Alanya Enforcement Lawyer and Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law
Enforcement law regulates the recovery of an unpaid claim through the exercise of state authority. As creditors are prohibited from resorting to self-help to recover their claims, every measure directed against the debtor’s assets is subject to the procedures and order prescribed by law.
The method by which enforcement proceedings are commenced directly affects the outcome. The procedure to be followed by a creditor holding a court judgment differs from that applicable to a creditor relying only on an invoice or contract, as do the debtor’s avenues of objection and whether an objection will stay the proceedings. Cheques, promissory notes and bills of exchange are subject to a special enforcement procedure.
Enforcement law consists, from start to finish, of short time limits, most of which are periods within which a right must be exercised. Which time limit applies in a given case depends on the method by which the proceedings are commenced: in general attachment proceedings, the period for objecting to a payment order is seven days and the objection is lodged with the enforcement office, whereas in proceedings specific to bills of exchange the period is five days and the objection is made directly to the enforcement court. Therefore, the first step is to determine whether the document at hand is a payment order or an execution order, and the date on which it was served.
Key Practice Areas
Key Disputes in Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law
Enforcement proceedings are not a single act but a chain of interconnected steps. The proceedings becoming final, the attachment of assets, the sale of the asset and the distribution of the proceeds are separate stages; each stage involves different procedures for objections and complaints, each subject to different time limits.
Debt Recovery and the Competent Enforcement Office
Enforcement proceedings for monetary claims and claims for security are, as a rule, commenced at the enforcement office at the debtor's place of residence. In addition, the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law also confers jurisdiction on the enforcement office at the place where the contract underlying the enforcement proceedings was concluded. Moreover, since the jurisdiction rules under the Code of Civil Procedure apply by analogy, enforcement may also be pursued at the enforcement office at the place where the contract is to be performed in respect of claims arising from the contract. Where the place of conclusion of the contract differs from the place of performance, the creditor has more than one option available.
Where the parties have concluded a jurisdiction agreement, its validity is assessed separately. The law permits jurisdiction agreements only in disputes between merchants or between public legal entities; accordingly, jurisdiction clauses contained in standard-form credit, subscription or similar agreements have no effect against consumers. In employment disputes, jurisdiction agreements are expressly deemed invalid by statute. In consumer disputes, the consumer's right to apply to the authority at their own place of residence is additionally preserved.
An objection to the jurisdiction of the enforcement office must be raised together with an objection on the merits and within the prescribed time limit; the enforcement court rules on the objection to jurisdiction before the other objections and definitively. If no objection is raised within the prescribed time limit, the enforcement office’s jurisdiction becomes final, and the proceedings initiated before an enforcement office lacking jurisdiction remain valid. In enforcement proceedings specific to negotiable instruments, an objection to jurisdiction must likewise be filed directly with the enforcement court, together with an objection to the debt, within five days.
The document underlying the claim directly determines the enforcement procedure to be followed. Where there is a court judgment or a document that the law recognises as having the force of a judgment, enforcement proceedings based on a judgment apply. Where there is a cheque, promissory note or bill of exchange, enforcement proceedings specific to negotiable instruments apply. Where there is a mortgage or a pledge over movable property, enforcement by realisation of the security applies. If none of these exists, general attachment proceedings are pursued.
The law also restricts the times at which enforcement proceedings may be conducted. Enforcement proceedings may not be conducted during the period from one hour after sunset until one hour before sunrise (night time) or on holidays; however, attachment and service of documents may be carried out on holidays, protective measures may be taken, proceeds may be attached at night in places where work is carried out at night, and attachment may even be carried out at night if it is established that the debtor is concealing assets. The law also specifies the circumstances in which enforcement proceedings are temporarily stayed (stay): if the debtor’s spouse or an ascendant or descendant related by blood or marriage dies, the proceedings are stayed for three days, including the day of death; enforcement proceedings in respect of the debts of the estate are likewise stayed for three days, including the day of death, and, if the heirs have neither accepted nor rejected the inheritance, the stay continues until the expiry of the periods prescribed in the Turkish Civil Code. If a period of respite has been granted in composition proceedings, or enforcement has been stayed for a reason specified by law, no enforcement proceedings may be conducted against that debtor.
Attachment and Custody
Once the enforcement proceedings have become final, the debtor’s assets are attached at the creditor’s request; the enforcement office carries out the attachment within no more than three days from the date of the request. The attachment is imposed in an amount sufficient to cover the debt and enforcement costs, and the law expressly prohibits attachment in excess of that amount. Attachment may be imposed on the debtor’s movable and immovable property, rights and claims against third parties, and bank accounts; in the case of immovable property, the attachment is recorded in the land register.
The law exempts certain assets and rights from seizure where they are necessary for the debtor's and his family's subsistence and for the continuation of his professional activity. Personal belongings of family members living under the same roof as the debtor, and all household goods serving the common use of the family, are non-seizable unless they are valuable items. Also among the cases enumerated by law are: professional equipment indispensable to a debtor whose economic activity relies more on physical labour than on capital, food and fuel required for the family's two months' subsistence, student scholarships, and a dwelling appropriate to the debtor's circumstances. This protection has a statutory limit that is often overlooked: the exemption regarding professional equipment, a farmer's essential tools and animals, vineyard and garden implements, and a dwelling appropriate to one's circumstances applies only where the debt does not arise from the price of such property; if the debt arises from the price of that asset, protection does not operate. Personal belongings of family members and household goods serving common use, however, were excluded from this limit by the amendment made in 2023. The law further prescribes a separate procedure for property of considerable value: where professional equipment, vineyard and garden implements, a farmer's tools, or a dwelling appropriate to one's circumstances is of considerable value, the property may be seized and sold, and an appropriate portion of its proceeds is left to the debtor to meet his needs. Agreements waiving this protection in advance are invalid. Whether the seizure is permissible is assessed in the first instance by the enforcement officer; a complaint against his action may be lodged within seven days.
For wages and similar income, the law provides for a regime of partial attachment. However, the one-quarter ratio here is not an upper limit protecting the debtor, but a lower limit in favour of the creditor: the law provides that the amount to be attached may not be less than one-quarter of the income. The amount determined by the enforcement officer for the maintenance of the debtor and his family may not be reduced below this limit. The law does not prescribe a separate ratio for maintenance claims in this context; the practice that the one-quarter limit does not apply to the collection of maintenance claims derives not from the statutory text but from court decisions. The law itself introduces a rule of priority: where there are multiple attachments, they are placed in order, and unless the deduction for the attachment with priority has been completed, no deduction may be made for a subsequent attachment. The practice regarding the protection of income at the level of the minimum wage likewise derives not from the statutory text but from court decisions.
The attachment of a debtor’s rights and receivables held by third parties is carried out through the garnishee-notice procedure (haciz ihbarnamesi), each stage of which has its own time limit. If no objection is made to the first garnishee notice within seven days, the third party is deemed liable for the debt; if no objection is made to the second notice within the same period, a third notice is served, after which the debt must either be paid or an action for a negative declaratory judgment (menfi tespit davası) must be brought within fifteen days. If the third party has brought the negative declaratory action in due time, the compulsory enforcement proceedings against them will be stayed until the judgment rendered in the negative declaratory action becomes final, provided that they submit the document evidencing the filing of the action to the enforcement office within twenty days from the date on which the notice was served; the periods for requesting a sale will not run during this period. The law therefore imposes on the third party not an obligation to obtain protection merely by submitting a document, but an obligation to bring an action. In that action, the third party bears the burden of proving that they are not indebted to the enforcement debtor or that the asset does not belong to the enforcement debtor. The action is heard subject to a flat-rate court fee. A third party who loses the negative declaratory action will be ordered to pay compensation of no less than twenty percent of the value of the subject matter of the action. For banks, the garnishee notice is served on the bank’s head office so as to cover all branches.
