APPLICATION OF E-APOSTILLE IN TÜRKIYE
An apostille, as outlined in the Hague Convention of 1961, is a certification issued by the competent authority of a country, which authenticates the origin of a public document and ensures its legal validity in other member states of the Convention. An Apostille abolishes the traditional requirements and simplifies the long and complex legislation process for the member countries to the Convention.
Traditionally issued in physical form, this certification can now also be obtained in electronic format (e-Apostille). A document bearing an e-Apostille is recognized as legally valid across all members and contracting states of the Convention.
Several countries have taken a leading role in implementing and utilizing the e-Apostille system. The United Kingdom, Belgium, Brazil, South Korea, France, Colombia, Chile, Singapore, Israel and Türkiye are among the prominent examples. In these jurisdictions, both the issuance of apostilles in digital format and their online verification are possible.
The updated list of Hague Convention member countries, as well as the authorities authorized to issue Apostilles in each jurisdiction, can be accessed at the following address:
https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41
Türkiye has also been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 2006 and launched its e-Apostille initiative in 2019. The electronic system, developed and operated by the Turkish Post (PTT), is accessible via www.eapostil.gov.tr and currently supports e-Apostille issuance for certain types of official documents.As of the present date, the following document types are eligible for e-Apostille certification in Türkiye:
- Criminal Record Certificate
- Court Decision
- Civil Registry Record
- Birth Certificate
- Death Certificate
- Marriage Certificate
Efforts are ongoing to expand the scope of documents eligible for e-Apostille certification. Documents currently under review include:
- Certificate of Name Equivalency
- Diplomas
- Transcripts
- Company incorporation documents and certificates of completion
(It should be noted that e-Apostilles are not issued for documents intended for non-member countries, nor for certain international shipment documents and commercial invoices.)
The e-Apostille procedure comprises several clearly defined stages. The applicant submits a request via www.eapostil.gov.tr for the relevant document. This request is forwarded to the competent authority, either the Ministry of Justice for judicial documents or the Ministry of Interior for administrative documents. The authority then generates the document electronically and, following the application of the e-Apostille, delivers it back to the applicant via the same platform using secure data transmission methods.
The duration of this process may vary depending on the nature of the document and the workload of the issuing authority. Applications must be submitted with complete and accurate information; otherwise, the relevant document may not be retrievable.
To ensure the integrity and authenticity of electronically certified documents, each document is digitally signed with a Qualified Electronic Certificate (QEC) by PTT before being delivered. Foreign official authorities may verify the authenticity of these documents using the “Verify Document” function available on the platform.
The service fees applicable to e-Apostille certification are as follows (regardless of the number of pages):
- TRY 80, VAT included (approximately EUR 1.80), for Criminal Record Certificates issued by Judicial Commission Presidencies under the Ministry of Justice
- TRY 160, VAT included (approximately EUR 3.60), for Court Decisions issued by the same authority
- TRY 80, VAT included (approximately EUR 1.80), for Multilingual Birth Certificates (Form A), Multilingual Marriage Certificates (Form B), Multilingual Death Certificates (Form C), and Civil Registry Records issued by the Ministry of Interior.
In cases where multiple documents are submitted for e-Apostille certification, the above-mentioned fee must be paid separately for each document. The fees applicable to additional administrative documents to be included in the system in the future will be announced in due course.
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