How to get an apostille in Türkiye: authority by document type, e-Apostille and fees

An apostille is the certificate that allows a public document issued in Türkiye to be accepted in another country that is party to the Hague Apostille Convention. For administrative documents such as civil registry records and certificates of residence, the apostille is issued by the governor's office (valilik) in provincial centers and the district governor's office (kaymakamlık) in districts. For judicial documents such as court decisions and criminal record certificates, it is issued by the justice commission chairmanship (adalet komisyonu başkanlığı) in places with a high criminal court (ağır ceza mahkemesi). For some documents generated on e-Government (e-Devlet), you can apply online at eapostil.gov.tr.

What is an apostille, and what does it certify?

An apostille is a standard certificate introduced by the Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961. Before the Convention, a document to be used abroad also had to be legalized at that country's mission. The contracting states abolished this chain and replaced it with a single certificate.

Türkiye has been a party to the Convention since 29 September 1985. According to the status table of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the Convention has 130 contracting parties (table last updated 30 June 2026).

An apostille does not certify the content of a document. Under the Convention it certifies only three things: the authenticity of the signature on the document, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp on the document (Art. 5). If information in the document is wrong, the apostille does not correct it; the issuing authority must correct the document first.

The Convention treats four kinds of documents as public documents (Art. 1):

• Documents emanating from judicial authorities: such as court decisions.
• Administrative documents: such as civil registry records and certificates of residence.
• Notarial acts: such as powers of attorney and notarized translations.
• Official certificates placed on private documents: such as a certification of a signature or an official certificate recording that a document was registered on a certain date.

The Convention's scope is limited. It does not apply to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents, or to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations (Art. 1). This is an important distinction for customs brokers and foreign trade teams: for such documents, the destination country's own rules apply.

First check the country: is it a party to the Convention?

An apostille is only valid between parties to the Convention. Check the country where you will use the document in the HCCH's current status table. The table also shows the date the Convention entered into force for each country.

When a country accedes to the Convention, existing parties may raise an objection within six months. The Convention does not apply between the objecting country and the acceding country (Art. 12). In the “Type” column of the status table, accessions that received objections are marked with a separate code (“Objection”).

If the country is not a party, an apostille is of no use. In that case the document is legalized by the diplomatic or consular mission of the country where it will be used; the Convention calls this legalization (Art. 2). That country's mission decides which Turkish authorities must certify the document before legalization. Ask the mission about the chain before you apply.

Where to get an apostille, by document type

The competent authorities Türkiye has notified to the HCCH fall into two groups by document type. The e-Apostille coverage reflects the information on eapostil.gov.tr as of October 2026.

Notarial acts are also public documents under the Convention. For a power of attorney or a notarized translation, ask the notary's office or the district governor's office which authority will issue the apostille before you apply. Documents not listed in the table and not covered by e-Apostille (such as diplomas) also require an in-person application.

Getting an apostille from the governor's or district governor's office, step by step

1. Confirm the destination countryCheck the status table to confirm that the country is a party to the Convention and that there is no objection between it and Türkiye.
2. Prepare the original documentAn apostille certifies the signature and the seal. Bring the original, or a copy certified by a competent authority, with a clearly legible signature and seal.
3. Apply to the right authorityApply to the governor's or district governor's office for an administrative document, and to the justice commission chairmanship for a judicial document. Check the authority's own announcement for appointments and required paperwork.
4. Check the apostilleThe apostille is placed on the document itself or on a separate page attached to it (Art. 4). Its heading is in French in every country: “Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)”. When you collect it, check that the name, date and number match the document.
5. Plan the translationIf the document will be translated, ask the authority that will accept it whether the apostille should come before or after the translation. Both routes are described below.

How to get an e-Apostille through e-Devlet

An e-Apostille is an apostille issued electronically. You can apply on eapostil.gov.tr or through the e-Devlet services e-Apostille General Application (e-Apostil Genel Başvurusu) and Criminal Record Certificate e-Apostille Application (Adli Sicil Belgesi e-Apostil Başvurusu). The services are provided by the Directorate General of PTT, the Turkish postal service (PTT Genel Müdürlüğü).

According to the site's frequently asked questions, as of October 2026 an e-Apostille can be obtained for the following documents:

• Criminal record certificate
• Court decision
• Civil registry record
• Birth, marriage and death register extracts
• Certificate of residence (ikametgâh) and other address documents

Applications for judicial documents are forwarded to the Ministry of Justice (Adalet Bakanlığı), and applications for administrative documents to the Ministry of Interior (İçişleri Bakanlığı). When processing is complete, the application status changes to “Approved” (“Onaylandı”). The document is signed with PTT's qualified electronic certificate. The foreign authority receiving the document can verify it in the document verification section of the site.

How do you verify an apostille?

You can check an e-Apostilled document in the document verification section of eapostil.gov.tr. e-Devlet also offers the Ministry of Interior's Apostille Document Verification (Apostil Belge Doğrulama) service. To verify an apostille issued abroad, contact the competent authority of the issuing country; the HCCH website lists the authorities country by country.

How much does an apostille cost?

For an e-Apostille, a service fee is paid per document. The fee does not depend on the number of pages; for several documents, each document is paid for separately. As of October 2026, the amounts on eapostil.gov.tr are:

The site states that fees for other administrative documents (such as the certificate of residence) will be set later. For an in-person apostille at a governor's or district governor's office, Türkiye's HCCH entry states that “no fee is charged”. The competent authority section of this entry dates from 2012; confirm with the authority before you apply.

Translation before or after the apostille?

Both are possible; the authority that will accept the document decides the right order. There are two routes:

• Apostille first, then translation. The apostille is placed on the Turkish document, and the document is then translated together with the apostille certificate. The destination country may require the translation to be done there or certified there separately.
• Notarized translation first, then apostille. A sworn translator in Türkiye translates the document, the translation is notarized, and the apostille is placed on the notarization. Because a notarial act is a public document under the Convention, this route is also covered by the Convention (Art. 1). Details in the notarized translation guide.

Some authorities may require separate apostilles on both the original document and the translation. Getting the requirement in writing costs less than applying again later.

Whichever route you choose, the apostille certificate is part of the document and is translated too. The number, date and signatory's name on the apostille stay exactly as in the source. Equivalents of the certificate's fields in 13 languages are on the apostille terminology page.

At Sealingo, the apostille certificate is translated together with the rest of the document, in the original page layout. Translations are prepared to sworn translator standards; if sworn or notarized use is required, your own sworn translator reviews and signs the translation.

Checklist before you apply

• Is the country a party to the Convention, and is there an objection between it and Türkiye? Check the HCCH status table.
• Is the document current? Civil registry records become invalid if not used within 180 days of issue (Law No. 5490, Art. 43). Details in the guide to the civil registry record with full history of events.
• Does the document deal directly with a commercial or customs operation? If so, the Convention does not apply; find out the destination country's rules.
• Have you obtained in writing the order of translation and the type of certification (sworn, notarized)?
• Are the dates and numbers in the translation correct? Check their format in the target language with the date and number format converter, and the meaning of abbreviations in the document with the official abbreviations guide.