The custody of seized assets is regulated in stages by statute and is not a matter of free choice. Money, negotiable instruments, gold, silver and other valuables are kept at the enforcement office. Other movable assets are placed in licensed custodian warehouses, with the costs collected in advance from the creditor. Leaving the asset in the debtor’s possession is permitted only temporarily, with the creditor’s consent and on condition that it be surrendered upon request; leaving it with a third party as custodian is subject to that person’s acceptance. An asset that has not been placed in custody cannot be sold. For vehicles registered in the relevant register, the custody, valuation and request for sale must be carried out together, and the associated costs must be paid in advance at the same time. A complaint may be lodged against the enforcement officer’s act concerning custody.
Sale and Realisation
The realisation of seized property is carried out electronically. The law prescribes the electronic sales portal as the sole method for the sale of movable and immovable property by auction; sales at a physical auction venue have been abolished. The two exceptions to this procedure are the sale of the property by the debtor, following the grant of authority to sell, and sale by private negotiation where the conditions laid down by law are satisfied.
Proceedings conducted through the portal follow their own prescribed time limits. The notice of sale is published at least fifteen days before the bidding period begins, and the bidding period is seven days. The auction opens at fifty percent of the estimated value; however, for the auction to proceed, the bid must exceed — whichever is higher — fifty percent of the estimated value or the aggregate of the claims secured by the asset and ranking ahead of the claim of the person requesting the sale, and must also cover the costs of realisation and distribution; in other words, fifty percent is not always a sufficient bid. The difference between bids may not be less than five per mille of the estimated value of the asset put up for sale and, in any case, one thousand Turkish liras. If a new bid is submitted within the last ten minutes of the bidding period, the auction is extended by three minutes, and each new bid submitted during the extension period triggers a further extension; the total extension period may not exceed one hour. The law does not treat the second auction as a separate procedure arranged subsequently: the starting date of the second auction is fixed so as not to exceed one month from the conclusion of the first auction, and the day and time range of both auctions is announced together from the outset. The auction price must be paid in cash within seven days.
In sales conducted for the purpose of dissolution of co-ownership, the first auction among the heirs must cover the full estimated value of the property. The law also imposes an administrative fine on a buyer who fails to deposit the auction price within the prescribed period.
Filing a request for sale within the statutory period is a legal condition for the attachment to remain in force. In enforcement proceedings by way of attachment, the sale must be requested within one year from the date of attachment. In proceedings for the realisation of a pledge, the period is six months for a pledge over movables and one year for a mortgage, running from service of the payment order or enforcement order. The law attaches a clear consequence to this: if the full amount of the valuation and sale expenses is not deposited in advance together with the request for sale, the request for sale is deemed not to have been made; if it becomes apparent during the sale proceedings that the amount deposited in advance is insufficient, the enforcement officer shall grant a period of fifteen days, and if the shortfall is not paid within that period, the request is likewise deemed not to have been made. In enforcement proceedings by way of attachment, if a sale is not requested within the prescribed period, or if the request is withdrawn and not renewed within that period, the attachment over that asset shall lapse; in proceedings for the realisation of a pledge, however, the consequence is different, and the law provides that in such case the proceedings shall lapse. A request for sale may be withdrawn only once. By contrast, where a sale has been requested within the one-year period but the asset cannot be sold at auction, the period for requesting the sale of that asset is extended by a further year for the creditor who requested the sale; the extension does not give a creditor who did not request the sale any additional period. The creditor whose conduct causes the attachment to lapse shall be liable for the attachment and preservation expenses relating to that asset.
Before the sale, the value of the asset is assessed. A complaint may be lodged within seven days of service of the valuation report; furthermore, if the necessary costs are not deposited within seven days of the date on which the complaint is lodged, the request is definitively rejected. Once these periods have expired, the assessed value becomes final and the sale is conducted on the basis of that value. A new valuation may not be requested until two years have elapsed from the date on which the valuation became final; the law limits exceptions to this rule to natural disasters and similar circumstances resulting in very significant changes in zoning status.
In sales of real property, the notice of sale must be served on the interested parties. However, the law limits this rule: no further address inquiry is conducted for interested parties whose addresses are not recorded in the land registry or the Address Registration System, and publication of the notice constitutes service. Accordingly, not every defect in service constitutes grounds for setting aside the auction. If mortgage creditors secured by the real property and other interested parties fail to assert their rights within fifteen days from the notice of sale, they are excluded from the distribution of the sale proceeds unless their rights are established by the land registry.
A request for the annulment of an auction must be made within seven days from the date of the auction and based on the grounds specified in the law. The persons entitled to file such a request are enumerated in the law: only the creditor who requested the sale, the debtor, interested parties registered in the official registry of the seized property, holders of limited real rights, and those who participated in the auction by placing a bid may make this request, provided that they indicate an address within Turkey; under the amendment that entered into force in 25 December 2025, it is expressly provided that requests made by persons other than these shall be rejected by the court on the basis of the file and with final effect. If the request is rejected, the law imposes a pecuniary penalty of up to ten percent of the auction price. The proportional court fee and security are not required from everyone: they are prescribed only for requests made by persons other than the creditor who requested the sale, the debtor, interested parties registered in the official registry, and holders of limited real rights; half of the fee must be paid in advance at the time of the request, and if the request is accepted, it is refunded upon request. The same amendment introduced the rule that if the security or the fee is not paid or is paid incompletely, the court shall issue a notice requiring completion within a peremptory period of two weeks, failing which the request shall be rejected on the basis of the file. Therefore, the grounds for the annulment request should be assessed in advance.
Provisional Attachment and Interim Legal Protection
The law expressly sets out the conditions for interim attachment (ihtiyati haciz): as a rule, a creditor of a due monetary debt not secured by a pledge may seek the interim attachment of the debtor’s movable and immovable property, receivables and other rights held by the debtor or by a third party. Interim attachment for a debt that is not yet due may be sought only in two cases: where the debtor has no fixed place of residence, or where the debtor is preparing to conceal or remove assets, or to abscond, in order to evade his or her obligations, has absconded, or has engaged in fraudulent transactions prejudicing the creditor’s rights for that purpose. If interim attachment is granted on this basis, the debt becomes due only in respect of the debtor. Interim attachment is a provisional legal remedy aimed at preventing the debtor from disposing of his or her assets and is granted by court order.
There are more than two time limits associated with the order, each of which independently results in a loss of rights. The creditor must request enforcement of the order within ten days from the date of the order. In addition, the creditor must either apply to commence enforcement proceedings or bring an action within seven days of the levy of the precautionary attachment or, if the debtor was not present, of its service. The point often overlooked on this page is the following: if the debtor objects to the payment order in enforcement proceedings initiated on the basis of the precautionary attachment, the objection is served on the creditor, who must, within seven days from the date of service, either apply to the enforcement court for removal of the objection or bring an action before the court. In other words, the six-month and one-year time limits available to the creditor in ordinary attachment proceedings do not apply where a precautionary attachment is in place. If the enforcement court rejects the application for removal of the objection, an action must be brought within seven days of the date on which the decision is pronounced or served. If a precautionary attachment was imposed while an action for payment of the debt was already pending, or if the creditor brought an action within the aforementioned period, an application to commence enforcement proceedings must be made within one month of service of the judgment on the merits. The precautionary attachment becomes ineffective if any of these time limits expires, if the action or application to commence enforcement proceedings is abandoned, if the application to commence enforcement proceedings lapses upon the expiry of the statutory time limits, if the case file is removed from the docket and not renewed within one month, or if the creditor's action is dismissed.
As a rule, the creditor must provide security. The law provides for two exceptions to this rule: if the claim is based on a judgment, no security is required; if it is based on a document in the nature of a judgment, the court has discretion as to whether security is required.
