Trade Registry Translation for Germany

Matching the fields to their Handelsregister counterparts

The German side looks in your document for the particular fields it reads in its own registry extract: the company’s name, its seat, its capital, its objects and the persons authorised to represent it. Rendering these fields with German legal terms lets the document be read quickly. The certificate of activity shows the company’s current position; the TTSG announcement shows the incorporation and the changes that followed. Submitted together, they attract far fewer queries than sending the tax registration certificate on its own, because the German recipient sees three things at once: whether the company is active, who represents it, and what its objects are.

It is worth going over the following points before delivery:

• Obtain the certificate of activity and the TTSG announcement together and with a current date.
• Check that the company type abbreviation has not been turned into an “AG” or “GmbH” equivalent.
• Verify that the MERSIS and trade registry numbers have been carried across exactly.
• Confirm that the capital has been left in TL and not converted into a foreign currency.

The false-equivalence trap: an A.Ş. is not an AG

The most common mistake is translating Turkish company type abbreviations into German ones. Writing A.Ş. as “AG”, or a Limited Şirketi as “GmbH”, equates the entity with a different legal form; company types in the two legal systems do not map onto one another exactly. The sound approach is to leave the company type as it stands and, where necessary, add an explanatory note in brackets. Translating the type abbreviation creates a mistaken legal expectation on the other side and can result in the document coming back.

Capital, currency and the terminology of the objects clause

The amount of capital and the currency (TL) stay exactly as they are in the translation; they are not converted into a euro figure at the current rate, because what the document records is registered legal capital. The same care is needed for the objects clause: this field frequently contains sectoral and technical terms, and a free translation can unintentionally narrow or widen the field of activity. The terms should be rendered with their counterparts in German commercial language, but without any change of scope. The format of figures and dates is preserved as well; even a difference in punctuation can cause an amount of capital to be misread.

QR-coded certificates of activity, MERSIS and gazette details

A certificate of activity is today usually obtained with a QR code and electronic verification, through the e-Devlet portal or the trade registry directorate. The translation records the presence of the QR code and of the electronic verification wording with the notes [QR code] and [electronic verification]; the content of the code is not decoded. The MERSIS number and the trade registry number on the document are key data identifying the company and are therefore carried across exactly; a single wrong digit means the document cannot be verified as far as the German registrar is concerned. In a Türkiye Trade Registry Gazette announcement, the date and issue number are preserved in the translation, since they show when the change in question was registered. Which of the electronic copy and the wet-signed printed copy will be asked for varies from institution to institution, so keeping both to hand is the safest route.

The distinction between the current position and past changes also matters: the certificate of activity shows the company as it stands today, whereas gazette announcements are a chronological record. When the German side asks for a current record, submitting the most recent registration announcement together with a currently dated certificate of activity is more complete than sending a single old copy, and reduces the chance of the other side asking for further documents.

A currently dated copy and the approval chain; the most frequent mistakes

A German institution asks for a “currently dated” registry record; a certificate of activity obtained months earlier may be treated as out of date even if its translation is flawless. The document should therefore be obtained with a current date immediately before translation, and if something has since changed at the company, the new registration announcement should be added as well. An official translation in Germany must be a beglaubigte Übersetzung bearing the stamp of a translator sworn before a court. In a translation produced in Türkiye, a sworn translator signs it, a notary notarises it and an apostille is added; Germany is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so confirm the current position from the official HCCH list. The most frequent mistakes are: translating the type abbreviation, converting the capital into a foreign currency, and using an out-of-date copy.

You can see the level of approval required for other documents on our document types page, review the cost on our pricing page, and upload your document to request a quotation. This page is for general information; confirm current requirements with the institution you will be applying to.