Certified translation explained

Documents downloaded from e-Devlet carry a barcode and a verification code instead of a wet stamp. UK bodies treat them as the source document when they come with a certified translation that reproduces the verification details.

For the Home Office, UCAS, HM Passport Office and most UK bodies the answer is no: the translation has to come from someone independent of you who can be verified. Here is why, and what you can safely do yourself.

Certified, notarised and apostilled are three different things done by three different people. Which one you need depends on where the document is going, not on how important it feels.

Translations are rejected far more often for what is missing than for what is wrong. The certification statement, a page, an apostille, a matching name. This page lists the causes we see and how each is avoided.

Your documents contain the most personal data you own: identity, family, health, criminal record, finances. Here is who sees them, where they are stored, which laws apply to us as a Turkish company serving UK residents, and how to have them deleted.

Turkish and British conventions for dates agree; those for numbers do not. A Turkish 1.250,50 is an English 1,250.50, and mixing the two changes the amount a thousandfold. This page sets out how we render dates, figures, currency and old calendars.

Every translation is delivered as a signed, stamped PDF by e-mail. Most UK applications are made online and accept that PDF. A hard copy with wet signature is available by courier for the bodies and processes that still want paper.

Whether you need an apostille depends on which direction the document is travelling. Turkish documents used inside the UK rarely need one; UK documents used in Türkiye almost always do. Answer the questions below in order.

A certified translation has no expiry date of its own. What expires, or is required to be recent, is the underlying document. This page explains which Turkish and UK documents have a shelf life and when a translation needs to be re-done.

Both the UK and Türkiye now issue electronic apostilles. The UK's e-Apostille costs £35 and applies to a limited set of documents; the Turkish e-Apostil is free through e-Devlet and covers criminal records, court decisions, civil-registry extracts and multilingual extracts.

Turkish multilingual civil-status extracts (Formül A birth, Formül B marriage, Formül C death) are designed to be used abroad without translation, but only between countries that signed the 1976 Vienna convention. The UK did not, so UK bodies still need an English translation.

We price by a fixed unit: one page is 1,000 characters of source text, excluding spaces, with a one-page minimum. Turkish to English is from £10.00 per page and English to Turkish from £6.50, certification included and no UK VAT charged.

A certified translation covers everything on the page, not just the typed text. Stamps, seals, signatures, handwritten notes and even illegible marks are described in square brackets so the receiving body knows nothing has been left out.

You never need to post an original to us. A clear scan or PDF is all we work from. This page explains what a usable scan looks like, which channels to use, and how your files are protected once they reach us.

Turkish law is a civil-law system and English law is not, so many Turkish legal terms have no exact English equivalent. Our style guide explains how we choose renderings, when we keep the Turkish term, and the standard translations we use for courts, offices and documents.

Turkish names contain letters English keyboards do not have, and UK records often drop them. We keep every name exactly as the source document spells it, with its Turkish letters, and add a note where your passport or UK records use a different form.

Türkiye has notary-sworn translators; the UK has none. Understanding the two systems tells you which kind of translation each country's authorities will accept, and why a translation done for one side often has to be redone for the other.

Short certificates are delivered within one to two working days at the standard tier. Fast halves the time at +60 %, with same-day delivery for orders confirmed before 11:00 UK time; economy doubles it at −20 %.

A certified translation in the UK is a translation with a signed, dated statement confirming it is a true and accurate translation, plus the translator's or company's name and contact details. Here is what GOV.UK asks for and what we add.

In the UK a translation is certified by the translator or translation company that made it. There is no licence to hold. What matters is a competent translation, a complete statement, and credentials the receiving body can check.