YÖK denklik: recognition of UK degrees in Turkey

What denklik is and who needs it

A degree from a UK university is not automatically recognised in Türkiye. The Council of Higher Education (Yükseköğretim Kurulu, YÖK) issues a certificate of equivalence (denklik belgesi) stating that the foreign degree corresponds to a Turkish bachelor's (lisans), master's (yüksek lisans) or doctoral degree in a named field. You need it to work in a regulated profession in Türkiye, to take a public sector post, to enrol in a Turkish postgraduate programme on the strength of a UK degree, and often for private employers who ask for it. Applications are made online through the e-Denklik portal (denklik.yok.gov.tr), with e-Devlet login for citizens and a separate login for foreigners, and the physical file is posted or delivered to YÖK in Ankara.

Distance-learning and franchised degrees and degrees completed in fewer than the expected years attract closer examination.

The file

• Degree certificate (diploma) with an FCDO apostille, and a Turkish translation.
• Transcript of all years, with an FCDO apostille on the original, and a Turkish translation. YÖK's guidance asks for the original transcript to be apostilled, not a copy.
• Diploma supplement or HEAR where the university issues one, translated.
• Passport pages showing entry and exit stamps or an immigration history covering the study period, to show attendance in the UK; e-Devlet travel records for Turkish citizens.
• Previous qualification: for a master's, the bachelor's degree and its denklik; for a UK bachelor's, the lise diploması or MEB denklik of the secondary qualification.
• Identity document and the application form generated by the portal.

The translation rule

YÖK's e-Denklik guidance states that translations must be certified by a notary or by a Turkish consulate. Both routes are therefore acceptable, and this is one of the processes where the choice is genuinely yours. The consulate route means a translator on the consulate's register plus attestation at the notary unit, in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. The notary route means a translator sworn before a Turkish notary, with the notary's certificate attached in Türkiye, which is what we do in Ankara, and which is the form YÖK sees most often because most applicants are already in Türkiye. Either way the apostille must be on the document before it is translated, because the apostille certificate is part of the file and appears in the Turkish text.

Apostille for university documents

A degree certificate is signed by a university officer, not a public officer, so the FCDO cannot legalise it directly. The route is: a UK solicitor or notary certifies the certificate (or a certified copy), and the FCDO apostilles the solicitor's or notary's signature. That certified copy is eligible for the e-Apostille (£35, usually within two working days); the paper service is £45. The transcript is treated the same way. Our UK partner can arrange the certification and apostille for the FCDO fee plus £20 handling, or you use a local solicitor and apply on GOV.UK. The sequence and the pitfalls are on apostille for UK documents going to Türkiye.

Timeline

Once the file is complete and delivered, YÖK's own estimate is two to three months. Files that need a query to the university, a course-content comparison (particularly in engineering, health and law) or a placement examination (seviye tespit sınavı) for certain professional fields take longer.

Documents you will need

• UK degree certificate translation
• UK academic transcript translation
• UK diploma supplement / HEAR translation
• GCSE and A-level certificates translation where the secondary qualification is British; see MEB lise denklik

Common pitfalls

• Translating before the apostille is attached; YÖK returns the file.
• Apostilling a copy of the transcript when the guidance asks for the original.
• A UK certified translation with no notary or consulate certification.
• Module titles translated loosely, so that a course comparison fails; we translate module names precisely and keep the English in brackets.
• Missing the diploma supplement, which YÖK uses to read the credit structure.
• Applying for a master's denklik before the bachelor's denklik exists.

How we help and what it costs

We translate the degree certificate, transcript and diploma supplement with their apostilles into Turkish, sworn and notarised in Ankara, from £6.50 per page of 1,000 characters plus the notary tariff at cost (about £13.50 per page in 2026) and £5 handling per document. A degree certificate is one page (£6.50 translation), a transcript three to six pages (£19.50 to £39), a diploma supplement two to four. A typical three-document file comes to £120 to £190 before courier. Apostille of a translation, which YÖK does not normally require, is £15 on request. The PDF comes by e-mail and the wet-sealed originals go by courier for £30, to you in the UK or, more usefully, to your address in Türkiye or to YÖK's delivery address. No UK VAT is charged; no collection. Our checklist is on checklist: YÖK denklik application.