“Traducteur juré” explained
In Belgium a traducteur juré is a sworn translator entered on the national register, working under a seal that carries a national registration number. The Belgian rule that surprises people is the order of steps: the apostille goes on first, and the sworn translator translates the apostille as well.
Checked on 8 September 2026 Last updated 8 September 2026
Belgium organises sworn translation more tightly than most of its neighbours. A traducteur juré is entered on a national register of sworn translators and interpreters, has taken an oath, and translates under a seal carrying a national registration number. Belgian authorities and municipalities check that number, which is why an unregistered translation is refused quickly rather than quietly.
The order of steps is fixed
This is the part that catches out people arriving from other systems. In Belgium the foreign document is apostilled first, in the country that issued it, and the sworn translator then translates the document and the apostille as one item. Translate first and apostille afterwards, and you end up with an apostille in Turkish attached to a Belgian-language translation — an incomplete file.
For a Turkish document that means: obtain it, have the apostille applied by the competent Turkish authority, then send the apostilled original to Belgium. The sequence and the reasoning are set out on apostille first, then translation.
Which language, and which office
Belgium has language regions, and the translation language follows the municipality or authority handling the file rather than your preference: French in Wallonia, Dutch in Flanders, and a choice in parts of Brussels. Choosing the wrong one means the file comes back untouched. French or Dutch: which translation language covers how to determine it.
What it does not mean
- Not the same as Québec’s traducteur agréé. Belgium runs a register with an oath; Québec runs a professional order with a membership. Neither status is recognised by the other.
- Not something a Turkish notary can substitute. A Turkish notarised translation does not satisfy a request for a Belgian sworn translator, however many stamps it carries.
- Not automatically legalised. Depending on the receiving authority, the sworn translator’s own signature may itself need a further certification step in Belgium; ask the office whether it requires this.
- Not a licence to certify the content of a document, only to attest that the translation matches what was in front of the translator.
Where the Turkish side still matters
The translation is Belgian work, but everything before it is not. Obtaining the civil status record or criminal record certificate, getting it in the right version, and having the apostille applied to a wet-signed original all happen in Türkiye — and getting the version wrong is a more common cause of delay than the translation itself. The Belgian sworn translator system sets out the whole chain.
Frequently asked questions
Not automatically. Each country recognises its own arrangement, although in practice some offices accept a sworn translation made in a neighbouring state. Ask the receiving office in writing rather than assuming; a refusal costs a full re-translation.
For the Belgian file, usually yes. It may still be useful if the same document is going to a Turkish institution or to a Canadian federal procedure, but do not count on a Belgian municipality accepting it.
Certain records benefit from arrangements that reduce the certification burden between particular countries, but the scope is narrow and changes. Treat any exemption as something to confirm at source with the Belgian office before you rely on it.