SGK service record
The record of your Turkish social security contributions. Never translated for Turkish use — but it is the central document when a foreign pension authority asks what you paid and when.
In brief
- Document category
- Mali ve ticari
- Apostille
- Depends on the case
- Validity
- Shows contributions to the date of issue; recent records are expected
A statement of the periods worked and contributions paid under the Turkish social security system, obtainable electronically. Inside Türkiye it is used as issued.
⭐ Where translation arises
When a pension or social security authority in another country needs to know about Turkish contribution periods — for aggregation under a bilateral agreement, for a pension calculation, or for entitlement to benefits.
People who have worked in more than one country meet this at retirement, often decades after the contributions were made.
⚠ Ask how the document should travel
Türkiye has social security agreements with a number of countries, and under many of them institutions exchange information directly rather than through the individual.
Where that route exists, no apostille and no translation are needed at all, because the document never passes through your hands. Ask the foreign institution which applies before paying for anything.
The ordinary chain
Where you must supply it yourself: apostille from the Turkish authority, then translation into the receiving country’s language.
Everything is rendered — employer names, period codes, contribution types and the abbreviations the record uses. Those codes are the substance of the document for a pension calculation.
Names must match
Your record here is held under the spelling in your Turkish documents. Where a foreign authority holds a different spelling, the two records will not be matched — see name spelling and date formats.
This is one of the places where a transliteration decision made years earlier has a concrete financial consequence.
Foreign records coming here
The reverse case — a foreign institution’s record needed in Türkiye — follows the ordinary inbound chain, with apostille at source and sworn translation here. See social security registration for foreign staff.
Start earlier than you think
Pension files spanning two countries are slow, and they involve institutions that correspond with each other on their own timetables. A missing document at the wrong moment can add months rather than weeks.
Where a claim is coming, obtain your Turkish record early, check that the periods shown match what you remember, and raise any gap with the institution while there is still time to investigate it. Correcting a contribution record is far harder once a claim is under assessment.
Frequently asked questions
No. It is a Turkish document obtained electronically.
When a foreign pension or social security authority asks about your Turkish contribution periods.
Under many bilateral agreements yes, in which case no apostille or translation is needed.
Yes. They are the substance of the document for a pension calculation.
Records are matched by name; a different spelling abroad means two records instead of one.
Early, and check the periods against your own recollection while there is still time to raise a gap.