Service of Documents in Turkish Proceedings: Notification Law No. 7201, Electronic Notification through UETS and the Hague Service Convention for Foreign Investors

In Turkish proceedings, almost every deadline runs from service. This includes the two-week period to answer a claim or appeal a judgment, the sixty days to sue an administrative authority and the thirty days to defend before an SPK fine. Service is governed by Notification Law No. 7201 and its regulations. Turkish companies, lawyers and other private legal persons must receive documents electronically through the National Electronic Notification System (UETS), and electronic service is deemed made at the end of the fifth day after the document reaches the recipient’s electronic address (Art. 7/a). Where a party is represented by a lawyer, service is made on the lawyer (Art. 11). Documents for a foreign institution abroad are served through the competent authority of its country, using the channels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a Turkish embassy, with a translation, and must be sent at least three months before any date they set (Art. 25; Notification Regulation Arts. 38–42). Türkiye and Norway are both parties to the 1965 Hague Service Convention. Türkiye’s Central Authority is the Ministry of Justice, and Türkiye has objected to service by post and the other alternative channels in Article 10. Defective service is valid if the addressee actually learned of the document, and the date the addressee declares is the date of service (Art. 32). This guide explains the rules for foreign institutional investors as claimants, defendants and complainants. It reflects the legislation in force as at 26 October 2026.

Why service matters

A foreign institution involved in the 2026 cases may be a claimant against a broker, a portfolio manager, a listed company or its directors. It may be a complainant or participating party in a criminal case, a party challenging an SPK decision, or the recipient of a request or decision from a Turkish authority. In each role, the timing of its rights and obligations depends on when documents are served. Turkish procedural deadlines are short. A judgment must be appealed within two weeks of service, and a statutory deadline missed is generally lost.

Service also affects the strategy for claims brought outside Turkey. If a foreign judgment is to be enforced in Turkey, the Turkish defendant may resist enforcement on the ground that it was not properly summoned. The method of serving Turkish defendants in foreign proceedings therefore matters from the start.

This guide sets out the rules on service in Turkish judicial and administrative proceedings, the electronic system, the channels for service abroad and the Hague Service Convention as it applies between Türkiye and other states. It does not deal with service in arbitration, which follows the parties’ agreement and the arbitration rules.

The legal framework

Notification Law No. 7201 applies to all service, including electronic service, by judicial authorities, by public administrations including regulatory and supervisory authorities, and by notaries and bar associations. Service is carried out through the national postal company (PTT) or through officials (Art. 1). SPK, as a regulatory and supervisory authority, therefore serves its decisions and requests under the same law as the courts.

How service works in Turkey

Service at the address. Documents are served on the addressee personally or, in its absence, on persons the law allows, such as persons living at the same residence or the staff of a legal person (Notification Law Arts. 13 and 16). If neither the addressee nor any of those persons is at the address, or if they refuse to accept the document, the server leaves it with the local headman or the police against signature. A notice giving the recipient’s address is then posted on the door of the building and, where the addressee is absent, one of the nearest neighbours and any building manager or doorkeeper is informed where possible. The date the notice is posted on the door is the date of service (Art. 21(1)). The muhtar, members of the village council and police officers must accept documents left with them in this way (Art. 21(3)). If the address used is the addressee’s address in the address registration system, the same procedure applies even if the addressee never lived there or has permanently left (Art. 21(2)).

Change of address. A person served in proceedings who changes address must notify the authority. If it does not, and no new residential address appears in the address registration system, a copy of the document is posted at the old address and service is complete on that date. Later documents sent to the old address are deemed served (Art. 35(1)–(2)). For legal persons, the address in the official registers is used even if nothing has been served before (Art. 35(4)).

Service by publication. Where the address is unknown after the inquiries required by law, service is made by public announcement. If the addressee lives abroad, the authority must also send the document and the announcement to any known foreign address by registered mail with return receipt (Art. 28). Service by publication is deemed made seven days after the last announcement, unless the authority sets a longer period of up to fifteen days (Regulation Art. 52(1)). It is a last resort.

Which address. Physical service is made at the addressee’s last known address. If that address turns out to be unsuitable, or service there fails, the addressee’s residence address in the address registration system is treated as the last known address and service is made there. Service may also be made anywhere if the addressee applies for it or accepts it (Notification Law Art. 10). Each service is recorded in a service report stating, among other things, to whom, where and when the document was delivered and, where Art. 21 was applied, the reason for absence or refusal (Art. 23). That report is the first document to check when the date or validity of service is in question.

