ACRO police certificate translation into Turkish

What ACRO issues and for whom

The ACRO Criminal Records Office, run by the police service and based in Hampshire, issues the police certificate (polis belgesi, in Turkish files treated as adli sicil kaydı) for people who need a UK criminal record check for a visa, emigration, residence or similar purpose abroad. It draws on the Police National Computer and shows either “no trace” or a list of convictions, reprimands and cautions in line with ACRO's stepping-down rules, together with the applicant's name, date of birth, place of birth, and the UK and overseas addresses declared on the application. Applicants list addresses for the last ten years. The certificate is issued on secure paper, signed on behalf of ACRO, and can be ordered online from the UK or from Türkiye.

The certificate is often confused with the basic DBS certificate. The DBS document is designed for UK employers, ACRO's for foreign authorities. Turkish offices accept either as a criminal record certificate from the country of residence, and the choice usually comes down to speed and cost. Read DBS certificate translation for the alternative.

Where a Turkish authority asks for it

• Citizenship applications by a British national: by marriage after three years, by investment, or by five years' residence. The file includes a criminal record certificate from the country of nationality or residence, legalised and translated.
• Long-term residence permit (uzun dönem ikamet izni) applications to the Göç İdaresi, which examine the applicant's record.
• Work permits in regulated fields such as teaching, where the Ministry of National Education or the employer asks foreign staff for a home-country record.
• Adoption applications assessed by the Ministry of Family and Social Services.
• Firearms and private security licences and certain tenders.

For a Turkish citizen living in the UK the reverse document, the Turkish adli sicil kaydı, is obtained from e-Devlet with an e-Apostil; the ACRO certificate is for people applying to Turkish authorities as British nationals.

No e-Apostille for ACRO

GOV.UK's legalisation page lists ACRO police certificates for England and Wales among the documents for which an e-Apostille cannot be issued. The certificate must therefore be sent to the FCDO by post for the paper apostille: £45, usually up to 25 working days plus postage. Do not have a copy certified by a solicitor in the hope of using the faster electronic route; the FCDO verifies ACRO's own signature on the original. If you would rather not handle the FCDO forms, our UK partner orders the apostille for the FCDO fee plus £20 handling and forwards the legalised certificate.

Translation notarised in Ankara

Once the apostille is attached, we translate the certificate and the apostille into Turkish. Convictions, if any, are translated with the UK offence name kept in brackets after the Turkish description, because the Turkish reader may need to compare the offence with the Turkish Criminal Code; ACRO's explanatory notes on the reverse are translated too. A translator sworn before an Ankara notary signs, and the notary binds the translation to a copy of the apostilled certificate. The Göç İdaresi and the citizenship directorate accept this notarial form; where the receiving office wants the translation itself legalised, we obtain an apostille at the Ankara kaymakamlık for £15. Applications filed at the Turkish Consulate in the UK follow the consulate's own translator list instead; see notarised translation in Türkiye for the difference.

Timing and cost

An ACRO certificate with its apostille is 1 to 2 pages of 1,000 characters, so the translation is £6.50 to £13.00, with the notary tariff at about £13.50 per page and £5 handling added; no UK VAT is charged. Translation takes 1 to 2 working days and the notary a further day. Because Turkish offices want a recent certificate, and ACRO's standard service plus the paper apostille can take six to eight weeks together, order the certificate as soon as the rest of the file is in sight. You receive a scan by e-mail and the wet-sealed original by courier for £30 to the UK, or at a lower rate to your lawyer in Türkiye. There is no collection point.