Türkiye has no dedicated escrow law. Escrow is a contract under the Turkish Code of Obligations, Law No. 6098: under Article 569 a jointly appointed trustee may release the money only with the consent of all depositors or a court decision, and Articles 170 to 175 govern the release conditions. Banks hold the funds in escrow or blocked accounts. For real estate sales paid in cash or by transfer, the Regulation on Real Estate Trade makes a state safe payment system mandatory from 1 December 2026, and foreign buyers must present a foreign currency purchase certificate at the land registry.
A buyer signing for a flat in Antalya from Germany, an investor taking 60 percent of an Istanbul company, a supplier waiting for a Turkish customer to pay: each needs someone to hold the money until the other side performs. Türkiye has no escrow statute, but its contract law supplies the tools, and an amendment of 29 April 2026 has added a state payment system for property sales, now due to become mandatory on 1 December 2026. This article covers the legal basis, bank practice, property and share deals, the foreign currency rules and the clauses that make release automatic.
No statute regulates escrow as such; neither the Turkish Code of Obligations, Law No. 6098, nor the Turkish Commercial Code, Law No. 6102, has a chapter on it. Escrow is an atypical contract, valid under Article 26 of Law No. 6098, which lets parties set the content of a contract within the limits of the law.
The model is the saklama sözleşmesi, the contract of deposit, in Article 561. Normally the depositary returns the item on request (Article 564), but under Article 569, where several persons leave an item whose legal status is disputed or uncertain with a trustee, the trustee may not return it to any of them without the consent of all depositors or a decision of the judge. So once buyer and seller jointly appoint the agent, neither can take the money back alone. Under Article 570, however, if a depositary may return the same amount rather than the same notes, benefit and risk pass to it, so a private agent who mixes escrow funds with its own leaves the parties as ordinary creditors. Escrow money belongs in a separate bank account.
Under Article 170 a contract subject to a condition precedent takes effect only when the uncertain fact occurs, such as registration of the buyer, and Article 175 deems a condition fulfilled if a party prevents it contrary to good faith. The agent's duties follow the mandate rules in Articles 502 and 506. Because Article 512 lets a principal end a mandate at any time, a joint appointment that can only be changed jointly is safer than a mere instruction from the buyer. No form is required by Article 12, but Article 200 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Law No. 6100, requires written proof above a yearly revalued threshold, 41,000 Turkish Lira for transactions made in 2026.
Banks are the usual agents. Several Turkish banks offer escrow accounts, mainly to corporate clients, under a tripartite agreement, or hold funds in a bloke hesap, a blocked account, released only against listed documents or a joint instruction. Banks compare documents rather than judge disputes, and fees vary by bank. Notaries draw up promises to sell real estate and handle the used vehicle sales described in section 3.2, but property payments normally go through banks. Be wary of private "escrow companies": under Article 60 of the Banking Law, Law No. 5411, only credit institutions and those authorised by special laws may accept deposits as a business.
An amendment of 29 April 2026 (Official Gazette No. 33238) added Additional Article 1 to the Regulation on Real Estate Trade. Where all or part of a sale price is paid in cash or by wire or electronic funds transfer, it must pass through a system in which ownership and price change hands simultaneously, the güvenli ödeme sistemi, the safe payment system. It covers private sellers as well as businesses, with no exception for foreign buyers in the text; bank financed portions are excluded, and a usage fee is deducted from the seller's price. An amendment of 1 October 2026 (Official Gazette No. 33387) moved the start date from 1 July to 1 December 2026 and left excluded sales and the fee to a protocol with an authorised integrator. The Ministry of Trade may still extend the date by up to three months. The system protects only the moment of transfer; earlier deposits and conditions such as vacant possession still need a contractual escrow.
Article 26 of the Regulation on Trade in Motor Vehicles (Official Gazette No. 32645, 27 August 2024) already requires the price of a used vehicle paid in cash or by transfer to pass through an electronic system that exchanges ownership and price at once. It applied to dealers from publication and to other sellers one month later, with exclusions such as sales between businesses.
The main risks are money paid before title deed day and sales signed in different places. Our article on real estate purchase procedures for foreigners in Türkiye covers the whole process.
Under Article 177 of Law No. 6098, money given at the conclusion of a contract is presumed to be earnest money deducted from the price; if the seller sells elsewhere, recovery means a lawsuit. Safer is a satış vaadi sözleşmesi, a promise to sell made before a notary in the official form Article 237 requires, annotated on the land register under Article 1009 of the Turkish Civil Code, Law No. 4721, with the deposit in a bank escrow. For instalments to a developer before completion, the Consumer Protection Law, Law No. 6502, regulates prepaid housing sales, but staged release against permits and certified construction stages must be negotiated before the reservation fee is paid.
The official deed is signed before the land registry official under Article 26 of the Land Registry Law, Law No. 2644, which also allows the parties' declarations to be taken separately at different offices or abroad. In such split signings an escrow releasing on a land registry extract showing the buyer as owner is close to essential. See our guide to the title deed transfer process and our real property sales and title deed transfer service.
The buyer leaves part of the price in escrow, for example 10 percent for 18 months, against warranty claims or a price adjustment; the clause must say how claims are notified and how much each one holds back. In an asset deal Article 202 of Law No. 6098 keeps the seller jointly liable for the business's debts for two years, so a holdback for that period protects the buyer. Where merger control approval is needed under Article 7 of the Law on the Protection of Competition, Law No. 4054, nothing should be released before it.
