Certified Translations in Turkey for Foreigners (2026):
Sworn Translator Guide and Costs

A yeminli tercüman is a translator who has taken a formal oath (yemin) before a Turkish notary — a requirement set out in the Notary Law (Noterlik Kanunu) and its implementing regulation — confirming they will translate faithfully and accurately. The notary records the oath in a yemin zaptı, assigns a registration number, and keeps the translator's specimen signature and seal on file. This registration is what makes their translations acceptable to Turkish government offices, notaries, courts, and public institutions — a translation from someone without this registration, however fluent, is not treated as an official document.

Treat notary certification as the default requirement, not an optional extra. The translator's own signature and seal confirm the translation is accurate, but most Turkish institutions — Göç İdaresi, YÖK, courts, land registries — additionally want the notary to certify (tasdik) the translation before they'll accept it. Many notaries offer both services together: they arrange the sworn translator and certify the result the same day. Budget roughly ₺600–900 per page for the notary certification (the 2026 government gazette rate is around ₺668/page) on top of the translation fee itself.

A yeminli tercüman is sworn before a notary and handles administrative and notarial translation work — residence permits, diplomas, property documents, and similar. A bilirkişi tercüman is a translator appointed directly by a court for a specific case, usually to translate live testimony or case-specific evidence during court proceedings. For most day-to-day certified translation needs as a foreigner in Turkey, you'll be dealing with the notary-sworn translator system, not the court-appointed one.

Documents that typically require certified (sworn) translation for use with Turkish institutions include: birth certificate (doğum belgesi), marriage certificate (evlilik cüzdanı), divorce decree, death certificate, academic diplomas and transcripts, foreign driving licence (for Turkish licence conversion), criminal background check, medical records and specialist reports, power of attorney documents, property documents, insurance certificates, employment contracts, and foreign company registration documents. Passport copies typically do not need a sworn translation — the notary certifying the copy handles this with their own stamp instead.

As of 2026, typical market rates: standard sworn translation of a short document (birth certificate, marriage certificate) runs roughly ₺450–900 per page; technical, medical, or legal documents run higher, often ₺700–1,500 per page; notary certification (noter onayı) of the translation is a separate, government-regulated fee, with a 2026 gazette rate of around ₺668 per page (roughly ₺600–900 in practice once printed-paper and other charges are added). Rush or same-day service often costs more, especially for weekend or out-of-hours work — ask about any surcharge upfront. These are approximate ranges that vary by city, language pair, and individual office — always ask for a quote before committing.

Ask at your local notary (noter) — they routinely work with sworn translators and can often arrange one on short notice, and can certify the result at the same visit. You can also contact your city's courthouse (adliye), which keeps a register of court-sworn translators. Word of mouth from the expat community (Facebook groups for expats in your city) is reliable for recommendations. Translation agencies in major cities often have multiple sworn translators on staff covering all common languages. If you need a document handled before arriving in Turkey — at a Turkish consulate abroad — the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a searchable translator directory at konsolosluk.gov.tr/TranslatorSearch.

A legitimate yeminli tercüman will have an oath registration with a specific notary and a registration number tied to their seal. If you're unsure, the safest route is to arrange the translation directly through a notary — since the notary is the one recording the oath, they can only work with translators actually on their register. This also avoids the risk of a translation being rejected later because the translator turns out not to be properly registered.

Simple documents (1–3 pages, standard format) typically take 1–3 business days. Longer or more complex documents can take 3–7 business days. Rush or same-day service is available at most professional translators for a surcharge. If you have a residence permit appointment or another time-sensitive deadline, order translations at least a week in advance. For property transactions with a fixed completion date, order 2–3 weeks ahead, especially for legal documents that also need notary certification.

It depends on the purpose. For some routine processes (initial school enrolment), a notary-certified translation alone may be sufficient. For many others — residence permit applications involving foreign civil documents, diploma recognition (YÖK denklik), property transactions, marriage registration — the original typically needs an apostille first. Turkey has recognised the Hague Apostille Convention since 29 September 1985, so apostilles from any other member country are accepted. Get the apostille on the original before it is translated; translating first is a common and avoidable mistake, since some notaries will not certify a translation of a document that still needs an apostille it doesn't have. When in doubt, ask the specific Turkish institution whether it wants a plain certified translation or a certified translation of an apostilled original.

Generally, no. Turkish government institutions do not accept translations produced by translators registered in other countries. The translation must come from a translator sworn into Turkey's own notary system. A certified translation from a UK solicitor, a Dutch beëdigd vertaler, or a German vereidigter Dolmetscher is not accepted by Turkish land registries (Tapu), Göç İdaresi, YÖK, or the courts — you'll need a new translation done in Turkey. The only realistic workaround is producing documents at a Turkish consulate abroad before you travel, using their own registered translators.

YÖK (Turkey's Council of Higher Education) generally requires a notary-certified Turkish translation of the diploma, the transcript, and — for diplomas from EU countries — the diploma supplement. Whether the original diploma also needs an apostille or full consular legalisation depends heavily on the issuing country: diplomas from many EU countries often arrive already apostilled and just need the sworn, notarised translation, while diplomas from some other countries are routinely rejected without an apostille first. Check the current YÖK denklik application guidance for your specific country before ordering translations.

All major world languages have sworn translators available in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, and Izmir. The most widely available languages are English, German, French, Arabic, Russian, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. Less common languages (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Polish, and similar) are available in major cities but harder to find outside Istanbul or Ankara. In smaller towns like Bodrum, Fethiye, or Alanya, often only English and German are readily available locally — other languages may require ordering from Istanbul and having the certified translation couriered.

No — a single certified translation is generally accepted across institutions; you don't need a fresh translation for each office. What you should do instead is order multiple certified copies of each translation the first time it's done. Most translators or notaries can produce 3–5 certified copies for a small additional fee per copy. This matters because some institutions retain the certified copy you submit and don't return it — getting more copies later usually means paying the full translation fee again, not just a copy fee.

The certified translation itself doesn't generally expire, but some of the underlying documents do. Criminal background checks, for example, are commonly only accepted if issued within a recent window (often 3–6 months, though this varies by receiving office) — so a perfectly valid translation of an outdated document may still be rejected. Always check the specific validity requirement for the document type and institution before ordering the translation.