The remedies available to the debtor and to third parties against the order are also regulated. A debtor who was not heard before the provisional attachment was granted may apply to the court within seven days of the implementation of the attachment where the attachment was carried out in the debtor's presence, or otherwise of the date on which the attachment report was served on the debtor, to object on the grounds underlying the attachment, the court's jurisdiction, or the security. Third parties whose interests are infringed may also object, within seven days of learning of the provisional attachment, on the grounds underlying the attachment or the security. The court's review is limited solely to the grounds raised; if it finds the objection well-founded, it may amend or lift its order. An appeal may be brought against the decision given on the objection; the decision of the regional court of appeal is final, and an appeal does not stay the enforcement of the provisional attachment order. The debtor may also request the lifting of the provisional attachment by depositing money, a pledge acceptable to the court, shares or bonds, or by providing a mortgage over immovable property or a reliable bank guarantee. The debtor's right to object and the claim for compensation arising from an unjustified provisional attachment are separately regulated.
Provisional attachment may also be sought for claims based on negotiable instruments; at this stage, the court examines whether the instrument complies with the formal requirements prescribed by law.
Step-by-Step Process
How Do Enforcement Proceedings Progress?
Enforcement Application and Payment Order
Enforcement proceedings begin when the creditor submits an enforcement application to the enforcement office. The application must state the amount of the claim, its basis and the type of enforcement pursued. Interest is treated as a separate element: in claims carrying interest, the amount of interest and the date from which it begins to accrue must be specified in the enforcement application. If the claim arises in a foreign currency, the application must additionally state the date of the exchange rate on the basis of which the claim is calculated and the interest claimed. For the debtor, this means that an objection may be directed not only against the existence or amount of the claim but also directly against the interest; an objection to the interest rate, the date on which it begins to accrue or the type of interest claimed must be lodged within the statutory period and in the prescribed form. The application may be submitted to the enforcement office in writing, orally or electronically. If the claim is based on a document, the original document or a copy certified by the creditor or their representative, in a number of copies one more than the number of debtors, must be deposited with the enforcement office at the time of submitting the enforcement application. Enforcement costs are borne by the debtor; however, the creditor pays the costs of the proceedings it initiates and the costs of serving notice of any objection that the debtor may raise in advance as a deposit, and may recover these costs from the first monies collected. The enforcement office serves a payment order or an execution order on the debtor in accordance with the application.
At this stage, it is examined whether the payment order was duly served on the debtor. Even where service was not effected in accordance with the applicable rules, it is deemed valid if the addressee became aware of it, and the date of learning declared by the addressee is deemed to be the date of service. In other words, an irregularity does not reset the time limits; it changes the point at which they begin to run. Any irregularity must be challenged by way of a complaint within seven days of learning of it; if the time limit for objection has consequently been missed, an objection out of time may be made within three days of learning of it. Since the time limits begin to run from the date of service, determining the date of service and, in the event of an irregularity, the date on which the addressee became aware of it, determines the starting point for calculating the time limits.
Objection, Lifting of Objection and Annulment
The objection period and the authority to which the objection must be submitted vary depending on the enforcement proceeding. In general attachment proceedings, the debtor must object to the enforcement office within seven days of service of the payment order, and a timely objection automatically stays the enforcement. In proceedings specific to negotiable instruments, however, the period is five days and the objection is made directly to the enforcement court; the payment period is ten days. This objection does not stay enforcement procedures other than the sale — that is, the sale is stayed, while attachment and other procedures continue; for the enforcement to be fully stayed, a separate decision from the enforcement court is required. In enforcement based on a court judgment, the period for complying with the enforcement order is seven days, and the debtor has no opportunity to stay the enforcement through objection.
In general attachment proceedings, if the enforcement is stayed, the creditor has two options with different time limits. If the creditor holds one of the documents listed in the law, they may request the lifting of the objection from the enforcement court within six months of the objection being served on them; if this period is missed, they cannot initiate a new non-judgment enforcement proceeding for the same claim. If no such document exists, they may file an action for annulment of objection in a court of general jurisdiction within one year of service of the objection; even if this period lapses, the right to file a debt action under general provisions remains. Since both periods begin to run simultaneously, it is necessary to determine early which one will be used.
The procedure for the definitive lifting of an objection depends on the creditor possessing a specific instrument. The law lists these instruments under two headings: a deed containing an acknowledgment of debt whose signature has been admitted or certified by a notary public; or a receipt or document duly issued by an official office or competent authority. Where enforcement proceedings are based on an ordinary deed and the debtor has denied the signature, the law provides for a separate procedure: the provisional lifting of the objection. A decision given in this procedure is provisional in nature, and the debtor retains the right to bring an action for release from the debt.
In both actions, the law provides for compensation, although the conditions are not the same for both parties. The compensation rate may not be less than twenty per cent; this is a minimum rate, not a fixed rate. The distinction depends on which procedure is pursued: in proceedings for the definitive lifting of an objection, if the claim is upheld on substantive grounds, the debtor is ordered to pay compensation; if it is dismissed on the same grounds, the creditor is ordered to pay compensation. In this context, bad faith is not required. By contrast, in an action for annulment of an objection, it is sufficient, as regards the debtor, that the objection was unjustified, whereas the creditor is liable for compensation only if it is found to have acted wrongfully and in bad faith in the enforcement proceedings. If the objecting party is a parent, guardian or heir, an award of compensation against the debtor is conditional on proof of bad faith. In addition, compensation is not awarded of the court’s own motion, but only upon the other party’s request.
Attachment, Valuation and Sale
Once the enforcement proceedings have become final, attachment is levied at the creditor's request. At this stage, the debtor becomes subject to an obligation to submit an asset declaration, and the applicable period varies depending on the enforcement procedure: seven days from service of the payment order in ordinary attachment proceedings, seven days from service of the enforcement order in enforcement proceedings based on a judgment, ten days from service of the payment order in enforcement proceedings for negotiable instruments, and, where a decision has been issued setting aside the objection, three days from service of that decision. Failure to submit an asset declaration and making a false declaration are subject to separate sanctions under the law.
The value of the seized asset is assessed, after which the sale stage is initiated. The request for sale must be made within the prescribed period and its costs must be paid in advance; otherwise, the request is deemed not to have been made, and if the period lapses, the seizure is lifted. In such a case, the procedures must be repeated for a fresh seizure, and if the case file has been removed from processing, the renewal request must additionally be served on the debtor. In the process conducted through the electronic sales portal, the stages of announcement, submission of bids, auction, and payment of the price each operate within their own time limits.
With respect to seizures carried out at a residence, the law introduced a separate supervisory stage in 2023. If the enforcement officer determines that the place where the seizure is requested is a residence, the officer decides to carry out the seizure at that place and submits this decision immediately for the approval of the enforcement court. The court examines the case file within no more than three days from the date on which the file is referred to it; if it is understood that the place is a residence, it decides definitively to approve the decision, and upon notification of this decision to the enforcement office, seizure proceedings are carried out. If it is understood that the place is not a residence, the court definitively sets aside the decision to seize at the residence, and the enforcement officer decides anew on the existing seizure request. If, following the approval decision, it is understood that the premises visited are not a residence, the seizure proceeds.
Distribution, Certificate of Insolvency and Complaints
The proceeds of the sale are distributed after first covering the common expenses incurred for the benefit of all creditors. Secured creditors have priority in respect of the portion of their claims secured by the security interest. If the sale proceeds are insufficient to satisfy all claims, a schedule of distribution is prepared; when claims are entered in the order of priority, the date of the application for attachment is taken as the basis.
The remedy against the ranking schedule depends on the subject of the objection, and confusing this distinction may result in the application being made to the wrong authority. An objection concerning the merits or amount of the claim is pursued by way of an action before the general court, whereas an objection concerning only the ranking is pursued by way of a complaint to the enforcement court. The time limit for both applications is seven days.
