Last updated: 21 September 2026
Questions answered
Questions answered
Short, sourced answers to common questions on apostilles, the e-Apostil system, consular legalisation and document translation.
Translation in the chain
Where does the translation fit?
- Document going abroad The sources describe two routes: an apostille on the original, or a translation certified by a notary with the apostille then confirming the notary’s signature. The receiving authority says which it wants.
- Foreign document used in Türkiye The sources describe an apostille in its country first, then a Turkish translation with notary certification; the Turkish institution receiving it confirms its own requirement.
- Sometimes none is needed Multilingual civil status extracts and some treaties remove the translation or the apostille. The authority that receives the document decides.
The translation office behind this site translates documents for these chains. Tell us the document, the target language and the country.
Request a translation quotePages in this section
- Can a non-Turkish document be apostilled in Türkiye? The deciding factor is the issuing state, not the language: Turkish offices apostille only Turkish public documents and Turkish notarial acts.
- Can someone else apply for the apostille? The Convention lets any bearer request the apostille; some Turkish offices want a notarised power of attorney, and e-Apostil is personal.
- Does an apostille expire? The Convention gives the apostille no expiry date; what expires is the document. Freshness rules, verification records and an old certificate.
- How does a Turkish notary copy a foreign-language document? A Turkish notary translates a foreign-language paper before copying it and attaches the translation; the apostille then attests the notary.
- Is a foreign apostille legalised again in Türkiye? No further stamp is added in Türkiye to a foreign apostilled document; what Turkish institutions ask for is a notarised Turkish translation.
- Is a photocopy of an apostilled document valid? The apostille attests the ink signature on the original; a photocopy carries only its image. What a certified copy changes and what to send instead.
- Is a printed e-Apostil accepted abroad on paper? A printout is not the apostille; the e-Apostil file carries the signature and is verified by upload. What to hand over and what was not measured.
- Is a second apostille needed for a second country? An apostille is issued for a document, not a destination; the real limit is that one original cannot sit in two files at once.
- Is an appointment needed for an apostille in Türkiye? No appointment rule was found at governor’s offices, which quote ten minutes per document; the Foreign Ministry’s desk places no apostille.
- No sworn translator for that language at the local notary? When the local notary has no translator on file for a language, the law lets it relay the job to another notary, for an intermediary fee.
- Original or notarised translation: which one is apostilled? The receiving institution, not the Turkish office, decides whether the apostille goes on the original, on the notarised translation or on both.
- What language is the apostille in, and is it translated? The heading is French by rule, the entries follow the issuing authority; the receiving office decides whether the certificate page is translated.
- What separates an apostille from a true-copy note? A true-copy note says a copy matches the original; the apostille attests the signature of whoever wrote that note. Neither replaces the other.
- When exactly did Türkiye drop the notary-location rule? Law no. 7533 was adopted on 21 November 2024 but took effect on publication, 30 November 2024; the old wording held for nine more days.
- Which proves a divorce: registry extract or decree? The registry extract is administrative, the decree judicial: two apostille offices, two chains. The foreign institution’s list decides.
- Which text of the Apostille Convention prevails? The Convention was made in French and English, and the French text prevails; how the Turkish Gazette text and article 1(d) compare.