Glossary
Terhis belgesi — meaning and English translation
A terhis belgesi is the discharge certificate issued when a Turkish citizen completes military service, recording the unit, dates of service and rank on discharge.
On completing service a conscript receives a terhis belgesi from his unit, and the discharge is also recorded in the military service register that the askerlik şubesi and e-Devlet report from. The certificate shows the branch, unit, dates of enlistment and discharge, rank and, where applicable, a note that the service was completed under the paid or foreign-currency scheme. It should not be confused with the askerlik durum belgesi, a status letter stating whether a person has served, is deferred or is liable, which is the document most often requested.
We translate terhis belgesi as “discharge certificate” and askerlik durum belgesi as “military service status certificate”, keeping the Turkish in brackets so that a reader can tell which of the two was supplied.
UK application forms that ask about past military service, and employers running background checks, are where a translation is needed. See Turkish military service documents translation.