A Turkish power of attorney (vekaletname) is accepted only if signed before a Turkish notary or consulate, or before a foreign notary with an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention (or consular legalisation) and a sworn Turkish translation certified by a Turkish notary. Every act must be written in: Article 504 of Law No. 6098 and Article 74 of Law No. 6100 require express authority to sue, settle, waive or transfer property. Title deed powers must be drawn up in full with a sealed photograph. You can revoke one at any time with an azilname.
Most foreigners who own property, inherit assets or have a dispute in Türkiye cannot be present for every hearing, signature and appointment, so the work is done through a power of attorney given to a Turkish lawyer or a trusted person. The tools have improved: a power of attorney signed at a Turkish consulate is now stored in the electronic system of the Union of Turkish Notaries, so the agent can obtain a certified copy from a notary in Türkiye without waiting for the original to arrive by post, a practice in place since 6 April 2019. The 2026 notary fee tariff has applied since 1 January 2026. What has not changed is the main reason these documents fail: courts, land registries and banks in Türkiye read the wording strictly, and an act that is not written into the document cannot be carried out. This article brings together everything a foreign principal needs: the types of power of attorney, the clauses a Turkish lawyer needs and why, the title deed power of attorney, signing at a notary in Türkiye or from abroad, special cases, the agent's liability and how the authority ends.
A vekaletname, the written power of attorney, is the document by which a person (the principal) shows third parties that another person (the agent) may act in the principal's name. Two sets of rules in the Turkish Code of Obligations, Law No. 6098, stand behind it, and it helps to keep them apart.
The relationship between you and your agent is a contract of mandate under Articles 502 to 514 of Law No. 6098. Article 502 defines it as a contract by which the agent undertakes to conduct a business or carry out a transaction for the principal, and the agent is entitled to a fee where the contract or custom provides for one. Under Article 503, where the person asked to do the work does such work professionally, as a lawyer does, the mandate is deemed concluded unless the proposal is rejected immediately. The authority to act towards third parties is governed by the representation rules: under Article 41, the content and extent of the authority follow the legal transaction that created it and, once the authority has been notified to third parties, that notification. The notarised vekaletname is that notification in the form Turkish institutions accept.
Under Articles 10 and 11 of the Turkish Civil Code, Law No. 4721, every adult who has the capacity to discern and is not under interdiction has capacity to act, and majority begins at 18. For a foreign principal, Article 9 of the Code on Private International and Procedural Law, Law No. 5718, applies the person's national law to capacity, although a person who has capacity under the law of the place of signature is generally bound, except in family, succession and foreign immovable property matters. The notary must establish the identity, address and capacity of the person signing and their real wishes under Article 72 of the Notaries Law, Law No. 1512, so a principal whose capacity is doubtful, for example because of illness, should expect questions or a request for a medical report.
Article 504 of Law No. 6098 says that where the scope of the mandate is not expressly specified, it follows the nature of the business. However, unless specially authorised, the agent may not bring an action, settle, resort to arbitration, request bankruptcy or a composition with creditors, assume obligations under bills of exchange, make donations, stand as surety, or transfer immovable property or encumber it with a right. In practice this means that a power to buy a flat does not include a power to sell it, a power to manage a bank account does not include a power to borrow, and a power to deal with your affairs in general does not allow your lawyer to file a lawsuit. Each act you want carried out has to be written into the document.
Turkish practice distinguishes powers of attorney by their breadth, by their purpose and by their duration. The table summarises the categories a foreign client meets most often.
| Type | What it covers and when it is used |
|---|---|
| General power of attorney | Broad authority over many matters; long term representation, but the acts listed in Article 504 of Law No. 6098 still need to be named expressly |
| Special power of attorney | One named transaction or a short list of them, such as selling a specific flat or collecting a specific debt |
| Litigation power of attorney | Authority for a lawyer to bring, defend and pursue court and enforcement proceedings, with the special clauses of Article 74 of the Code of Civil Procedure |
| Title deed power of attorney | Sale, purchase, mortgage or other land registry acts; must be drawn up in full by the notary and carry the principal's photograph |
| Time limited power of attorney | Valid until a stated date; the period must be requested when the document is drawn up |
| Power of attorney without a time limit | Valid until it is revoked or ends by law, for example on death |
A general power of attorney is convenient when one person, often a family member or a lawyer, will look after several matters for years. It is also the type that causes most harm when trust breaks down, for the reasons set out in section 8.2 below. A special power of attorney is limited to the transactions written in it and ends once they are completed. For a single property sale, one lawsuit or one inheritance file, a special document is usually the safer choice, and it is also easier for the land registry or bank to check.
