A Turkish divorce judgment bound for a German Standesamt, the civil registry office, may carry an apostille and a German translation and still lack the entry recording that the judgment has become final. The apostille is there; what is missing is on the judgment itself. This page describes what the German requirement lists, what the apostille does and does not name under article 5 of the Convention, and what the correct sequence is. The general route of a divorce judgment is covered on a separate document page of this site; here only the missing note is treated.
Three elements on information sheet 04F
Information sheet 04F of the German missions in Türkiye describes a complete divorce judgment with three elements: a finality note, an apostille and a German translation. In a file where the apostille and the translation are in order but the note is absent, one of the three is missing: the record that the judgment has become final.
The signature the certificate names
Under article 5 of the Apostille Convention the certificate attests the authenticity of the signature, the capacity of the signatory and the identity of the seal. Read with the model certificate, the apostille names the person whose signature it attests; a signature added to the judgment afterwards, such as the one under a later finality note, is not named there. How a German authority treats a judgment whose note is dated after the certificate is not stated in any source this site surveyed, and whether a fresh apostille is then required is not settled there either; the safe order is the one that never raises the question.
Finality first, then the certificate
The chain begins with the judgment becoming final. The finality note is entered on the judgment before anything else; which desk issues it and how long it takes remain open, as the last section explains. Only then is the judgment taken for an apostille. The competent authority for the original of a judicial document is, under Circular 68/1 of the Turkish Ministry of Justice, the adli yargı adalet komisyonu başkanlığı, the judicial commission presidency sitting at courthouses with a high criminal court. The electronic route exists too: according to the official e-Apostil system a court judgment is one of six document types eligible for an electronic apostille, the apostille on a judicial document is applied by the Ministry of Justice, and the application is made from the holder’s own account on e-Devlet, the Turkish e-government portal. On this route as well the finality note has to be on the judgment before the application; whether the system checks finality in any way is not described in an official text found in this site’s survey.
When the note came after the apostille
If the note was obtained after the apostille, whether the existing certificate is enough for the receiving office or a copy bearing the note has to be apostilled is not answered in any source this site surveyed; the receiving office is asked in writing. Where a copy bearing the finality note is apostilled, the certificate comes from the judicial commission or through e-Apostil. As the Onikişubat District Governor’s Office writes on its page, the original of a judicial document goes to the commission and its notarised translation to the valilik or kaymakamlık, the provincial or district governor’s office; if the receiving authority also wants an apostille on the translation, that certificate is obtained on the translation of the copy that bears the note. No fee is charged for the paper apostille at governor’s offices; the electronic route carries a PTT service fee published on the official page.
What this site could not verify about the finality note
Which court desk issues the finality note, within what time and against which document was not read on an official page in this site’s survey; court practice may differ. Whether the German authority looks for the note on the judgment itself or in a separate court letter is not stated on the missions’ page. Whether a German translation made in Türkiye counts as a sworn translation before a Standesamt could not be verified either; that question has its own page in this section.
One German translation covering judgment, note and certificate
The translation is made from the whole of the final, apostilled copy: the text of the judgment, the finality note and the apostille certificate appear in a single translation. An older translation made from the copy without the note does not contain the finality entry, so it no longer matches the judgment it accompanies. No translation is started before the finality note is on the judgment; otherwise the translation is paid for twice. If the receiving office wants notarial certification or an apostille on the translation, the certification is placed on the translation, and the apostille on that notarial act is issued by the governor or district governor of any province or district.