Electronic service through UETS

Who must use it. Electronic service is mandatory for public administrations, public companies, professional bodies, all private-law legal persons, notaries, lawyers registered with a bar, and registered mediators and experts (Notification Law Art. 7/a(1); Electronic Notification Regulation Art. 5(1)). Other persons, including foreign natural and legal persons, receive an electronic address on request. Once they have one, service on them must also be made electronically (Art. 7/a(2); Regulation Art. 5(2)). Foreign natural persons apply with a foreign identity number, Blue Card number, passport or secure electronic signature. Legal persons apply with the information of the system in which they are registered (Regulation Art. 7(2)).

The system. Electronic service runs through the National Electronic Notification System (UETS), established and operated by PTT (Art. 7/a). Each person subject to the obligation has a single electronic address, based on its identity number or, for legal persons, its system registration number (Additional Art. 2). The content and attachments are encrypted and can be seen only by the addressee (Regulation Art. 9(3)).

Deemed date. Electronic service is deemed made at the end of the fifth day after the document reaches the addressee’s electronic address (Art. 7/a; Regulation Art. 9(6)). UETS evidence records are conclusive unless the contrary is proven (Regulation Art. 14). If electronic service cannot be made for a compelling reason, the other methods in the Law are used (Art. 7/a; Regulation Art. 16).

The five-day rule applies whether or not the addressee opens the message. For a lawyer or a company, this means that the inbox must be monitored. Recipients may ask PTT to send an alert by e-mail or text message when a document arrives (Regulation Art. 10(1)), but a failed or late alert does not affect the validity of service (Art. 10(3)).

Service on a Turkish lawyer

In matters conducted through a lawyer, service is made on the lawyer. If there are several lawyers, service on one is sufficient. If service is made on more than one, the date of the first service counts (Notification Law Art. 11(1)). The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure on serving judgments on defendants personally are reserved (Art. 11(1)). Service at a lawyer’s office is made during official working hours (Art. 11(2)).

For a foreign institution, this has two consequences. First, once it appoints a Turkish lawyer, documents reach the lawyer through UETS within days, rather than through diplomatic channels taking months. Second, time limits start to run from service on the lawyer. Instructions and decision-making within the institution must be organised so that the short Turkish periods can be met. A two-week appeal period, for example, runs from the deemed date of electronic service on the lawyer, not from the date the institution’s legal department receives a translation.

A power of attorney given to a Turkish lawyer by a foreign institution is usually executed abroad. In practice it is signed before a notary, apostilled or legalised depending on the country, and translated into Turkish by a sworn translator. The time needed should be built into any plan to start proceedings or meet a deadline.

Service on Turkish companies

Legal persons. Service on a legal person is made on its authorised representatives. If there are several, service on one of them is sufficient. In disputes arising from the transactions of a business, service on its commercial representative is valid (Notification Law Art. 12). If the persons to be served are not at the workplace during normal working hours, or cannot receive the document, service may be made on an employee present there (Art. 13).

Electronic service. Turkish companies, including listed companies, brokers, banks and portfolio management companies, are private-law legal persons. They must therefore receive service electronically through UETS (Art. 7/a(1)). In practice, claims, interim measures and court orders against them are served quickly. For a claimant, the defendant’s answer period begins soon after filing.

Registered address. For legal persons, the address in the official registers is used even where nothing has been served before, and the rules on undisclosed changes of address apply (Art. 35(4)). A company that has moved without updating its registration cannot rely on that to avoid service at the registered address.

Funds and changes in representation. Because Art. 12 refers to the authorised representatives, service is made on whoever is authorised to represent the legal person when the document is served, so changes in management or representation should be checked before service is requested. Turkish investment funds have no legal personality: they are pools of assets set up by portfolio management companies under a fund rulebook (Capital Markets Law Art. 52(1)). Documents in a matter concerning a fund are therefore addressed to a legal person, such as the portfolio management company. The structure and rules of Turkish investment funds are explained in our guide to Turkish investment fund rules.

Service on a foreign institution abroad

The channels. Service abroad is made through the competent authority of the foreign state. Where a treaty or the law of that state permits, the Turkish diplomatic or consular representative asks the competent authority to serve the document (Notification Law Art. 25). Documents are sent through the ministry to which the serving authority belongs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Turkish embassy or consulate-general in the country concerned. Where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ involvement is not needed, the ministry may send them directly to the embassy or consulate (Art. 25; Notification Regulation Art. 38(1)–(2)). For persons who are not Turkish citizens, service is made through the competent authority of the foreign state (Regulation Art. 42).

Preparation. Documents for service abroad are prepared according to the applicable treaties and reciprocity. They must state the addressee’s name, full address and nationality (Regulation Art. 39(1)–(2)). The Ministry of Justice publishes in the Official Gazette, at the start of each year, the treaty rules, reciprocity principles and the advances for costs required for each country (Art. 39(3)). Documents must be translated into the language of the country where the addressee is, or into the language set by treaty (Art. 40(1)). Documents setting a particular date, such as a hearing, must be sent to the ministry at least three months before that date (Art. 41).