Turkish consulates state in their guidance that a power of attorney without a stated period remains valid without a time limit, and that a principal who wants a time limit must say so at the start of the procedure. A time limit is useful for temporary tasks, but it does not replace the right to revoke: under Article 512 of Law No. 6098 the principal may end the mandate at any time, whatever the period written in the document.
When you instruct a lawyer in Türkiye, the lawyer will ask for a dava vekaletnamesi, a litigation power of attorney drawn up or certified by a notary. Under Article 76 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Law No. 6100, a lawyer must place the original, or a copy certified by the lawyer, in the court or enforcement file. Under Article 77, a lawyer who does not submit it may not file the case or take any procedural step; in urgent cases the court may allow the lawyer to act on condition that the document is produced within a time limit, failing which the case is deemed not to have been filed.
Article 73 of Law No. 6100 gives the litigation mandate a statutory core: until the judgment becomes final, it covers all acts needed to pursue the case, to have the judgment enforced, and to collect the costs of proceedings and give receipts for them. Restrictions that the principal places on this core are invalid as against the opposing party. Everything beyond it requires express wording.
Article 74 of Law No. 6100 lists the acts a lawyer may not perform unless expressly authorised. A well drafted litigation power of attorney names them, because each one corresponds to a step that may become necessary at short notice:
Lawyers also ask for ahzu kabz, the authority to receive and collect money and property on the client's behalf. Turkish courts, enforcement offices and banks in practice pay sums out to a lawyer only if the document contains this clause, so without it a judgment debt, a settlement payment or a deposit returned by the court has to be collected by you in person. The clause is a matter of trust: under Article 508 of Law No. 6098 the agent must account for the business and hand over whatever was received under the mandate, with interest on money handed over late. If you prefer, the clause can be limited, for example to one file or to payment into an account in your name.
Property transactions carry the strictest form. Article 89 of Law No. 1512 requires powers of attorney that by their nature lead to a transaction at the land registry to be issued düzenleme şeklinde, drawn up by the notary as a full official deed rather than as a document on which the notary merely certifies a signature. Under Article 80 of the same law, the transactions requiring the principal's photograph are listed in the implementing regulation, and the land registry administration applies that rule to title deed powers of attorney. Its circulars require a recent passport style photograph that shows the principal's current appearance, affixed to the document and sealed by the issuing authority; a photograph attached only with a staple is not accepted. Powers of attorney given on behalf of a company do not require a photograph.
The content should identify the property (province, district, block and parcel, or at least the transaction clearly), state whether the agent may buy, sell, mortgage or release a mortgage, and set out related acts such as agreeing the price, receiving it, paying title deed fees and taxes and signing the official deed. Turkish consulates also note that in a sale or purchase power of attorney the agent cannot be the same person as the buyer or seller. Our guide to the title deed transfer process in Türkiye explains the appointment at the land registry itself, and our property sales and title deed transfer service covers transactions carried out for clients who are abroad.
If you are in Türkiye, any notary office can issue the document. The fastest route is to have your lawyer send the draft to the notary in advance, so that the visit consists of identity checks, reading and signing.
Bring a valid passport. If you hold a residence permit, your foreigner identification number appears on it and will be used in the record. Article 84 of Law No. 1512 requires the notarial record to show the identity, address and vergi kimlik numarası, the Turkish tax identification number, of the person signing, so a foreigner without a Turkish identification number will be asked for a tax number, which a tax office issues on presentation of a passport. You also need the agent's full details; where the agent is a lawyer, consulates ask for the lawyer's bar association, registration number and office address, and Turkish notaries usually work from the same information.
