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Turkish criminal record certificate (adli sicil kaydı) translation
Certified English translation of the Turkish criminal record certificate (adli sicil kaydı / sabıka kaydı), including the archive record, for Skilled Worker overseas criminal record checks, employers, regulators, adoption and fostering assessments. £10, same day available.
What the receiving body requires
“If you need to certify a translation of a document that's not written in English or Welsh, ask the translation company to confirm in writing on the translation: that it's a ‘true and accurate translation of the original document’; the date of the translation; the full name and contact details of the translator or a representative of the translation company.”
Source:
· checked 29 August 2026What the adli sicil kaydı is
The criminal record certificate (adli sicil kaydı, colloquially sabıka kaydı) is issued by the Ministry of Justice's Directorate General of Judicial Records and Statistics (Adli Sicil ve İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü). Most people now download it from e-Devlet, where it is generated within seconds as a PDF with a two-dimensional barcode, a document code and a verification code. It can also be obtained at the judicial records desk of any courthouse (adliye), at a district governor's office and, for citizens abroad, through the Turkish consulate.
The certificate has two parts. The current record (adli sicil kaydı) lists convictions still in force; the archive record (adli sicil arşiv kaydı) lists older convictions that have been moved to the archive after the sentence was served and the waiting period passed. For most applicants both parts read “kaydı yoktur”, meaning no record. Where an entry exists, it gives the court, the offence article, the sentence and its status, including suspended sentences (ertelenmiş) and deferred judgments (hükmün açıklanmasının geri bırakılması). The form also states the purpose for which the certificate was requested and whether it is for a public or a private body, and the e-Devlet version carries a note on its electronic signature.
We translate the full form, including the purpose line, the barcode caption, the verification note and, where there is a record, the offence and sentence wording with the article numbers of the Turkish Penal Code kept as printed.
When a UK body asks for it
- Skilled Worker visa. Applicants for jobs in a list of health, education and social-care occupations, and their adult partners, must provide a criminal record certificate from every country where they have lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years. The Home Office expects a recent certificate; the guidance in force when we last checked treated one issued more than six months before the application as too old. Read translations for a Skilled Worker visa.
- Employers and safeguarding. Schools, care providers and NHS trusts ask for an overseas check covering years spent in Türkiye that a DBS certificate cannot cover, and the gov.uk guidance on overseas criminal records names the adli sicil kaydı as the document for Türkiye.
- Security Industry Authority licences for applicants who lived abroad within the last five years.
- Adoption and fostering assessments, and Ofsted registration for childminders who have lived in Türkiye.
- Universities for admission to medicine, nursing, teaching and social-work courses with placements.
- Professional regulators such as the GMC and NMC, which ask about criminal history and may request the certificate.
What the translation must contain
The Home Office and UK employers apply the gov.uk wording quoted below: a confirmation that the translation is true and accurate, the date of the translation, and the full name and contact details of the translator or the company. Our certification page provides these together with the company's Ankara Trade Registry number, address and signature, and the Turkish certificate is attached. The Home Office also wants to be able to verify the certificate, which is why we translate the e-Devlet verification instructions in full so a caseworker can enter the code online.
A certificate with an entry is translated word for word. We do not soften “ertelenmiş” into something vaguer than suspended, and we do not omit the archive section because it is empty; the reader needs to see that both parts were checked. Where the certificate names an offence by article number only, we add the article's short title from the Penal Code in a translator's note. See how we render Turkish legal terms.
Apostille and the e-Apostil
The Home Office does not require an apostille on a criminal record certificate for a Skilled Worker application; the certificate and the certified translation are sufficient. If a regulator or an employer asks for an apostille, the adli sicil kaydı was the first document to be made available with the Turkish e-Apostil, in 2019, and you can generate the apostilled version through e-Devlet from the UK. See how the Turkish e-Apostil works.
Price and turnaround
The certificate is a single page, so the certified translation costs £10.00 with certification included and no UK VAT. Because visa appointments are often booked at short notice, we treat this document as a same-day job when the PDF reaches us before 11:00 UK time and you choose the fast option; otherwise it is delivered the next working day. The certified translation arrives as a PDF, which is what visa application centres and employers upload. A signed hard copy by courier from Ankara is £30, and we do not offer collection.
What you receive
- Full translation of the certificate, both the current and the archive sections, the purpose line and the e-Devlet verification note
- Certification page in the gov.uk wording with date, signature and company credentials
- Copy of the Turkish certificate attached
- Certified PDF by e-mail; courier hard copy optional
Frequently asked questions
Is the e-Devlet PDF accepted by the Home Office?
Yes, to date. It is the version the Ministry of Justice itself issues, with a verification code the caseworker can check. We translate the verification note so that the check is straightforward. See are e-Devlet documents accepted in the UK.
What does arşiv kaydı mean, and why is it on my certificate?
The archive record holds convictions that have been moved out of the active record after the sentence was served and a waiting period expired. The certificate always shows both sections, even when both are empty, and we translate both.
I have a conviction. Will the translation explain what it means for my application?
No. We translate the entry exactly, with the article number and the status of the sentence, and add a note giving the title of the article. What it means for your visa is a matter for an immigration adviser.
The certificate I obtained at the consulate is in Turkish. Do I need a translation?
Yes. The consulate issues the same Turkish document as the courthouse, and the UK body still needs a certified English version.
How recent must the certificate be for a Skilled Worker visa?
The Home Office wants a certificate issued shortly before the application; the guidance we checked set six months as the limit. Since the e-Devlet version is free and instant, obtain it in the week you apply and send it to us the same day.
Do I need the e-Apostil version?
Not for the Home Office. Some employers and regulators ask for it, and it costs nothing to add through e-Devlet. If you have both, send us the apostilled version and we translate the apostille page too.