Tbilisi Parking: Everything you need to know about parking in Tbilisi
Tbilisi parking didn’t have an organized system until quite recently. Well, it still hasn’t, but we are getting there. In 2019, Tbilisi City Hall introduced hourly zone parking in some city areas, especially in touristy and highly populated central parts. So, if you are traveling to Tbilisi with a car, or renting it, here’s everything you need to know about parking in Tbilisi.
Understanding Tbilisi parking
Tbilisi’s urban layout is changing every year as the population grows. As it was never meant to accommodate more than 2 million residents, the infrastructure doesn’t comply with the demand.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there were 1 472 563 registered vehicles all over Georgia. Out of which, 35% (522 975 cars) are owned by those registered in Tbilisi. Unfortunately, these stats don’t correlate with the exact number of vehicles in Tbilisi. Cars are driving in Tbilisi that are not registered in the capital, making car traffic statistics a bit hard to count.
Because of almost non-existent infrastructure and the number of cars, parking in Tbilisi becomes hectic in some central neighborhoods. Tbilisi has free parking areas without any paid parking signs, enabling you to park anywhere free of charge.
The rule, in this case, is simple – park wherever you can find a free spot unless it blocks road traffic or the entrance of a residential house. Therefore, you see cars parked on sidewalks disturbing the pedestrians most of the time.
This unregulated system created a space for the so-called “Stayanshik.” It’s a Russian word referring to a person who oversees a particular area in the street and helps you park for a small fee.
Even though you are parked in a designated City Hall marked parking space with a yearly parking permit, if there is a “Stayanshik,” you still give them anywhere from 0.20 to 0.50 Teri as a fee, even if they are not helping in any way. However, the central areas of the city don’t have those individuals anymore.
Since 2019, there are hourly parking areas in Tbilisi, which somewhat solves the problem and introduces an organized system.
More Tbilisi posts:
Paid Tbilisi parking fees
For the paid parking in Tbilisi, the areas have a universal P sign in the streets.
- 1 week – 4 GEL valid for 6 calendar days after the moment of purchase
- 6 months – 25 GEL valid for 182 calendar days after the moment of purchase
- 1 year – 50 GEL valid for the exact date of the following year after the moment of purchase
Any vehicle with an electric engine with a maximum generated power of more than 4kw is exempt from parking fees!
How to pay paid Tbilisi parking fee
The easiest way to pay for the parking is to use prepaid machines dotted all over the city.
These prepaid machines have an English language menu. Therefore it’s easy to navigate and slide the cash. Tbilisi parking fee is under the Transport menu on the majority of those prepaid machines.
You can pay the Tbilisi parking fee for registered cars in Georgia and cars with international plates if you are driving your own vehicle. The instructions in English are straightforward for both options, and you enter the license plate number and a registration certificate number of the car, and you are good to go.
You can also pay the Tbilisi parking fine with those prepaid machines.
Alternatively, you can go to any bank and tell the operator that you’d like to pay for the paid Tbilisi parking. They will ask for the car license and registration numbers and print out the receipt.
The most complicated way would be going to parking.tbilisi.gov.ge to pay for the parking as the website is only in Georgian.
Hourly Tbilisi parking fees
The zonal parking is part of Tbilisi’s new transport policy aiming to reduce traffic jams on the streets.
It first started in August of 2019 on Kote Apkhazi, former Leselidze, street as a pilot project. Apkhazi street is part of Tbilisi’s old town, where it was almost impossible to park a car if going to a nearby cafe or a restaurant. Because it is a touristy area, many car rental companies had their vehicles parked on the street to attract potential renters. With the zonal parking, now the street is almost empty and easy to park.
From 2020, Tbilisi City Hall introduced the same zonal parking spaces in Vake and Saburtalo districts and plans on extending it all across the city.
These zonal parking areas are divided into three categories – A, B, and C. Therefore, the signs have Latin letters and numbers, for instance, A007, B001, etc. The numbers, in this case, refers to a lot or a place.
- A category – 1 GEL
- B category – 2 GEL
- C category – 3 GEL
The first 15 minutes for four stops in different zonal parking areas per day are free. If you park for the fifth time, you pay for that first 15 minutes.
NOTE: Even if you have a paid Tbilisi parking permit for 4 days, 6 months, or a year, you still have to pay for parking in hourly zonal areas.
How to pay hourly Tbilisi parking fee
With a mobile app
The easiest way to use the zonal parking and pay the fee is to download a mobile app available on Play and Apple stores. Register in the app, enter your car license plate number, name your car and click the ‘top up’ button. Then, add your credit or debit card and top up the balance.
Once in the zonal parking area, mark the zone and lot where you parked the car. Then you’ll see a note about the prices where you need to indicate:
- Free 15 minutes
- Free 15 minutes + hourly pay
- Only hourly
Once you enter these details, press ‘start parking.’ Now you should also see the button ‘end parking’.
