TURKEY · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of Turkey Documents for USCIS
Turkish civil documents flow almost entirely from the country's centralized population system, the Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü (NVİ), so most records USCIS asks for are computer-generated registry extracts — increasingly barcoded e-Devlet printouts — rather than old ledger copies. Two features make Turkish-to-English translation for USCIS distinctive: the Turkish alphabet's special characters (ç, ğ, ı, İ, ö, ş, ü), which must be transliterated so that names match the applicant's passport exactly, and the given-name-then-surname convention with parents' names listed in the registry that has to be rendered without reordering. Criminal records are also unusual in that they come from the Ministry of Justice, not the police. Every certified translation we deliver carries a signed Certificate of Accuracy meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), and reproduces all seals, barcodes and finality stamps as bracketed notes so an officer sees a faithful mirror of the original.
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM TURKEY
Pick Your Document
Turkish Birth Certificate →
Turkish Marriage Certificate →
Turkish Divorce Decree →
Turkish Death Certificate →
Turkish Diploma →
Turkish Academic Transcript →
Turkish Police Record →
Turkish Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in Turkey are issued by the Nüfus Müdürlüğü (Civil/Population Registry Office), under the Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü — NVİ (General Directorate of Civil Registration and Citizenship) · official language(s): Turkish. Turkey has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 1985, so its documents receive an apostille rather than embassy legalization. Administrative and civil-registry records (birth, marriage, death, single-status, diplomas, criminal-record printouts) are apostilled by the provincial Governorate (Valilik) or District Governorate (Kaymakamlık), while court documents like divorce decrees are apostilled by the courthouse Justice Commission (Adli Yargı Adalet Komisyonu Başkanlığı); because the US is also a member, that single apostille is accepted. Note that USCIS itself only requires a complete certified English translation — the apostille authenticates the original, not the translation.
Every document above is translated by a native specialist, reviewed by a second linguist, and delivered with a signed Certificate of Accuracy that USCIS accepts under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — or we fix it free and cover your resubmission fee.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does USCIS require an apostille on my Turkish documents, or just a translation?
USCIS itself requires a complete English translation with a signed Certificate of Accuracy under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — not an apostille. Turkey is a Hague Apostille member, so an apostille (from the Valilik/Kaymakamlık for civil records, or the courthouse for court decisions) authenticates the original document for official use; some petitions and consular steps ask for it, but the certified translation is what USCIS is checking. We translate the document and its apostille if one is attached.
My Turkish name has letters like ş, ğ and ı. How do you handle them so nothing gets rejected?
We transliterate every Turkish special character (ç, ğ, ı, İ, ö, ş, ü) and, most importantly, spell your name to match your passport exactly, because a mismatch between the translation and your travel document is a common cause of RFEs. If your registry record and passport already differ, tell us and we translate faithfully while flagging the discrepancy in a translator's note.
I only have the Turkish family booklet (Aile Cüzdanı) — is that enough?
It can be, but the booklet is multi-page and USCIS expects the whole thing translated — both spouses' entries, any children's pages, and every stamp — not just the front. If you prefer a cleaner single-sheet record, you can also request an Evlenme Kayıt Örneği extract from the Nüfus Müdürlüğü or e-Devlet, and we will translate whichever you provide.
My Turkish diploma and transcript are already partly in English. Do I still need a certified translation?
Yes. Even bilingual Turkish diplomas and transcripts contain Turkish text, seals, signatures and sometimes grading legends that must appear in a certified translation, and any credential evaluator or USCIS officer needs a single fully-English certified document. We reproduce your grades exactly (whether on a 4.00 or 100-point scale) without converting them to a US GPA, since that conversion is a separate evaluation step.
How fast and how much for a Turkish birth certificate translation?
A standard Turkish birth certificate or civil-registry extract runs about $15–25 total at $0.05 per word, typically delivered in 24–48 hours. You can send a photo of the document by email at info@translationhelpdesk.com for a free 250-word sample, and every order is backed by our USCIS Rejection Pledge: if a filing is rejected over our translation, we fix it free and cover the resubmission fee.