Turkish e-Apostil: getting apostilled documents online

What the e-Apostil is

Türkiye and the UK are both parties to the 1961 Hague Convention, so a Turkish public document needs an apostille, not consular legalisation, to be used in the UK. Traditionally that meant a trip to a kaymakamlık, valilik or courthouse in Türkiye. Since 2019 the Ministry of Justice has run an electronic apostille service (e-Apostil, at eapostil.gov.tr and inside e-Devlet) that issues the apostille as a digitally signed PDF with a verification code, and the scope has been widened in stages: criminal record certificates and court decisions from the start, the nüfus kayıt örneği from June 2021, and the multilingual birth, marriage and death extracts (Formül A, B and C) from 28 December 2023. The consulates' notes stress that the service is available to citizens abroad.

Which documents qualify as of 2026

• Adli sicil kaydı (criminal record certificate) from the Ministry of Justice.
• Court decisions and other judicial documents held on UYAP, for example a divorce decree with its finality note.
• Nüfus kayıt örneği (civil registry extract), with or without family history.
• Multilingual extracts of birth, marriage and death records (Formül A, B, C).

Diplomas, transcripts, notarial deeds, powers of attorney, tapu records and medical reports are not yet in the service; those still need the paper apostille from the kaymakamlık or valilik in Türkiye, which is free and same-day at a kaymakamlık, and which we obtain in Ankara for £15 when the document is in our hands.

How to obtain one

1. Log in to e-Devlet and open the e-Apostil service, or go to eapostil.gov.tr and sign in with e-Devlet.
2. Choose the document type; for a nüfus kayıt örneği or adli sicil kaydı the system generates the document and the apostille together, for a court decision you select the decision from UYAP.
3. Choose the destination country (United Kingdom) and pay the fee online by card; the amount is set each year by the Ministry and is modest compared with the paper route.
4. Download the PDF. It carries the apostille certificate in the standard Hague layout, the digital signature of the issuing authority and a verification code.

The document is valid in the form of the PDF; a printed copy is a copy of an electronic original, so send the PDF itself to the receiving body where it accepts electronic documents.

How UK bodies check it

Anyone can verify an e-Apostil on the Ministry of Justice verification page using the code on the certificate, in line with the Hague Conference's e-Apostille programme (e-APP), of which the UK is also a participant. The Home Office, HM Passport Office, universities and employers have accepted e-apostilled Turkish criminal record certificates and civil-status extracts to date. Details of both countries' electronic services are on e-Apostille in the UK and Türkiye.

Translation: apostille first, then English

The apostille certificate is part of the document and must appear in the translation, so obtain the e-Apostil before ordering the translation. We translate the document and the apostille together into English, reproduce the verification codes exactly, and attach our certification statement, which meets the GOV.UK wording for certified translations. Multilingual Formül A/B extracts are a special case: the UK is not a party to the convention that created them, and UK bodies have to date still asked for an English translation of the Turkish entries; see Formül A/B extracts: do they need translating?

Documents you will need

• Turkish criminal record certificate translation (Skilled Worker overseas certificate)
• Nüfus kayıt örneği translation
• Turkish birth certificate translation and Turkish marriage certificate translation for Formül A/B extracts
• Turkish death certificate translation

Common pitfalls

• Ordering the translation before the apostille, so that the apostille is missing from the English text.
• Printing the PDF and sending the printout as if it were the original; send the file.
• Expecting to e-apostille a diploma or a notarial deed; those need the paper route.
• Choosing the wrong destination country in the form.

Our service and prices

Certified English translation of an e-apostilled document is from £10.00 per page of 1,000 characters, certification included, no UK VAT. A criminal record certificate with its apostille is one to two pages (£10 to £20); a nüfus kayıt örneği one to three pages; a divorce decree four to ten pages. Standard turnaround is one to two working days; the fast option halves it for 60 per cent more. You receive a signed PDF by e-mail, which the Home Office and most UK bodies accept, and a hard copy by courier (£30) or through a UK print partner if a body insists on paper. For documents outside the e-Apostil scope, we obtain the paper apostille in Ankara for £15 before translating; see apostille and legalisation.