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Certified Turkish Name Change Document Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record a change of name in Turkey, including the marginal annotations and registry endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
The nüfus record, and MERNİS
Turkey keeps a central population register, MERNİS, administered by the Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri, and the document a foreign office needs is the nüfus kayıt örneği — the population registry record — which lists the person, their parents and the registered events.
A change of name requires a decision of the asliye hukuk mahkemesi, the civil court of first instance, under the Civil Code, which is then entered in the register. Temporary statutory windows have allowed a one-off administrative correction at the nüfus office instead, so the instrument may be either.
Surnames only since 1934
Turks had no hereditary surnames until the Surname Law of 1934, when every family was required to adopt one. Records from before then identify people by given name and father's name, and a surname appearing for the first time in the mid-1930s is the law operating rather than a change.
That fact resolves a great many apparent discrepancies in Ottoman-era genealogy and in old family documents, and we state it where the dates make it relevant.
İ and ı are different letters
Turkish distinguishes dotted İ/i from dotless I/ı, and they are separate letters with separate sounds. İsmail uppercases to İSMAİL, not ISMAIL, and Işık lowercases to ışık. Software that applies English casing rules mangles Turkish names reliably.
Turkish also uses ç, ğ, ö, ş and ü. We reproduce the Turkish and note the stripped rendering where a passport shows one — a difference that is almost never a change of name.
The T.C. number, and the alphabet reform
The T.C. Kimlik No is eleven digits, unique for life, and does not change with a name. It is the reliable identifier in a Turkish packet.
Documents predating the 1928 alphabet reform are in Ottoman Turkish in Arabic script — a different language stage as well as a different script — and are a specialist job rather than ordinary Turkish. See our Turkish page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, so the reader can see that the change was recorded against the original entry rather than written into a fresh document. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a court in Turkey?
Usually yes, the asliye hukuk mahkemesi. Temporary statutory windows have allowed a one-off administrative correction instead.
My grandfather's records show no surname.
Turks had no hereditary surnames before the 1934 Surname Law. Not a change.
Is Ismail the same as İsmail?
Yes, but the dotted and dotless i are different letters in Turkish. We reproduce the Turkish and note the stripped rendering.
Does the T.C. number change?
No. Eleven digits, unique for life, and the reliable identifier.
Ready to get started?
Upload the order, the resolution or the annotated certificate and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.