Legal Translation in Turkey

What legal translation covers in practice

Legal work runs both ways. Into Turkish: foreign judgments, divorce decrees, contracts, powers of attorney and company resolutions for a Turkish court, a notary, the title deed office (tapu müdürlüğü) or a trade registry. Out of Turkish: court decisions, petitions, expert reports and contracts that a court, law firm or counterparty abroad needs to read. Turkish courts work in Turkish: a foreign-language document is filed with a Turkish translation, and for hearings the court appoints its own translator or interpreter. A translation for filing is read against the original, line by line, by the judge and the other side.

Powers of attorney

A power of attorney (vekâletname) signed abroad for use in Turkey is apostilled or legalised in the country where it was signed, then translated here. One signed at a Turkish notary for use abroad is translated, the translation is certified by a notary, and an apostille or consular legalisation follows if the destination asks for it. When a principal who does not speak Turkish signs at a Turkish notary, the notary will ask for a sworn interpreter; see Turkish Interpreting.

Inheritance files

A cross-border estate produces a chain of documents: a foreign death certificate, a will or probate document, on the Turkish side a certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı, also called mirasçılık belgesi) and title deed records, and powers of attorney from heirs abroad. The names of the deceased and of every heir must match across all of them and the passports. One variant spelling breaks the chain.

Why legal translation is a category of its own

Each legal term sits inside a system of rules, and the same English word can map onto two Turkish concepts with materially different consequences. Turkey has a civil law system rooted in continental European codes, while much of the English material we translate comes from common law jurisdictions, so there is often no clean equivalent. Where a concept has an established Turkish equivalent, we use it. Where it does not, we render the term so its function survives and, if the ambiguity is material, flag it rather than silently choosing an interpretation. Resolving a legal question the parties have not resolved is not the translator's job.

A defined term may appear a hundred times in an agreement and must be rendered identically every time, and across related documents, so an amendment reads against the agreement it amends. Clause numbering, cross-references and schedules are preserved, because a translation that renumbers clauses breaks every cross-reference.

Which certification the receiving office asks for

Courts and public authorities normally want a sworn translation, signed by a sworn translator (yeminli tercüman) who has taken an oath before a Turkish notary and declares the translation complete and accurate. Many also ask for notary certification (noter onayı), in which a notary confirms the translator's signature and registration; responsibility for the rendering stays with the translator. For use abroad an apostille may follow: on court documents it is issued by the justice commission of the courthouse (adli yargı adalet komisyonu başkanlığı), on administrative and notarized documents by the governorship (valilik) or district governorship (kaymakamlık). Countries outside the Hague Convention require consular legalisation instead. We arrange these steps; we do not perform them.

The receiving court, registry or foreign authority decides which level it accepts and which document carries the apostille. Ask it, in writing if possible, before ordering: a step done out of order is usually done twice. Notary certification does not guarantee acceptance.

Where legal files go wrong

• Annotations left out. Stamps, marginal notes, a finality annotation (kesinleşme şerhi) on a judgment or a notary's endorsement on the reverse are part of the document. A cropped scan produces a translation that is accurate and incomplete.
• Names that drift. A party's name may differ by a letter between a contract, a passport and a registry record. We follow the identity document and flag mismatches between originals rather than harmonising them; your lawyer may need to explain them.
• Company details. A company's name, legal form and signatory should read the same in the contract, the board resolution, the signature circular (imza sirküleri) and the Trade Registry Gazette (Türkiye Ticaret Sicili Gazetesi).
• No apostille at source. A foreign judgment or power of attorney is apostilled in the issuing country before it is translated here. That step cannot be added in Turkey afterwards.

What we need to start, and what we do not do

A complete scan of every page, including reverse sides and annexes; each party's name as it appears in the passport; the court or authority the translation is for, and in which country; any filing deadline, so the timeline can be confirmed before work starts; and, for a running matter, earlier translations or your firm's glossary.

Legal material is confidential and is shared only with the people working on it. We do not give legal advice. Whether a clause is enforceable or a filing correct is a question for a qualified lawyer, and we will say so rather than guess.

Related reading: sworn translations for court documents and Apostille Services in Turkey. See also sworn translation for foreigners in Turkey, translating Turkish documents for use abroad and, for law firms and companies, corporate translation services.