If the claim cannot be collected in full, the debtor’s insolvency is documented. Where the creditor has not received the full amount of its claim, the enforcement office issues a final certificate of insolvency; if the debtor has no seizable assets at all, the seizure record itself has the effect of a final certificate of insolvency. Where it is established that the assets are insufficient, the record serves as a temporary certificate of insolvency; this is not a separately issued document. The certificate of insolvency has concrete consequences: it constitutes a document containing an acknowledgement of debt, no new payment order needs to be served if the creditor initiates enforcement within one year, no interest may be claimed on the portion remaining unpaid in the state of insolvency, and the claim becomes subject to a twenty-year limitation period. In addition, if, upon an application made no later than five years after the claim is recorded in the certificate of insolvency, it is established before the enforcement court that the debtor against whom the certificate was issued maintains a livelihood above the minimum wage, the portion of the debtor’s income exceeding the minimum wage, as determined by the enforcement court at not less than one quarter, shall be paid to the enforcement office, with payments commencing no later than one month from the finalisation of the decision and being made monthly until the debt stated in the certificate of insolvency has been paid; this obligation does not arise automatically but depends on a court decision.
The right to file a complaint against the actions of the enforcement office and the enforcement officer is available at every stage. The complaint is lodged with the enforcement court, and the time limit is seven days from the date on which the action is learned of. However, where a right is not fulfilled or is unjustifiably delayed, no time limit applies. It should be noted that a complaint does not automatically stay the enforcement proceedings; the enforcement may only be stayed if the enforcement court so decides.
The dismissal of the complaint or objection by the enforcement court does not end the process; the time limit for challenging the decision runs separately and was amended in 2024 . The time limit for applying for appellate review of enforcement court decisions before the regional court of appeal has been extended to two weeks, and the period now begins only on the date of service (tebliğ); oral pronouncement (tefhim) no longer triggers the period. The time limit for appealing decisions of the regional court of appeal to the Court of Cassation is also two weeks from service. The law, through the same amendment, regulates the calculation of periods specified in weeks: the period ends on the day of the last week corresponding to the day on which it began. Applying for appellate review does not stay enforcement proceedings other than the sale; a separate decision is required for enforcement to be stayed. The right to appeal is also subject to a monetary threshold; these thresholds increase at the beginning of each calendar year in line with the revaluation rate, and the applicable amount is determined by the date on which the complaint is filed or the action is brought. Certain decisions of the enforcement court are not subject to appeal regardless of the amount involved.
The enforcement procedure determines the outcome
Types of Enforcement Proceedings
General Attachment Proceedings (Enforcement Without a Judgment)
This is the route available to a creditor who does not hold a court judgment or a negotiable instrument. Proceedings may also be commenced on the basis of an invoice, contract, current-account statement or even a purely oral debt relationship; the law does not require the creditor to produce documentary evidence for this type of enforcement.
The debtor has a further, separate right of action available in this type of enforcement. The debtor may bring a negative declaratory action, either before or during the enforcement proceedings, to establish that no debt is owed. If the action is brought before the enforcement proceedings, the court may, upon request, order an interim injunction staying the proceedings, provided that security is furnished in an amount of not less than fifteen percent of the claim. In a negative declaratory action brought after the commencement of the enforcement proceedings, however, the court may not order a stay by way of an interim injunction. The debtor may only request that the funds held in the enforcement office’s account not be released to the creditor, provided that the debtor undertakes to compensate any loss arising from the delay and furnishes security of not less than the same percentage. If the action is decided in the debtor’s favour, the enforcement proceedings cease immediately; once the judgment becomes final, the enforcement measures are reversed, in whole or in part, to their former state without the need for a separate order. If the enforcement proceedings that compelled the debtor to bring the negative declaratory action are found to have been unjust and brought in bad faith, the creditor will also be ordered to compensate the debtor for the loss suffered as a result of the action. If, after the debt has been paid, it is established that the debtor was not liable for all or part of it, recovery of the amount paid may be sought by bringing an action for restitution.
The counterpart to this route is that the debtor has a broad right to object. If the debtor lodges an objection with the enforcement office within seven days of service of the payment order, the enforcement proceedings automatically stay and the creditor must apply to the court. The objection may relate to the existence of the debt itself, its amount, interest, jurisdiction or the creditor's right to pursue enforcement; an assertion that the signature does not belong to the debtor is likewise communicated to the enforcement office in these proceedings. Accordingly, where a claim is not supported by documentation, enforcement proceedings should be planned with the possibility of an objection in mind.
Enforcement Proceedings Based on a Court Judgment
This is a proceeding based on a court judgment or on a document that the law recognises as having the force of a court judgment. The law enumerates these documents: settlements and admissions made before a court, security undertakings for appeals and cassation appeals, sureties given at the enforcement office, and deeds drawn up ex officio by notaries containing an acknowledgment of a monetary debt. A deed whose signature has merely been authenticated by a notary does not fall within this scope. The enforceability of a mediation settlement document, on the other hand, is governed by a separate statute and may be achieved in two ways: by obtaining an enforceability endorsement on the settlement document or by the document being signed jointly by the parties, their attorneys at law, and the mediator.
In enforcement proceedings based on a judgment, an enforcement order is served on the debtor instead of a payment order, and the debtor has no opportunity to halt the proceedings by way of objection. The principal remedy available to the debtor is to request the enforcement court, within seven days, that enforcement be stayed. The grounds on which such a request may be based are exhaustive: the debt is time-barred, has been discharged, or an extension of time has been granted. Claims of discharge or an extension of time must be proven by a document of the kind specified in the statute. However, grounds arising after service of the enforcement order may be raised at any time; in that case, the statute imposes a stricter evidentiary requirement: requests based on discharge or an extension of time must necessarily rely on documents drawn up or certified ex officio by a notary public, or on the enforcement record. Staying enforcement is not the only remedy: a debtor who has pursued a legal remedy may request a stay of enforcement by providing security; if the judgment is set aside or quashed by the regional court of appeal, enforcement proceedings are stayed; and a complaint against the acts of the enforcement officer is a separate remedy. Enforcement of foreign court judgments through this procedure is subject to first obtaining an exequatur decision.
Enforcement Proceedings Specific to Negotiable Instruments
This is a special enforcement procedure prescribed for claims based on a negotiable instrument. The instrument must qualify as a negotiable instrument, meaning that it must fully satisfy the formal requirements prescribed by law; the absence of any one of these requirements precludes enforcement through this procedure.
In this procedure, the debtor's objection is made not to the enforcement office but directly to the enforcement court, and the time limit is five days. The objection does not stay enforcement proceedings other than the sale; the sale is stayed, while attachment and other acts continue. For the proceedings to be stayed entirely, the enforcement court must additionally so order.
An objection to the debt and an objection to the signature have different consequences. In an objection to the debt, the court's power to stay the proceedings temporarily depends on the documents attached to the objection petition. In contrast, in an objection to the signature, if the court regards the objection as serious, it may stay the proceedings on the file without requiring service on the creditor; this route is more flexible. However, this comes at a cost: if, upon examination, the signature is found to belong to the debtor, the debtor is ordered to pay denial compensation of not less than twenty per cent of the claim and a fine of ten per cent of the claim.
Realisation of pledge
If a claim is secured by a mortgage on immovable property or a pledge over movable property, the creditor must, as a rule, first proceed against the security. However, this rule is not absolute; the statute itself provides for several exceptions. If the proceeds from the sale of the security are insufficient to cover the claim, enforcement or bankruptcy proceedings may be pursued for the remaining amount. For claims arising from housing finance and claims of the Housing Development Administration, the creditor may choose enforcement or bankruptcy proceedings without first resorting to the security. If the claim is evidenced by a negotiable instrument, the procedure specific to negotiable instruments may be followed despite the existence of the security. For interest and annual instalment claims secured by a mortgage, the creditor is also granted a right of choice. Therefore, the existence of a security does not alone determine the course of action to be taken.
The nature of the mortgage affects both the procedure and the debtor’s ability to object, and the statutory criterion in this regard is whether the deed table in the land registry contains an unconditional acknowledgment of a monetary debt. If it does, an enforcement order is served on the debtor, who cannot object; the only remedy available is an application for a stay of enforcement. The statute prescribes a thirty-day payment period for both routes: where the deed table contains an unconditional acknowledgment of a monetary debt, the enforcement order warns that the debt must be paid within thirty days and that, if it is not paid within this period and no order staying enforcement is submitted, the creditor may request the sale of the immovable; in other cases, the payment order served also specifies a payment period of thirty days and states that a sale may be requested if no objection is raised within seven days and the debt is not paid within the thirty-day period. If it does not, a payment order is served and the debtor may object within seven days; however, the right of pledge itself cannot be challenged. In the case of mortgages established as security for a current account or credit facility, the enforcement court may determine the amount of the claim by examining the contract and receipts. If the immovable belongs to a third party, that person’s legal position is assessed separately.