A seller accepting deferred payment can keep the shares in escrow. In a joint stock company, registered shares pass by endorsement and delivery under Article 490 of Law No. 6102, and only a person in the pay defteri, the share ledger, counts as shareholder towards the company under Article 499, so the agent holds the endorsed certificates and the ledger until the last instalment. In a limited company, Article 595 requires a written transfer with notarised signatures and, unless the articles say otherwise, general assembly approval. Our mergers and acquisitions team and our article on share transfers in limited companies cover the steps.
| Option | How It Works and When It Fits |
|---|---|
| Bank escrow account | Tripartite agreement; release against listed documents or joint instruction. Suits property and company deals. |
| Blocked account in the payer's name | Cheaper, but only as strong as the bank's blocking terms; funds may be exposed to the payer's creditors. |
| Safe payment system for real estate | Mandatory for sales paid in cash or by transfer from 1 December 2026, subject to exclusions; covers registration only. |
| Payment system for used vehicles | Mandatory since 2024, with exclusions such as sales between businesses. |
| Lawyer or private agent | Useful for documents; for money the parties carry the agent's solvency risk under Article 570. |
| Court deposit under Article 107 | A debtor whose creditor refuses performance deposits at a place set by the judge; a remedy, not a planned escrow. |
The escrow must use the same definitions as the main contract, discussed in our guide to commercial contracts in Türkiye. Cover at least:
Decree No. 32 is issued under the Law on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency, Law No. 1567, and breaches are fined under Article 3 of that Law. Its Article 4(g) bars persons resident in Türkiye from fixing prices in foreign currency, or indexed to it, in sales of movables and real estate, leases, and employment, service and work contracts between themselves, except where the Ministry of Treasury and Finance allows it.
Residence turns on legal domicile in Türkiye. The Ministry's guidance confirms that persons resident abroad are outside the rule, while a domiciled foreigner is a resident. Communiqué No. 2008-32/34 still allows foreign currency in real estate sales where the buyer is not a Turkish citizen, in service contracts with a party who is not a Turkish citizen, and for buyers that are companies at least 50 percent owned or controlled from abroad. Check share sales separately before fixing a foreign currency price between two residents.
According to the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, since 24 January 2022 a foreign natural person buying real estate must sell foreign currency to the Central Bank through a bank and present the döviz alım belgesi, foreign currency purchase certificate, at the land registry, so conversion must be built into the escrow. See our guide to the foreign currency purchase certificate.
Under the Stamp Tax Law, Law No. 488, contracts stating a definite sum are taxed at 9.48 per thousand, with a per document ceiling under Article 14 revalued yearly, payable by the signatories under Article 3. An escrow agreement stating the amount is normally within scope, while a promise to sell real estate in official form carries a zero rate. The title deed fee under the Law on Fees, Law No. 492, and bank fees are separate.
A dispute usually begins with an ihtarname, a formal notice served through a notary, which puts the other side in default under Article 117 of Law No. 6098. Money claims in commercial cases require prior mediation under Article 5/A of Law No. 6102. The International Arbitration Law, Law No. 4686, covers disputes with a foreign element seated in Türkiye, but neither it nor Article 408 of Law No. 6100 allows arbitration of rights in rem in real estate. Foreign awards are enforced under Article 60 of Law No. 5718; see our article on international arbitration in Türkiye. Meanwhile the court can grant an ihtiyati tedbir, an interim injunction, under Article 389 of Law No. 6100, and a creditor can seek an ihtiyati haciz, a precautionary attachment, under Article 257 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, Law No. 2004.
No. Escrow is a contract based mainly on Article 569 of the Turkish Code of Obligations and its rules on conditions.
Not after a joint deposit: Article 569 requires the consent of all depositors or a court decision.
In principle yes, but the bank usually asks for a Turkish tax number and decides whether to accept the deal.
Not for sales before 1 December 2026; after that, cash and transfer payments must use it, subject to exclusions.
Only partly. It does not protect earlier deposits or conditions other than registration.
The Regulation deducts the usage fee from the seller's price.
Yes where a party is resident abroad or an exception applies, such as a buyer without Turkish citizenship; otherwise it must be in Turkish Lira.
Yes. A foreign natural person buying real estate must present it at the land registry.
No legal rule exists; it is negotiated on the basis of due diligence and the warranty period.
Generally yes if it states a definite amount: 9.48 per thousand, up to a yearly revalued ceiling.
Yes for money disputes, but not for rights in rem in real estate in Türkiye.
Yes. Article 26 of Law No. 2644 allows declarations to be taken abroad, and many buyers use a notarised power of attorney.
Turkish law has no escrow statute, yet a well drafted escrow is enforceable. Its strength comes from Article 569 of the Code of Obligations, clear conditions and a separate bank account. For property, the safe payment system due on 1 December 2026 will cover the moment of transfer, while deposits and other conditions still need a contractual escrow. Foreign currency rules, the purchase certificate and stamp tax should be checked before anyone signs.
If you are buying property, acquiring a company or paying a Turkish counterparty from abroad, our legal team can structure the escrow, negotiate it with the bank and review the main contract.
