A foreigner injured in a road accident in Türkiye can claim from the driver, the vehicle's operator and its compulsory traffic insurer under Law No. 2918. First apply to the insurer in writing; if it does not answer within 15 days or underpays, sue or go to the Insurance Arbitration Commission (Article 97). Uninsured or unknown vehicles: the Guarantee Account pays bodily injury. Moral damages are claimed from the driver and operator. Claims expire 2 years after learning of the damage and liable person, at most 10 years after the accident, longer where the accident is a crime (Article 109).
A road accident on holiday or during a stay in Türkiye usually leaves a foreign victim with three problems at once: medical treatment in an unfamiliar system, a police and prosecutor file written in Turkish, and an insurer that will not pay until the right documents reach it in the right order. The rules themselves are settled. The Highway Traffic Law, Law No. 2918, makes the operator of the vehicle liable and requires every vehicle to carry compulsory traffic insurance, and the Turkish Code of Obligations, Law No. 6098, defines what can be claimed. Two changes in 2026 matter for new claims: since 31 July 2026, Law No. 7589 has added rules to Article 55 of Law No. 6098 on when statutory interest runs on disability and support compensation, and it has replaced the old unquantified claim with a partial claim that can be increased once during the case. This article explains who pays, how to claim from the insurer, when to use the Insurance Arbitration Commission instead of a court, which deadlines apply and how a victim who has already returned home can pursue the claim from abroad.
Turkish law does not look only at the driver. Under Article 85 of Law No. 2918, where the operation of a motor vehicle causes death, injury or property damage, the operator of the vehicle is liable, and where the vehicle is run under the name or ticket of a business, the operator and the owner of that business are jointly and severally liable. The operator is also liable for the fault of the driver and of any assistants as if it were his own fault.
The işleten, the operator, is defined in Article 3 of Law No. 2918 as the registered owner or, in cases such as long term rental, loan or pledge, the renter, borrower or pledgee. In practice this means that a victim can usually claim from three directions at once: the driver at fault, the operator or business behind the vehicle, and the compulsory traffic insurer of the vehicle. The operator escapes liability only by proving force majeure or gross fault of the victim or a third party, without any fault on the operator's side or any defect in the vehicle (Article 86). Where more than one vehicle is involved, the liable persons answer jointly to the victim under Article 88, and they divide the loss between themselves afterwards.
Nationality does not change the rules. Under Article 34 of the Turkish Private International Law, Law No. 5718, obligations arising from a tort are governed by the law of the country where the tort was committed, so an accident on a Turkish road is decided under Turkish law. The same article allows a different law where the case is more closely connected with another country, for example two tourists from the same country in the same car, and lets the parties choose the applicable law after the accident. Article 34(4) also allows a direct claim against the liable person's insurer where the applicable law permits it, which Turkish law does.
Article 91 of Law No. 2918 obliges every operator to take out compulsory financial liability insurance, known in Türkiye as trafik sigortası, traffic insurance, to cover the liability set out in Article 85. Vehicles without valid cover are taken off the road, and foreign plated vehicles without insurance valid in Türkiye must buy cover at the border.
The policy pays death, permanent disability and treatment claims per person and property damage per vehicle and per accident, up to amounts fixed by the insurance supervisory authority. These amounts are revised every year, usually from 1 January, and the figures in force on the accident date apply. Because the official 2026 tables should be checked against the policy and the authority's current publication before any calculation, we do not quote them here. Where the loss exceeds the compulsory limit, the excess is claimed from the driver and operator, or from a voluntary excess liability policy, ihtiyari mali mesuliyet, if the vehicle has one. Under Article 100, the direct claim rule and the limitation rule also apply to that voluntary cover.
Article 92 lists exclusions that surprise many victims. The compulsory policy does not pay moral damages, compensation corresponding to the claimant's own fault, the share of a support claim corresponding to the deceased supporter's own fault, goods carried in the vehicle, or indirect losses such as loss of income, loss of profit, business interruption and loss of rent. Insurers sometimes rely on the indirect loss exclusion to refuse temporary loss of earnings after an injury; whether it reaches bodily injury claims is disputed, and in any event the driver and operator remain liable for these items under Law No. 6098. Article 95 works in the victim's favour: defences arising from the insurance contract, such as a drunk or unlicensed driver, cannot be raised against the injured person. The insurer pays and then recovers from its own insured. Our article on insurance liability in alcohol related accidents explains that recourse in more detail.
