Criminal Record Certificate Translation

The certificate is compulsory for residence, work permit, citizenship and certain professional applications abroad. Some countries also ask for a separate criminal record certificate from every country the person has lived in over recent years; in that case the record obtained in Türkiye is only one link in a chain.

Criminal record and archive record: the difference

There are two distinct types of record, and confusing them is the most frequent source of trouble. The criminal record shows convictions still being served or otherwise treated as current. The criminal record archive covers past entries where the sentence has been served in full, deleted, or moved to the archive under certain conditions.

Most foreign authorities want the version that includes the archive record as well, because their assessment looks not only at the present situation but at the past. That choice has to be made when the certificate is requested. Presenting a criminal record alone where the archive record was asked for means applying with a correctly translated but wrong document.

The translation has to render these two concepts separately and accurately as well. Collapsing them into a single expression blurs the scope of the certificate and prompts the receiving institution to ask for further paperwork.

The e-Devlet printout, the QR code and the choice of institution

When the certificate is obtained through e-Devlet it carries a QR code and a verification number. That code is the only thing proving the document genuine; there is no wet signature and no seal. The presence of the QR code, the verification number beneath it and the verification address all have to be stated in the translation.

The question the system asks while the certificate is being issued – which institution it is intended for – also matters. The purpose selected can affect the content of the certificate and whether the archive record appears on it. For documents to be submitted abroad the appropriate option has to be ticked; the wrong choice can narrow the scope of the certificate.

Where an apostille is needed, the e-Devlet printout is usually not enough. Because an apostille verifies a signature and a seal, a copy bearing a wet signature and a seal has to be obtained from the courthouse. As the criminal record certificate counts as a judicial document, the apostille application goes to the relevant judicial justice commission rather than to the governor’s office.

Validity: the narrowest window of all

A criminal record certificate shows the position at the moment it is issued; that position may change the next day. Institutions are accordingly stricter about this document than about any other. Many immigration authorities require it to have been issued within the last three months, and some bring that down to one month.

The chain of steps is long too: obtain the certificate, have it apostilled, have it translated, obtain notarisation and, if required, a second apostille. The time all that takes can eat into the certificate’s window of validity. This is why the criminal record certificate should be the last item obtained, once everything else in the file is ready.

The date of issue on the certificate must appear clearly in the translation. A date written in day-month-year order can be misread in countries that use month-day order, making the document look older or newer than it is.

The route for those living abroad

Turkish citizens living abroad can obtain the certificate too. Those with e-Devlet access can produce it online; for those without, there is a route running through the consulates. Since the apostille is issued by an authority in Türkiye, however, files that require a wet-signed copy can take longer.

In that situation, giving authority to a representative in Türkiye is the practical answer. The power of attorney can be drawn up at the Turkish consulate in the country of residence and allows the representative to obtain the criminal record certificate and carry out the apostille formalities. These powers have to be written expressly into the scope of the document.

Where an applicant has lived in several countries, a separate certificate is required from each and every one of them is certified in its own country. The record obtained in Türkiye is one link in that chain; where documents from other countries are to be used in Türkiye the flow runs the other way and they are translated and notarised here.

At every link of the chain the name must appear in the same spelling. Documents from different countries may have written the person’s name according to their own alphabets; explaining those differences by reference to the passport spelling keeps the file coherent.

Translating the words “no record found”

The critical sentence in the whole document is the one stating that no record exists. If that sentence is given a vague or weak equivalent in the target language, the officer cannot be sure what the document actually says. The wording has to convey, beyond any doubt, that there is no entry whatsoever in the person’s criminal record.

Where there is an entry, matters become more delicate still. Offence names, types of penalty and enforcement status are concepts belonging to a particular legal system; “translating” them into the nearest offence name in the destination country is wrong. The correct approach is to keep the term used in Turkish law and add an explanatory rendering. Decision dates, court names and file numbers are carried across exactly as they stand.

The covering line stating the purpose for which the certificate was issued must not be skipped either. That line shows the scope of the record and the institution it was issued for; when it is absent from the translation the receiving institution cannot be sure the document was drawn up for it at all.

Purpose and level of certification

Purpose of use	Type of record needed	Level of certification
Tourist visa file	Criminal record	Sworn translation
Work permit application	Criminal record + archive record	Notarisation + apostille
Residence permit	Criminal record + archive record	Notarisation + apostille
Citizenship application	Criminal record + archive record	Notarisation + apostille
Professional licence and registration	Varies by institution	Notarised

Differences from country to country

Applications to Australia require a NAATI-accredited translator, and the immigration authority scrutinises how recent the certificate is. Canada asks for a translator registered with the provincial translators’ association; failing that, a sworn statement is attached to the translation, and because the apostille arrangements changed recently the current position needs to be confirmed against the official list. Germany, for its part, requires a translation by a court-sworn translator and an apostille together. The details are in our countries guide.

Mistakes peculiar to this document

• Obtaining only the criminal record when the archive record was asked for.
• Obtaining the certificate at the start of the file and using up its window of validity.
• Going to the governor’s office for the apostille; for a judicial document the authority sits at the courthouse.
• Trying to obtain an apostille on a QR-coded e-Devlet printout.
• Mapping offence and penalty names onto the concepts of the destination country.
• Failing to state the verification number in the translation.

Get the order right and you will not lose time

With a criminal record certificate, success depends on timing before it depends on the quality of the translation. Tell us the destination country and your application date and we will plan together at which stage you should obtain the certificate and which layers of certification will be looked for. Language options are on our languages page and local information on our provinces page; for your file you can use the quotation form.

What follows summarises the typical process; different institutions may require different certification for the same document. The final requirement is set by the authority you apply to, so confirm it in advance.