The apostille certificate itself
It is a document in its own right, with ten standard fields — and it is translated along with everything it is attached to. Checking those fields before the document travels saves the most common late failure.
In brief
- Document category
- Diğer
- Apostille
- Apostille not required
- Validity
- No expiry of its own; the underlying document governs
People think of the apostille as a stamp on a document. It is better understood as a separate certificate attached to it, with its own contents, its own issuing authority and its own reference number.
The ten fields
An apostille follows a standard layout: the country, who signed the underlying document, in what capacity, which authority sealed it, then where, when, by whom, under what number the apostille was issued, and its seal and signature.
⭐ Check those fields against your document before it travels. A name spelled differently, a capacity that does not match, a date that does not correspond — each is far easier to resolve while you are still in that country.
It is translated too
Because it is part of the certified document, the apostille is translated with it. This is the reason the order matters: translate first and the apostille added afterwards still needs rendering into Turkish, so part of the work is repeated.
See apostille first or translation first.
⚠ What it does not say
It certifies the signature, the signatory’s capacity and the seal. It says nothing about whether the content of the document is true, current or sufficient for your purpose.
An apostilled document that has expired is still an expired document, and an apostille cannot make an unsuitable document suitable.
It has no expiry of its own
An apostille does not lapse. What ages is the document beneath it — so a criminal record certificate apostilled last year is out of date because of the certificate, not because of the apostille.
Electronic apostilles
Some countries, Türkiye included, issue apostilles electronically with an online verification reference instead of a physical certificate. Whether a receiving authority accepts that form is its own decision and should be settled early.
Where it comes from in Türkiye
Administrative documents through the provincial governorate or district authority; judicial documents through the judicial commission at the courthouse. Both certify Turkish documents only.
Where it is attached
An apostille may be printed on the reverse of the document, on an attached sheet, or on an allonge bound to it. However it arrives, it is part of the document and must be sent with it — including the binding, which should not be broken to photocopy pages.
See the order documents are processed in for where this sits in the sequence.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. It is part of the certified document and is rendered with it.
No. What ages is the document beneath it.
No. It certifies the signature, capacity and seal only.
That its fields match your document — signatory, capacity and date — before it travels.
The governorate for administrative documents, the courthouse for judicial ones — for Turkish documents only.
That is normal. It is part of the document and must be sent with it, binding intact.