You can also see how many Free 15-minute parking you have left in a day. It’s shown at the top corner along with your available balance. Look for a blue circle with a P letter.
With prepaid machines
If you can’t use the app, you can still pay the fee using the prepaid machines located around every 50 meters from that parking space. When using this method, you need to keep in mind that the parking time is rounded by half an hour and not by minutes.
So, you basically pay a bit more. Plus, you need to calculate how much time you will be parked here. So, for example, if you pay for an hour and you are parked for 1:10 minutes, you’ll get a fine.
Unfortunately, there is no English language version of the Zonal Tbilisi parking fee on those prepaid machines. At least on TBC Prepaid one when I tested for the sake of this post. Here is how you find it on TBC prepaid machine:
Press Other Services > Other services (one again) > Next > ზონალური პარკირება (which has a Tbilisi City Hall logo in blue. There are three options now: Parking fee, Topping up your parking wallet (for mobile app), and 15-minute free parking.
Afterward, the instructions are straightforward where you choose Zones for the Parking fee and 15-minute free parking.
You can top up the balance via verifying your wallet number (starts with TBXXX) or via ID. Afterward, it shows the last 4 digits of your mobile phone number, and if the phone is valid, you can top up the balance.
To pay for a fixed time, enter the zonal parking numbers (A001, B005, etc.) and press ‘check.’ Then, the screen will show the parking street address and price list according to time. Choose the time, enter card plate numbers, and slide the cash.
To benefit from the free 15-minute parking, you need to be a registered user as you need to put your wallet code, choose the zone and parking number, plate number, and pick the Free 15 Minutes.
With website
You can pay for zonal Tbilisi parking from the parking.tbilisi.gov.ge website. However, as it’s in Georgian, you’ll need to have a Google Translate Chrome extension to help you out. First, you need to register on the website to get full access to its features. Otherwise, you can only pay for the fixed time.
Once registered, similar to mobile app and prepaid machines, you can top up the balance, pay for a fixed time and use free 15-minute parking.
Zonal Tbilisi parking fee doesn’t apply to:
- those who live and/or have real estate within a radius of 100 meters from the area
- drivers of a car whose owner lives near the lot
- owners of electric cars
- persons with disabilities
- category A taxi drivers
However, you still need to register at parking.tbilisi.gov.ge to receive a free parking permit. For registration, you’ll need an ID card and your property and cadastral codes.
Foreign citizens should go to the Municipal Services Development Agency to register and get a free parking permit. In addition, you will need an ownership document issued by the Public Service Hall and a translated and notary signed copy of your ID or passport.
Tbilisi Parking Fines
- For violating parking rules on the road – 10 GEL
- For parking at an area where there is a sign of No Parking or No Standing – 10 GEL
- The cost of transporting a car to a particular parking area for violating the rules – 60 GEL
- Not paying for parking in the hourly zonal parking – 50 GEL
My Favorite Travel Resources
To ease your travel planning, check out all the posts about Georgia travel. Additionally, here are some of the websites and services I use when preparing for my next adventure anywhere in the world.
✈ Book affordable flights on WayAway, a platform that shows the best flight deals, tours, and hotels. With a WayAway Plus membership, you can earn cashback. Get 10% off with code: RFD10
🚫 Get compensation for up to 700$ with Airhelp if your flight was canceled or delayed within the last 3 years.
🚗 Rent a car at Local Rent for affordable prices and convenient service.
❣ Pre-book a private car transfer with GoTrip from Tbilisi Airport to your hotel or any other city across Georgia.
💻 Get a VPN from Surfshark to protect your devices from hackers when using public Wi-Fi when traveling.
📱 Install the Airalo app, which provides local eSIMs for a more affordable internet connection when traveling. Get 3 USD with code: BAIA2592.
💸 Use Wise to withdraw money in local currency without hidden fees and avoid high exchange rates. On top, you might get a Visa or Mastercard debit card.
🍷 For some of the best, expat-designed wine tours check out Eat!ThisTours. Get a 5% discount with code RFD5.
🏨 Find budget-friendly deals on all sorts of accommodation types on Booking.com.
🩺 Buy the most flexible and budget-friendly travel insurance, SafetyWing, covering COVID.
☀ Book in advance some of the best city walks, cultural experiences, and day tours to maximize your stay and experience here.
Thank you very much for writing this article. I am a little confused regarding the parking permit. Am I able to purchase the parking permit on https://parking.tbilisi.gov.ge/? or do rental car companies provide them free of charge?
Hi Mandy! Glad you found the article useful. I am not sure if the car rental companies provide them free of charge. I honestly doubt it, but each company might have a different service, so I would recommend asking them. You can purchase the permit on the website, via app, or pre-paid machines as explained in the post.