Eviction of Leased Premises Without a Court Judgment
Where rent is not paid or the lease term expires, the law provides separate procedures for pursuing rent claims and evicting the tenant from the leased property. If rent is not paid, the creditor may pursue the accrued rent arrears and, in the same proceeding, also seek eviction. For this purpose, the payment period granted to the tenant is determined in accordance with the Turkish Code of Obligations: for residential leases and leases of roofed business premises, at least thirty days; for other lease relationships, at least ten days; and for leases of productive property, at least sixty days. The tenant may object to the payment order within seven days; if an objection is filed, the creditor must request the removal of the objection within six months. The eviction request must be made within six months from the expiry of the notice period, and the tenant is granted ten days to comply with enforcement of the eviction order.
In eviction proceedings based on the expiry of the lease term, however, the procedure differs: the lease agreement must be submitted to the enforcement office within one month following the expiry of the term, the eviction order must be complied with within fifteen days, and the tenant may object within seven days.
This route is subject to a condition prescribed by law: an enforcement court may issue an eviction order only if the tenancy agreement was drawn up by a notary public or its signature was certified by a notary, or if the tenant has acknowledged the agreement; otherwise, the eviction claim must be brought by way of legal proceedings. Eviction based on grounds such as the landlord's need, reconstruction of the property, the needs of a new owner, or two justified notices may only be pursued through legal proceedings. However, in the case of a claim based on a written undertaking to vacate, both routes are available. Therefore, whether an eviction claim is pursued through enforcement proceedings or by filing a lawsuit depends on the nature and basis of the tenancy relationship.
For the debtor
Debtor's Rights, Obligations and Available Remedies
Enforcement proceedings do not merely impose an obligation to pay on the debtor; they also involve rights that must be exercised and obligations that must be fulfilled within the time limits prescribed by law. If these rights are not exercised within the prescribed time limits, the enforcement proceedings become final and, as a rule, the right to object to the debt is no longer available.
Objection and complaint are two separate remedies; which one is available depends on whether the allegation concerns the debt or an act of the enforcement office. An objection concerns the debt itself, its amount, interest, the jurisdiction of the enforcement office, or the creditor’s right to pursue enforcement; in general enforcement proceedings, it is lodged with the enforcement office, the time limit is seven days, and it automatically stays the proceedings. An allegation that the signature does not belong to the debtor is also raised with the enforcement office by way of objection. A complaint, by contrast, is lodged with the enforcement court on the grounds that an act of the enforcement office or an enforcement officer is unlawful, inappropriate in the circumstances, or that a right has not been enforced; the time limit is seven days from the date on which the act was learned of, and a complaint does not stay enforcement unless the enforcement court so orders. Which remedy is available depends on whether the allegation concerns the debt or the act.
The debtor’s obligation to submit a declaration of assets is prescribed by statute, and the time limit is seven, ten or three days, depending on the enforcement procedure. Failure to submit a declaration and making a false declaration are subject to separate sanctions; in the cases prescribed by statute, these sanctions include coercive imprisonment. The sanctions for failure to submit a declaration and making a false declaration are regulated separately by statute.
Assets and rights that cannot be seized are enumerated by law. These include the debtor's dwelling suitable to their circumstances, the professional equipment of a debtor whose economic activity relies more on physical labour than on capital, personal belongings of family members residing under the same roof as the debtor, household items serving the family's common use, food and fuel necessary for the family's subsistence for two months, and student scholarships. Agreements waiving this protection in advance are null and void. If an asset that is exempt from seizure has been seized, this issue must be raised by way of a complaint (şikâyet), rather than an objection.
The remedy available to a third party who claims that the seized asset belongs to them is an action for a third-party claim (istihkak iddiası). The time limit is seven days, but its commencement varies depending on the circumstances: it runs from the date on which the seizure became known to the claimant, from the pronouncement or notification of the enforcement court's decision, or from the period granted by the enforcement office director. Since who possesses the asset determines which party bears the burden of proof, recording in the seizure report where the asset is located and who possesses it directly affects the outcome of the action.
The debtor may agree with the creditor to pay in instalments and give an undertaking to that effect at the enforcement office. The validity of the undertaking is subject to the conditions prescribed by law, and the sanction for breach is expressly specified in the statute: where the debtor, without a valid reason, breaches the payment terms agreed at the enforcement office, the court shall, upon the creditor's complaint, order coercive imprisonment for up to three months. Once coercive imprisonment has commenced, the debtor is released if the debt, or the amount due to be paid by that date, is paid; if payments cease again, coercive imprisonment may be ordered anew, provided that the total period of coercive imprisonment for a single debt does not exceed three months. For this reason, the content and conditions of the undertaking record should be carefully assessed before it is signed.
Where the debtor engages in transactions designed to conceal assets from creditors, the creditor may bring an action for the avoidance of the disposition (tasarrufun iptali davası). This action may be brought by a creditor holding a provisional or final certificate of insolvency (aciz vesikası). The action is subject to a five-year preclusive period running from the date of the disposition subject to avoidance. The scope of gratuitous dispositions subject to avoidance was narrowed three times by the Constitutional Court's annulment decisions of 2022, 2023 and 2025, and the provision was subsequently redrafted by Law No. 7571, entering into force on 25 December 2025; in other words, the institution was not abolished but rewritten. Under the current provision, subject to the exception for customary gifts, all donations and gratuitous dispositions made within the one year preceding the date on which the provisional or final certificate of insolvency, or the seizure record having the effect of such a certificate, was issued or the date on which bankruptcy was declared are subject to avoidance. The statute further deems three groups of transactions to be donations: transactions with descendants and ascendants, blood relatives up to and including the third degree, spouses even if the marriage was dissolved within the last year, and in-laws up to and including the third degree, as well as transactions between an adoptive parent and an adopted child or between persons sharing a joint residence, unless it is proved that the transaction was made for consideration corresponding to its real value; contracts by which the debtor accepted consideration substantially below the real value of what he or she gave, unless the contrary is proved; and contracts for a life annuity, the creation of a usufruct right, or care until death, unless it is proved that adequate consideration was provided. However, since avoidance actions are governed by the provisions in force at the date of the transaction sought to be avoided, for dispositions made before 25 December 2025, the text in force on that date applies; therefore, determining the date of the transaction is the first step in assessing the scope.
Bankruptcy and Restructuring
Bankruptcy and Concordat Proceedings
Bankruptcy is a procedure aimed at the collective satisfaction of creditors through the liquidation of the debtor's entire estate. Bankruptcy proceedings may be initiated only against the three categories of persons specified by law: those deemed to be merchants under the Turkish Commercial Code, those subject to the provisions applicable to merchants, and natural or legal persons who, although not merchants under their respective special laws, are declared by those laws to be subject to bankruptcy. A merchant is subject to bankruptcy in respect of all debts. Merchant status is not limited to actually operating a commercial enterprise; persons who have established and opened an enterprise and announced or registered this fact, persons who operate an enterprise without authorisation or in breach of a prohibition, and foundations and associations operating a commercial enterprise are also included. Certain persons who do not have merchant status may also be subject to bankruptcy by law; an unlimited-liability partner of a collective partnership may be declared personally bankrupt without the partnership itself being declared bankrupt. Bankruptcy proceedings may also be initiated against a merchant who has ceased trading within one year of the relevant announcement. Accordingly, whether bankruptcy proceedings are available must be assessed separately in each case, having regard to the debtor's legal status.
