Turkey's Justice Ministry says a parent, guardian or other legal representative can now obtain the Turkish criminal record certificate of a child under 18 through e-Devlet in 51 languages. The official notice, published on 14 September, says the route has been available since 10 August 2026. For international families, this can remove a courthouse visit when a school, consulate, visa office or other authority asks for the child's Turkish record. It does not let unrelated adults access a minor's data, and the receiving authority still decides whether an apostille, translation or newer document is required.
Who can request a minor's certificate
The ministry names three authorised roles: a parent, guardian or legal representative. The certificate belongs to the child under 18 and is requested through the representative's authenticated e-Devlet session. The announcement does not create public access to children's records or authorise schools, agents and other third parties to retrieve them. If the child-representative relationship is not recognised in the digital system, the notice gives no alternative shortcut; the family should use the Justice Ministry's official support route.
Which eight languages were added
The newly listed options are Swahili, Azerbaijani, Lithuanian, Estonian, Norwegian, Icelandic, Vietnamese and Georgian. English and German were already available and were the two most-used foreign-language versions in the figures disclosed by the ministry. The announcement does not say that every authority abroad must accept every language version.
What the official figures show
Of the 590,812 foreign-language certificates issued from 1 January to 11 September 2026, 295,846 were in English, 52,244 in German and 36,230 in Bulgarian. These are document counts, not the number of unique applicants, migrants or criminal cases. They should not be read as a measure of immigration or crime.
How the digital route works
The official e-Devlet directory lists the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Record Inquiry service. It requires authentication through an accepted e-Devlet login method. Users should select the document purpose and available language inside the official service, then check the generated barcode and personal details before submitting the file. Eligibility and the options shown may depend on the user's record and account.
A Turkish record is not a home-country police certificate
The service produces information held in Turkey's criminal record system. A Russian, Ukrainian, German or other foreign national asked for a police certificate from a country of nationality or previous residence may still need a separate document from that country. The 51-language update does not merge national databases or extend the geographic scope of the Turkish certificate.
Translation and apostille are different steps
A certificate generated in another language is not automatically apostilled or legalised. Turkey's e-Devlet directory lists a separate PTT e-Apostille application for criminal record documents. Whether an apostille, certified translation, recent issue date or paper original is required must be checked with the receiving consulate, employer, university, immigration office or other authority before use.
What changed — and what did not
The update adds output languages and does not announce a new residence permit, citizenship route, work authorisation or exemption from document checks. It also does not make third-party paid websites official. Use turkiye.gov.tr for the record inquiry and official verification tools; avoid uploading identity data to unofficial portals.
Justice Minister's 11 September statement on the 51-language service →