Arabic to Turkish sworn translation

To use an Arabic document in Türkiye, you normally need two things: legalisation on the original in the country that issued it, and a Turkish translation made by a sworn translator and notarised in Türkiye. The legalisation is an apostille if the issuing country is a party to the Apostille Convention, or a consular chain if it is not. Names are transliterated letter by letter and follow your passport. The reverse direction, Turkish into Arabic, uses the same notary step and then a Turkish apostille or legalisation chain.

Arabic names in a Turkish translation

Arabic is written from right to left, and short vowels are often not written at all. The same name can therefore appear in several Latin-script forms. A Turkish translation has to choose one form and keep it.

• Transliteration, not translation. Names in a non-Latin script are transliterated letter by letter. They are never translated into a Turkish meaning, and international transliteration recommendations apply where they exist.
• The passport decides. When documents spell a name differently, the documents of the person's state of nationality prevail. In practice, your passport's Latin spelling becomes the reference.
• Name chains. Many Arabic documents give a person's name followed by the father's name and sometimes the grandfather's name. The translation keeps the order shown in the original.
• Place names and institutions. Cities, courts and ministries are written so that a Turkish officer can recognise them and match them with your other papers.

Send a copy of your passport with the first document. Then your diploma, birth certificate and marriage certificate translations all use one spelling.

Dates, numbers and stamps in Arabic documents

Arabic documents can mix several systems. A careful translation shows each one as it appears.

• Two calendars. Some documents give a Hijri (Islamic calendar) date, a Gregorian date, or both. The translation keeps the date in the calendar the document uses and marks which one it is.
• Digits. Many documents use Eastern Arabic digits. The translation writes them in the digits Turkish uses, so check every date and reference number against the original.
• Stamps and signatures. Ministry stamps, embassy stamps and handwritten notes are part of the document. The translation describes each stamp and translates its text.
• Bilingual forms. Some forms print Arabic and English side by side. The Turkish translation still covers the whole document. For English-only papers, see our page on translating English documents.

Persian documents use a related script and raise similar name questions; see Persian document translation for those.

Legalising Arabic documents before the Turkish translation

Countries that use Arabic do not all follow the same route. Whether the issuing country is a party to the Apostille Convention decides the order. Check the HCCH status table for that country before you start.

Issuing country is an Apostille party

The country's competent authority puts an apostille on the original. In Türkiye, you add a notarised Turkish translation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Dışişleri Bakanlığı) does not certify an apostilled document again.

Issuing country is not an Apostille party

The Ministry describes two routes:

1. The issuing country's own authorities approve the document. A sworn translator's Turkish translation is then certified by the Turkish embassy or consulate in that country and attached. No further certification is needed in Türkiye.
2. The issuing country's mission in Türkiye certifies the document. The Ministry in Ankara, or the governor's office (valilik) of the city where that mission sits, then certifies it. The translation is done and notarised in Türkiye.

Documents issued in Türkiye by your country's mission

A document from a foreign embassy in Türkiye is translated by a sworn translator. The notary joins the original and the translation and certifies them, and the Ministry's Consular Authentication Unit then certifies. A document from a consulate-general goes only to the governor's office of that province, and is then valid throughout Türkiye. Civil registry offices do not accept documents from honorary consulates.

How a notarised Arabic translation is made

A sworn translator for Arabic has taken an oath before a Turkish notary. Before using a translator, the notary must be satisfied that the translator knows the language, through diplomas, other documents or other means. The oath record stays on file at that notary's office.

The notary adds an endorsement under the translation. It identifies the sworn translator and gives the translator's address, and the notary dates, signs and seals it. The notarised translation is treated as valid until proven otherwise. Used in Türkiye, it needs no apostille of its own.

A translation office prepares the translation only. The notary's endorsement and any apostille come from public authorities. Our language overview lists the other languages handled the same way.

Turkish to Arabic translation for use abroad

Some readers need the opposite direction: a Turkish diploma, civil-registry extract or court decision in Arabic for an authority abroad.

• Notarised translation to an Apostille country. The governor's office or district governor's office (kaymakamlık) of any province or district issues the apostille on the notarised translation.
• Notarised translation to a country outside the Convention. The governor's office approves first. Next comes the Ministry's Consular Authentication Unit in Ankara, by appointment through tasdik.mfa.gov.tr. The destination country's mission in Türkiye comes last.
• Original court documents. The apostille on an original Turkish court decision comes from the presidency of the justice commission (adalet komisyonu başkanlığı). The e-Apostil system also issues e-apostilles for criminal record certificates and court decisions.

Each authority in a legalisation chain certifies the signature and seal of the one before it. None of them certifies the text of the translation.