How to Get a Sworn Translation in Turkey

A sworn translation is a translation made by a translator who has taken an oath before a Turkish notary. Because the notary holds the translator's signature and oath on file, the notary can certify the translation, which is what makes it valid for official use in Turkey.

When you need a sworn translation

Turkish notaries, courts, ministries, universities and immigration offices generally require a sworn translation of any foreign-language document. In practice the requests fall into a few groups:

• Civil status. Birth, marriage and death certificates, and family records.
• Education. Diplomas, transcripts and course descriptions, usually for a university or an equivalence application.
• Legal. Contracts, powers of attorney, court decisions and corporate documents.
• Personal and administrative. Identity documents, criminal-record checks, bank and income documents.

What to send us

Three things decide whether a file goes through cleanly the first time:

• A complete, legible scan of every page. Include back sides where they carry a stamp or a note, and do not crop the edges.
• The exact spelling of names as they appear in the passport or ID that will be shown alongside the translation.
• Which office will receive the document, and whether notarization or an apostille is expected.

That last point matters more than people expect. Requirements differ slightly between institutions, and knowing the destination up front is usually the difference between one round and two.

The steps

• Send your document. Share a clear scan or photo and tell us the target language and how the document will be used.
• Sworn translation. A sworn translator translates it, keeping names, dates, seals and legal terms exactly, and reproducing stamps and annotations in the position they occupy in the original.
• Notarization. Where the receiving authority requires it, a Turkish notary certifies the sworn translation. See notary translation.
• Apostille. For use abroad you usually also need an apostille. See our apostille in Turkey guide.

Documents issued outside Turkey

If your document was issued in another country, the authentication usually has to start there: the document is apostilled in the issuing country first, and only then translated and notarized in Turkey. Doing it in the wrong order is one of the more expensive mistakes, because it can mean paying for the same translation twice.

What the notary actually checks

A notary is not re-translating your document or grading the wording. It confirms that the person who signed the translation is a translator sworn before that office, that the source document is present, and that names, dates and figures are consistent between the two. We have written this up in more detail in what a Turkish notary checks before approving a translation, and there is a companion piece on what to bring to a notary appointment.

Which languages

We provide sworn translation between Turkish and many languages. Browse the language pairs we cover, or start with a common one such as English to Turkish.

Why files come back

The usual reasons are mundane rather than linguistic: a page scanned with the edge cut off, a name spelled differently from the passport, a missing back side, or a document that needed an apostille from the issuing country before it ever reached us. All four are avoidable before the work starts.

Getting started

Send your document with the target language and purpose and we will reply with a quote and timeline. Not sure which type you need? Read sworn vs certified vs notarized translation, or contact us with the document and the office it is going to.