Marriage certificate translation for use in Türkiye
How to prepare a foreign marriage certificate for Türkiye: apostille on the original, sworn translator, notary’s endorsement, and name-spelling checks.
In 30 seconds
- A foreign marriage certificate needs the original, the issuing country’s legalisation and a notarised Turkish translation.
- In an Apostille state the legalisation is one apostille on the original; the translation is made afterwards.
- Names are written letter for letter, so the spelling in your passport guides the translator.
- Get the original marriage certificate
- Ask the issuing country for the apostille
- Order the sworn translation
- Notary adds the endorsement
- Check the file with the receiving office
Marriage certificate translation for use in Türkiye: the file you need
A foreign marriage certificate reaches a Turkish office as a set of three things: the original certificate, the legalisation from the country that issued it, and a notarised Turkish translation. If the issuing country is a party to the Apostille Convention, the legalisation is one apostille on the original. Türkiye itself has been a party since 29 September 1985.
This page covers the document and translation side only. For the wider picture of civil-status papers, see marriage, birth and divorce documents in Türkiye.
Who does what
A sworn translator makes the translation. The translator has taken an oath before a Turkish notary, and that notary keeps a record of the oath on file. The notary then adds an endorsement under the translation. The endorsement names the sworn translator, gives the translator’s address, and is dated, signed and sealed by the notary.
Tuna Translation is a private translation office. We prepare the translation. We do not issue the notary’s endorsement and we do not issue apostilles. The first is a notarial act; the second comes from an authority.
| Situation | Legalisation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign certificate from an Apostille state, used in Türkiye | Apostille on the original | Notarised Turkish translation |
| Foreign certificate from a country outside the Convention | Approval by the issuing country’s foreign ministry, then the Turkish mission there | Notarised Turkish translation |
| Multilingual extract (CIEC Formula B) | None | None reported in practice when Turkish is among the languages; confirm with the office |
| Certificate issued by an honorary consulate | Not accepted by the civil registry | Not applicable |
| Turkish certificate used in an Apostille state | Apostille from a governor’s or district governor’s office | Only if the destination asks for it |
| Turkish certificate used in a non-Convention country | Governor’s office, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the destination’s mission | If requested: translation and notary |
Where a foreign marriage certificate is asked for in Türkiye
The clearest case is a marriage that took place abroad and must enter the Turkish civil register. A Turkish citizen who married before a foreign authority hands the certificate to the Turkish mission within 30 days of the wedding. If that did not happen, the marriage can still be filed in Türkiye. The civil registry office (nüfus müdürlüğü) then takes the approved original certificate together with a notarised Turkish translation.
If another institution asks for your marriage certificate, such as a migration office (Göç İdaresi), a bank or an employer, it decides on its own list and its own form. Ask that office what it wants before you order anything. Two related documents have their own pages: birth certificate translation and divorce decree translation.
Names, stamps, dates and QR codes in a marriage certificate translation
Most problems come from names. Turkish civil records take a name written in Latin script letter for letter, untranslated, with accents and other diacritics kept. A name in another script is transliterated letter by letter, without translating it. If two documents spell a name differently, the records of the person’s state of nationality prevail.
Some marriage offices also expect the passport, the residence permit and the civil-status papers to match exactly. In practice, then, the translator follows your passport for both spouses’ names. Tell us before work starts if the certificate and the passport already differ.
The translator also handles the parts of the page that are not ordinary text:
- Stamps and seals: the wording is translated and the position is noted in square brackets.
- Dates: written so that day and month cannot be swapped, for example with the month in words.
- QR codes and barcodes: marked as present, because a translator cannot reproduce them.
- Handwriting: unreadable words are marked, never guessed.
An apostille certifies the signature, the signer’s capacity and, where relevant, the seal or stamp. It does not certify what the certificate says, so a wrong name stays wrong.
Legalisation order for a marriage certificate
The order matters. The legalisation goes on the original document first. The translation comes after it.
- Obtain the original certificate from the authority that issued it.
- Have it legalised in the issuing country. In an Apostille state this is the apostille. In another country the document is approved by that country’s foreign ministry and then by the Turkish mission there.
- Bring the legalised original to a sworn translator.
- The notary adds the endorsement to the translation.
- Present the original and the notarised translation to the receiving office.
A Turkish marriage certificate used abroad
For the other direction, the route depends on the destination. A multilingual extract of the marriage record (CIEC Formula B) is accepted in the contracting states without legalisation. A foreigner married before a Turkish authority can ask for it. For an Apostille state, a governor’s office (valilik) or district governor’s office (kaymakamlık) in any province or district issues the apostille. For other countries the document goes from the governor’s office to the Consular Authentication Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara, and then to the destination country’s mission in Türkiye. The destination may also ask for a translation, so check the language it wants.
Get a quote
Send us a legible copy of your document and tell us the language, where it will be submitted and when you need it. We will reply by email with a quote and a delivery date.
