In Türkiye a first name or surname can be changed only by a court decision based on just cause (haklı sebep) under Article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code, Law No. 4721. You file at the civil court of first instance of your residence address against the population directorate; a first instance case commonly takes a few months, and an appeal (istinaf) must be lodged within two weeks of service. The temporary administrative route closed in December 2022; only clerical registry errors are corrected without a lawsuit.
Requests to change a name in Türkiye often come from people with an international background: new citizens who want a name that works in daily life, dual nationals whose two passports differ, and parents who want to rename a child. In 2026 the rules moved again. On 1 April 2026 the Official Gazette published a Constitutional Court decision annulling the requirement to announce every name change on the Press Advertising Agency portal, with effect nine months later. The temporary administrative change without a lawsuit ended in December 2022 and has not been reopened. For almost every real change of name, the route is therefore a lawsuit under Article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code, Law No. 4721.
A name change case, ad değiştirme davası, a lawsuit asking the court to replace the first name or surname in the civil registry, is the standard way to change a name. Under Article 35 of the Civil Registration Services Law, Law No. 5490, no civil registry record may be corrected without a final court judgment.
Article 27 of Law No. 4721 allows a change of name only on the basis of just cause, haklı sebep, a reason the court finds legitimate and serious enough. The law gives no list; the judge weighs the applicant's interest against the public interest in stable identification. Article 27 also states that a change of name does not change personal status, and that anyone harmed by it may sue to have the decision set aside within one year of learning of it.
Under Article 35(1) of Law No. 5490, clerical errors made when an event was entered in the family register are corrected by the population directorate itself, on the basis of the supporting document. If the birth record says "Havva" and the registrar typed "Hava", the office fixes it. If the registry matches the documents and you want a different name, only a court can order the change.
Each ground must be proved, usually with witnesses and documents, and none guarantees success. The ones that recur in reported decisions and in our files are these:
Requests fail mostly for weak evidence or where the judge sees only a passing preference. A change meant to escape creditors or an investigation achieves nothing, since every record follows the identity number, and it damages the application.
Article 36(1)(a) of Law No. 5490 assigns civil registry actions to the civil court of first instance, asliye hukuk mahkemesi, of the applicant's residence address as recorded in the address registration system. Update your address before filing; a case in the wrong court ends with a decision of non-jurisdiction and lost months.
The case is brought against the population directorate, nüfus müdürlüğü, where the applicant is registered, and is heard in the presence of its director or a registrar he or she appoints. The directorate rarely opposes a well founded request but may appeal weak ones.
The petition gives the applicant's identity number, the current and requested name, the facts forming the just cause and the evidence: witnesses, school, work and medical records showing the name used, and correspondence. A lawyer can file and attend for an applicant living abroad; see our guide on issuing a power of attorney abroad for use in Türkiye.
Either party can appeal to the regional court of appeal, istinaf, within two weeks of service under Article 345 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Law No. 6100. Under Article 362(1)(d), regional court decisions on the correction of civil registry records, except those affecting parentage, cannot go to the Court of Cassation. The registry changes only once the judgment is final.
Article 27(2), as amended on 14 November 2024 by Law No. 7532, requires the change to be entered in the civil registry and announced on the portal of the Press Advertising Agency, Basın İlan Kurumu, with the case numbers, place of registration, date of birth, parents' names and old and new names. The Constitutional Court had already annulled the earlier announcement rule on 22 February 2024 (E.2023/34, K.2024/60). By its decision of 25 December 2025 (E.2025/120, K.2025/270), published in the Official Gazette of 1 April 2026, No. 33211, it annulled the portal announcement and the sentence listing its content, keeping only the registry entry, as a disproportionate interference with the protection of personal data under Articles 13 and 20 of the Constitution. The annulment takes effect nine months after publication, at the start of January 2027.
No statutory deadline applies. In large cities a well prepared case commonly takes a few months at first instance, and an appeal adds several more. Costs are fixed court fees under the Law on Fees, Law No. 492, revalued each year, an advance for service and witness expenses, the announcement cost while it applies, and lawyer's fees.
| Element | Current Rule |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Article 27 of Law No. 4721; Articles 35 and 36 of Law No. 5490 |
| Competent court | Civil court of first instance of the residence address |
| Defendant | Population directorate of registration |
| Appeal | Istinaf within two weeks of service; no appeal to the Court of Cassation |
| Announcement | Press Advertising Agency portal until January 2027 |
| Third party objection | Action within one year of learning of the change |
| Administrative route | Closed since December 2022, except clerical errors |
Under Article 339 of Law No. 4721 the mother and father give the child's first name, and under Article 336 they exercise parental custody, velayet, jointly while married. The case is brought by both as legal representatives under Article 342. If one parent objects, the court hears the objection and decides on the child's interest; where a parent's interest conflicts with the child's, a curator, kayyım, can be appointed under Article 426.
