether part of the money is refunded); how much it costs to store a frozen embryo and what happens to it in case of non-payment; and which stages are not included in the price. Keep every receipt and invoice: charities and private funders often ask for documentary proof of costs.

What does the law say on donation and embryo freezing?

The main rules are in Chapter XXIII of the Law on Health Care and, in the version in force in 2026, read as follows:

• Insemination with donor sperm (Article 141) is permitted because of infertility, where there is a risk of the husband passing on a genetic disease, or for a single woman, with the written consent of the couple or the woman. The couple or the single woman are the parents, and the donor has no right to be recognised as the child's father.
• In vitro fertilisation (Article 143) is permitted to treat infertility and where there is a risk of the wife or husband passing on a genetic disease, using the couple's or a donor's reproductive cells or embryo, with the couple's written consent.
• Freezing (Article 144): cryopreserved reproductive cells and embryos may be used, and the couple themselves decide how long they are stored, in accordance with the established procedure.

In the consolidated text of June 2026 these articles remain in force as described above. This area of law may change, so check the current version on matsne.gov.ge again before signing a contract with the clinic.

When do families go abroad for IVF and what should you watch out for?

Georgia has reproductive medicine clinics, so going abroad is usually linked to a specific reason. Families typically consider it in a few particular situations: after several unsuccessful cycles they want another team's opinion, the doctor has recommended a specific method for a complex male factor or for genetic testing, or the family itself lives abroad. In our guides, reproductive medicine often comes up together with Israel and Spain.

The destination country's law is the main filter

What is permitted in Georgia may be prohibited elsewhere. For example, Germany's Embryo Protection Act (Embryonenschutzgesetz) makes it a criminal offence to transfer another woman's unfertilised egg to a woman. Spain's rules are covered in the Spain guide. In other countries too, before planning a donor programme, ask the clinic to confirm in writing that your scenario is lawful there.

Transferring frozen material

If embryos or reproductive cells are stored in one country and the transfer is planned in another, they are transported between the two clinics in a special cryocontainer, in compliance with the destination country's import rules. This is possible in Georgia: the official form of the implantation certificate separately asks for the number of embryos brought into the country and the border crossing point. So keep the documents confirming the import and the foreign laboratory report.

Our clinic search service can help you choose the country and clinic, and if the country requires a visa, the invitation letter and medical documents are prepared as described on the medical visa page.

Which documents will you need and what has to be translated?

The set depends on where the treatment takes place and who is involved, but the core is almost always the same:

• Medical history: hormone and infection test results, semen analysis, ultrasound and other imaging reports, protocols and embryology reports from previous cycles, discharge summaries from operations. If the clinic works in another language, laboratory test results and discharge summaries need translating.
• Form IV-100/a: required for any application to City Hall, a foundation or a commission. How to obtain a complete certificate is explained in the Form 100 guide.
• Identity and civil status documents: passports, marriage certificate or documents proving cohabitation, and after the birth, the child's birth certificate.
• Consents and contracts: the couple's written consent, the donor's certificate, the embryo storage contract with the clinic.
• Financial documents: the clinic's itemised cost estimate, invoices and payment receipts, whose translation a funder may need.

How a document for use abroad is certified depends on its type. A document from a medical facility, including a private clinic, can be apostilled directly, while a document from a bank, employer or company first needs a notarial act. Which countries accept an apostille and which require consular legalisation is shown by the Apostille or legalisation? tool, and an indicative price by the Translation price calculator.

How we can help

We do not make medical decisions and do not take the place of the clinic. Our work is the paperwork: Advocat.Ge lawyers review donation and embryo storage contracts before you sign them and, as part of a legal consultation, explain what each clause means for you. Our medical translation service prepares medical, civil and financial documents together with notarisation and apostille.

Frequently asked questions about IVF