Apostille in Turkey: What It Is and How to Get One

An apostille is an internationally recognized certificate that confirms the authenticity of a public document so it can be used in another country. It exists under the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961, to which Turkey is a party.

When you need an apostille

You typically need an apostille when a document issued in one Hague Convention country will be used officially in another - for example a Turkish document used abroad, or a foreign document used in Turkey. Marriage abroad, university applications, residence and work permits, company formation and property transactions are the situations that come up most often.

How it works with translation

For official use abroad, documents usually need a sworn translation, then notarization, and then an apostille. We coordinate all three steps.

Order of operations

The sequence depends on where the document was issued, and getting it backwards is the most common and most costly error:

• A document issued abroad, for use in Turkey. It is normally apostilled in its country of origin first, then translated and notarized here.
• A document issued in Turkey, for use abroad. It is translated and notarized here, then apostilled here.

Because this varies by document and destination, we advise per case rather than applying a rule.

Where apostilles are issued in Turkey

In Turkey, apostilles are issued by the authorized public offices (such as governorships for administrative documents and courthouses for judicial documents). We handle the process for the documents we translate and notarize.

If the destination country is not in the Convention

The apostille only works between countries that are party to the Convention. Where the destination country is not, the equivalent route is consular legalization, which involves the relevant ministry and that country's diplomatic mission instead. Tell us the destination country and we will say which of the two applies.

What an apostille does not do

An apostille authenticates the signature, seal and capacity of the official who issued a document. It does not confirm that the contents are correct, and it is not a translation. A document that has been apostilled still needs translating for the country that will read it.

Getting help

Send us your document and the destination country, and we will tell you exactly which steps it needs. See also how to get a sworn translation, our guide to apostille services for foreign documents in Turkey, and a worked example in birth certificate translation and apostille. If you would rather we handled the whole sequence, see Apostille Services in Turkey.