The Belgian sworn translator system

This is the page that determines, for most Belgian files, that the translation will not be done by us. We would rather you read it before paying for anything.

How the Belgian system works

Belgium maintains a national register of sworn translators, administered through the justice system. A translator on it has taken an oath and holds a registration number, which appears alongside the signature and seal on every certified translation. Belgian offices look for that number: it is how they verify that the person who signed is accountable within their own system.

Why Turkish sworn translation does not transfer

In Türkiye, a translator swears an oath before a notary office, and the record of that oath stays with that office. It is a real status with real responsibility, and it produces no entry in the Belgian register. The two systems do not recognise each other automatically — not as a judgement about quality, but because each verifies through its own records. See Turkish sworn translator.

What this means for your file

Where a Belgian authority asks for a registered sworn translator, that requirement governs the translation and the office states it in writing. Practice differs between offices, so ask before anything is translated: the written reply settles the question for your file and costs nothing.

What we do instead

• Obtain the Turkish documents, with a power of attorney.
• Take them to the correct Turkish authority for the apostille.
• Prepare, scan and ship with tracking.
• Explain what the Belgian office is asking for when the wording is unclear.

This is often the longest part of the file. It is simply not the translation.

The other direction is ours

A Belgian document going to a Turkish authority is translated here, and a Belgian sworn translation would not be what a Turkish counter expects. The asymmetry runs both ways. See using Belgian documents in Türkiye.

Finding a registered translator

The register is public and searchable through official channels. We do not maintain referral arrangements and do not take commissions, so we have nothing to gain by directing you anywhere in particular.

Order matters here too

Send the apostilled original — the translator renders document and apostille together. See apostille first, then translation.

Splitting a file between two providers is normal

A Belgian file typically has a Turkish half and a Belgian half, handled by different people. That is not a weakness in the arrangement — it is how the two registers are designed. What matters is consistency between the halves: give the Belgian translator the same spellings of names and institutions that appear on the Turkish originals, and tell each side who is doing what. Files run into trouble at the seam, not within either half.