Bankruptcy may be requested by the creditor through an application for enforcement or, in the cases provided by law, directly without the need for prior enforcement proceedings. In the ordinary bankruptcy procedure, a bankruptcy payment order is served on the debtor. If the debtor fails to pay the debt within seven days and fails within that period to object on the ground that the debt does not exist or that the debtor is not a person subject to bankruptcy, the creditor may request the commercial court to issue a bankruptcy judgment. The right to request bankruptcy expires one year after service of the payment order. A separate bankruptcy procedure is provided for claims based on negotiable instruments; in that procedure, the period for payment and for filing an objection or complaint is five days.
Direct bankruptcy is not confined exclusively to the state of over-indebtedness. A creditor may petition for bankruptcy without prior enforcement proceedings where the debtor has no known place of residence, has absconded with a view to evading his or her obligations, has engaged in fraudulent transactions infringing the rights of creditors or has concealed his or her assets, has suspended payments, or has failed to pay a judgment debt despite an enforcement order. The debtor may likewise petition for his or her own bankruptcy by declaring that he or she is in a state of insolvency, and is obliged to do so in the circumstances prescribed by law. Where the over-indebtedness of capital companies and cooperatives is established, an order for their bankruptcy is made without prior enforcement proceedings, and such a finding may be raised not only by the company's organs but also by any creditor.
The deterioration of the financial position of capital companies is regulated on a graduated basis. If, according to the latest annual balance sheet, it appears that half of the aggregate of the share capital and the statutory reserves has been eroded by losses, the board of directors must immediately convene the general meeting and present the remedial measures it considers appropriate. If this proportion reaches two-thirds, the general meeting, convened without delay, must decide either to continue with one-third of the share capital or to restore the share capital in full; failing such a decision, the company is dissolved automatically. In accordance with the relevant communiqué, the general meeting may decide on one of the following courses: reduction of capital, restoration of capital or increase of capital. Over-indebtedness, by contrast, is the situation in which the company's assets are insufficient to cover its liabilities. Where there are indications giving rise to a suspicion of over-indebtedness, the board of directors must draw up an interim balance sheet showing the assets both on a going-concern basis and at their probable sale values; if it transpires that the assets are insufficient to cover the company's claims, the board must report this situation to the commercial court of first instance and petition for the bankruptcy of the company. This reporting obligation is among the non-delegable and non-waivable duties of the board of directors. If the creditors of claims sufficient to cover the company's deficit accept in writing that their claims rank behind those of all other creditors, and this declaration is confirmed by court-appointed experts, no bankruptcy order is made. The board of directors or any creditor may, together with such a bankruptcy petition or during the bankruptcy proceedings, also apply for a concordat. Furthermore, pursuant to the transitional provision of the relevant communiqué, until 1 January 2027, the entirety of exchange-rate losses arising from foreign-currency liabilities not yet performed, together with half of certain expenses relating to 2020 and 2021, may be disregarded in the calculations of capital loss and over-indebtedness. For enterprises borrowing in foreign currency, this transitional provision alters the items to be included in the calculation of over-indebtedness.
Upon the issuance of the bankruptcy order, all assets of the bankrupt subject to attachment constitute the bankruptcy estate and are allocated to the payment of creditors; assets acquired by the bankrupt before the closure of the bankruptcy also become part of the estate. Any disposition by the bankrupt of assets belonging to the estate is ineffective against the creditors, and the bankrupt may not accept any payment. In ordinary liquidation, creditors must register their claims within one month of the announcement; this period may be extended for creditors located in remote places or abroad. Claims not registered within the prescribed period may nevertheless be admitted until the closure of the bankruptcy, with any costs arising from the delay borne by the creditor. The first meeting of creditors must be held within no more than ten days of the announcement. The ranking schedule must be prepared after the expiry of the registration period and within no more than two months of the election of the bankruptcy administration; in mandatory cases, the enforcement court may extend this period once by no more than two months. Anyone objecting to the ranking schedule must bring an action before the commercial court within fifteen days of the announcement of the schedule; where the objection concerns only the ranking, an application must be made to the enforcement court by way of a complaint.
Concordat (composition with creditors) is a legal mechanism that enables a debtor, when its financial situation has deteriorated, to restructure its debts by reaching an agreement with its creditors. The institution of postponement of bankruptcy was abolished in 2018 by Law No. 7101: the relevant provisions of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law were repealed, the heading of the relevant provision of the Turkish Commercial Code, formerly “Postponement of Bankruptcy”, was changed to “Concordat”, and the concordat regime was comprehensively reorganised. Accordingly, explanations in older sources concerning postponement of bankruptcy do not reflect the current legal position. However, in relation to applications for postponement of bankruptcy and concordat that were pending on the date the law entered into force, the provisions in force on the date of the application continue to apply. Today, the restructuring mechanism generally available to a debtor is concordat; in addition, restructuring by way of compromise, a mechanism available specifically to capital companies and cooperatives, remains in force.
A debtor applying for composition (konkordato) shall be granted a provisional moratorium (geçici mühlet) by the court immediately, provided that the debtor submits all the documents specified by law, and a provisional composition commissioner shall be appointed; if required by the number of creditors and the amount of the claims, three commissioners may be appointed. The provisional moratorium lasts for three months and may be extended, upon the request of the debtor or the provisional commissioner, by a further two months at most; the total period may not exceed five months. No legal remedy may be sought against decisions concerning the provisional moratorium. The court shall decide on the definitive moratorium (kesin mühlet) during the provisional moratorium and, if it appears that the composition can succeed, shall grant a definitive moratorium of one year; in special circumstances involving difficulty, it may be extended by up to six months upon the reasoned report and request of the commissioner, so that the definitive moratorium may reach a maximum of eighteen months. The law specifies here not the number of extensions but the upper limit. Creditors have an opportunity to apply at this stage, and the deadline is one that can easily be missed: the decision granting the provisional moratorium is announced, and creditors may, within the mandatory seven-day period beginning on the date of the announcement, object by petition, asserting with evidence that there is no basis for granting a composition moratorium and, on that basis, request that the court reject the composition application. This objection is not a legal remedy against the decision on the definitive moratorium; when deciding on the definitive moratorium, the court also takes into account the grounds put forward in the petitions of the objecting creditors. No legal remedy may be sought against decisions accepting the request for a definitive moratorium and rejecting the request for the moratorium to be lifted.
The provisional moratorium produces the effects of the definitive moratorium. During the moratorium, no enforcement proceedings may be commenced against the debtor, including proceedings conducted under the law governing the collection of public receivables; enforcement proceedings already commenced are stayed; interim injunctions and provisional attachment orders may not be enforced; and limitation periods and periods of forfeiture that may be interrupted by an enforcement act do not run. This rule has the limits prescribed by law. Enforcement by attachment may be pursued for first-rank privileged claims; this class includes workers’ claims arising from the employment relationship and accrued within one year before the opening of bankruptcy, including notice pay and severance pay, as well as maintenance claims accrued during the preceding year. Notice pay and severance pay becoming due upon termination of the employment relationship as a result of bankruptcy, however, rank in the same class independently of this one-year limit. In respect of claims secured by a pledge, enforcement by realisation of the pledge may be commenced or continued; however, no measure for taking custody of the pledged property may be ordered in connection with those proceedings and the pledged property may not be sold. In addition, unless the approved project provides otherwise, interest ceases to accrue on claims not secured by a pledge as of the date of the definitive moratorium.
A concordat proposal is deemed accepted if it has been signed by a majority exceeding one half of the registered creditors and creditors holding more than one half of the registered claims, or by one quarter of the registered creditors and creditors holding two thirds of the registered claims. Only creditors affected by the proposal may vote; first-rank preferential claims and claims held by the debtor’s relatives are disregarded when calculating the majority, while secured claims are taken into account only to the extent that they remain unsecured. Votes cast within seven days following the end of the meeting are also accepted. Acceptance of the proposal by the requisite majority is only one of the conditions for approval; the court also examines whether the amount offered exceeds the amount that creditors would receive in bankruptcy, whether it is proportionate to the debtor’s resources, and whether payment of preferential claims and debts incurred during the period granted to the debtor is secured. The concordat becomes binding upon the approval decision and is binding on all claims arising before the concordat application.
