Marriage, birth and divorce documents in Türkiye

If you marry in Türkiye, register a marriage, birth or death from abroad, or bring a foreign divorce into the Turkish register, you will file foreign civil-status papers. The usual pattern is simple. The foreign document carries an apostille or the longer consular chain, and a notarised Turkish translation goes with it. This page introduces the area and the order of steps. Our sworn translation office for foreigners prepares the translation side of such files.

Marriage, birth and divorce documents for foreigners in Türkiye

A Turkish citizen and a foreigner, or two foreigners of different nationalities, may marry before a competent Turkish marriage officer in Türkiye. Where one spouse is foreign, only municipal marriage offices (evlendirme dairesi) and civil registry directors may conduct the marriage. Village heads and muftis cannot.

The same area covers a birth, a marriage or a death that happened abroad and must be entered in the Turkish register. It also covers a child born in Türkiye to foreign parents and a foreign divorce that you want recorded in the Turkish register.

Marriage documents and translations in Türkiye

A foreigner is expected to obtain the certificate of no impediment (evlenme ehliyet belgesi, often called a single-status certificate) from the authorities of their own state. It shows that the person may marry under their national law and that no impediment exists. It must show name, surname, parents’ names, date of birth and whether any impediment exists, and it must be duly legalised.

The Marriage Regulation itself does not mention a translation. The requirement for a notarised Turkish translation comes from the civil registry’s general rule for foreign documents. In practice, marriage offices apply it, so check with your own marriage office for its current list.

Some offices also ask for a notarised translation of the foreigner’s passport or ID card, and for a separate birth certificate when the certificate lacks the parents’ names or birth details. Some require the passport, residence permit, single-status certificate and birth certificate to match exactly. Names in translations should therefore follow the passport.

If one party does not speak Turkish, the marriage officer may use an interpreter, whom the parties bring. Some municipalities ask for a sworn interpreter in practice, which is not a requirement of the regulation.

Foreign documents and the Turkish civil register

A document from an Apostille Convention state is accepted with the apostille on the original and a Turkish translation approved by a notary. Without an apostille, the document needs the full chain: approval by the issuing country’s authorities, then its consulate or embassy, then a Turkish authority. The notarised Turkish translation follows.

Two exceptions help. A CIEC multilingual extract (Formula A for birth, B for marriage, C for death) is accepted without legalisation. Documents issued by honorary consulates are not accepted for civil-registry or marriage procedures.

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

A birth abroad that was not reported to the Turkish mission can be reported in Türkiye with the original birth certificate and a notarised Turkish translation. A child born alive in Türkiye must be reported to the civil registry within 30 days. The hospital can receive the report. The Ministry of Interior can issue a foreign identification number on request.

Foreign divorce in Türkiye

A final foreign divorce, annulment or ruling on the existence of a marriage can be registered without a court case, if it is not clearly against Turkish public order. This is administrative registration of a foreign divorce. The application goes to a Turkish mission or to the provincial directorate of population and citizenship.

The file needs the duly approved original decision with a Turkish translation approved by a notary or a Turkish mission, or apostilled by the issuing country’s authority. A notarised Turkish translation of a foreign party’s ID card or passport is also required.

This route covers divorce, annulment and the existence of a marriage only. Custody, child support, matrimonial property and damages need court recognition or enforcement, where the law asks for a certified translation. If the administrative application is refused, a court case is the next route.

Usual order of steps and legalisation

1. Decide which office receives the file: marriage office, civil registry, Turkish mission or court.
2. Obtain the foreign original with the apostille or the consular chain. Read our guide to apostille and legalisation.
3. Have the translation prepared by a sworn translator and endorsed by the notary.
4. Check every name against the passport, letter for letter.
5. File, and ask the office for its own current list.

For a Turkish civil-status document that you will use abroad, the apostille comes from a governor’s or district governor’s office, in any province or district. The same office issues the apostille on a notarised translation of that document. Read about the sworn translator in Türkiye for what the role covers.