English Translation

English is the target language for most documents leaving Türkiye. But most English-speaking countries have no such thing as a sworn translator, so Turkish practice does not transfer across unchanged.

6 min readLast updated 1 September 2026

Short answer

A document leaving Türkiye follows the chain of sworn translation, notarisation and apostille. The counterpart abroad is a "certified translation", where what matters is not the translator's status but the statement attached to the translation.

Writing system: Latin alphabet, 26 letters
Sworn translator institution: None in the UK, US, Canada or Australia
Apostille: Türkiye, UK, US and Canada are all parties
Most critical detail: The name spelling in the passport

There is no English equivalent of a sworn translation

In Türkiye a sworn translation is one bearing the signature and seal of a translator who has taken an oath before a notary. It is a legal status defined by the state. In the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia no such status exists: nobody is officially appointed as a sworn translator.

The corresponding practice is the certified translation. The translator or agency attaches a signed certificate of accuracy stating that the translation is true and complete. Some institutions ask for that statement to be sworn before a notary as an affidavit. Certification therefore comes from the attached statement, not from the translator's title.

Terminology by country and who may issue
Country	Term used	Who may issue
United Kingdom	Certified translation	A translator or agency; some bodies expect ITI or CIOL membership
United States	Certified translation	Any competent translator; USCIS defines the statement format
Canada	Certified translation	Usually a member of a provincial association such as ATIO or OTTIAQ
Australia	NAATI certified translation	Only a NAATI-accredited translator
Ireland	Certified translation	A translator's statement; notarisation for some institutions

Terminology by country and who may issue

Is the document leaving Türkiye or arriving?

Direction determines the whole process, and the two cases work quite differently.

01
Turkish into English (document going abroad)
A sworn translation is produced in Türkiye, notarisation is added if the institution requires it, and an apostille is obtained where the destination country is party to the Convention. If the receiving institution also wants a certified translation produced in its own country, that has to be established up front.
02
English into Turkish (document arriving in Türkiye)
The document is apostilled in its own country, then translated in Türkiye by a sworn translator and notarised if required. The apostille certificate itself is included in the translation; files where the certificate was left untranslated are frequently returned.

English renderings of Turkish document names

Several Turkish official documents have no exact English counterpart. The right approach is not to liken them to an institution that does not exist in the destination country, but to use a rendering that says what the document is, keeping the original name in brackets where useful.

Frequent documents and the renderings we prefer
Turkish document	Our rendering	Why
Nüfus kayıt örneği	Population registration record	Not a birth certificate: its scope is wider and it shows family ties
Vukuatlı nüfus kayıt örneği	Population registration record with events	It has to be clear that marriages, divorces and deaths are included
Adli sicil kaydı	Criminal record certificate	Not the same as a UK DBS check or a US background check
Öğrenci belgesi	Certificate of student status	"Enrollment certificate" is read by some institutions as an offer of admission
İmza sirküleri	Circular of signature	No direct counterpart exists; an explanatory note is added
Faaliyet belgesi	Certificate of activity	It confirms the registry entry is current; it is not a licence

Frequent documents and the renderings we prefer

Turkish characters and name spelling

The Turkish letters ı, ğ, ş, ç, ö and ü have no counterpart in the English alphabet. The machine-readable zone of your passport simplifies them by its own rule: Şahin becomes SAHIN, Çiğdem becomes CIGDEM. That is the spelling the translation follows, not the one you might prefer.

British or American English?

On an official document this choice matters more than it looks. It is not only spelling but terminology: a Turkish lisans degree reads as an undergraduate degree in the UK and a bachelor's degree in the US; lise is secondary school in one and high school in the other. Whichever country the document is going to sets the usage.

Distinctions that make a difference on documents
Item	United Kingdom	United States
Date	31/12/2026 (day/month)	12/31/2026 (month/day)
Secondary education	Secondary school	High school
Grade average	Classification / average	GPA
Spelling	organisation, licence, programme	organization, license, program
Floor numbering	Ground floor is street level	First floor is street level

Distinctions that make a difference on documents

The date row is the most dangerous item in that table: 03/04/2026 reads as 3 April on one side of the Atlantic and 4 March on the other. That is why we write the month out in full on official translations (3 April 2026), so the document shows one date wherever it goes.

Frequently asked questions

Is a sworn translation made in Türkiye valid in the UK?

In most cases yes: a Turkish sworn translation carrying notarisation and an apostille is generally accepted in the United Kingdom, because the apostille chain is recognised between the two countries. Some institutions do ask for a certified translation produced locally. One question to the receiving body settles it: do you accept an apostilled translation issued in Türkiye?

Does my translation need to be notarised for a US visa application?

US immigration applications call for the translator's signed statement of accuracy; notarisation is usually not required. If the document is going to a court or a state agency, however, the requirement can differ. Tell us which body will receive it and you will not pay for a layer of certification you do not need.

Should you convert my course titles into the American system?

No. Course titles are translated as they stand, and credit and grade values are carried across unchanged. The comparison is made by the university's own evaluation unit. Producing an approximate equivalent causes problems in credit transfer assessment.

Will you use British or American spelling?

We choose according to where the document is going. If you do not specify, our default is British spelling, since most documents leaving Türkiye go to Europe and the UK. Tell us your preference at the outset and the whole text follows it.