Quick glossary: French document terms
The French terms that turn up in almost every francophone file, with their English equivalents and the Turkish document that corresponds to them. Where a term hides a trap, the trap is named rather than glossed over.
Checked on 8 September 2026 Last updated 8 September 2026
Instruction sheets from Québec, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg are written for people who already read French administrative vocabulary. This page lists the terms that recur, what each one is in English, and where the corresponding Turkish document comes from. The entries with real traps behind them have pages of their own, linked from the table.
People and certifications
| French | English | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| traduction assermentée | sworn translation | The oath is national; see the full entry |
| traducteur agréé | certified translator | Québec: membership of a professional order, not an oath |
| traducteur juré | sworn translator | Belgium: national register with a registration number |
| notaire | civil law notary | Drafts and is answerable for the deed; not a signature witness |
| huissier de justice | judicial officer / bailiff | Serves and enforces; no role in translation |
| ordre professionnel | professional order | Controls the right to practise; see the entry |
| assermenté | sworn | An adjective, not a qualification in itself |
Civil status documents
| French | English | Turkish counterpart |
|---|---|---|
| acte d’état civil | civil status record | Nüfus kaydı |
| acte de naissance | birth record | Doğum kaydı / nüfus kayıt örneği |
| acte de mariage | marriage record | Evlenme kaydı |
| acte de décès | death record | Ölüm kaydı |
| copie intégrale | full copy | Vukuatlı nüfus kayıt örneği |
| extrait avec filiation | extract with parentage | Nüfus kayıt örneği |
| extrait plurilingue | multilingual extract | Çok dilli belge from a population directorate |
| mention marginale | marginal annotation | Event lines on the registry record |
| livret de famille | family record book | Aile cüzdanı |
| certificat de célibat | certificate of no impediment | Evlenme ehliyet belgesi |
| fiche d’état civil | civil status sheet | Largely obsolete; expect a request for extracts instead |
Certification, procedure and study
| French | English | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| apostille | apostille | Issued only by the country of origin; compared with légalisation here |
| légalisation | legalisation | Also means signature certification at a town hall — a different act |
| acte authentique | authentic instrument | Drawn up by a public officer; stronger than a witnessed signature |
| acte sous seing privé | private agreement | Signed by the parties alone; proves nothing by itself |
| procuration | power of attorney | Consular version needs no apostille |
| pièce justificative | supporting document | Generic term; always ask which document is meant |
| attestation | attestation / letter of confirmation | Issued by a body about a fact; weaker than a register extract |
| relevé de notes | transcript | Must cover all terms; grades are never converted |
| diplôme | diploma | Sealed copies often requested directly from the university |
| équivalence | equivalence | A comparison, not a right to practise |
| reconnaissance | recognition | Granted by the regulator; the difference matters |
| casier judiciaire | criminal record | Several versions; ask which one is required |
| délai | deadline / time limit | Not “delay”; a classic false friend |
| dossier | file / application | The whole set of documents, not a folder |
| demande | application / request | Not “demand” |
| récépissé | receipt / acknowledgement | Proof of lodging, not a decision |
| original | original | Means an issue from the register, not your own photocopy |
| copie certifiée conforme | certified true copy | Who may certify it varies by country |
How to use this list
Take the exact phrase from your instruction sheet, find it here, and then confirm the version with the office that will receive the document. Where a term names more than one possible document — acte de naissance and casier judiciaire are the two worst offenders — the receiving office is the only reliable source for which version it wants. The country-by-country picture is set out in the francophone countries comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Send the sentence, not your interpretation of it, to the receiving office and ask which document it names. Administrative French is precise, and a paraphrase usually loses the distinction that matters.
The civil status vocabulary is largely shared. The certification vocabulary is not: traducteur juré, traducteur agréé and traducteur assermenté describe three different systems and are not interchangeable.
Civil status records covered by the multilingual international forms — births, marriages and deaths. Everything else, including diplomas, transcripts, criminal record certificates and court judgments, is issued in Turkish and needs translation.