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Turkish certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) translation
Certified English translation of the Turkish certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı, mirasçılık belgesi) issued by a court or a notary, with the heirs' fractional shares, for the probate registry, UK banks releasing accounts, HMRC and solicitors. £10–30.
What the receiving body requires
“Has a succession certificate, inheritance certificate or equivalent document been issued by a court or Notary in the country of domicile of the person who has died? Yes, please provide the official document with your application; if it is not in English, please also provide an official translation.”
Source:
· checked 29 August 2026What a veraset ilamı is
The certificate of inheritance, called veraset ilamı in everyday use and mirasçılık belgesi in the Civil Code, names the heirs of a person who has died (muris) and states each heir's share of the estate. It can be issued by the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) or, since 2011, by a notary (noter). A notary may act only in straightforward cases and must refuse when there is a will, when the deceased or an heir is a foreign national, or when the population register is incomplete. An estate with a British spouse or a child born in the UK therefore goes to the court, and the document you receive carries case and decision numbers, the judge's name and a finality note. The notary version carries a journal number (yevmiye no) and the notary's seal instead.
Shares are written as fractions over a common denominator: a surviving spouse with three children is shown as 4/16 and each child as 3/16, and older certificates go further and identify heirs by their register entry (cilt, hane, sıra). We translate the heirs table with the fractions unchanged, the deceased's details, the legal provisions cited, any note that an heir has renounced the estate (mirasın reddi), the finality note, the stamps and the UYAP electronic-signature statement on a copy downloaded through e-Devlet. Where the fraction system will puzzle a UK reader, a translator's note explains that 4/16 means one quarter.
Who needs it in the UK
- Probate registry. When the deceased was domiciled in Türkiye and left assets in England and Wales, form PA1P asks at section 6.4 whether a succession or inheritance certificate has been issued in the country of domicile and, if so, for the document with a translation. See translations for probate.
- Banks and building societies. Releasing a UK account under their small-estate limits without a grant, where the bank's own rules allow a foreign inheritance certificate.
- HMRC. Identifying who inherited what for inheritance tax on an estate with a Turkish connection.
- Solicitors and pension schemes paying out death benefits, and family disputes over a Turkish estate. Our guide to inheriting in Türkiye from the UK covers the Turkish side.
HM Land Registry cannot act on a veraset ilamı; a UK property passes to the heirs only through a grant.
What the translation must contain
The probate form's own words are quoted below. The form asks for the document and a translation described with the same adjective the UK applies to its own certified copies; the United Kingdom keeps no state register of translators, so what the registry receives in practice is a certified translation carrying the translator's or company's name, signature, date and contact details, and that is what we supply, with our Ankara Trade Registry number. Read who can certify a translation in the UK.
Terminology is fixed so that the certificate and the tapu read together: mirasçı is heir, sağ kalan eş is surviving spouse, altsoy is descendants, and the Turkish term stays in brackets at first use.
Apostille and e-Apostil
The probate registry does not state that a foreign inheritance certificate must be apostilled, but solicitors handling an estate frequently ask for one. A court-issued certificate is available with a Turkish e-Apostil through e-Devlet, which a relative can obtain without visiting the courthouse; a notary-issued one is apostilled at the kaymakamlık or valilik of the notary's district. In either case the apostille sheet is translated with the certificate. See how the Turkish e-Apostil works.
Price and turnaround
A notary certificate is one page, £10.00; a court certificate with its reasoning is 2 or 3 pages, £20.00 to £30.00, with an apostille sheet adding a few hundred characters. Certification is part of that figure; no UK VAT is charged. Delivery is 1 to 2 working days as a certified PDF; the fast option is 60 per cent more for half the time, the economy option 20 per cent less for double. A courier hard copy from Ankara is £30, and there is no UK office for collection.
What you receive
- Translation of the certificate with the heirs table, fractional shares, renunciations, finality note and stamps
- Translator's note explaining the share fractions where needed
- Certificate of accuracy with date, signature and company details, in the form probate registries and banks accept
- Certified PDF by e-mail; courier hard copy optional
Frequently asked questions
The notary refused to issue it because my brother is a British citizen. What now?
That is the rule: a foreign heir takes the case to the civil court of peace, usually through a Turkish lawyer holding a power of attorney. The court certificate that results is the one we translate, and it can carry an e-Apostil.
Which version does the probate registry want?
Either, as long as it is the document issued in Türkiye and comes with a translation. If the estate is contested or a solicitor is involved, the court version with an apostille is the safer choice.
Can I get a veraset ilamı from the Turkish Consulate in London?
No. The consulate's notary section does not issue inheritance certificates. It is obtained in Türkiye from a notary or a court, in person or through an attorney.
Do I also need the death certificate translated?
Usually yes, because the probate registry and banks want the death certificate as well. We translate the Turkish death certificate with the inheritance certificate in the same order.
The certificate lists heirs by cilt and hane numbers. What are those?
They are the family register references from the population register, and they identify each heir precisely. We translate them as register volume and household numbers and keep the digits as printed.