How stamps, seals and handwriting are translated

Why the stamps matter

UK rules ask for a “full translation”. The GMC's guidance goes further and says the translation must be complete. A translation that gives the typed content of a nüfus kayıt örneği but ignores the round seal, the registrar's signature and the handwritten annotation on the back is incomplete, and it is one of the reasons translations are queried. On Turkish documents the stamps carry the information a caseworker needs most: which office issued the document, when, and whether it has been amended.

Our conventions

We use the conventions common to UK certified translation practice, so that any reader can tell the translated text from our descriptions:

• Square brackets mark anything that is not translated text: [round seal], [signature], [handwritten], [illegible], [barcode].
• Stamps and seals are described by shape and then translated: [Round seal: Republic of Türkiye, Çankaya District Governorship, Civil Registry Office]. Emblems are named, not drawn: [State emblem].
• Signatures are recorded as [signature] or [signed], with the printed name and title beneath translated. We never attempt to read a name from a signature.
• Handwritten entries are translated in the same way as typed text and flagged [handwritten] where it matters, for example an amended date on a marriage record.
• Illegible text is marked [illegible] rather than guessed. Where a word is partly legible we give what can be read and mark the rest: [illegible; probably a date].
• Reverse sides are always translated. Turkish civil-registry documents, apostilles and diplomas often carry annotations on the back.
• Layout follows the source where it aids reading: tables stay tables, and stamps are placed where they appear on the page.

Turkish stamps you will see

Things we do not do

• We do not copy the image of a stamp into the translation and leave it untranslated. The receiving body cannot read it.
• We do not reproduce emblems or coats of arms as images; a description is the accepted practice and avoids any suggestion that the translation is the document.
• We do not omit stamps that look irrelevant, such as fee stamps or a bank's paid stamp. A caseworker comparing the translation against the original expects to find each one.
• We do not translate a signature into a name. If the signatory's name is printed, that is translated; the signature is recorded as [signature].

Old and handwritten records

Older nüfus records, Ottoman-era entries and some village registers are entirely handwritten, sometimes with Rumi or Hijri dates. We translate what is legible, mark what is not, and add a translator's note explaining the calendar where a date needs it. See dates, numbers and currency in translations. For names, which are where handwriting causes most trouble, see names, Turkish characters and transliteration. If a handwritten document is central to a case (a will, an old marriage record), send the best scan you can and tell us which entries matter most; we can produce a translator's note on legibility for the court or solicitor.