Who is this service for?
- You have been asked for a sworn translation of a document in a residence, marriage or study procedure.
- You do not know whether your procedure needs notarisation or whether a sworn translation is enough.
- You hold a document issued outside Türkiye and do not know whether it needs an apostille.
- A counter handed your translation back and you cannot tell where the fault is: the document, the translation, or the form of certification.
- You hold a Turkish document and need to submit it abroad or at a consulate.
- You want to arrange a power of attorney at the notary so someone you trust can follow the procedure for you.
What we do
- We ask first: which authority will receive the document, and how is their request worded? The exact wording decides what is required, not our guess.
- We check the document before translation: legible? still valid? name matching your passport?
- We arrange the translation with a registered sworn translator, in the terminology the office knows.
- We arrange notarisation when the authority requires it — and tell you when it does not.
- We tell you whether your document needs an apostille, and where it is obtained.
- We arrange a power of attorney at the notary when you want someone else to follow your procedure, and tell you which identity documents and details it needs before you go.
- We hand you the number of copies your procedure needs, and return your originals.
And what we do not do
- We do not have a document certified that the authority will not accept anyway just because you asked — we tell you that before you pay the notary's fee, not after.
- We do not alter what is written in the document, and we do not put a name or a date in the translation that is not in it, even an obvious error. An error is corrected at the office that issued the document, never in the translation.
- We do not promise that the authority will accept your document; that decision is theirs alone. What we undertake is that it reaches them in the form they asked for.
- We do not add an apostille to a Syrian document, and we cannot: an apostille is affixed only in the country of issue, and Syria is not a party to the Convention.
- We are not a notary and not a translation bureau. The signature and the stamp come from the sworn translator and from the notary, not from us; our work is to establish what is required, coordinate it and check it — and our fee is for that alone.
- We do not ask you for your e-Devlet password, for the verification code sent to your phone, or for your bank card details. And the notary's fee is paid at the notary's office, never into a personal account.
- We do not give a legal opinion on the content of the document or on its effect; if the matter is one for the courts we refer you to a lawyer.
Documents required for sworn translation and notarisation
This is the core list for most cases. Tick them off as you gather your papers — you can print this page and take it with you.
What we need from you
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Why do we ask about the authority? Because what is required is decided by them, not by us: some procedures accept a sworn translation on its own, some require notarisation, and some documents issued outside Türkiye need an apostille from the issuing country. And why do we ask for the request word for word? Because “certified translation”, “sworn translation” and “notarised” are used in conversation as though they were one thing, and at the counter they are three. One question saves you a whole step and its fee.
How the procedure runs for sworn translation and notarisation
You send the photograph and name the authority
A clear photograph of the document, the name of the authority that will receive it, and the request as it reached you. From this we know what is required: translation only, translation and notarisation, or an apostille before anything else.
our partWhatsApp or at the office
We check the document before translation
Legible? Still valid? Name matching your passport? A worn document or one written on by hand stops the file later, and it is better to know now — before a translation fee is paid for something that will not be accepted.
our part
Translation by a sworn translator
The translation is signed and stamped by a registered translator. An ordinary translation is not accepted in a procedure, even if it is linguistically correct.
our part
Notarisation — if required
We take the translation to the notary when the authority requires it. The appointment and its fee follow the notary, not us.
the authority’s part
Handover
We hand you the translation in the number of copies you need, and return your originals if we took them.
our part
Cost: we separate what is paid to others from our fee
Paid to others
Notary and translation fees
The sworn translator's fee and the notary's fee are paid to them, and vary by the number of pages and the type of certification. These amounts do not pass through us and we give you the receipt.
Paid to us
Our coordination fee
For checking the document before translation, establishing what the authority actually requires, coordinating the translator and the notary, and following the handover. We tell you the full amount before we begin.
When do you not need us? If you have a single document and the authority accepts a sworn translation on its own, you can go to a sworn translator directly. We say so frankly — our fee is for coordination and checking, not for a step you can complete yourself.
