Notarised Turkish translation

Submitting a Turkish-language document to a Georgian state body, bank or court without a notarised translation almost never works. The same applies in the opposite direction: a Turkish notary, the civil registry and a court accept a Georgian paper only with a certified Turkish translation. On this page we look in detail at how a Turkish translation is notarised in Georgia, how this differs from the procedure on the Turkish side, and at which stage mistakes most often appear.

What the notary certifies and what it does not

When certifying a translation, a Georgian notary does not check the quality of the Turkish text, because as a rule they do not know Turkish. They certify that the translation was made and signed by a translator whose qualification in the Turkish-Georgian language pair has been verified in advance and whose specimen signature is kept in the notary's register. That is precisely why it is impossible for a relative who studied in Turkey to translate the document and for the notary simply to stamp it: the certification concerns the signature of a registered translator and not the text in general.

Technically the procedure is this: the translator prepares the translation, binds a copy of the original to it (or, at the body's request, the original itself), signs in the presence of the notary, and the notary binds the pages, stamps them and assigns a registration number. With this number the authenticity of the document can later be verified by any interested party, which is often an important argument for Turkish partners.

On the Turkish side: noter, yeminli tercüman and yemin zaptı

The Turkish notarial system is a close relative of the Georgian one, which is understandable: both come from the continental law tradition. In Turkey only a translator who has taken an oath before a specific notary has the right to certify a translation; the record of the oath (yemin zaptı) stays in the notary's archive, and from then on the translator counts as that notary's "sworn translator" (yeminli tercüman). At another notary the same translator needs a separate oath.

One practical consequence follows from this, which we meet often: Turkish state bodies, especially the Nüfus Müdürlüğü and the Göç İdaresi, usually require that the translation be made and certified at a Turkish notary. A translation certified in Georgia may not be accepted in such cases, not because of quality but because of a formal requirement. So when a client tells us the document is, for example, for a residence permit, we advise apostilling the original at the Public Service Hall and having the translation made in Turkey, on the spot. For a private company, a university or a bank, however, Georgian notarisation is usually sufficient.

Apostille: who issues it in Turkey and in Georgia

Both countries are members of the Hague Convention, so consular legalisation is not needed. In Georgia the apostille is issued by the Public Service Hall, and we handle this procedure ourselves without your involvement. In Turkey the issuing body depends on the document type:

• On administrative documents (civil registry extract, criminal record certificate, diploma, school certificate) the apostille is placed by the district Kaymakamlık or the provincial Valilik
• On court judgments, rulings and notarial acts by the judicial commission of the relevant court (Adalet Komisyonu Başkanlığı)
• On a notarised Turkish translation, if it is to be submitted in Georgia, the apostille is again placed at the judicial commission, because the notary's signature is under the supervision of the judiciary

A common mistake is when a diploma or marriage certificate brought from Turkey has no apostille and the client tries to "fix" it in Georgia. This is impossible: the apostille is placed only by the country that issued the document. In such cases the only way out is to send the document to a relative or representative in Turkey, or in some cases to request a new copy through the Turkish consulate.

Apostille on the original or on the translation: Turkish practice

Turkish bodies as a rule require the apostille on the original: first the Georgian document is certified at the Public Service Hall, then the whole package, apostille included, is translated into Turkish. The apostille text itself is on a bilingual French-Georgian form and its translation is part of the package, because the Turkish official checks the content of the apostille fields too. The opposite variant, where the apostille is placed on the already certified translation to confirm the notary's signature, is rarely needed for Turkey, though some banks and universities ask for exactly that. So when ordering we ask who the recipient of the document is and choose precisely between the two variants, otherwise a double apostille is an unnecessary expense and the absence of one is grounds for rejection.

The most frequently certified documents in the Turkish direction

• Certificate of capacity to marry (evlenme ehliyet belgesi) and civil registry extract (nüfus kayıt örneği) for a mixed marriage
• Criminal record certificate (adli sicil kaydı) for a residence permit and employment
• Diploma and school certificate for the YÖK and MEB equivalence procedure
• Court judgment in a divorce or alimony case to be enforced in Georgia
• Certificate of ownership of real estate (tapu senedi) and sale contract
• Power of attorney (vekaletname) to appoint a representative in Turkey or Georgia
• Trade registry gazette extract (ticaret sicil gazetesi) and signature circular (imza sirküleri) for company registration

Writing first names and surnames: double check

The most frequent reason for rejection in the Turkish direction is a mismatch in how a name is written. In a Turkish document a Georgian's name is often written by Turkish phonetics (for example Çaçava or Şengelia), while in the Georgian passport the same surname is written differently in Latin (Chachava, Shengelia). In the translation we use the passport version and give the Turkish variant in brackets as the form recorded in the original, so that both bodies can identify the same person.

For Turkish citizens the problem is the reverse: the established variant in Georgian transcription (for example "Jengizi", "Cheliki") must always be written identically in every document, from the birth certificate to the bank agreement, otherwise the Public Registry or the bank perceives two different people. To this end we process all documents of one client with the same transliteration table and, if desired, share the table with the client as well.

Turkish dates, seals and format details

In Turkish documents the date is in day.month.year format and often with the name of the month: 15 Ağustos 2025. In the translation we carry the date over in the Georgian format, but the original form is not lost. The text on seals (T.C., that is Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, the name of the body, province and district) is translated in full, because the Georgian notary and body require the content of the seal as well. Documents printed from the e-Devlet system carry a confirming barcode and a verification code, which we leave unchanged in the translation and mark with a note that it is an electronically verifiable field.