Under Article 74 of Law No. 1512, a principal who does not know Turkish must sign in the presence of a yeminli tercüman, a sworn interpreter who has taken an oath before the notary. Article 76 excludes interpreters who are the principal's spouse, even after divorce, or close relatives (by blood up to the third degree and by marriage up to the second degree), so a Turkish speaking partner or relative cannot interpret for you. The notary usually arranges the interpreter. Under Article 86, the record is given to the principal to read before signing, and the interpreter translates it.
A principal who cannot read and write states their wishes to the notary in the presence of two witnesses under Article 87 of Law No. 1512, and the witnesses sign the record. Where the principal has a hearing, speech or visual impairment, Article 73 provides that the transaction takes place before two witnesses if the principal wishes, and with two witnesses and a sworn interpreter if communication in writing is not possible. A person who cannot sign uses a seal or a thumbprint under Article 75. Witnesses may not be minors, persons under interdiction, the notary's staff, or the principal's spouse or close relatives (Articles 76 and 78). Where the principal cannot come to the office, for example because they are in hospital, the notary may act outside the office under Article 83, against a travel allowance set in the tariff.
Notary fees are not negotiated. Under Article 112 of Law No. 1512, they are set by a tariff issued by the Ministry of Justice after the opinion of the Union of Turkish Notaries, with changes taking effect at the start of each calendar year. The 2026 tariff was published in the Official Gazette of 30 December 2025 and applies from 1 January 2026. The bill for a power of attorney combines several items:
| Fee element | Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Fee under the Law on Fees, Law No. 492 | A fixed amount for powers of attorney, revalued every year |
| Notary fee | 30 percent of the fee under Law No. 492, at least 58.82 Turkish Lira per transaction |
| Writing fee | 80.68 Turkish Lira for every page of the copy kept at the office, the original and each copy given to you |
| Translation by the notary | 667.67 Turkish Lira per page, half for pages of 10 lines or fewer |
| Sworn interpreter at signing | Charged separately; ask the notary office for the amount in advance |
Because the writing fee is charged per page and per copy, a long general power of attorney costs more than a short special one, and every extra copy adds to the total. Ask the notary for the full amount, including taxes, before signing.
A principal outside Türkiye has two routes: a Turkish consulate, or a local notary followed by an apostille or legalisation. The comparison below sets out the practical differences.
| Route | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Turkish consulate | Online appointment, principal attends with passport and an interpreter if needed; valid in Türkiye directly, no apostille |
| Foreign notary in a Hague Convention state | Signature before the local notary, apostille from the competent authority, sworn Turkish translation and notarisation of the translation in Türkiye |
| Foreign notary in a state outside the Convention | Signature before the local notary, certification by that country's authorities and then by the Turkish consulate, followed by translation and notarisation |
| Property and vehicle transactions | Photograph of the principal sealed on the document; for land registry use, a full notarial deed rather than a signature certification |
Under Articles 191 and 192 of Law No. 1512, notarial work abroad is carried out by Turkish consuls inside the consulate building, applying the same rules on identity, interpreters and witnesses. Appointments are made in the notary section of konsolosluk.gov.tr. The principal must attend in person; the agent does not. Foreigners present their passport and, if they do not speak Turkish, attend with a sworn interpreter. Turkish citizens must use their Turkish identity card for powers of attorney that have to be drawn up in full, such as title deed powers, and consulates do not accept a passport for these. Former Turkish citizens who hold a Blue Card use the Blue Card. Under Article 194 consuls charge no notary fee, but consular fees apply and depend on the type and length of the document; the Los Angeles Consulate General, for example, indicated a range of about 40 to 200 US dollars in its 2024 guidance. Consular staff do not draft the content for you and a signed document cannot be amended afterwards, so send the agreed Turkish text in advance. Once signed, the document is valid in Türkiye without an apostille, and consulates state that the agent can obtain a copy from any notary in Türkiye from the next working day, provided the document authorises the agent to do so.
Türkiye and most European and many other states are parties to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents. A power of attorney signed before a notary in a member state is given an apostille by the competent authority of that state, which confirms the notary's signature and seal. Under Article 7 of Law No. 5718 a legal transaction is valid in form if it follows the law of the place where it is made, but Turkish institutions add their own requirements. For property, the land registry administration's Circular 2015/5 and its 2022 guide require the document to be drawn up by the foreign authority (not a mere signature certification), in the official language of that country, with the principal's photograph sealed or embossed by that authority. Our articles on apostille and electronic apostille in Türkiye and on apostille requirements and the CIEC conventions explain which states are covered and how the certificate is obtained.
