Documents: Turkish to English Turkish → English
Turkish military service documents (askerlik durum belgesi, terhis belgesi, tecil) translation
Certified English translation of Turkish military service documents: status certificate (askerlik durum belgesi), discharge certificate (terhis belgesi), deferment (tecil), exemption reports and paid-service certificates, for the Home Office, security vetting, employers and protection claims. From £10.
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 2026The documents that record Turkish military service
Compulsory service in Türkiye generates a family of documents, all issued under the Ministry of National Defence (Millî Savunma Bakanlığı, MSB) through its recruitment directorate (Askeralma Genel Müdürlüğü, ASAL) and the local recruitment office (askerlik şubesi).
- Askerlik durum belgesi, the status certificate, downloaded from e-Devlet with a barcode. It states your current position in a single line: service completed, deferred (tecilli), exempt (muaf), liable for paid service in foreign currency (dövizle askerlik), or in default (yoklama kaçağı or bakaya).
- Terhis belgesi, the discharge certificate, issued by the unit or the recruitment office at the end of service. It shows the unit, rank, dates of enlistment and discharge and the type of service (full term, short term, reserve officer).
- Tecil belgesi, the deferment decision for students and for citizens working abroad, renewed in blocks.
- Exemption reports from a military hospital board (askerliğe elverişli değildir raporu), which contain a medical diagnosis.
- Dövizle askerlik payment and completion certificates for citizens abroad who have paid the fee.
We translate the status line, the unit and rank designations, the dates, the legal terms for default, the barcode note and, on discharge papers, the commanding officer's stamp and signature. Ranks are given with their closest British equivalent and the Turkish term in brackets, so that er, onbaşı and çavuş are not left as untranslated words.
When a UK body asks for it
- Naturalisation. The citizenship application asks whether you have served in any armed forces. The discharge certificate is the evidence for the dates you declare, and it also accounts for months spent in Türkiye during the residence period. See translations for British citizenship.
- Indefinite leave to remain. An absence of several months for service is more easily accepted when the reason is documented.
- Security vetting. Baseline and higher-level checks for public-sector and defence-related roles require overseas military service to be declared, and the vetting body may ask for the papers.
- Employers and universities. A gap of six to twelve months in a CV is explained by the discharge dates.
- Asylum and protection claims. Call-up papers, default status and deferment refusals are evidence in claims connected with conscription. We treat these files with particular care and confidentiality. See translations for asylum and protection claims.
Documents that travel the other way, such as an employer's letter for a deferment, are English-to-Turkish work and are covered on our military service deferment page.
What the translation must contain
The Home Office, vetting bodies and employers apply the gov.uk standard quoted below. Our certification page confirms that the translation is true and accurate, gives the date, and identifies the company with its Ankara Trade Registry number, address, contact details and a signature, with the Turkish document attached.
The legal terms need consistent treatment. Yoklama kaçağı (failure to attend the call-up examination) and bakaya (failure to report after being assigned) are different offences with different consequences, and a translation that renders both as “draft evader” loses the distinction a tribunal may need. We translate each with a short explanatory note at first use. Medical exemption reports are translated by a medical translator, diagnosis included, since the diagnosis is the reason for the exemption.
Apostille
None of the UK bodies listed above requires an apostille on military service documents, and the e-Devlet status certificate is verified by its code rather than by legalisation. A paper discharge certificate can be apostilled at a valilik in Türkiye if a foreign authority ever asks, but we have not seen a UK request for it.
Price and turnaround
The status certificate is one page and costs £10.00. A discharge certificate is 1 to 2 pages, an exemption report 2 to 3, so a typical set is £10.00 to £30.00 with certification included and no UK VAT. Delivery is within 1 to 2 working days as a certified PDF, and the fast option makes a single certificate a same-day job if it arrives before 11:00 UK time. A signed hard copy from Ankara by courier is £30; we have no UK office and do not offer collection.
What you receive
- Translation of the status, discharge, deferment or exemption document with ranks, unit names and legal terms explained
- Certification page in the gov.uk wording, dated and signed, with company credentials
- Copy of the Turkish document attached
- Certified PDF by e-mail; courier hard copy optional
Frequently asked questions
Does the Home Office actually need my military papers?
Not as a listed document. They become useful when an application asks about armed-forces service or when an absence from the UK needs a reason. Most customers translate the discharge certificate once and reuse it for naturalisation, vetting and employment.
Which document proves that I completed my service?
The discharge certificate (terhis belgesi). If you no longer have it, the e-Devlet status certificate stating that service has been completed is accepted for most purposes and is free to download.
How do you translate ranks?
With the nearest British Army equivalent and the Turkish term in brackets, for example corporal (onbaşı). Where no exact equivalent exists, as with some reserve officer grades, we give a descriptive rendering and a note.
My exemption report contains a medical diagnosis. Will that be translated?
Yes, in full, by a translator with medical experience. The diagnosis is the basis of the exemption and cannot be left out of a certified translation. The file is treated as confidential and deleted 30 days after delivery.
I paid for dövizle askerlik. Is there a document to translate?
The recruitment office issues a certificate confirming payment and completion, and the e-Devlet status certificate shows the same result. Either can be translated for a UK employer or the Home Office.