Turkish death certificate (ölüm belgesi, Formül C) translation

The Turkish documents that record a death

When someone dies in Türkiye, several documents are produced by different authorities, and the one a UK body wants depends on why it is asking.

• Ölüm belgesi issued by the attending doctor or the municipal physician on the standard Ministry of Health form. It records the deceased's identity, the place, date and time of death and the cause of death with its classification code, and it is the document that starts the registration process.
• Gömme izin belgesi (burial permit), issued by the municipality or the health directorate on the strength of the doctor's form.
• Ölüm kayıt örneği, the registry extract from the nüfus müdürlüğü or e-Devlet, once the death has been entered in the family register. It shows the deceased's register references, T.C. kimlik number, parents' names, marital status and the date and place of death.
• Formül C (uluslararası ölüm kayıt örneği), the multilingual extract, obtainable through e-Devlet with an e-Apostil since December 2023.

A family registry extract with events (vukuatlı nüfus kayıt örneği) also shows the death in the remarks column, and heirs sometimes send that instead. We translate whichever document you hold, including the cause-of-death wording and code, the signing doctor's title, the municipal seals, the register references and any handwritten corrections.

When a UK body asks for it

• Probate. Where the deceased died in Türkiye and left assets in the UK, the probate registry asks for the death certificate with a translation before it issues a grant. Read translations for probate.
• Pension providers and the DWP. A surviving spouse claiming Bereavement Support Payment or a survivor's pension after a death abroad, and the ending of a State Pension paid to someone who died in Türkiye.
• Life insurers and banks. A claim on a life policy, and the closure or transfer of UK accounts. Insurers usually want the doctor's ölüm belgesi because it states the cause of death; banks are content with the registry extract.
• Register office. A widow or widower giving notice of marriage in England or Wales must show that the earlier marriage ended, and the death certificate of the former spouse is the evidence.
• Home Office. A spouse or partner visa where an applicant's or sponsor's previous marriage ended by death, and bereaved-partner applications where the deceased was a Turkish national.
• HMRC, for inheritance tax forms that report an estate with a Turkish connection.

What the translation must contain

UK bodies apply the gov.uk certification wording quoted below. Our certificate states that the translation is true and accurate, gives the date, and gives the name, address and contact details of Hacettepe Translation together with the company's Ankara Trade Registry number and a signature. A copy of the Turkish document is attached. The probate registry's form for foreign documents and the insurers we have dealt with have accepted this format to date.

Medical wording is translated, not paraphrased. The cause of death on the doctor's form follows the international classification, and we give the Turkish term, its English equivalent and the code as printed, so that a claims assessor can match it to the policy terms. Where the form has the hospital's abbreviations or a handwritten diagnosis, we read them with a medical translator and flag anything illegible rather than guess.

Apostille and the multilingual Formül C

The probate registry, the DWP, insurers and registrars have not required an apostille on Turkish death records in our experience, but a solicitor administering an estate may ask for one to be safe. The registry extract and the Formül C can be obtained with a Turkish e-Apostil through e-Devlet by any family member who holds an e-Devlet password, from the UK, at no state fee. The doctor's form and the burial permit can only be apostilled on paper at a kaymakamlık or valilik in Türkiye.

The Formül C has multilingual headings, and the UK is not a party to the convention that created it. UK bodies have asked for a certified translation of the Turkish entries all the same, and we keep the form's numbered layout so the two can be read side by side. See Formül A/B/C multilingual extracts.

Price and turnaround

Each of these documents is a single page of up to 1,000 characters, so the certified translation costs £10.00; the doctor's form with a full cause-of-death section is occasionally 2 pages. Certification is included and no UK VAT is charged. We deliver the PDF within 1 working day, or the same day for a scan received before 11:00 UK time with the fast option. A signed paper copy by courier from Ankara costs £30. We have no UK office, so there is no collection. Our guide to dealing with a death in Türkiye or the UK sets out the sequence of documents.