Under Article 98 of Law No. 2918, the cost of health services provided by university, public and private hospitals to traffic accident victims is paid by the Social Security Institution, under the reimbursement rules for general health insurance, whether or not the victim has social security. Insurers transfer a share of premiums to the Institution for this purpose, which ends their own liability for these costs. A tourist treated in Türkiye should therefore ask the hospital to process the case as a traffic accident. Costs outside that system, such as private extras or follow up treatment abroad, are claimed from the liable persons under Article 54 of Law No. 6098, or from the victim's own travel insurance.
Before suing or going to arbitration within the compulsory limits, the victim must apply to the insurer in writing. Article 97 of Law No. 2918 allows a lawsuit or an arbitration application only if the insurer has not answered in writing within 15 days of the application, or if its answer does not satisfy the claim. Once the insurer has received the documents listed in the general conditions, Article 99 requires it to pay the amount within the compulsory limits within eight business days. In our experience the file that reaches the insurer complete is the file that gets paid. It normally contains the accident report or police record, the prosecutor's file number, hospital records and the medical board report on permanent disability, identity and bank details, and, in a death case, the death certificate and proof of the family relationship and dependency. Court practice has treated the application as a condition of the lawsuit, so a claim filed without it risks dismissal on procedure.
If the insurer refuses, underpays or stays silent, the victim chooses between the Sigorta Tahkim Komisyonu, the Insurance Arbitration Commission set up under Article 30 of the Insurance Law, Law No. 5684, and the courts. For compulsory insurance disputes the Commission is available even if the insurer is not a member of the arbitration system.
The applicant must show that the insurer refused the claim in whole or in part, or did not answer within 15 business days (Article 30(13)). Rapporteurs first try to resolve the file within 15 days; unresolved files go to an arbitrator, and a panel of at least three is compulsory above a set amount. Arbitrators decide on the documents and must rule within four months of appointment. Small awards are final; larger awards may be challenged once within 10 days before the Commission, and awards above a higher threshold may be appealed on points of law. If the claim is rejected, the legal fee the claimant pays the insurer is one fifth of the minimum tariff. A dispute already before a court or a consumer arbitration committee cannot be taken to the Commission (Article 30(14)).
A lawsuit can be filed at the court of the place where the accident happened or where the insurer's branch or the agent that sold the policy is located (Article 110 of Law No. 2918). Claims against the insurer are generally heard by the commercial court of first instance, and because Article 5/A of the Turkish Commercial Code, Law No. 6102, makes mediation a condition for commercial money claims, a mediation application is usually made first; Court of Cassation practice on combining this with the Article 97 application has not been uniform. Claims against a private driver, and moral damages, go to the civil court of first instance. Since 31 July 2026, the unquantified claim under former Article 107 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Law No. 6100, has been repealed; Article 109(4) now allows a partial claim to be increased once, until the end of the evidence stage, with limitation treated as interrupted from the filing date. A foreign claimant may be asked for security for costs under Article 48 of Law No. 5718 unless reciprocity with his country exempts him.
| Question | Arbitration Commission or Court |
|---|---|
| Who can be sued | Commission: only the insurer or the Guarantee Account. Court: insurer, driver, operator and business together |
| Moral damages | Not covered by compulsory insurance; claimed in court against the driver and operator |
| Prior step | Written application to the insurer (Article 97); for the commercial court, mediation as well |
| Hearings | Commission: decision on the documents. Court: hearings, witnesses, expert reports |
| Time limit for a decision | Commission: four months from the arbitrator's appointment. Court: no fixed limit |
| Cost risk if the claim fails | Commission: one fifth of the minimum legal fee. Court: full fee under the tariff |
| Challenge | Commission: limited objection and appeal by amount. Court: appeal and Court of Cassation |
The Güvence Hesabı, the Guarantee Account kept within the Insurance, Reinsurance and Pension Companies Association, steps in under Article 14 of Law No. 5684 up to the compulsory limits in force on the accident date. It pays bodily injury losses where the vehicle cannot be identified, as in a hit and run, where the vehicle had no valid compulsory insurance, and where a stolen or seized vehicle causes injury and the operator is not liable. It pays property damage only where the insurer has lost its licence or gone bankrupt, so damage to your car caused by an unidentified driver is not covered. The written application rule applies to the Account as well, and disputes with it can go to the Arbitration Commission. Claims involving foreign registered vehicles with Green Card insurance are handled through the Turkish Motor Insurers' Bureau, whose payments are also funded through the Account.
Article 49 of Law No. 6098 obliges anyone who causes damage by a culpable and unlawful act to compensate it, and Article 90 of Law No. 2918 applies those tort rules to matters the traffic law does not regulate.
