Guides English → Turkish
Apostille for UK documents going to Turkey
Turkish offices treat a UK birth certificate, degree, court order or notarised deed as a foreign public document and want an apostille on it before they will read the translation. This guide explains the FCDO routes, which documents qualify for the e-apostille, the order of steps and the Turkish translation that follows.
What an apostille is and why Türkiye wants one
An apostille is a certificate attached by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirming that the signature, seal or stamp on a UK public document is genuine. The UK and Türkiye are both parties to the Hague Convention of 1961, so a UK document with an apostille needs no further legalisation at a Turkish consulate, and Turkish authorities expect it: the nüfus office registering a foreign birth, YÖK assessing a UK degree, a court recognising a UK divorce, the trade registry accepting a UK company’s incorporation certificate, and a tapu office acting on a UK-notarised power of attorney all ask for the apostille first. The exception is the Turkish consulate in London, which handles UK passports, birth and marriage certificates for its own registrations without apostille or outside translation. The FCDO Legalisation Office page gives the procedural detail; this guide is the sequence.
The two FCDO services
- Paper apostille: £45 per document, applied online then posted to the Legalisation Office; the standard service has taken up to 25 working days plus post at busy times. A business next-day service (£40) exists for registered businesses, and an urgent same-day service (£100) for exceptional cases.
- E-apostille: £35, issued electronically within about two working days, for documents that exist as electronically signed PDFs or that have been certified by a UK notary or solicitor using an electronic signature. It is not available for GRO certificates, ACRO and DBS certificates or fingerprint certificates; those go by paper.
Documents the FCDO will apostille include court documents, GRO birth, marriage and death certificates, Companies House documents, documents signed by a government body, medical certificates signed by a doctor, and copies or translations certified by a notary or solicitor. A document with no recognisable UK signature, a photocopy, or a foreign document cannot be apostilled; the fix is to have a notary or solicitor certify a copy, which the FCDO then apostilles on the strength of the notary’s or solicitor’s signature.
Which documents Turkish offices ask for apostilled
| Document | Turkish use | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Full birth certificate | Nüfus registration in Türkiye, citizenship files, inheritance | Paper (GRO certificate) |
| Marriage certificate, decree absolute | Marriage registration at a nüfus office, 27/A divorce registration, tanıma | Paper (GRO); court orders may be e-apostilled if electronically sealed |
| Degree certificate, transcript | YÖK denklik | E-apostille if the university issues a digitally signed PDF or a solicitor certifies a copy; otherwise paper |
| DBS / ACRO certificate | Citizenship by marriage, work permit | Paper only |
| Notarised power of attorney, statutory declaration | Tapu, courts, banks, SGK | E-apostille (notarial document) |
| Certificate of incorporation, good standing | Company formation, tenders | E-apostille where issued electronically by Companies House; otherwise paper |
| Deed poll | Consulate and nüfus name records | E-apostille if solicitor-certified, else paper |
The order: apostille first, then translate
Turkish offices read the apostille as part of the document, and the translation must include it. A translation made before the apostille is attached is incomplete and gets refused, which is the single most common reason documents bounce. So: obtain the document, get it apostilled, then send scans of every page including the apostille for translation. The translation Turkish offices accept is one notarised in Türkiye by a notary working with a sworn translator, or one certified by the Turkish consulate; a UK-certified translation does not satisfy them. We produce the notarised form in Ankara, and can add a Turkish apostille on the notarised translation for £15 where an office (some YÖK and court files) requires it. The notarised translation service page covers the format; the apostille service page covers our partner arrangement for the FCDO step.
Costs and timing
- FCDO: £45 paper or £35 e-apostille per document; through our partner add £20 handling. Paper: weeks; e-apostille: days.
- Notary or solicitor certification of a copy, where needed: their fee, commonly £50–100.
- Notarised Turkish translation in Ankara: £6.50 per page for the translation plus the notary tariff of about £13.50 per page and a £5 handling fee; Turkish apostille on the translation £15; courier £30. Two to four working days. No UK VAT.
- Typical total for one certificate: £90–130 and two to five weeks, most of it FCDO postal time; with the e-apostille, under two weeks.
Mistakes
- Translating first and apostilling second.
- Applying for an e-apostille on a GRO certificate, which is not eligible, and losing a fortnight.
- Sending a photocopy to the FCDO.
- Apostilling a short birth certificate when the Turkish office wants the full one.
- Assuming the consulate needs an apostille for its own birth or marriage registration; it does not.
- Paying for a UK translation agency’s certification that no Turkish office recognises.
What we do
We check whether your document and purpose need an apostille, route it to the right FCDO service through our partner if you prefer not to deal with the Legalisation Office, translate the apostilled document into Turkish, notarise it in Ankara and deliver the paper set in Türkiye or the UK. We do not certify copies ourselves in the UK; a notary or solicitor does that.
Step by step
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Confirm the Turkish office wants an apostille
Ask the receiving office in Türkiye, or the lawyer handling the matter, whether the document needs an apostille and whether it also wants a Turkish apostille on the translation. Registration at the Turkish consulate in the UK does not need one. Write down the answer; it decides both the FCDO route and the translation order.
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Obtain a document the FCDO can legalise
Order a fresh GRO certificate, a sealed court order or a digitally signed university document, or have a notary or solicitor certify a copy of a document that has no UK signature on it. Photocopies and foreign documents cannot be apostilled. For a degree, ask the university whether it issues an electronically signed certificate, which qualifies for the e-apostille.
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Choose paper or e-apostille and apply
GRO, DBS, ACRO and fingerprint certificates go by paper (£45, allow weeks). Notarial documents, solicitor-certified copies and electronically signed documents go by e-apostille (£35, about two working days). Apply on GOV.UK or through our partner service for £20 handling. Track the application and keep the FCDO reference.
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Scan everything, including the apostille
When the document returns, scan every page: the document, any notarial certificate and the apostille itself, front and back where printed. For an e-apostille, send the PDF the FCDO issued, which includes the verification details. Incomplete scans are the most common cause of a translation that has to be redone.
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Order the notarised Turkish translation
We translate the document and the apostille into Turkish, have the translation notarised by a Turkish notary in Ankara and, where you have told us the office requires it, obtain a Turkish apostille on the translation for £15. Delivery is two to four working days, then courier to the UK (£30) or an address in Türkiye.
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Present the set in Türkiye
The office receives the original apostilled document with the notarised translation attached. Keep a scan of the complete set; the same document is often needed by a second office later, and the apostille does not expire, although some offices want certificates issued within a recent period.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Turkish consulate in London need my birth certificate apostilled?
No. For its own registrations the consulate handles UK passports, birth and marriage certificates without apostille or outside translation. An apostille becomes necessary when the document goes to an office inside Türkiye.
Can I get an e-apostille on a GRO birth certificate?
No. GRO certificates, ACRO and DBS certificates and fingerprint certificates are excluded from the e-apostille and must go through the paper service at £45.
Should the translation be done in the UK or in Türkiye?
In Türkiye, or by a translator on the Turkish consulate’s list with consulate certification. A UK agency’s certified translation is not recognised by Turkish offices. We translate and notarise in Ankara after the apostille is attached.
Does the apostille expire?
The apostille itself does not, but some Turkish offices ask for certificates issued within the last six months or a year, particularly for criminal record certificates. Ask the office before ordering.
Do you need the original document to translate it?
No, clear scans of every page including the apostille are enough for the translation; the notary in Ankara attaches the translation to a copy. The original stays with you for presentation in Türkiye.