The Hague Service Convention. Türkiye and Norway are parties to the 1965 Hague Service Convention. It entered into force for Türkiye on 28 April 1972 and for Norway on 1 October 1969 (HCCH status table). The Convention applies in civil and commercial matters where a judicial or extrajudicial document is to be transmitted abroad for service. It does not apply where the address of the person to be served is not known (Convention Art. 1). Service is made by the central authority of the state addressed, using its domestic method or a method requested by the applicant, and the central authority may require a translation into its official language (Art. 5).

Default judgments. The Convention protects defendants abroad. Where a summons had to be transmitted abroad and the defendant has not appeared, judgment may not be given until it is established that the document was served or delivered in sufficient time to allow a defence (Art. 15(1)). A state may declare that judgment may nevertheless be given after at least six months, if no certificate has been received despite every reasonable effort (Art. 15(2)). A defendant who, without fault, did not learn of the document or judgment in time may be relieved from the expiry of the appeal period (Art. 16). Türkiye has made declarations under Arts. 15(2) and 16(3) (HCCH practical information).

Criminal matters. Service in criminal matters, and other judicial assistance in criminal cases, follows different instruments. They are explained in our guide to international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

Serving Turkish defendants in foreign proceedings

The Turkish side. Documents from a foreign state to be served on persons resident in Türkiye are sent by the foreign embassy, or by a consulate through the governor’s office, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are passed through the relevant ministry to the competent authority for service, and the proof of service is returned by the same route. Treaties and reciprocity are reserved (Notification Law Art. 26; Regulation Art. 44).

The Convention as applied by Türkiye. According to the information Türkiye has given to the Hague Conference, the Central Authority is the Directorate General for Foreign Relations and EU Affairs of the Ministry of Justice in Ankara. Türkiye has objected to service by postal channels under Art. 10(a) and to the channels in Art. 10(b) and (c). It has also objected to service by diplomatic or consular agents on persons other than nationals of the requesting state (Art. 8(2)). Documents in Turkish, or accompanied by a Turkish translation, are served by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office through post offices under domestic law, even if the addressee objects. Documents without a translation are served under Art. 5(2), and the addressee may refuse them. No fee is charged, and the stated execution time is three months (HCCH practical information for Türkiye).

Enforcement in Turkey. A Turkish court will not enforce a foreign judgment if the person against whom enforcement is sought was not properly summoned or represented under the law of the court that gave the judgment, or if judgment was given in its absence contrary to that law, and that person objects on this ground (Private International and Procedural Law Art. 54(1)(ç)). Service on a Turkish defendant by a method to which Türkiye has objected, such as direct postal service, may give the defendant an argument at the enforcement stage. Where enforcement in Turkey is a realistic goal, service through the Turkish Central Authority with a Turkish translation is the safer route. The choice between suing in Turkey and abroad is discussed in our guide to suing in Turkey or abroad.

Defective service, deadlines and restitution

Defective service. Service made contrary to the rules is nevertheless valid if the addressee learned of it, and the date the addressee declares is the date of service (Notification Law Art. 32). The Regulation adds that otherwise service is deemed not to have been made, and that the addressee is deemed to have learned of service if it received the document or learned its content in any way. If service was defective, it is not possible to argue and prove that the addressee learned of it, or the date on which it did so (Regulation Art. 53(1)–(3)). An addressee that receives a defectively served document should therefore consider carefully which date it declares, because that date starts the time limits.

Computing time. Where a period is set in days, the day of service is not counted and the period ends at closing time on the last day. Where it is set in weeks, months or years, it ends at closing time on the corresponding day of the last week, month or year (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 92). Official holidays are included, but if the last day is a holiday, the period ends at the end of the next working day (Art. 93). Statutory periods are final (Art. 94(1)). For electronic service, the starting point is the deemed date of service at the end of the fifth day.

Restitution. A person who could not perform an act within a statutory period, or a period the judge set as final, for reasons beyond its control may apply for restitution (Art. 95(1)). The application must be made within two weeks of the removal of the obstacle, together with the act that was missed (Arts. 96(1) and 97(1)). Restitution is not available where the same result can be reached by another legal route (Art. 95(2)). Limitation periods for bringing claims are discussed in our guide to limitation periods, and the stages of a lawsuit in our guide to how a securities lawsuit proceeds in Turkey.

Points for foreign institutional investors

As claimant or participant. Appointing a Turkish lawyer early means that documents in the matter reach the lawyer quickly through UETS. The institution should agree with the lawyer how documents and deadlines will be reported, given the five-day rule and the two-week periods.

