UK professional qualification certificates translation into Turkish

Professional bodies, not universities

UK professional and vocational qualifications are awarded by chartered institutes and awarding organisations rather than by universities: membership and fellowship certificates from ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW in accountancy, CIPD in human resources, RICS in surveying, CIM in marketing, NEBOSH and IOSH in health and safety, City & Guilds and Pearson BTEC for trades and technical levels, and the CIOB, IET and engineering councils. The certificate names the holder, the grade of membership or the qualification title and level, the date and the body's seal. Unlike a degree, it is not assessed by YÖK: the Council of Higher Education recognises academic degrees only, so a professional certificate is read directly by whoever in Türkiye needs to know what you can do.

Who reads it in Türkiye

• Employers and recruiters in Türkiye, and the human resources departments of Turkish subsidiaries of UK companies, which ask for a Turkish version for the personnel file.
• Work permit applications through the Ministry of Labour, where the employer justifies hiring a foreign national by reference to the qualification. Read Turkish work permit applications with UK documents.
• Professional chambers and unions (for example TÜRMOB for accountants, the chambers of engineers and architects) when a member of a UK body seeks exemptions, reciprocal recognition or permission to practise in a limited role.
• Public tenders and contracts, where the technical staff's qualifications are listed and must be evidenced in Turkish.
• Trade registry and notaries when a company's articles or a board resolution states a director's professional standing.
• Courts appointing or challenging an expert witness.

Legalisation: certified copy first, ACCA on paper

A professional certificate carries no public officer's signature, so the FCDO legalises it only after a UK notary or solicitor has certified it; GOV.UK gives a qualification certificate as its standard example of a document that needs this step. Most such certified copies can then receive the e-Apostille (£35, usually within two working days). ACCA is the exception: GOV.UK lists membership certificates for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants among the documents for which no e-Apostille is available, so an ACCA certificate goes through the paper service (£45, up to 25 working days). Our UK partner arranges either for the FCDO fee plus £20 handling. Employers and chambers often accept the notarised translation without any apostille; tenders and the trade registry generally do not, so tell us the destination and we will say which applies. See apostille for UK documents going to Türkiye.

Translation and the Ankara notary

Titles are the difficult part. “Chartered Certified Accountant”, “Chartered Member”, “Fellow” and “Level 3 Diploma” have no statutory Turkish equivalents, so we translate them descriptively, keep the English designation and its post-nominal letters in brackets, and add a translator's note giving the level on the UK regulated qualifications framework where the certificate states one. Grades of membership are never rendered as Turkish professional titles that require a Turkish licence; calling an ACCA member a “serbest muhasebeci mali müşavir” would be wrong and could cause the chamber to reject the file. A translator sworn before an Ankara notary signs the translation and the notary attaches it to a copy of the certificate and, where applicable, the apostille. Several certificates from one holder are notarised in one act.

Price and delivery

A certificate is one page at £6.50; a transcript of units or a CPD record that comes with it is priced by its own page count. The notary tariff is passed through at about £13.50 per page plus £5 handling, and an apostille of the translation is £15 if the receiving body asks. No UK VAT is charged. Translation takes 1 to 2 working days and the notary a further day. A scan comes by e-mail; the wet-sealed original, which a chamber or the trade registry keeps, goes by courier for £30 to the UK or at a lower rate to your employer or lawyer in Türkiye. No collection is available.