How to Get a Category D Driving Licence in Georgia?

Georgia’s exact fees for Category D are genuinely specific: 55 GEL for your first theory exam attempt (15 GEL for card production, 40 GEL for the exam itself), dropping to 40 GEL for every subsequent attempt. This piece covers what Category D authorizes, the exact requirements, and the current costs.

What Category D covers

Category D authorizes buses for passenger transport: a license for large-capacity vehicles with no seating capacity limit.

Minimum age

You need to be 24 to hold Category D, matching the threshold for DE.

Documents you’ll need

• A certificate confirming completed retraining for Category D from your driver training institution (autoschool)
• Your current, valid driving license

What it costs

Your first attempt at the theory exam costs 55 GEL, broken down into 15 GEL for license card production and 40 GEL for the exam itself. Each subsequent attempt at the theory exam costs 40 GEL.

The Category II theory exam

Category D candidates sit the “Category II” theory exam, alongside those pursuing C, CE, DE, or the C1, D1, C1E and D1E subcategories. This exam also covers some content from the Category I test, used for lighter vehicle categories.

What Category D is genuinely used for

Most Category D holders go on to work in urban public transport, intercity coach services, or tourist bus operations; the license itself is the essential first step in this career path.

Penalties for driving beyond your Category

Operating a vehicle combination beyond what your license authorizes is treated as driving without a license and carries a fine of 5,000–15,000 GEL, along with potential vehicle detention.

Automatic transmission

A license earned on an automatic-transmission bus comes with a real restriction, covering automatic vehicles exclusively from then on.

The practical exam

Beyond the theory component, you’ll need to pass a practical driving exam demonstrating genuine control and safe handling of a Category D bus.

DE: adding a heavier trailer

DE authorizes Category D buses when combined with a trailer, which shares Category D’s minimum age of 24 

D1, for comparison

D1 authorizes smaller minibusses with up to 16 passengers, requiring a minimum age of 21, and is genuinely more accessible if you don’t need Category D’s unlimited capacity.

Age thresholds across Georgia’s system, for context

Georgia’s minimum ages run: B1 from 16, B from 17, BE from 18, C1 and C1E from 18, C and CE from 21, D1 and D1E from 21, D and DE from 24, T from 17, S from 18, and Tr from 21.

Where D sits in Georgia’s licensing system

Category D sits above D1 and covers the full range of bus sizes, following the standard EU-aligned category structure that Georgia has adopted.

Who administers driving licenses in Georgia?

The Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs handles licensing, exams, and category additions across Georgia and operates offices in multiple cities.

Digital access to your license

In Georgia, drivers aren’t required to carry their driver’s license physically; it’s available digitally.

Tips that actually help

• Gather your driver training institution’s retraining certificate before applying.
• Budget for the 55 GEL first-attempt fee, dropping to 40 GEL for retakes.
• Prepare for the Category II theory exam, which draws on both category-specific and lighter-vehicle content.
• Confirm that your existing license is currently valid before applying for Category D.

You can skip theory entirely if you already hold C, C1 or D.1

This is genuinely useful and worth understanding precisely. If you already hold Category C, C1, or D1, you’re not just eligible for streamlined theory preparation; you can skip the theory exam altogether and go straight to the Category D practical exam. This is a real, significant time and cost saving for candidates already holding one of these related categories.

You must hold Category B for at least one year.

Official details confirm that to sit your Category D exam, you must have held Category B for at least one year before your exam date, a genuine prerequisite to plan around if you’re pursuing Category D as a longer-term goal rather than an immediate next step.

The exact official exam fees

Georgia’s Service Agency sets a clear, fixed fee structure for your first exam attempt: 55 GEL total, 15 GEL for license production and 40 GEL for the exam itself. If you need to retake the theory exam, each subsequent attempt costs 40 GEL, the same as the original exam fee, minus the one-time license production charge.

Where practical exams are held

Category D practical exams are held in specific designated cities, including Rustavi, rather than at every regional service center, so factor this into your planning if you’re not based near one of these locations, since you may need to travel specifically for your practical test.

Real driving school pricing for the course itself

Beyond the official government exam fees, one Georgian driving school’s published pricing illustrates what course fees genuinely look like: a 10-day individual course, including the driving school’s own documentation, costs 120 GEL, a relatively modest figure on top of the 55 GEL government exam fee, making Category D genuinely one of the more accessible heavy-vehicle categories cost-wise in Georgia.

The theory question bank

If you need to sit the theory exam, Georgia’s official question bank for driving license categories contains 932 questions, covering the full range of traffic regulations and category-specific knowledge you’ll need to demonstrate.

A brief note on Georgia’s older classification system

Worth knowing purely as historical context: Georgia’s driving license system has evolved from an older Soviet-era classification, where combined categories like “BCD” or “BCDE” denoted drivers holding multiple categories simultaneously under a tiered professional classification (third-, second-, and first-class professional drivers). This older system has since been replaced by the individual category structure described throughout this article. However, you may occasionally encounter references to it in older documentation or from long-time drivers.

Grandfather clauses from earlier reforms

Genuinely worth knowing if you already hold certain older category rights: anyone who obtained C1 subcategory rights during a specific past transitional window, or D or D1 category rights before a specific historical cutoff date, is only required to sit practical exams when extending to related categories, a real grandfather clause protecting drivers who qualified under earlier, different regulatory frameworks from having to requalify fully under current rules.

Why Georgia’s Category D pricing is genuinely accessible

Combining the 55 GEL government exam fee with a driving school course commonly priced around 120 GEL, Category D in Georgia represents a genuinely modest total investment compared to many European countries covered elsewhere in this series, a real point in favor of Georgia as a relatively low-cost route into professional bus driving, provided you meet the underlying eligibility requirements.

Booking your exam through the Service Agency

Georgia’s Service Agency (⿹〖⿹) handles driving license categories, criminal record certificates, vehicle registration, and other related administrative services in an integrated way, making it genuinely convenient to manage multiple related processes like obtaining your criminal record certificate if needed, alongside your Category D application through a single government service point rather than juggling separate agencies.

What documents you’ll typically need

Beyond meeting the age and prior-category requirements already covered, you’ll need a current, valid driving licence when applying to add Category D, along with standard identity documents. If you’re required to sit the theory exam (because you don’t already hold C, C1, or D1), you’ll also need to show familiarity with the 932-question official bank before you take the test.

Where this fits going forward

Category D in Georgia offers a genuine route into professional bus driving, with real fee transparency worth knowing before you apply. If you plan to move into professional driving, check the driver section, browse current vacancies, and see who’s hiring on FastDriver.eu, along with our broader job guides. Our Georgia driving license and license eligibility pages provide the broader picture.

Why the theory-skip rule genuinely matters for career changers

If you’re already working as a truck driver with a Category C or C1 licence, and considering a move into passenger transport, Georgia’s rule letting you skip theory when adding Category D genuinely lowers the barrier to that career switch. You can focus your preparation time and cost purely on the practical driving skills specific to buses, rather than repeating theoretical content you’ve likely already mastered for your existing Category

.CCategoryg current details directly

Given how specific some of these rules are,-the theory-skip exception, the exact fee breakdown, the grandfather clauses for older category holders,-it’s genuinely worth confirming your own specific eligibility and applicable fees directly with the Service Agency before finalizing your plans, since individual circumstances can affect exactly which rules apply to you.

Declaration

This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Fees, training requirements, and administrative rules can change and may vary by case in Georgia. Always confirm current requirements with the official Georgian source, the Service Agency, before making decisions. FastDriver.eu accepts no liability for decisions made based on this information.