If the concordat is not approved, the court decides to reject the concordat application. However, if the debtor is a person subject to bankruptcy and one of the grounds for direct bankruptcy exists, the court orders the debtor’s bankruptcy ex officio without a separate application. The same consequence arises if the concordat is terminated in its entirety because it has been tainted by bad faith. By contrast, termination of the concordat solely with respect to a creditor who applies on the ground that performance has not been made to that creditor in accordance with the proposal does not, by itself, result in bankruptcy.
The law makes no distinction between sectors for the purposes of composition with creditors (konkordato). Nevertheless, the preliminary concordat project must specify the proportion of the debts to be paid and the time within which they are to be paid, and must be accompanied by a cash flow statement and lists of receivables and debts stating their respective maturities; at the approval stage, the court assesses whether the amount offered is proportionate to the debtor’s resources. In businesses such as tourism, where income is seasonal, the irregular fluctuation of cash flow throughout the year is a factor that must be taken into account when preparing these documents and the payment schedule.
International Matters
Enforcement Proceedings with a Foreign Element
Where the creditor or debtor is a foreign person, the debt is denominated in a foreign currency, or the asset subject to enforcement belongs to a foreign person, additional procedural steps are required in enforcement proceedings. In cases involving a foreign element, additional procedural steps may arise in relation to the enforcement of foreign judgments, service of documents abroad and the pursuit of claims denominated in foreign currency. In places such as Alanya, where foreigners acquire immovable property and tourism businesses are concentrated, these steps more frequently arise together because the debtor is abroad and the claim is denominated in a foreign currency.
Enforcement of Foreign Court Judgments and Arbitral Awards
Enforcement proceedings cannot be commenced directly in Turkey on the basis of a foreign court judgment. Before the judgment can be enforced, an enforcement judgment (tenfiz) must first be obtained from the competent Turkish court. Under the wording of the statute, the court with subject-matter jurisdiction over an action for an enforcement judgment is the court of first instance (asliye mahkemesi). In practice, this is the civil court of first instance for foreign judgments concerning matters other than family law, whereas the family court has jurisdiction over foreign judgments concerning family-law matters pursuant to a separate statutory rule on subject-matter jurisdiction. The court with territorial jurisdiction is the court of the person against whom enforcement is sought, according to that person’s domicile in Turkey or, failing that, place of residence; if neither exists, jurisdiction lies with one of the courts in Ankara, Istanbul or Izmir. Once the enforcement judgment has been granted, the judgment is enforced through execution proceedings based on a court judgment (ilamlı takip). Bringing the enforcement judgment before a higher court suspends its enforcement. The provisions of international conventions to which Turkey is a party are reserved.
Recognition and enforcement are distinct concepts: recognition gives the judgment effect as conclusive evidence or res judicata, whereas enforceability depends on enforcement. One difference between them is that reciprocity, which is required for enforcement, is not required for recognition. The foreign judgment’s effect as res judicata or conclusive evidence takes effect from the date on which the foreign court’s judgment becomes final.
The enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is subject to a separate regime, and the rule on jurisdiction differs from that applicable to court judgments: the court of the place the parties have designated in writing has primary jurisdiction; absent such an agreement, the court of the place of residence or domicile in Türkiye of the party against whom the award was rendered; and, absent these, the court of the place where the assets subject to enforcement are located. For enforcement of an arbitral award, it is sufficient that the award has become final and enforceable or is binding on the parties. The grounds for refusal are enumerated in a separate catalogue, and in respect of some of them the burden of proof rests with the party seeking enforcement.
Service of Process Abroad and Foreign Debtors
There is no separate service regime for enforcement proceedings; the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code directly refers to the Notification Code. Where the debtor is abroad, service of the payment order or enforcement order is, as a rule, effected through the competent authority of the relevant state. If the addressee is a Turkish national, service may also be effected through the Turkish embassy or consulate; this route is optional.
In this case, the thirty-day presumption of service does not arise automatically; it takes effect only when all three conditions are met: the notice sent to the addressee must contain the warning required by law, service of the notice on the addressee in accordance with the law of that country must be documented, and the addressee must not apply to the representative office within thirty days. If the addressee applies but refuses to accept the documents, the date on which the official record was drawn up is taken as the relevant date, rather than the date determined by the presumption.
Service abroad does not extend the statutory time limits; however, enforcement proceedings cannot proceed to the next stage until service has been completed. Even if service was effected irregularly, it is deemed valid if the addressee became aware of it, and the date of learning stated by the addressee is deemed the date of service; the time limits run from that date. Any irregularity must be challenged by way of a complaint within seven days of learning of it; if the time limit for an objection was missed for this reason, a late objection must be filed within three days of learning of it. Since the time limits run from the date of service, or, in the case of irregular service, from the date of learning stated by the addressee, documenting these two dates determines the starting point for calculating the time limits. The law requires a creditor residing abroad to provide an address in Türkiye; however, it attaches a presumption rather than a sanction to the failure to do so: if no address is provided, the place where the enforcement office is located is deemed to be the place of residence. The debtor, by contrast, is required to provide an address in Türkiye together with the objection.
Real Property Owned by Foreigners, Mortgages and Attachments
Attachments and mortgages may be imposed or established over real property owned in Türkiye by foreign natural or legal persons under the general provisions, without prejudice to the special regime applicable to the acquisition of ownership. The law contains an express provision on this point: the acquisition restrictions set out in the provision do not apply to the creation of a mortgage over real property in favour of foreign natural persons and commercial companies with legal personality incorporated in foreign countries under the laws of their respective countries. An attachment over the real property is recorded in the land registry.
By contrast, the restrictions come back into play at the sale stage. The exemption provided by law with respect to realisation applies only in the provision concerning foreign-capital companies established in Turkey; no such exemption exists for foreign natural persons. Therefore, even through forced sale of the mortgage, a foreign natural person is subject to the limits on acquiring real property at auction. Among these limits, the only conditions are the requirement of citizenship of the specified countries, thirty hectares per person, ten per cent of the surface area of the relevant district subject to private ownership, and restrictions relating to military prohibited zones. Foreign commercial companies may acquire real property only within the framework of special legal provisions; other foreign legal persons may not acquire real property.
The sanction for an acquisition in breach of these restrictions is not the automatic invalidity of ownership of the immovable property, but its disposal: if the owner does not dispose of the immovable property within a period of up to one year granted in the event of a breach, the administrative authorities will carry out the disposal and convert the property into cash. Accordingly, these restrictions should be assessed in advance in proceedings for the enforcement of a security interest or the sale of an immovable property.
Foreign Currency Receivables
Where the receivable arises in a foreign currency, the currency in which the enforcement proceedings are to be conducted and the date as at which the exchange rate is to be calculated are assessed separately. In this assessment, the statutory criterion is whether the contract contains an express provision requiring payment in the same currency.
If the contract does not contain a clause requiring payment in the foreign currency itself, the debtor may also pay the debt in Turkish lira at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of payment. If there is no such clause and the debt is not paid on the due date, the creditor may demand that the debt be paid either in the foreign currency itself or in Turkish lira at the exchange rate prevailing on the due date or on the date of actual payment. Conversely, if the contract contains a clause requiring payment in the foreign currency itself, both options are eliminated and the debt must be paid in the foreign currency itself. In other words, the debtor’s right of choice and the creditor’s choice of exchange-rate date are two sides of the same provision, and both depend on the existence of the same clause.
In a request for enforcement, the amount of the claim in Turkish currency; for interest-bearing claims, the amount of interest and the date on which it begins to accrue; and, where the claim is in a foreign currency, the date of the exchange rate on the basis of which the claim and interest are claimed are compulsory elements prescribed by law. The enforcement officer verifies that the request for enforcement satisfies the statutory requirements. In practice, stating this element inaccurately or incorrectly may lead to consequences that are difficult to remedy at a later stage. Where the contract contains provisions on the exchange rate and place of payment, the validity and enforceability of those provisions will also be taken into account.