After divorce the parent with custody under Article 336(3) files for the child, but the other parent still counts. In a decision of 25 April 2018 (E.2017/8112, K.2018/11602), the 8th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation reversed a judgment granting a custodial mother's request to rename her son because the father's evidence had not been collected, recalling that both parents give the name. With joint custody after divorce, both must act together. These disputes often run alongside custody issues handled by our family law team.
Parents must take the child's opinion into account in important matters under Article 339, and under Article 16 a minor with capacity to discern exercises strictly personal rights alone. Courts commonly hear older children, and a change an older child rejects is unlikely to be granted.
Under Article 173 of Law No. 4721 a divorced woman resumes the surname she bore before the marriage and keeps her former husband's surname only with the judge's permission; see our article on using an ex-husband's surname after divorce in Türkiye. Under Article 36(1)(b) of Law No. 5490, a first name change also corrects the parent's name in the children's records, and a surname change also corrects the surname of the spouse and minor children. Adult children need their own case.
Parliament twice opened a temporary route, usable once and without a court decision, with decisions taken by the provincial or district administrative board, il veya ilçe idare kurulu. Provisional Article 8 of Law No. 5490, added by Law No. 7039 in 2017, covered surnames contrary to Article 3 of the Surname Law, Law No. 2525, and names with spelling errors, for two years. Provisional Article 11, added by Law No. 7196 in December 2019, reopened it for three years and added names contrary to morality or considered ridiculous; the President could extend that period. Official statements gave 24 December 2022 as the last application day, and we found no extension and no new provisional article. As of October 2026, no general administrative change exists; only clerical errors under Article 35(1) are corrected without a lawsuit.
Foreigners are sometimes told that Article 13 of the Code on Private International and Procedural Law, Law No. 5718, decides which law governs their name. It does not: Article 13 covers capacity to marry, the form of marriage and its general effects. Law No. 5718 has no specific conflict rule on names. In practice, and in the prevailing view in Turkish legal writing, a name is part of personal status tied to nationality, so a foreigner's name follows the law of his or her state of nationality, and Turkish authorities record the name in the valid passport.
For a person who is also a Turkish citizen, Article 4(1)(b) applies Turkish law wherever nationality decides the applicable law, so the Turkish registry name changes only through Article 27 or recognition of a foreign judgment. Differing spellings across two passports should be aligned; see our article on Chinese name transliteration errors in citizenship files. A foreign resident is not barred from a Turkish court under Article 40, but a judgment the home state ignores leaves mismatched documents. The better order is to change the name at home, obtain a new passport, then update Turkish records.
Under Article 41 of Law No. 5718, personal status actions of Turkish citizens not brought abroad are heard by the competent Turkish court, failing that the court of residence or last domicile in Türkiye, and failing that a court in Ankara, Istanbul or İzmir. A lawyer can act under a power of attorney given at a consulate or before a foreign notary with an apostille.
A foreign court's name change, including a non-contentious decision, takes effect in the Turkish registry only after a Turkish court finds it meets the conditions of Article 54, except reciprocity, under Article 58 of Law No. 5718; this is a recognition case, tanıma davası. Our article on enforcement of foreign judgments in Türkiye explains it. A change made abroad by a registry office or deed poll is not a judgment; where recognition is unavailable, the foreign change and years of use become the just cause in a Turkish case. The same logic applies to a place of birth on Turkish records.
Not in general. The temporary administrative route closed in December 2022; only clerical registry errors are corrected directly by the population directorate.
The civil court of first instance of your residence address, under Article 36 of Law No. 5490.
The population directorate where you are registered.
A serious, proven reason such as long use of another name, a ridiculous name, a change of religion or citizenship, or gender identity; the court decides case by case.
Usually a few months at first instance in large cities, plus several months for an appeal.
Yes, on the Press Advertising Agency portal until the annulment takes effect at the start of January 2027.
No. Istinaf is possible within two weeks of service, and the regional court's decision is final under Article 362(1)(d) of Law No. 6100.
No. Article 27 states that a change of name does not change personal status.
Not during the marriage. After divorce the custodial parent files, but the other parent's position and the child's interest are examined.
Yes for your spouse and minor children under Article 36(1)(b) of Law No. 5490; adult children need their own case.
Law No. 5718 has no specific rule; in practice the law of nationality applies and Turkish records follow the passport.
For a Turkish citizen, a foreign court decision needs recognition under Article 58 of Law No. 5718; an administrative change abroad may need a Turkish case.
A name change in Türkiye is almost always a court matter: just cause under Article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code, proved before the civil court of first instance of the residence address against the population directorate, with the regional court of appeal having the final word. The administrative window closed in December 2022, the portal announcement ends in January 2027, a child's name involves both custody holders and the child's view, and a foreigner's name follows the home state's law and passport, not Article 13 of Law No. 5718.
The result depends mostly on preparation: the right court, a clear just cause and witnesses who confirm it. To change your own or your child's name, align a dual national's records or have a foreign change recognised, discuss the facts with our legal team.
Documents referenced in this article, free to download.
What Is a Case of Name Change in TurkeyDownload