Notarial, agency-seal and sworn translator certification: three different things

Clients often mean three different procedures by the single word "certification". Notarisation is a Georgian notary's seal on the translator's signature; it is valid at state bodies, in court, at the Public Registry and in banks. Agency-seal certification is our seal and the translator's signature confirming the accuracy of the translation; it is sufficient for private companies, clinics, most universities and the majority of customs brokers. The third variant exists on the Turkish side: a translation made by a sworn translator at a Turkish notary, which Turkish state bodies require. When ordering we ask who the recipient of the document is and choose the right one of the three.

Certifying a copy of the original and certifying the translation: two separate acts

Sometimes a body requires not only the translation but also a notarised copy of the original. These are two different notarial acts: when certifying a copy the notary confirms that the copy matches the original, when certifying a translation the authenticity of the translator's signature. Turkish universities often require both for a diploma: a certified copy of the apostilled original and a certified translation bound to the copy, so that the original stays with the student. In such cases physically bringing the original is essential, which we tell you in advance. For Turkish business documents it is often the reverse: a printout of the ticaret sicil gazetesi is sufficient and only the translation is certified.

Validity of certificates and timing of certification

Turkish bodies accept some certificates with a limited period of validity: a criminal record certificate and a certificate of capacity to marry are usually valid for a few months from issue, and if the certified translation reaches the body after this period, the package comes back. So we advise obtaining the certificate shortly before submission and fitting the translation, apostille and certification into one week. Our express mode exists precisely for this scenario: on the day the certificate is collected from the Public Service Hall, the translation and notarisation are completed the same day, and the apostille is added at the next stage.

Power of attorney for Turkey: text that needs no reworking on the spot

A power of attorney issued by a Georgian client to buy an apartment in Turkey, manage a company or be represented in court is one of the most "sensitive" documents. The Turkish notary and the tapu office require specific powers in the text of the power of attorney with standard wording (satış, devir, tescil, ipotek tesisi and so on), and if these formulations are absent from the translation of the Georgian power of attorney, the Turkish side considers it "insufficient". So if the power of attorney is for Turkey, we first draft the text by the logic of Turkish notarial practice, then it is executed in Georgian before a Georgian notary, translated into Turkish and the apostille is attached. Such a power of attorney works in Turkey without reworking.

Deadlines and organisation

A Turkish or Georgian translation of a standard one- or two-page document with notarisation is ready in one working day; in express mode an order received during working hours is completed in 1-2 hours. Attaching the apostille at the Public Service Hall requires a separate deadline, which we tell you precisely when the order is confirmed. You upload the document on the website, your presence at the notary is not required, and you receive the finished package electronically, at the office or by courier in any city in Georgia, including Batumi and Sarpi, where demand for Turkish documents is highest.

Batumi and Adjara: where it happens most often

A large share of demand for notarisation in the Turkish direction comes from Adjara, and the reason is geography: the Sarpi border is half an hour from Batumi, the Turkish Consulate General works in Batumi itself, and mixed marriages, real estate transactions and Turkish investment are concentrated in Adjara. Batumi notaries work with Turkish documents daily and, in our experience, know the requirements of the Turkish consulate well. Our online process works for clients in Adjara just as it does for Tbilisi: you upload the document, the certified translation reaches you by courier in Batumi, Kobuleti or Khelvachauri, and the apostille is also attached at the Batumi branch of the Public Service Hall.

Dual citizenship and two passports: which name to write

A special case is a client who holds both Georgian and Turkish citizenship and whose name is written differently in the two passports: in the Georgian one, for example, "Nino" in Georgian script, in the Turkish one "Nino", but the surname "Beridze" in one and "Beridze" or even a Turkish transcription in the other. In such cases the translation uses the variant found in the passport of the country where the document is submitted, and the other variant is recorded in a note. If the difference between the two passports is substantive (for example, the spouse's surname was taken after marriage in Turkey, while the maiden name remains in Georgia), a certificate of name change is needed from the Georgian Public Service Hall or the Turkish Nüfus Müdürlüğü, which we also translate and certify. If this detail is not clarified in advance, it is exactly what causes the body's refusal.

Electronic certification and digital signature: where we are today

Turkey issues many certificates electronically through the e-Devlet system, with a qualified electronic signature, while in Georgia the my.gov.ge portal and the electronic apostille are developing. However, a notarised translation still remains a paper document in both countries: Turkish bodies as a rule cannot verify Georgian electronic certification, and vice versa. So we process an electronically received document in printed form, keep the verification code in the translation and, where needed, add a note to the translation that the original is electronically verifiable. We advise the client to ask the receiving body in advance about acceptance of electronic certification, because practice changes quickly from body to body.

When the translation has already been rejected

Many clients come to us with a translation made by someone else that has already been rejected. Typical reasons for rejection in the Turkish direction are: no apostille on the Turkish original, confusion of the Turkish and Georgian variants of a name, omission of the seal text, or submission of Georgian notarisation where a Turkish notary was required. In such cases we first establish the exact reason, often from the body's written reply, and correct only the defective part instead of redoing the whole package.

Frequently asked questions