Official Translation

Official document translation means having papers issued by public bodies, such as diplomas, transcripts, birth and marriage certificates and criminal records, translated by a sworn translator. You will need it if you are applying for residence or diploma recognition in Turkey, or if you are taking Turkish papers abroad to study, work or marry. You can send your document by WhatsApp or e-mail or hand it in at a branch. We identify the approval the institution expects, prepare the translation and deliver it at a branch or by courier.

Which approval does each document need?

The table shows the typical case. The institution using your document may ask for something else, so check before you start.

For the notary step see notarized translation. For the step abroad see apostille translation and document legalization.

Diploma translation and recognition in Turkey

If you studied abroad and want recognition in Turkey, YÖK asks for the original diploma and transcript with a Turkish translation approved by a notary in Turkey or a Turkish mission abroad. An apostille is not a general requirement, although there is a separate note for Bulgaria and Ukraine. Digital diplomas and colour printouts are not accepted. Check the current list on the YÖK page before you apply.

Going the other way, start with the destination country's apostille status. For a Convention country, an apostille follows the sworn translation and notary step. If an institution asks for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry describes two routes for diplomas and transcripts: approval from the Ministry of National Education first, or a notarized copy approved by a governorship or district governorship, and then the Ministry's Authentication Unit.

Birth and marriage certificates

Residence files are the usual reason. Migration rules require a birth or marriage certificate from abroad to have an apostille, with a notarized Turkish translation attached. If your country is not a party to the Apostille Convention, it needs consular approval and approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an authorized Turkish authority instead.

Turkish civil registry offices issue multilingual extracts known as Formula A (birth), Formula B (marriage) and Formula C (death). Because they already appear in several languages, some institutions may accept them without translation, so ask first. A 2024 official notice lists these extracts among the documents available through e-Apostille.

If you married in Turkey and need the marriage certificate in a country outside the Apostille Convention, the Ministry gives the order as governorship or district governorship, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then that country's mission in Turkey. A Turkish spouse can also ask the Turkish consulate in that country for a marriage record extract.

ID cards, marriage booklets and passports cannot be approved directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You work through a notarized copy or a notarized translation instead. For passports, see passport translation.

Criminal record translation

A Turkish criminal record does not need approval when used in Turkey. For use abroad it can also be obtained from the Turkish mission in that country. If Ministry approval is specifically requested, the document first gets governorship or district governorship approval. If a foreign embassy in Turkey is the recipient, an apostille is not valid and a notarized copy starts the legalization route. These documents are special category personal data, and your explicit consent for processing them is obtained separately.

Documents from your home country

A foreign authority's document is first approved by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Turkish mission there, unless an apostille applies. If there is no Turkish version, a notarized Turkish translation is made, and according to the Ministry no further application to it is needed in Turkey. The notary works from the original here, because a true-copy certification is not possible for such papers. If your papers come from Syria, ask the receiving authority which route applies today.

Names, dates and seals

• Names: For names in Arabic, Cyrillic or another script, give us the Latin spelling in your passport. One spelling should run through the whole file.
• Dates: 03.04.2024 can be read differently from country to country. Writing out the month avoids confusion.
• Seals and signatures: The translation marks where each seal, stamp and signature sits and renders the text on them.
• Institutions and grades: Names and grading systems with no direct equivalent are explained. The original name can be kept if the institution wants it.

How recent must a document be?

Some websites claim that a civil registry extract or a notarized translation is valid for six months. We found no official source for this. The institution receiving the document sets the limit, so the same paper may be accepted by one office and refused as too old by another. For documents such as birth certificates and certificates of single status, the final authority may also look at the date of the first approval. Do not let the chain drag on once you have the document.

Cost and timing

Ziya Translation handles these documents in more than 50 languages. Most official documents are short, so the approval steps usually change the total more than the translation does. We look at the language pair, page count, number of copies and destination together. Send your document and the steps and total become clear in your quote. Whether a quicker turnaround is possible depends on the document type, language and approvals.

Official sources

• YÖK: Application for recognition (in Turkish)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Authentication FAQ (in Turkish)
• Presidency of Migration Management: Residence documents (in Turkish)
• Turkish Embassy in Baku: e-Apostille notice