Title Deed Translation for the USA

The deed/title counterpart and county recording

In the USA ownership rests on the document that transfers the property (the deed) and on the title, which expresses the state of the rights attaching to it; the deed is usually recorded with the county recorder’s office, and there is no central national register. A Turkish title deed enters this system as a foreign document evidencing ownership, and the translation does not equate it with a deed or a title; it carries the document on its own terms. Which state the deed will be used in, and in what procedure – a loan, an inheritance, a declaration of assets – also shapes the form in which the translation will be requested.

The heading of the deed, the issuing land registry directorate and the volume, page and journal numbers are identifying data; they are not translated but carried across as they stand. Given that ownership in the USA is often backed by title insurance, transferring the owner, share and encumbrance details in full lets the other side assess the state of the rights correctly. When a deed relating to Turkish property is filed in a probate case in the USA or attached to a declaration of assets, the translation frequently comes under the eye of a title insurance company or a lawyer, and in that review the clarity of the annotations section and of the share ratio proves decisive.

The parcel number (APN) and the Turkish block and parcel

In Türkiye immovable property is identified by block, parcel and cadastral sheet references; in the USA a property is usually pinned down by a parcel number issued by the county assessor’s office (the Assessor’s Parcel Number) together with the legal description attached to the deed. Because the two systems do not map onto each other, the block and parcel numbers on a Turkish deed are not converted into an APN: they are carried across unchanged, with a short explanatory note where needed. Under no circumstances are these numbers turned into a street address, and the surface area and the description of the property keep their source form.

With flats, the distinction between condominium ownership and construction easement matters; rendering a construction easement as though it were condominium ownership presents the property as more complete than it is, and the distinction points to a different level of security when the property is assessed for a loan or as an investment. The land share is written on the deed as a fraction and is preserved exactly, never confused with shareholding. The independent unit number, the block and the floor are likewise carried across in full.

No federal register, so the annotations carry the weight

Because there is no single federal land register in the USA, how the document will be assessed varies from state to state and from county to county. In that setting the annotations and declarations section (mortgage, attachment, usufruct, family residence annotation) is the most critical information on the deed, since it shows the burdens the property carries; the fact that this section is empty is itself information and is stated in the translation. Omitting an encumbrance makes the property look cleaner than it is in a title insurance or lending review and can produce a serious dispute later. Where property has passed by inheritance, the deed is filed together with the certificate of inheritance and the civil registry extract, and the share ratios in all three are expected to agree. Since recording practice can differ from county to county even within the same state, it is worth establishing at the outset how the document will be required.

• Do not convert the block and parcel numbers into an APN or into an address.
• Do not equate the deed with a deed or title; carry it as a foreign document.
• Translate the annotations section in full; add the certificate of accuracy.

Certification: a signed certificate of accuracy

The USA has no sworn translator regime; the translation of a foreign title document is usually accompanied by a signed certificate of accuracy, and some procedures also ask for that statement to be signed before a notary public. A recent register extract is often a stronger document than a deed of older date. The USA is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; where an apostille is needed for a title deed, an administrative document, it is obtained from the governor’s office or the district governor’s office, and you should confirm the current position from the official HCCH list. You can run the process through our single office in Ankara Kızılay, see the cost on our pricing page and upload your document to request a quote. This content is for general information only; it is not a substitute for advice on property and inheritance law.