Certificate of No Impediment (Bekârlık Belgesi / Evlenme Ehliyeti) Translation for Germany

The Ehefähigkeitszeugnis counterpart and the Standesamt

A marriage in Germany is contracted before the Standesamt, and the office expects a foreign national who is to marry to prove capacity to marry; the German name of that document is Ehefähigkeitszeugnis. The certificate of capacity to marry issued by the Turkish civil registry directorates is submitted to meet that need. In translation, though, the Turkish document is not equated with a German Ehefähigkeitszeugnis: the name of the issuing authority (the civil registry directorate) and the identity of the document are carried across in their own form. The Standesamt reads from this translation who issued the document and on what date, and what the person’s marital status is; seal and signature details are shown in square brackets.

Since marital status is information that can change, the Standesamt usually looks for a recently issued document; one obtained months earlier may not show the person’s position today, and a new one may be asked for. The document and its translation are therefore prepared close in time to the marriage itself, and the interval between the translation and the apostille is kept in view too.

The multilingual CIEC formula

As Türkiye is a party to the conventions of the International Commission on Civil Status (CIEC), a certificate of capacity to marry can be issued on a multilingual form that sets out the standard fields in several languages; offices that accept this form can use it without asking for a separate translation. Not every Standesamt handles the form in the same way, however, and some still ask for a sworn translation of a single-language copy. The first step is therefore to ask the Standesamt in the place of marriage in advance whether it accepts the multilingual form. If it does not, the single-language document is translated into German by a sworn translator.

A certificate of no impediment does not stand alone in a marriage file; it is submitted together with a passport, a birth certificate and, where required, a civil registry extract. The given name, surname and birth details are expected to be identical across these documents; a difference in the Latin-script spelling raises the question at the Standesamt of whether two documents belong to the same person. Changes of surname arising from a previous marriage are conveyed as they appear in the document.

The German system holds one further detail: rather than accepting the certificate of capacity to marry directly, a Standesamt may in some cases ask for an exemption (Befreiung vom Ehefähigkeitszeugnis) to be obtained from the higher regional court it comes under (Oberlandesgericht). That is a step in the procedure rather than in the translation; but since the Turkish certificate of capacity to marry and its translation are the principal document put before the court at that step as well, a complete and consistent translation is what such an application rests on. Learning at the outset which route the document will take, straight to the Standesamt or as an annex to an exemption application, avoids an unnecessary retranslation and a loss of time. Marriage files usually move to a fixed appointment date, so when a current document, a spelling of the name that matches the passport and an accurately conveyed record of marital status come together, the application is concluded without running into unexpected obstacles; keeping these three things in view together heads off the most common problems from the start. Whether the document will be submitted through a consulate or directly to the Standesamt also affects which dates and which authorities come to the fore, so that distinction is settled before translation begins.

• Do not equate the Turkish document with an Ehefähigkeitszeugnis; carry the name of the authority across in its own form.
• Ask the Standesamt whether the multilingual form is accepted.
• Keep the spelling of the name identical to the passport and the birth certificate.

Certification: apostille and the sworn translator

As a certificate of capacity to marry originates from the civil registry, the apostille is obtained from the governor’s office or the district governor’s office; it is not sought from the courthouse. A translation submitted in an official procedure in Germany bears the stamp of a translator sworn before the courts (öffentlich bestellter und beeidigter Übersetzer); in a translation produced in Türkiye, a sworn translator signs it, a notary certifies it where required, and the apostille is added. The safest order is to obtain a current copy of the document, complete the apostille, and translate the document with the apostille included. As Germany is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, confirm the current position from the official HCCH list. You can run your marriage file through our single office in Ankara Kızılay, see the cost on our pricing page and request a quote by uploading your document. This page is for general information; confirm the form and certification required with the Standesamt in the place of marriage.