What usually stops a file
The translation itself is rarely refused; what gets refused is the document or the form of certification. These are the most common reasons:
The name in the translation does not match the passportNames are written in the translation exactly as they appear in the passport. A single letter of difference — or the same name spelled a second way in Latin script on another document — makes the office treat it as another person's document. And the correction that follows is not made in the translation, but at the office that issued the document.
An ordinary translation instead of a sworn oneA linguistically correct translation is not enough; offices work with a translation signed and stamped by a registered translator. A file someone sent you, or a translation you did yourself however accurate, is handed back at the counter unread.
An illegible document, or one amended by handA sworn translator does not translate what they cannot read, and any handwritten addition — a corrected digit, a completed name, a line added in the margin — puts the document in doubt. The remedy is a fresh copy from the authority that issued it, not a retouched photograph.
Half the page photographed, half the document translatedThe translator renders only what is visible. A stamp on the back, a note in the margin, or a photograph cropped at its edge all leave the translation incomplete in the counter's eyes, so it comes back and the fee is paid twice. Photograph the whole page flat, not at an angle.
The document is not the document that was asked forA document is requested by an exact name and a near relative of it is sent instead — a family registry extract instead of an individual one, for example. The translation is sound and the file still stops. This is why we ask for the request as you received it.
A missing apostille on a foreign documentSome documents issued outside Türkiye need certification from the issuing country before they can be translated here, and an apostille is affixed only in the country of issue — so it cannot be made good once the document is already in your hand here. Whether it is needed depends on that country and on the receiving authority, not on your preference.
An apostille demanded on a Syrian documentThe holder of a Syrian document is told to “bring an apostille” and goes looking for a stamp that does not exist: Syria is not a party to the Apostille Convention. The file here is not refused, it simply stands still until it becomes clear that something else is required — a chain of certification through the relevant authorities and the consulate, followed by sworn translation.
Certification requirements and what each authority asks for change by official decision; we verify them when we study your document and do not publish lists that may be out of date.
Questions people ask about sworn translation and notarisation
What is the difference between an ordinary and a sworn translation?
A sworn translation is signed and stamped by a registered translator, and official offices work with it. An ordinary translation helps you understand what your document says, but it cannot be submitted in a procedure.
I was told my document needs notarisation — is that required in every procedure?
No. It is required when the authority receiving the document asks for it. Some procedures accept a sworn translation on its own. Send us what you were told, word for word: “certified”, “sworn” and “notarised” are one word in conversation and three things at the counter — and asking before you start saves you a fee you do not owe.
My name is spelled differently on two papers — what do I do?
We write the name in the translation as it stands in your official document, not as we think it should be. If the spelling differs between your passport and the document to be translated, we tell you before the translation rather than after, and set out which of the two the receiving authority treats as the reference and where the difference is corrected. A correction is made at the office that issued the document; a translation that quietly “fixes” a name creates a bigger problem than it solves.
I had a translation done a while ago — is it still accepted?
The translation itself carries no expiry date, but the authority looks at the date of the document and the date of the certification on it. Some documents are asked for recent, and some certifications run for a limited period. That is why we do not advise translating papers “just in case” before you know when you will submit them: tell us when and to whom, and we put the steps in the order that stops you paying twice.
My document was issued outside Türkiye — does it need an apostille?
It depends on the country that issued it and the authority that will receive it here. Send us a photograph of the document and the name of the authority, and we will tell you whether it is needed and where it is obtained — it is affixed in the country of issue, not here.
My document is Syrian — does it need an apostille?
No, and it cannot have one. Syria is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so a Syrian document neither carries that certificate nor is validly asked for it. The correct route is different: a chain of certification through the relevant authorities and the consulate, followed by sworn translation. If an office tells you to “bring an apostille” for a Syrian document, send us the request as you received it and we will set out what is actually accepted, instead of chasing something that does not exist.
Do I give you my original document?
For most steps a clear photograph is enough. The original is asked for only when the authority, the translator or the notary requires it; when that happens we tell you for which step and why, and return it to you afterwards.
How many copies of the translation do I need?
It depends on your procedure and how many authorities you will submit to. We ask you about this before the translation, because obtaining an extra copy later means another appointment and another fee.
Official reference
HCCH — Apostille Convention status tableLast checked:
Related services
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