Documents from France for use in Türkiye

A French public document used in Türkiye needs an apostille on the original and a Turkish translation made and notarised in Türkiye. According to the HCCH status table (checked on 21 October 2026), France is a party to the Apostille Convention; the Convention entered into force for it on 24 January 1965. You therefore need no consular legalisation by a Turkish embassy or consulate. For the wider system, read our overview of apostille and legalisation for Türkiye.

French public documents and the apostille

The Convention covers public documents made in one party state that must be produced in another. French papers that reach Turkish offices usually fall into four groups:

• civil-status records, such as birth and marriage extracts;
• court documents, such as a divorce judgment;
• notarial acts, such as a power of attorney signed before a French notary;
• university diplomas and criminal record extracts.

The competent authority of the country where the document comes from issues the apostille. For you, that means France, and the apostille goes on the original. It confirms the signature, the capacity of the signer and, where relevant, the seal. It says nothing about what the document states.

Which French authority issues the apostille depends on the document, and we do not describe that side. Check France's own official sources, or ask the office that issued your paper.

Not every paper is covered. Documents made by diplomatic or consular agents, and administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations, fall outside the Convention. If you doubt which system applies, our guide on telling the two systems apart gives a simple test.

Translating French documents into Turkish

French is written in the Latin alphabet, so nothing needs to be transliterated. The translator carries every letter across as printed. The Turkish office still wants the text in Turkish.

A sworn translator (yeminli tercüman) translates the document in Türkiye. This person took an oath before a Turkish notary, and the notary keeps the signed oath report on file. When the translation is ready, the notary adds an endorsement under it. The endorsement gives the translator's identity and address. The notary dates, signs and seals it.

A translation office prepares the text. It does not issue the endorsement or the apostille.

Do things in this order: apostille first, translation second. Our page on the order of the two steps explains the reasoning. A translation made and notarised in Türkiye, then used in Türkiye, needs no apostille of its own. It does not cross a border.

Bring the French original. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication FAQ, a Turkish notary cannot certify a copy of a foreign authority's document as a true copy.

French names in the translation

• Accents stay. Letters such as é, è, ê, ç, ï and œ are copied as printed, even where the Turkish alphabet has no equivalent.
• Hyphens stay. A first name like Jean-Pierre is one name. The translator does not split it or join it.
• Particles. Words such as de, du, de la and d' are written as on the original. Tell the translator if your passport treats the particle as part of the surname.
• Order of fields. A French extract may print the surname in capitals or before the first name. The translator keeps each name in its own field.
• Different spellings. If two documents disagree, the documents of your state of nationality prevail. Give the translator your passport.

French multilingual extracts

Some civil-status offices issue a CIEC multilingual extract. Turkish civil registries take such an extract into processing without any legalisation. The regulation says nothing about translation, so ask the Turkish office whether it also wants a Turkish text.

Ask the French office that holds your record whether it can supply this form. Do not assume every extract is multilingual: an ordinary French birth extract still follows the apostille route above.

Turkish documents for use in France

For a Turkish document used in France, an apostille issued in Türkiye is enough. The authority depends on the kind of document.

A notarised translation into French is a notarial act. A governor's office (valilik) or district governor's office (kaymakamlık) issues its apostille. Since the 2024 amendment, it can be any province or district, not only the place where the notary works.

Administrative and civil-registry documents also take their apostille from a governor's or district governor's office, and you arrange it yourself.

An original court decision or a criminal record certificate takes its apostille from the presidency of the justice commission (adalet komisyonu başkanlığı). The e-Apostil system, run by PTT and the Ministry of Justice, issues e-apostilles for these two documents.

The French body may also ask for a French text. Ask it, before you apply, whether it wants the apostille on the Turkish original, on the translation, or on both.