Apostille and consular legalisation for documents used in Türkiye

Apostille and consular legalisation for documents used in Türkiye

An apostille is a certificate that the issuing state attaches to a public document so that another state accepts it. Consular legalisation is the longer route used when no apostille is available. Both prove that the signature and seal on a document are genuine. Neither proves that its content is correct.

You need one or the other when a document crosses a border. This section covers two directions: foreign documents that you use in Türkiye, and Turkish documents that you use abroad. Our overview of sworn translation in Ankara explains the other services for foreigners and companies.

Who needs an apostille or a legalisation

Foreign nationals meet these steps when they register a marriage or birth, apply for a residence permit, enrol at a university, or set up a company. Foreign-owned companies meet them when they send board resolutions, powers of attorney or registry extracts across a border.

The Apostille Convention applies to public documents that are made in one contracting state and produced in another. Public documents include court documents, administrative documents, notarial acts and official certificates placed on private documents. A notary’s signature certification is an example.

The Convention does not apply to documents made by diplomatic or consular agents. It also does not apply to administrative documents that deal directly with commercial or customs operations.

Türkiye has been a party since 29 September 1985. Whether another country is a party must be checked on the Hague Conference table with the check date. We do not state the status of any country from memory.

Foreign documents for use in Türkiye

The usual route starts abroad. If the issuing state is an Apostille state, the apostille goes on the original in that state. In Türkiye, you add a notarised Turkish translation.

A notarised translation is a notarial act. The notary adds an endorsement under the text and dates, signs and seals it. When a sworn translator did the work, the endorsement states the translator’s identity and address. Read our page on notarised translation for the details.

The translator is a sworn translator, who took the oath before a notary. The notary keeps the oath report on file at that office, and uses only translators whose report is there. Our page on how sworn translators work explains the role.

Names need care. Names written in Latin script go into Turkish civil records letter for letter, untranslated, with accents kept. Names in other scripts are transliterated letter by letter. If your documents differ, those of your state of nationality prevail.

If no apostille is available, the document needs approval from the issuing country’s authorities and its consulate or embassy. A Turkish authority then adds its approval, and a notarised Turkish translation is still needed.

Take care with two cases. Civil registries do not act on documents issued by honorary consulates. CIEC multilingual civil-status extracts are taken into civil-registry processing without any legalisation.

Keep the original. A Turkish notary cannot certify a foreign authority’s document as a true copy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication FAQ).

Turkish documents for use abroad

The authority depends on the kind of document. Treat each kind separately.

For a Turkish notarial act, such as a notarised translation or a power of attorney, a governor’s or district governor’s office in any province or district certifies the notary’s signature and seal. For a Turkish administrative document, such as a civil-registry extract, you arrange the apostille yourself at a governor’s or district governor’s office.

The original of a Turkish court document is different. Its apostille comes from the presidency of the justice commission (adalet komisyonu başkanlığı). A notarised translation of the same court document is a notarial act, so its apostille comes from a governor’s or district governor’s office.

If the destination country is not an Apostille party, the chain is longer. The governor’s or district governor’s office certifies first. The Consular Authentication Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara follows. The destination country’s mission in Türkiye comes last. Book the Ministry’s appointment at tasdik.mfa.gov.tr; it takes no walk-ins.

The Ministry does not authenticate a document that already has an apostille. A notarised translation made in Türkiye and used in Türkiye needs no apostille at all.

The usual order of steps

Begin with the destination. Ask the office or authority that will receive the document what it needs. Each institution sets its own list.

Next, find out whether the issuing state is an Apostille party. Then obtain the apostille or start the legalisation chain. After that, order the notarised Turkish translation, or the Turkish translation that the chain requires.

Last, hand in the original and the translation together. Keep copies for your own records.