Where the state of signature is not a party to the Hague Convention, the document goes through legalisation: it is certified by the competent authorities of that state, usually ending with its foreign ministry, and the Turkish consulate then certifies the signature and seal of that authority under Article 195 of Law No. 1512. This chain takes longer than an apostille, which is one reason why principals in such states usually prefer to sign at the consulate.
A foreign language power of attorney is of no use in Türkiye until it is translated. A sworn translator translates the document together with the apostille or legalisation, and a Turkish notary certifies the translation; under Articles 99 and 103 of Law No. 1512 the notary attaches the translation and records the translator's identity on it. Courts and land registries then work from the original and the certified translation together, so keep both.
Article 79 of Law No. 1512 requires anyone acting as a representative, guardian or on behalf of a company to show a document proving their capacity and authority, and a copy is attached to the record.
For a Turkish company, the notary will ask for the trade registry gazette and the imza sirküleri, the notarised specimen of the authorised signatories' signatures showing the scope of their authority, and for a board resolution where the signatory's authority does not already cover appointing a representative. Turkish consulates issue company powers of attorney only for companies registered in the Turkish trade registry. A foreign company therefore signs before a local notary, with documents proving the signatory's authority, an apostille or legalisation, and a certified Turkish translation. Under Article 513 of Law No. 6098 the mandate also ends when a legal person ceases to exist.
A vasi, a guardian appointed for a minor or an adult under guardianship, can grant a power of attorney for the ward only within the guardian's own authority. Under Article 462 of Law No. 4721, buying, selling or mortgaging immovable property, bringing an action, settling and arbitration require the permission of the guardianship authority, and the agent cannot do more than the guardian could. A guardian appointed by a foreign court faces an earlier step: under Article 58 of Law No. 5718 a foreign decision, including a decision in non contentious matters, is accepted as conclusive evidence, or as the basis of an administrative transaction in Türkiye, only after a Turkish court has recognised it.
Under Article 505 of Law No. 6098 the agent must follow your express instructions and may depart from them only where your permission cannot be obtained and you would clearly have agreed. Article 506 requires the agent to perform personally, faithfully and with care, measured by the conduct of a prudent agent working in the same field, which for a lawyer means the standard of a careful lawyer. An agent who passes the work to someone else without authority is liable for that person as for their own acts (Article 507). The agent must account for the business and hand over what was received (Article 508). In return, Article 510 obliges you to reimburse the agent's expenses and advances with interest. An agent who acts outside the authority or carelessly is liable for the resulting loss, and misuse of entrusted property may also amount to breach of trust under Article 155 of the Turkish Penal Code, Law No. 5237, which carries one to seven years' imprisonment where the property was entrusted in a professional relationship.
A general power of attorney that includes selling and mortgaging property, receiving money, borrowing and appointing substitutes allows the agent to dispose of everything you own in Türkiye. Revocation protects you only from the moment it takes effect: under Article 514 of Law No. 6098 you remain bound by business the agent conducted before learning that the mandate had ended, and under Article 42 a revocation cannot be raised against third parties acting in good faith who had been told of the authority, unless they were notified of the revocation. Practical safeguards are to grant a special power of attorney for each transaction, to name the property and the minimum price, to add a time limit, to limit the authority to receive money, and to keep a copy of every document you sign.
Under Article 512 of Law No. 6098 either party may end the mandate at any time, although the party who ends it at an inappropriate time must compensate the other's resulting loss, and under Article 42 the right to revoke cannot be waived in advance. The usual instrument is an azilname, a notice of revocation drawn up at a Turkish notary or consulate and served on the agent. Notify every institution that holds a copy, and if the agent is a lawyer in a pending case, file the revocation with the court: under Article 81 of Law No. 6100 it takes effect for the court and the other side only once notified by petition or entered in the minutes, and under Article 77 the hearing is not postponed because a lawyer has been dismissed. Article 44 of Law No. 6098 obliges the former agent to return the document. Our article on the azilname and revocation of a power of attorney explains the steps in detail.