As addressee abroad. A document served through diplomatic channels or under the Hague Convention will usually arrive with a translation and a cover form. The date of service under the law of the state where it is served starts the Turkish time limits. The institution should record that date, keep the envelope and certificate, and obtain Turkish advice promptly.

As claimant abroad. If a foreign judgment may have to be enforced against Turkish defendants or their assets in Turkey, service should be made through the Turkish Central Authority with a Turkish translation, allowing at least three months, rather than by direct post.

Regulatory correspondence. SPK and other authorities serve their documents under the same law (Notification Law Art. 1). A request for a defence before a fine starts a thirty-day period (Capital Markets Law Art. 105(1)), and an administrative decision starts the sixty-day period for a court action. How SPK investigations work is explained in our guide to SPK investigations.

Frequently asked questions

Which law governs service of documents in Turkey?

Notification Law No. 7201, with the Regulation on its implementation and the Electronic Notification Regulation. It applies to courts, public administrations including regulators such as SPK, notaries and bar associations (Art. 1).

Must Turkish companies accept electronic service?

Yes. Electronic service through UETS is mandatory for all private-law legal persons, lawyers, notaries and other listed persons (Notification Law Art. 7/a(1)).

When is electronic service effective?

At the end of the fifth day after the document reaches the addressee’s electronic address (Art. 7/a; Electronic Notification Regulation Art. 9(6)).

Can a foreign institution obtain a Turkish electronic notification address?

Yes, on request. Once it has one, service on it must be made electronically (Notification Law Art. 7/a(2); Regulation Arts. 5(2) and 7).

Are documents served on the lawyer or the client?

In matters conducted through a lawyer, on the lawyer. Service on one of several lawyers is sufficient (Notification Law Art. 11).

How are Turkish documents served on a foreign institution abroad?

Through the competent authority of the foreign state, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or directly to the Turkish embassy or consulate, with a translation (Notification Law Art. 25; Regulation Arts. 38–42).

How long does service abroad take?

Documents setting a particular date must be sent to the ministry at least three months before that date (Regulation Art. 41). Actual time depends on the state addressed.

Are Türkiye and Norway parties to the Hague Service Convention?

Yes. It entered into force for Türkiye on 28 April 1972 and for Norway on 1 October 1969.

Can a Turkish company be served by post from abroad?

Türkiye has objected to postal service under Art. 10(a) of the Hague Service Convention, and to the channels in Art. 10(b) and (c). Service should be made through the Ministry of Justice as Central Authority.

Must documents for service in Turkey be translated into Turkish?

For formal service by the Central Authority, yes. Documents without a Turkish translation may only be delivered informally, and the addressee may refuse them.

What if service in Turkey was defective?

It is valid if the addressee learned of it, and the date the addressee declares is the date of service (Notification Law Art. 32; Regulation Art. 53).

What happens if the address is unknown?

Service is made by public announcement as a last resort, deemed effective seven days after the last announcement unless a longer period of up to fifteen days is set. For persons abroad, documents are also sent to any known foreign address by registered mail (Notification Law Art. 28; Regulation Art. 52).

How long is the period to appeal a Turkish civil judgment?

Two weeks from service of the judgment (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 345).

Can a missed time limit be restored?

Yes, if it was missed for reasons beyond the party’s control, by applying within two weeks of the removal of the obstacle and performing the missed act at the same time (Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 95–97).

Can improper service abroad prevent enforcement of a foreign judgment in Turkey?

Yes. Enforcement may be refused if the defendant was not properly summoned under the law of the court that gave the judgment and objects on that ground (Private International and Procedural Law Art. 54(1)(ç)).

Related guides

• Turkey’s 2026 Fund and Market Manipulation Crisis: Legal Guide for Foreign Institutional Investors — the entry point to this series
• MSCI’s Turkey Index Freeze and the Legal Response
• Lease Certificates (Sukuk) in Turkey
• Inflation Accounting in Turkey: TMS 29 and the Tax Books
• Individual Application to Turkey’s Constitutional Court and the ECHR
• Privileged Shares in Turkish Listed Companies
• Enforcing a Money Judgment in Turkey
• Turkey’s Emissions Trading System and Climate Law No. 7552
• Anti-Money Laundering Rules for Foreign Investors in Turkey
• Recovering Investor Losses from Insurers in Turkey
• How a Securities Lawsuit Proceeds in Turkey
• Suing in Turkey or Abroad
• Limitation Periods for Investor Claims in Turkey
• Joining a Criminal Case in Turkey as a Foreign Investor
• Suing Turkey’s Capital Markets Board (SPK)
• Obtaining and Preserving Evidence in Turkey for Securities Claims
• SPK Investigations in Turkey
• Arbitration of Investor Disputes in Turkey
• Suspects, Evidence and Assets Abroad (Law No. 6706)