UK utility bills translation into Turkish

Bills that count as proof of address

A utility bill (fatura, elektrik/gaz/su faturası) is issued by the energy supplier, the regional water company or a telecoms provider and shows the account holder's name, the supply address, the billing period and the amount. Turkish offices use it for one thing: to show that a named person lived at an address on a date. That is why they ask for a recent bill, and why a bill in the name of a flatmate or a landlord is useless to you even if you paid it.

The London consulate's note on the residence certificate issued for SGK purposes puts it plainly: one of the council tax, electricity, water or gas bills from the last three months. Mobile phone bills and broadband bills are accepted by some offices and refused by others because the address on them is a billing address rather than a supply address; a gas, electricity or water bill is the safe choice.

Where a translated bill is filed

• Citizenship by marriage. Bills in both spouses' names, or alternating between them at the same address, are part of the cohabitation evidence. See Turkish citizenship for a British spouse.
• SGK. The ev hanımı borçlanması route needs an ikamet belgesi from the Çalışma Ataşeliği, which reads the bills in English; SGK offices in Türkiye sometimes ask for the bills behind it in Turkish. Our page on SGK yurtdışı borçlanması covers the residence-based option.
• Turkish banks. A non-resident account application asks for proof of a foreign address, and a translated bill is the usual answer. See opening a Turkish bank account from the UK.
• Notaries. A notary drawing up a power of attorney or a sale contract records your address from a document.
• Courts. Residence on a date in a divorce, custody or inheritance case.
• Kesin dönüş. Customs may accept bills as part of the 24 months' residence abroad required for the İkametgâh Nakil Belgesi.

Apostille rarely, certification sometimes

A bill from a private supplier cannot be legalised as it stands. GOV.UK's rule is that documents not issued by a public body can be legalised once a UK notary or solicitor has certified them. In practice almost no Turkish office asks for an apostilled utility bill; the notarised translation attached to a copy of the bill has been enough to date for citizenship, bank and court files. If a particular officer insists, a solicitor certifies the bill, the FCDO e-Apostille (£35) follows, and we translate all three layers together.

How we translate a bill

The translator sworn before an Ankara notary translates the account details, the supply address, the period, the tariff names and the totals; long pages of usage graphs and consumer advice are described in a line rather than translated word for word, and we say so on the translation. Names and addresses are copied exactly as printed. Each bill is a separate notarial act, so if you are sending three months' bills, expect three notary certificates; we bundle them in one courier.

Price and delivery

One bill is one page of 1,000 characters, £6.50, with the Ankara notary tariff of about £13.50 plus £5 handling per bill on top; three bills therefore come to around £75 notarised. An apostille of the translation is £15 per document. No UK VAT is charged. Translation is done in one working day and the notary signs the next; the PDF arrives by e-mail and the wet-sealed originals go by courier for £30 to the UK or to the person filing in Türkiye. We do not offer collection.