Article 54 lists treatment costs, loss of earnings, losses from reduced or lost capacity to work, and losses from the impairment of economic prospects. Permanent disability compensation is calculated by an actuarial expert using the disability rate in the medical board report, the victim's age and proven income. Under Article 55, social security payments that cannot be recovered by recourse and payments not made to settle the claim are not deducted, and the calculated amount cannot be raised or lowered on equitable grounds. Since 31 July 2026, interest runs from the accident date on the part calculated for the period with known earnings and from the judgment date on the part for the period with unknown earnings, and payments made before the evidence stage are set off proportionally.
In a death case, Article 53 covers funeral costs, treatment costs and lost working capacity where death was not immediate, and the losses of everyone who depended on the deceased for support. Dependants need not be heirs: a partner or a parent who was actually supported can claim. The calculation of loss of support, often called destekten yoksun kalma tazminatı, compensation for loss of support, follows the same interest and set off rules.
Under Article 56, the judge may award an appropriate sum for moral harm to an injured person and, in serious injury or death, to close relatives. The amount depends on the injury, the degree of fault and the parties' circumstances. Since the compulsory insurance excludes it, this claim is directed at the driver, the operator and any business behind the vehicle.
Repair costs and loss of market value are covered by the compulsory policy within its property limit, but value loss for vehicles that are scrapped or withdrawn from traffic after the accident is excluded (Article 92(l)). Article 52 of Law No. 6098 lets the judge reduce compensation where the victim contributed to the harm; not wearing a seat belt or, on a motorcycle or scooter, a helmet is a common reason for a reduction.
Article 109 of Law No. 2918 sets the core rule for compensation claims arising from motor vehicle accidents. Where the accident is also a criminal offence carrying a longer limitation period, that longer period applies. Interrupting limitation against the person liable also interrupts it against the insurer, and the reverse.
| Claim | Time Limit |
|---|---|
| Compensation against driver, operator or insurer | 2 years from learning of the damage and the person liable, and in any event 10 years from the accident (Article 109, Law No. 2918; Article 72, Law No. 6098) |
| Accident amounting to negligent injury (Article 89, Law No. 5237) | Criminal limitation of 8 years applies to the compensation claim (Article 66(1)(e), Law No. 5237) |
| Accident amounting to negligent killing (Article 85, Law No. 5237) | Criminal limitation of 15 years applies (Article 66(1)(d), Law No. 5237) |
| Criminal complaint for simple negligent injury | 6 months from learning of the act and the offender (Article 73, Law No. 5237) |
| Recourse between liable persons | 2 years from full payment and learning who to claim from (Article 109) |
| Annulment of a clearly inadequate settlement | 2 years from the settlement (Article 111, Law No. 2918) |
In accidents with death or injury, the traffic police prepare a kaza tespit tutanağı, an accident report, recording the scene and assigning fault, and the general police act for the prosecutor (Article 83). In accidents with property damage only, the drivers may record the facts between themselves in writing and leave the scene (Article 81). The report is evidence, not a judgment. Errors in it can be challenged, as explained in our guide to the inquiry and appeal of accident report forms, and courts usually commission an independent expert report on fault, which can itself be contested as described in our article on challenging an expert report. Since 27 February 2026, a driver who leaves the scene of an accident with death or injury without police permission, except out of necessity, faces imprisonment of one to three years under Article 81.
Negligent injury under Article 89 of the Turkish Penal Code, Law No. 5237, carries four months to two years' imprisonment or a judicial fine, increased for serious consequences, and nine months to five years where several people are injured. It is prosecuted only on complaint, except that serious injury caused with conscious negligence is prosecuted without one. Negligent killing under Article 85 carries two to six years and is prosecuted without a complaint. A victim or heir can join the criminal case as an intervening party under Article 237 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Law No. 5271, which gives access to the file and evidence useful in the civil claim. The civil judge is not bound by an acquittal or by the criminal court's assessment of fault (Article 74 of Law No. 6098).
Negligent injury is subject to uzlaştırma, a reconciliation procedure run by the prosecutor's office, under Article 253 of Law No. 5271. If the parties reconcile, no compensation lawsuit can be brought for the offence, except for damage that could not be determined at the time or arose later, and a pending lawsuit is treated as waived (Article 253(19)). A victim who accepts a small payment from the driver at a reconciliation meeting may therefore lose the civil claim. If the victim is abroad and cannot be reached, the investigation is concluded without reconciliation (Article 253(6)). Our criminal law services team usually reviews any reconciliation offer against the full value of the claim first.
