What is "Sworn Translation Office"? How to Install?

What is Sworn Translation?

Unfortunately, due to the fact that Türkiye does not have a Translation Law, translators must work in Notary Public Offices under the Notary Law, by taking Oath Minutes / Translator Certificate of Oath in the same manner as staff members.

These translators can only act as “Sworn Translators” in the notary where they received the oath minutes. An oath minutes obtained from a single notary is not valid for all notaries. A minutes of oath can be issued by more than one notary.

In order to work as a Sworn Translator, an individual must meet certain requirements: these include being a citizen of the Republic of Türkiye or, if they are not, holding a valid work permit in Türkiye; graduating from a Translation-Interpreting program or a university's foreign language department; or applying to the Notary Office to have their translations certified along with documentation proving their language proficiency, such as Language Certificates, KPSS, or TOEFL.

If the notary judges that you know the language with the documents, he will issue you with an oath minutes (Translator Certificate of Oath) if he wishes (this is not obligatory).

The provision of a sworn translation service is only possible if the translation carried out by this notary is signed and approved with the same signature in the oath minutes.

In Türkiye, the oath minutes (Translator Certificate of Oath) obtained by a notary is not valid or sufficient in all public institutions. For example, to work as a translator in the Land Registry, in the Courts you must apply as an Interpreter opened by the Ministry of Justice in the Courthouses, you must meet the necessary criteria and subsequently participate in the oath ceremony as a suitable translator candidate and receive your certificate. Thus, you can work as a translator at the Land Registry and in the Courts during the year of filing the application.

Sworn Translation Office

Thanks to the work of the International Federation of Translators and Translation Institutions TUÇEF and the Association of Turkish Translators TUÇED; in accordance with the 7th paragraph of article 2 of the legislation, the members under the authority of the Sworn Translation Office; who comply with the rules and regulations, sign and send the Sworn Declaration in the presence of a notary in the name of their company are assigned the authority of a Sworn Translation Office based on the information about the translation company.

However, all translators who carry out this process; they can obtain authorization from a Sworn translation office. Apart from this, it is not enough for this process to have a minutes of oath or translator certificate of oathissued by an institution or organization, nor to be a graduate of the translation and interpretation department of a university. Persons or organizations that do not have this power, do not have a certificate of authorization and present themselves as a sworn translation agency, illegally provoke unfair competition and disclose misleading information in violation of the law on rights consumers.

You can obtain the necessary information to become a Sworn translation agency from the International Federation of Translators and Translation Institutions TUÇEF or the Association of Turkish Translators TUÇED.

Individuals and organizations who do not have this “Sworn Translation Bureau” authority are advised to conduct through research to avoid being deprived of their rights.

Dr. Ahmet VAROL

www.tuced.org.tr

www.tucef.org.tr