Sworn translation in Türkiye

A sworn translation in Türkiye is a Turkish translation made by a sworn translator: someone who has taken an oath at a Turkish notary's office, where the oath record stays on file. Turkish institutions often ask you to have that translation notarised, and the notary's endorsement then names the translator. This page explains who needs the service, what each step adds and the usual order. For an overview of our office, see our Ankara translation office.

Sworn translator and notarised translation in Türkiye

A sworn translator takes the oath before a notary. The notary writes the oath into a report, both sign it, and the report is kept at that notary's office. A notary may not use a translator whose oath report is not on that office's file.

The notary must also be satisfied that the translator knows the language correctly. Diplomas, other documents or other means can show this. We are a private translation office, not a public authority, so the oath and the endorsement stay with the notary. Translating from one language into another is one of the duties the Notaries Act gives notaries. If no notary where you live can translate a language, the translation can be done at a notary elsewhere through the local notary.

A notarised translation is a notarial act. The notary writes an endorsement under the translated text, then dates, signs and seals it. When a sworn translator did the work, the endorsement states that translator's identity and address. The notary therefore completes the translation act with an endorsement that identifies the sworn translator.

A notarised translation counts as valid until someone proves otherwise. Our page on notarised translation goes through this step in more detail.

The endorsement is not an apostille. The notary adds the endorsement. An apostille on a notarised translation comes from a Turkish authority, and only when the translation is used abroad.

Who needs a sworn translation in Türkiye

You need one when a Turkish office asks for a Turkish version of a foreign document. Typical cases:

• Residence permit: the Göç İdaresi (Presidency of Migration Management) lists ask for a notarised Turkish translation of documents obtained abroad, such as birth and marriage certificates.
• Citizenship: diplomas, passports and similar foreign documents are translated into Turkish and notarised.
• Civil registry: a foreign civil-status document goes to the nüfus müdürlüğü (civil registry office) with an apostille on the original and a notarised Turkish translation.
• Driving licence exchange: the licence needs a Turkish translation approved by a notary or a consulate.
• Banking for a company based abroad: the bank may check corporate documents against notarised Turkish translations.

Every institution sets its own list, and lists change. Read the current list of the office you are dealing with before you order.

The usual order for a sworn translation

1. Read the receiving office's list and note which documents it names.
2. Get the original. A Turkish notary cannot certify a foreign authority’s document as a true copy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication FAQ), so a photocopy does not work.
3. If the document comes from abroad, arrange the apostille on the original in the issuing country. If no apostille is available, the consular chain applies instead.
4. Order the Turkish translation from a sworn translator.
5. The notary adds the endorsement.
6. Hand the original and the notarised translation to the receiving office.

A notarised translation that you use inside Türkiye needs no apostille. A Turkish notarial act used abroad, including a notarised translation, gets its apostille from a governor's office (valilik) or a district governor's office (kaymakamlık), in any province or district. To send us your documents, see ordering a translation from us.

Documents from outside the Apostille Convention

If the issuing country is not a party to the Apostille Convention, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes two routes. In the first, the Turkish mission in the issuing country certifies a sworn translator's Turkish translation after the country's own approvals. The document is then used in Türkiye with no further certification. In the second, the issuing country's mission in Türkiye certifies the document, then the Ministry (or the governor's office of that city) certifies it, and the translation is made and notarised in Türkiye. Ask the receiving office which route it expects.

Sworn translator and sworn interpreter: written and spoken work

Written translation and spoken interpreting are different jobs. If you do not speak Turkish and take part in a notarial act, such as a power of attorney, a sworn interpreter (andlı tercüman) must be present. The interpreter's identity and address go into the record, and the interpreter signs it with the other participants.

Other offices set their own rules. The land registry (tapu müdürlüğü) asks its sworn interpreter for an oath report taken before a court. A marriage office may ask for a sworn interpreter at the ceremony. Ask the office first, and do not assume that a notary-sworn translator can act as an interpreter there.

Common mistakes with sworn translation in Türkiye

• Bringing a copy of a foreign document when the office wants the original.
• Asking for an apostille on a notarised translation that you will use inside Türkiye. It needs none.
• Taking an apostilled document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for another stamp. The Ministry adds nothing to it.
• Expecting a translation office to issue the endorsement or the apostille. It issues neither.
• Ordering before reading the receiving office's list.