Documents: English to Turkish English → Turkish
UK certificate of no impediment (CNI) translation into Turkish
Turkish translation of a certificate of no impediment issued by a UK register office, apostilled by the FCDO and notarised in Ankara, for the marriage office (evlendirme memurluğu) when a British citizen marries in Türkiye. From £6.50 plus notary fee.
What the receiving body requires
Translations into Turkish must be made by a “Başkonsolosluğumuza kayıtlı yeminli tercüman” and bear the Consulate's “tercüme tasdiki”; UK-issued documents are to be apostilled first.
Source:
· checked 29 August 2026What a certificate of no impediment is
A British citizen who wants to marry in Türkiye has to show the Turkish marriage office that nothing in UK law prevents the marriage. The document that does this is the certificate of no impediment (evlenme ehliyet belgesi, sometimes called bekârlık belgesi). In England and Wales you give notice at the register office for the district where you live, the notice is displayed for the statutory period, and the superintendent registrar then issues the certificate on the standard form, showing your name, age, marital condition, address, nationality and the name of the person you intend to marry. Scotland and Northern Ireland issue their own versions through the local registrar. The certificate is not available from the British Embassy in Ankara or the consulates in Türkiye; it comes from the UK.
Who reads it in Türkiye
Civil marriages in Türkiye are conducted by the marriage officer of the municipality (belediye evlendirme memurluğu). For a foreign party the officer's file contains the passport, the certificate of no impediment and, from some offices, a birth certificate and proof of residence, each apostilled and translated into Turkish. Marriage officers apply a validity window to the certificate; six months from issue is the period we see applied, so plan the notice, apostille and translation with the wedding date in mind. Our guide to marrying in Türkiye with a British partner sets out the timetable.
If you intend to marry a Turkish citizen at the Turkish Consulate in the UK rather than in Türkiye, the consulate has its own list of documents for the Turkish spouse and issues its own no-impediment certificate to Turkish citizens; the UK certificate is not part of that procedure.
Consulate list or Ankara notary
The Turkish Consulate General in London writes that documents going to Türkiye must be translated by a sworn translator registered with the consulate and then bear the consulate's translation certification (tercüme tasdiki), with UK documents apostilled first. Single-status and no-impediment certificates are among the examples it gives. We are not on that register. What we provide is the other form that Turkish marriage offices accept: a translation sworn before a notary in Ankara and bound to a copy of the apostilled certificate. Marriage offices in Türkiye deal with notarised translations every day, and to date none has refused ours. The comparison is set out on sworn translation for use in Türkiye.
Legalisation in sequence
- FCDO apostille on the certificate. The certificate is signed by a superintendent registrar, which the FCDO can verify. Because GOV.UK excludes documents from the General Register Office from the e-Apostille, and a register-office certificate sits in the same system, we suggest the paper apostille (£45) unless the FCDO confirms in writing that the e-Apostille is available for your certificate. A UK partner can order the apostille for the FCDO fee plus £20 handling.
- Translation in Ankara. We translate the certificate and the apostille, a notary-sworn translator signs, and the Ankara notary attaches the translation to a copy of the apostilled certificate.
- Apostille of the translation. Rarely requested by marriage offices; available at the kaymakamlık for £15 if yours asks.
The marriage office keeps the wet-sealed translation with the apostilled original, so arrange for the paper documents to be in Türkiye before the appointment; a scan is not enough on the day.
Price and timing
A certificate of no impediment with apostille is a single page of 1,000 characters: £6.50 for the translation, plus the notary tariff at about £13.50 per page and £5 handling, so £25 to £30 in total, with no UK VAT. Translation and notarisation take two to three working days once the apostilled certificate reaches us. We e-mail a scan and courier the wet-sealed original for £30, either to you in the UK or directly to your partner or wedding planner in Türkiye; delivery within Türkiye is cheaper and quoted on request. There is no collection.
What you receive
- Turkish translation of the certificate of no impediment and the FCDO apostille
- Notarial certificate from an Ankara notary bound to a copy of the apostilled certificate
- Apostille of the notarised translation on request (£15)
- Scan by e-mail; wet-sealed original by courier to the UK or to an address in Türkiye
Frequently asked questions
How long before the wedding should I give notice?
Allow for the notice period at the register office, up to 25 working days for the paper apostille plus post, and three working days for translation and notarisation, then the courier. Two to three months before the ceremony is a safe starting point, while keeping the certificate within the six-month window applied by marriage offices.
Does my Turkish partner need a certificate from the UK too?
No. A Turkish citizen obtains the equivalent from the nüfus müdürlüğü or, when living abroad, from the consulate. Only the British party needs the UK certificate.
The marriage office also wants my birth certificate and passport translated. Can you do those together?
Yes, and the notary can certify them in the same visit, which keeps the handling fee to one charge. See British passport translation and full birth certificate translation.
I was divorced before. Does the certificate cover that?
The certificate states your marital condition as recorded when you gave notice. Some marriage offices also ask for the decree absolute or final order, apostilled and translated, to see when the earlier marriage ended.
Can the translation be done from the certificate before the apostille arrives, to save time?
We advise against it. The apostille must be translated as part of the document, so a translation made earlier has to be reissued and notarised again. Send us the scan when the apostille is attached.