UK power of attorney (LPA / general) translation into Turkish

General power of attorney versus LPA

Two UK documents are called a power of attorney (vekaletname). A general or specific power of attorney is a deed you sign before a notary public or solicitor, giving a named person authority to act for you in stated matters while you have capacity; it is the document that is useful for Türkiye. A lasting power of attorney is different. GOV.UK describes it as a legal document that lets you, the donor, appoint one or more people, the attorneys, to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf, and it has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, which costs £92 and takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes. An LPA is designed for loss of capacity and is not written with a Turkish notary or tapu officer in mind, but a Turkish court or bank dealing with the affairs of a donor who has lost capacity will need it translated.

Where a Turkish office needs a UK power of attorney

• Tapu. A sale or purchase of property in Türkiye while you stay in the UK. The tapu office accepts a foreign power of attorney only in the original, apostilled, with a Turkish translation by a sworn translator notarised in Türkiye, and it expects the deed to carry your photograph and to describe the property and the powers in the way a Turkish vekaletname does. See buying property in Türkiye from the UK.
• Courts. A Turkish lawyer needs a special power of attorney (özel vekaletname) to file or defend a case, including 27/A refusals, tanıma and tenfiz, and inheritance proceedings.
• Banks and SGK. Closing an account, collecting a pension, applying for yurtdışı borçlanması through a relative.
• Inheritance and company matters. Representing you at the notary issuing the veraset ilamı, or signing a Turkish company's founding documents on behalf of a UK shareholder.
• Court of Protection matters. A registered LPA used by an attorney to manage a donor's Turkish property or bank accounts.

Consulate vekaletname: often the shorter route

A Turkish citizen can execute a vekaletname at the notary unit of the consulate in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. One appointment covers one act, the fee is around £30 to £40 per A4 page, a tapu power needs the new-type T.C. kimlik kartı and photographs, and the resulting document is a Turkish notarial deed that tapu offices and courts accept without translation or apostille. For most property and court matters that is the sensible choice. The UK route on this page is for British nationals who cannot use the consular notary, for people who cannot get an appointment in time, and for LPAs. Details are on consulate notary services.

Legalising a UK power of attorney

1. Sign the deed before a UK notary public (a solicitor's certification is also accepted by the FCDO, but Turkish tapu offices are used to notarial form, so a notary is safer).
2. Obtain the FCDO apostille on the notary's signature: e-Apostille £35 within two working days, or paper £45. A registered LPA carries the OPG stamp and can be apostilled after the notary certifies the copy.
3. Send us the scan. The translator sworn before an Ankara notary translates the deed, the notarial certificate and the apostille; the notary binds the translation to a copy of the apostilled deed.
4. Tapu offices and courts sometimes ask for the notarised translation to be apostilled too; that is done at the kaymakamlık in Ankara for £15.

The powers must be spelt out. A UK deed that says my attorney may do anything I could do will not satisfy a tapu officer, who looks for the property's parcel details and the specific power to sell, buy, mortgage or collect the price. Have your Turkish lawyer supply the wording before the UK notary drafts the deed; our guide giving power of attorney from the UK for use in Türkiye gives a checklist.

Price

A general or specific power with notarial certificate and apostille is 2 to 4 pages of 1,000 characters, £13.00 to £26.00; a registered LPA is 12 to 20 pages, £78 to £130, where the economy tier applies if time allows. Add the Ankara notary tariff at about £13.50 per page plus £5 handling, and £15 for an apostille of the translation. No UK VAT is charged. Translation takes 1 to 2 working days for a short deed and 3 to 4 for an LPA, plus a day for the notary. The PDF arrives by e-mail; the tapu office or court keeps the wet-sealed original, which goes by courier for £30 to the UK or to your attorney in Türkiye. No collection.