An agent may also end the relationship by istifa, resignation. In court proceedings Article 82 of Law No. 6100 keeps a resigning lawyer's mandate in force for two weeks after the resignation is served on the client, and the lawyer must warn the client that, if the client neither pursues the case nor appoints a new lawyer, the court will proceed as if the party were absent.
Unless the contract or the nature of the business provides otherwise, Article 513 of Law No. 6098 ends the mandate automatically on the death, loss of capacity or bankruptcy of either party, and Article 43 applies the same rule to the authority to represent. Where ending the mandate would endanger the principal's interests, the agent or the agent's heirs must continue until the principal or the principal's heirs can take over. A special power of attorney also ends when its transaction is completed, and a time limited one when its period expires.
At a notary in Türkiye, with an agreed draft and an interpreter booked, the document is usually signed and handed over in a single visit. At a consulate, the main delay is the next available appointment, after which the agent can usually obtain the copy in Türkiye from the next working day. The foreign notary route is the slowest: the apostille or legalisation, courier delivery, translation and notarisation commonly take from several days to a few weeks depending on the country, so build this into any property or court deadline.
Before you sign a litigation power of attorney with wide clauses, confirm that the person is a lawyer registered with a Turkish bar association; our guide on how to verify a lawyer on the bar register shows how. Agree the fee in writing at the same time; our article on attorney fees and court awarded fees in Türkiye explains the minimum tariff and who pays if a case is lost.
Yes. Courts, land registries and banks accept a power of attorney only if it was drawn up or certified by a Turkish notary or consulate, or by a foreign notary with an apostille or legalisation and a certified Turkish translation.
It is called a vekaletname; the version a lawyer needs for court work is a dava vekaletnamesi, or litigation power of attorney.
Beyond the general litigation authority, it should expressly include the acts in Article 74 of Law No. 6100 that your case may require, such as settlement, waiver, release, mediation and substitution, plus ahzu kabz if the lawyer is to receive money for you.
Yes, at any Turkish consulate by appointment, or before a local notary with an apostille or legalisation, followed by a sworn translation certified by a Turkish notary.
No. A document signed at a Turkish consulate is a Turkish notarial act and is valid in Türkiye directly.
Yes, if you do not know Turkish. Article 74 of Law No. 1512 requires a sworn interpreter, who may not be your spouse or a close relative.
A valid passport, a foreigner identification number or Turkish tax number, the agent's full details and, ideally, the agreed draft; property powers also need recent photographs.
For powers of attorney used at the land registry, and in consular practice also for vehicle and construction matters; the photograph must be recent, affixed and sealed.
The cost follows the 2026 tariff: the fee under Law No. 492, a notary fee of 30 percent of that fee, 80.68 Turkish Lira per page for the original and every copy, and taxes, so length and number of copies drive the total.
Until it is revoked or ends by law, unless a time limit was written into it.
Yes, at any time, by an azilname issued by a notary or consulate and served on the agent; you should also inform every institution and court that holds a copy.
Yes, as a rule under Article 513 of Law No. 6098, unless the contract or the nature of the business provides otherwise; acts done before the agent learned of the death still bind the heirs.
Only if it expressly authorises the sale of immovable property and was drawn up in full by a notary with your photograph; Article 504 of Law No. 6098 requires special authority for transfers.
Yes, before a notary in its own country with proof of the signatory's authority, an apostille or legalisation and a certified Turkish translation, because consulates issue company powers only for companies in the Turkish trade registry.
A Turkish power of attorney is a short document with long consequences. It must be signed before a Turkish notary or consulate, or before a foreign notary with an apostille or legalisation and a certified translation; it must name every act the agent will perform, including the special clauses of Article 74 of the Code of Civil Procedure for court work and the transfer authority of Article 504 of the Code of Obligations for property; and title deed powers must be drawn up in full with a sealed photograph. The agent owes loyalty, care and a full account, and you can end the authority at any time by revocation, while acts done before the agent learns of it may still bind you.
The safest approach is to agree the exact Turkish wording before you book the notary or consulate, so that one signature covers everything the matter will need and nothing more. If you need a power of attorney drafted for a lawsuit, a property sale or an inheritance, or want an existing one checked before you rely on it, our legal team can prepare the text and coordinate the signing in Türkiye or abroad.