HI. I’m an expat living in Tbilisi. Once, I paid a 6-month via the roadside machine, and after i wa sinformed the transactionw as approved, I later received a notification that the transaction was canclled. I tried getting a refund for my 25 GEL, but the money was simply not returned or allocated to me as credit. Next time I paid via a local bank, but itwas after incurring a parking fine for not having purchased parking.
Your article would be most helpful if you actually went through the steps, the actual information to be typed in, while paying at a roadside machine. Last I recall, my passport number was rejected, my foreign identity number was accepted, but subsequently rejected. No idea what number the machine was really asking for. As an expat, you only have your passport number really, don’t you?
Hi there, thanks for the comment! I am sorry to hear you had some troubles with paying for parking. Even, we locals, do have some issues sometimes. But I will most definitely consider updating it with the actual steps on how to pay through payboxes
I fully agreed with the fact that a more effective parking regulation system had to be put in place but I find the newly introduced system highly complicated and for Georgian living standard very expensive. As you already pointed out the app is impossible to use for foreigners as it is only in the Georgian language. Something I find highly annoying as it doesn’t really look like Georgia want to open up to a wider integration with Europe. Most foreigners, whatever country they come from, have a working knowledge of the English language. I had to find out that there was already a parking system in place which was mentioned in the beginning of the article. Now I find myself paying the 50 Lari yearly fee without any real use anymore as vast areas of Tbilisi are now under the new system. So, when going to the city I will now use public transport, which is highly efficient and reliable.
Hi Nico, I am sorry you are having such experiences, but we, locals, also encounter some problems with new system. Especially with the app which doesn’t work properly even in the Georgian language. I am looking for alternative ways and I will be updating the post soon.
W’hat is the name of the zonal Tbilisi app? I, but with no luck searched the app store
Tbilisi Parking is the name of the general app where you can purchase zonal parking too.
Hello, thank for the article!
What is the purpose of buying 1 week parking card for 1 week/6mo nth/yard parking card without zones? Because as I get I should pay for zonal parking on top of it.
Or do they mean it’s a simple parking spots somewhere without zonal payment?
If so – how we can find it? Thanks.
Hi Vasyl, the purpose is to park your car in various parking spots in Tbilisi, which don’t include zonal parking areas. If you are parking your car at hourly zonal areas for only a few hours, you can have the general parking card and pay hourly as you go. However, if you’d need to park on hourly zonal areas for longer, you’d need to purchase the one that covers both, for instance, a 1-week card for 100 GEL. Hope this clarifies; if not, do let me know, and I can explain more. I know how complicated all this might sound :))
Very helpful article! Thank you! Are the zonal parking areas enforced 24 hours? Do you think we have to pay even during the late night/early morning hours?
Hi Chris. If you mean zonal hourly parking areas, you’d need to pay for every hour you park in that spot. If you plan on parking for a day, I suggest purchasing a one-day parking ticket for 20 GEL, including both zonal and hourly parking areas. Let me know if you need more clarification or help 🙂 I’ll be happy to assist
Hi and thanks for such a thorough and useful
Article.
I’m an expat and own an apartment and space in the basement (2 land titles) off of David Aghmeneshbili St. There is a large parking area in the courtyard, yet each tenant has seemingly “laid”’claim to a space. I understand that it is to be shared between tenants and that I can get a permit for up to 2 cars as I am an owner. Yet, no one seems sure where to get the permit or the process.
I’d appreciate any guidance.
Thank you
Hi Kenya, thanks for your comment. Your best bet would be to go to the Tbilisi City Hall and ask them how to get the permit. Usually, the courtyard is the common area, and every one by themselves designated particular spots for their cars unless you have a separate garage that you or the previous owner already claimed it by law. Therefore, you can park wherever there is a free spot or “claim” that spot for yourself by talking to your neighbors.
Hi i was parking my car in area that no sign and got a parking ticket but when i contact the police i was told that even in free zone area have to pay money
Hi, I am sorry to hear that! You need a typical parking ticket, not the hourly one, to park in Tbilisi, even if there is no P sign. There are some places where the P sign is not very well visible. Or maybe you were fined because there was no parking permitted in that street?
Hello! Thank you for the information, but I still have a question though (I plan to buy a car and I need help to understand what my options are). I rent an apartment in Saburtalo district and in my area there are only zonal parking lots (1 hour = 1 lari). Where can I place a car and how should I pay for it? As I understood, the right way is to buy a one-year permit (800 lari) and I will be allowed to park a car at ANY hourly-zonal parking all over Tbilisi (only A class – 1hour = 1lari).
Is this the case?
Hello Ilia, if you ask your landlord to help you to register your car as a resident in the area, you’ll avoid hourly payments. But if not, then 800 lari car will do the best to park in zonal hourly and non-hourly parking areas.