Criminal Record Certificate Translation for Belgium

The Turkish document against the strafregister / casier judiciaire

Belgium’s own document is known on the Flemish side as the uittreksel uit het strafregister and on the Walloon side as the extrait du casier judiciaire; what is submitted to show a person’s past in Türkiye, though, is the Turkish criminal record certificate. Setting the Turkish document equal to either of these Belgian ones would be wrong: it is a Turkish criminal record certificate, with a bracketed explanation where one is needed. As it is read alongside the application file and the passport, the spelling of the name has to be consistent, and the translation carries identity details across without interpretation.

Which language region, which language

Belgium has three language regions: Dutch (NL) is required in the Flemish region, French (FR) in the Walloon region and German in a small area in the east. A document translated into the wrong language sinks the application at the first step, which is why the region you are applying in and the target language need settling before any translation begins. Where the same document is going to two regions, two separate sets in two languages may be needed; confirming the target language with the authority you are applying to is the safest step of all.

Criminal record and archive record: the difference

In Türkiye the document can be obtained as a criminal record or as a criminal record archive extract; the two cover different ground, and some Belgian authorities ask for the archive version, which shows the past in full. The translation names the type of document correctly; rendering an archive record simply as “criminal record” misstates its scope. Confirming in advance which of the two is wanted avoids having a document of the wrong scope translated.

“No record” and the beëdigd vertaler

Most of the time the only substantive information a criminal record certificate carries is whether the person has an entry. The statement that there is no criminal record is the substance of the document and is translated plainly and in full; Dutch meets it with wording along the lines of “geen” and French with “néant”, but the translation says what the document says. Belgium works with a sworn translator system: an official translation is made by a sworn translator entered on the national register (beëdigd vertaler / traducteur juré). In a translation produced in Türkiye, a sworn translator signs, a notary certifies and an apostille is added. The QR code on an e-Devlet printout is noted with [QR code] and [e-signature verification]; no attempt is made to decode its content.

Where there is an entry: getting the legal terms right

Where the document does carry an entry, each item is translated so that its legal meaning survives; concepts such as a judicial fine, imprisonment, suspension of a sentence or deferment of the announcement of the verdict are not set equal to any single institution of Belgian law. Turning a Turkish penalty straight into a Belgian offence category leaves the authority with a false impression of equivalence; the sound approach is to translate the concept faithfully into the target language, Dutch or French, and add a bracketed explanation where one is needed. The nature of the offence, the article of law concerned, the decision and the date are carried across as they stand. If there is wording about the restoration of forfeited rights or the deletion of an entry, that too is translated rather than dropped, because it shows the current legal status of the entry. The Belgian authority making the assessment works out the weight of the entry from this raw information itself; the job of the translation is complete and accurate transfer, not interpretation.

Currency, the apostille and the order of certification

A criminal record certificate shows a position on a particular date, and many Belgian bodies expect a recently issued copy. The translation carries the date of issue across exactly and cannot bring an old document up to date. Before delivery:

• Settle the right language region and the target language (NL/FR) at the outset.
• Verify that the “no record” statement has been translated plainly, and verify the type of document.
• Have the document translated while it is fresh; obtain the apostille before the translation.

Belgium is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; confirm the current position from the official HCCH list. You can see the level of certification other documents need on our document types page, look at the cost on our pricing page and upload your document to request a quotation. Translations are handled from our single office in Ankara Kızılay. The details vary with the procedure, so check with the body concerned before you apply.