If you were injured as a passenger or pedestrian by a rental car, the rental company as registered owner is normally the operator, and the car's compulsory policy pays within its limits. If you were driving a rental car and caused the accident, your passengers can claim from that same policy, but your own injuries are not covered by it to the extent of your own fault (Article 92(g)); damage to the rental car itself falls under the rental contract and the car's own damage cover. Our guide on renting a car in Türkiye as a foreigner covers the contract terms that decide who pays. Scooter, quad and motorcycle rentals at resorts raise the same issues, often with an unlicensed rider, which the insurer cannot raise against a third party victim (Article 95). For hotel shuttles, airport transfers, coaches and taxis, Article 85 makes the business under whose name or ticket the vehicle runs jointly liable with the operator, and paid passenger transport also requires compulsory seat personal accident insurance, koltuk ferdi kaza sigortası, which pays fixed sums regardless of fault. Ask the operator for both policies. Fines that follow an accident are a separate matter, covered in our article on traffic fine appeals.
Most foreign victims leave Türkiye long before the claim is resolved, and the procedure allows the whole file to be run by a lawyer in Türkiye. The first document is a power of attorney, signed at a Turkish consulate or before a local notary, apostilled and translated into Turkish by a sworn translator. Medical records issued abroad are accepted as evidence once translated, but insurers and courts usually rely on a disability report from an authorised Turkish hospital or the Forensic Medicine Institute, so plan for one examination in Türkiye or ask the court how it will obtain the report. Proof of income earned abroad, such as tax returns, payslips and employer letters, needs the same apostille and translation, because loss of earnings is calculated on proven income. Where a death certificate, marriage or birth certificate is needed to prove dependency, prepare apostilled copies early. The same logic applies to injuries after treatment, discussed in our article on medical tourism malpractice claims.
Yes. Turkish law applies to accidents on Turkish roads regardless of nationality, and a foreign victim has the same claims against the driver, the operator and the insurer as a Turkish citizen.
Yes. Article 97 of Law No. 2918 requires a written application first, and you may sue or apply to arbitration only after 15 days without an answer or after an unsatisfactory reply.
Within eight business days after it receives the documents required by the general conditions, for amounts within the compulsory limits (Article 99 of Law No. 2918).
No. Article 92 excludes moral damages, so they are claimed in court from the driver, the operator and any business behind the vehicle.
Under Article 98 of Law No. 2918, the Social Security Institution covers treatment in public and private hospitals under its reimbursement rules even if you have no Turkish social security; extras outside that system are claimed from the liable persons.
Apply to the Guarantee Account under Article 14 of Law No. 5684, which pays bodily injury up to the compulsory limits; damage to your car by an unidentified vehicle is not covered.
The limits are set and revised each year by the insurance supervisory authority, and the amounts in force on the accident date apply, so they should be checked against the policy and the current official publication for each claim.
It is usually faster and cheaper for a claim against the insurer alone, with a decision within four months of appointment, but it cannot award moral damages against the driver, which need a court.
Two years from learning of the damage and the person liable, and at most ten years from the accident, extended to eight or fifteen years where the accident is a crime with a longer criminal limitation period.
Yes, on the same rules, but not wearing a helmet commonly leads the court to reduce compensation for contributory fault under Article 52 of Law No. 6098.
Yes. Anyone actually supported by the deceased can claim loss of support under Article 53, and close relatives can claim moral damages under Article 56, whether or not they are heirs.
Only after valuing the full claim, because a reconciliation under Article 253 of Law No. 5271 bars a later compensation lawsuit for damage known at that time.
Yes. A lawyer in Türkiye can run the insurer application, arbitration and court case under an apostilled power of attorney, and you may need to return only for a medical examination if one is ordered.
No. The civil judge is not bound by an acquittal or the criminal court's view of fault (Article 74 of Law No. 6098), although the criminal file is often the best source of evidence.
Normally yes. The transfer vehicle's traffic insurance covers its passengers, the business running it is jointly liable under Article 85 of Law No. 2918, and where the transfer is paid passenger transport, seat personal accident insurance also pays fixed sums regardless of fault.
A road accident claim in Türkiye rests on a few fixed points: the operator and any business behind the vehicle are liable with the driver, the compulsory traffic insurer pays within limits revised each year, the written application under Article 97 must come first, and the Guarantee Account covers bodily injury when the vehicle is uninsured or unknown. Moral damages and losses above the limits are claimed from the people behind the vehicle. Limitation runs for two years from knowledge but may extend to eight or fifteen years where a crime is involved, while the six month complaint period and the reconciliation procedure in the criminal file can shape the civil claim long before it reaches court.
If you, a family member or a client was injured or killed in a road accident in Türkiye, the early weeks decide what evidence will exist and whether a quick settlement closes the door to the full claim. To review the police report, value the claim and handle the insurer, the arbitration or the court case on your behalf, including from abroad, contact our legal team.
