Notarised translation

What notarisation adds, and what it does not

A notary public does not check the translation. The notary confirms that the translator signed the certification in front of them, having identified the translator. The Institute of Translation and Interpreting puts it plainly: in the UK there is no such thing as a sworn translator, and notarisation certifies the signature, not the content. A notarised translation is therefore a certified translation with an extra layer of formality on the signature.

That is why UKVI, HM Passport Office, UK ENIC, the GMC and the NMC do not ask for it. Paying for notarisation when a body has not asked for it adds cost and days and does nothing for acceptance.

When someone genuinely asks for it

• A foreign authority (outside the UK and Türkiye) that wants a notarial act it can recognise through an apostille.
• Some UK banks, pension providers and private lenders, mainly for powers of attorney and inheritance papers.
• Solicitors preparing documents for a transaction abroad, where the notary’s certificate will then be legalised.
• Occasionally a court or tribunal, though the civil rules only require the translator to certify accuracy and, if asked, to verify it by affidavit.

If the request comes from a Turkish authority, you are on the wrong page: go to notarised translation in Turkey, which is done in Turkish and follows Turkish notary law.

How we deliver it

We are based in Ankara and have no office in the UK, so our translators cannot sign before a UK notary public. What we offer instead is the Turkish notarial route, which is a full notarial act rather than a signature witness:

1. The document is translated by one of the translators sworn before an Ankara notary and revised by a second linguist.
2. The translator signs the translation at the notary’s office; the notary binds the translation to a copy of the original and affixes the notarial certificate.
3. If the translation is to be used outside Türkiye, the notary’s certificate is apostilled at the Ankara district governor’s office (kaymakamlık). The UK and Türkiye are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a UK reader can verify the notary’s seal through the apostille.
4. You receive a scan the same day the notary signs, and the wet-signed original by courier.

Before you order, send us the exact wording of the request. In many cases the body will accept a certified translation once it sees the format, and we will tell you so rather than sell you the notarial act.

What it costs

The translation is charged at our normal per-page rate (from £10.00 per page Turkish to English, from £6.50 English to Turkish). The Turkish notary’s fee is set by a national tariff and passed through at cost (around £12–15 per page in 2026, varying with the exchange rate) plus a £5 handling fee. Apostille in Ankara is £15 per document with no state fee. Courier to the UK is £30. No UK VAT is charged. Compare this with a UK notary, whose fees are typically charged per act rather than per page and who will still need a certified translation to notarise.

Turnaround

Translation 1–2 working days, notary same day or next working day, apostille 1–3 working days, courier to the UK 2–4 working days. Allow one to two weeks for the paper original to arrive; the scan arrives much sooner.

Limits

An apostilled Turkish notarial act is recognised across Hague Convention countries, but acceptance of any translation is decided by the receiving body. If a UK body has written “notarised by a UK notary public”, ask them whether an apostilled notarised translation from Türkiye will do; most will say yes, and if not we will say so and point you to notaries and solicitors in the UK. We never describe our translators as sworn translators in the UK, because that status does not exist here.