UK full birth certificate translation into Turkish

Full certificate, not the short one

A birth in England or Wales is registered at the local register office, and the General Register Office (GRO) holds the central index. Two certificates exist for the same entry. GOV.UK describes them as the short version, which contains only the baby's details, and the full version, which also contains the parents' details. Turkish bodies want the full version (tam doğum belgesi, often written as Full Birth Certificate on consulate notes), because it names the mother and father, their places of birth and the informant. Scotland issues a full extract from National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland from GRONI; both are accepted in the same way.

The certificate you send must be a certified copy of the register entry, printed on watermarked paper and signed by a registrar or bearing the GRO seal. A hospital letter, a photocopy or the commemorative certificate given at registration will not do. If you only hold the short certificate, order a full one from GRO or the register office before anything else; it costs £12.50 and takes a few days.

Where a Turkish body will ask for it

• Nüfus müdürlüğü in Türkiye. Registering a child born in the UK directly with a district registry office in Türkiye instead of at the consulate, or correcting a record that was registered with a mistake.
• Citizenship by marriage. The British spouse's full birth certificate forms part of the file for Turkish citizenship after three years of marriage. See Turkish citizenship for a British spouse.
• Courts. Family courts establishing parentage, custody or maintenance, and civil courts of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) settling an inheritance where an heir was born in the UK.
• Tapu and notaries. Proof of a family relationship in a property transfer between relatives or in a power of attorney.
• Schools and universities. Enrolling a child in Türkiye after a move back.

The consulate does its own translation

If your purpose is to register the birth of a child at the Turkish Consulate General in London, Manchester or Edinburgh, you do not need us. The London consulate's registration note states in its own words that no outside sworn translation is requested for any document obtained from British authorities such as a passport, birth certificate or marriage certificate. The consular officer reads the certificate and records the birth; the two-month registration window and the Full Birth Certificate requirement still apply. Read registering a UK birth at the Turkish Consulate before you book.

Our notarised translation is for the other situations above, where the certificate goes to an office inside Türkiye that has no consular officer to read English.

Legalisation route for use inside Türkiye

1. FCDO apostille on the certificate. GRO certificates cannot be legalised electronically; GOV.UK lists birth certificates among the documents for which an e-Apostille is not available. Use the paper service (£45, up to 25 working days plus post), or let our UK partner order it for the FCDO fee plus £20 handling.
2. Turkish translation notarised in Ankara. We translate the certificate and the apostille together, a notary-sworn translator signs before an Ankara notary, and the notary binds the translation to a copy of the apostilled original.
3. Apostille of the translation at the Ankara kaymakamlık, only if the receiving office asks for it. Nüfus offices rarely do; courts and tapu offices sometimes do.

Order matters. A translation made before the apostille is attached has to be redone, because the apostille itself must appear in the Turkish text.

Cost, timing and delivery

A full birth certificate with its apostille is one page of about 1,000 characters, so the translation is £6.50. The Ankara notary tariff is passed through at cost, about £13.50 per page in 2026, plus £5 handling; apostille of the translation is £15. A typical order therefore comes to £25 to £40 before courier. No UK VAT is charged. Translation takes 1 to 2 working days and the notary signs the same or the next working day. You receive a scan by e-mail first; the wet-sealed original, which is what a nüfus office or court will keep on file, goes by courier for £30 to you in the UK or to a relative or lawyer in Türkiye. We do not offer collection.