Assessment criteria
Assessment Criteria in Enforcement and Bankruptcy Proceedings
The course to be followed in enforcement proceedings is determined by the document on which the claim is based, the legal nature of the debtor, whether any security is in place, and the stage the proceedings have reached. During the initial assessment, the enforcement file, the payment order or enforcement order, the service documents, and any periods that have already begun to run may be reviewed together.
For the creditor, the choice of enforcement route, the need for provisional attachment and the identification of the assets to be attached are assessed on a case-by-case basis; for the debtor, the time limits for objections and complaints, the obligation to declare assets and the remedies available in respect of assets exempt from attachment are assessed likewise.
In files involving a mortgage over immovable property, the procedure for enforcement by realisation of the security, the contents of the mortgage deed, the valuation of the property and service of the notice of sale are subject to separate statutory time limits and separate avenues of recourse. In files involving a foreign creditor or debtor, service abroad, the enforcement of foreign judgments and the enforcement of foreign-currency claims are also considered.
The firm's practice areas include disputes arising from enforcement and bankruptcy law. You can reach us via the contact page to request a consultation.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
I have received a payment order. How long do I have to take action, and what must I do?
The applicable time limit and the authority to which an objection must be made depend on the method by which enforcement proceedings were commenced. In general attachment proceedings, the debtor may object to the enforcement office within seven days of service of the payment order; an objection filed within the prescribed period automatically stays the proceedings. In proceedings specific to negotiable instruments, however, the time limit is five days, and the objection is made directly to the enforcement court; this objection does not stay enforcement acts other than the sale, meaning the sale is stayed but the attachment continues. In proceedings based on a judgment, the time limit for complying with the enforcement order is seven days, and it is not possible to stay the proceedings by way of objection; the debtor's remedy is to seek suspension of the enforcement. If the time limit is missed, the proceedings become final and, as a rule, the opportunity to object to the debt ceases to exist. Therefore, the first step is to determine whether the document in your possession is a payment order or an enforcement order, and the date of service.
I have objected. What can the creditor do?
A timely objection stays the enforcement proceedings, and the creditor must apply to the court. If the creditor holds an instrument containing a debt acknowledgement whose signature has been admitted or certified by a notary, or an official receipt or document duly issued by a public authority in accordance with the applicable procedure, the creditor may, within six months of service of the notice of the objection on the creditor, request the enforcement court to lift the objection; if this period expires, the creditor may not initiate new non-judicial enforcement proceedings for the same debt. If no such document exists, the creditor must bring an action for annulment of objection before a court of general jurisdiction within one year of service of the notice of the objection on the creditor; even if this period expires, the right to bring a debt claim under the general provisions remains reserved. Choosing the wrong remedy leads to dismissal of the application. In both actions, upon the other party’s request, compensation of not less than twenty percent of the claim may be awarded; however, the conditions are not identical: In proceedings for definitive lifting of the objection, if the application is accepted on substantive grounds, the debtor is ordered to pay compensation; if it is rejected on the same grounds, the creditor is so ordered, and bad faith is not required. In an action for annulment of objection, the unjustified nature of the debtor’s objection suffices for the debtor to be ordered to pay compensation, whereas the creditor is liable for compensation only if the enforcement proceedings are found to have been pursued unjustly and in bad faith.
What portion of my salary can be seized?
The law prescribes a regime of partial seizure for wages and similar income; however, the one-quarter ratio here is not an upper limit protecting the debtor, but a lower limit indicating the minimum amount that may be seized. In the words of the law, the amount to be seized cannot be less than one-quarter of the income. The amount determined by the enforcement officer for the subsistence of the debtor and his family shall not be reduced below this limit. The law does not prescribe a separate ratio for maintenance claims; the practice that the one-quarter limit does not apply to the collection of maintenance claims derives not from the statutory text but from judicial decisions. The law itself sets a rule of priority: where there are multiple seizures, they are placed in order, and no deduction may be made for a subsequent seizure until the deduction for the seizure with priority has been completed. The practice of protecting income at the level of the minimum wage also derives from judicial decisions rather than the statutory text. If it is considered that the seizure is contrary to law, this shall be raised by way of complaint within seven days of learning of the act. Agreements waiving this protection in advance are void.
Can my house be seized?
The law lists the debtor's dwelling appropriate to his circumstances among the assets exempt from seizure. However, this protection is not unlimited: whether the dwelling is appropriate to the debtor's circumstances is assessed in each specific case. For immovable property whose value exceeds that standard, the law prescribes a separate procedure — the house is sold and, from the proceeds, an amount sufficient for the debtor to purchase a dwelling appropriate to his circumstances is left to him. Furthermore, if the immovable property is subject to a mortgage, enforcement by sale of the mortgaged property leads to different consequences from this protection. If a seizure has been placed on an asset that is considered exempt from seizure, the remedy is a complaint, not an objection; the enforcement officer first assesses whether the seizure is permissible.
The seized items belong to me; what can I do?
The remedy available to a third party who claims that the seized property belongs to them is an ownership claim (istihkak iddiası). The time limit is seven days; depending on the circumstances, it begins to run from the date on which the seizure became known, the pronouncement or service of the enforcement court’s decision, or the period granted by the enforcement office director. Since the person in whose possession the property is found determines which party bears the burden of proof, recording in the seizure report where the property is located and in whose possession it is has a direct effect on the outcome of the proceedings.
Is a concordat the same as postponement of bankruptcy?
No. The institution of postponement of bankruptcy was abolished by Law No. 7101 in 2018, whereas concordat was substantially revised; the heading of the relevant article of the Turkish Commercial Code was also changed from "Postponement of Bankruptcy" to "Concordat". However, for applications pending on the date the law entered into force, the provisions in force on the date of application continue to apply. In concordat proceedings, the debtor is initially granted a three-month provisional respite; this period may be extended by up to two more months, and the total may not exceed five months. If the conditions are met, a one-year definitive respite is granted; in exceptional cases involving particular difficulty, it may be extended by up to six months. During the respite period, no enforcement proceedings may be initiated against the debtor, including in respect of public receivables, and precautionary attachment orders may not be enforced; privileged employee claims and maintenance claims may nevertheless be pursued by way of attachment, while enforcement proceedings in respect of secured claims may continue, although the secured asset may not be sold. If the concordat proposal is accepted by the majority prescribed by law and approved by the court, the concordat becomes binding. Today, concordat is, as a rule, the route for restructuring; for capital companies and cooperatives, restructuring by way of compromise is also available. Explanations in older sources concerning postponement of bankruptcy do not reflect the current position.
Can I initiate enforcement proceedings in Turkey based on a foreign court judgment?
It cannot be done directly. For a foreign court judgment to be enforced in Turkey, an enforcement decision (tenfiz kararı) must first be obtained from the competent Turkish court; following tenfiz, the judgment is enforced through enforcement proceedings based on a court judgment. The competent court is, as a rule, the Civil Court of First Instance, and, for judgments concerning family law, the Family Court. An appeal against the tenfiz decision stays its enforcement. Recognition (tanıma), on the other hand, enables the foreign judgment to be accepted as conclusive evidence or res judicata; it does not make the judgment enforceable, and the reciprocity requirement applicable to tenfiz is not required for recognition. The enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is subject to its own regime, and the competent court is primarily the court of the place designated in writing by the parties. If the debtor is abroad, the procedure for service abroad also applies, which in practice extends the duration of the proceedings.
The explanations on this page are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion. Since the circumstances of each specific case differ, any legal assessment must be made on a case-by-case basis.
The information on this page has been published within the framework of the Turkish Bar Association Regulation on the Prohibition of Advertising, for the purpose of providing information about the areas in which the firm operates, without implying specialisation, and does not aim to solicit business.
Viewing this page or contacting us through the links or contact information provided on this page does not create an attorney-client relationship between the lawyer and the applicant, nor does it imply that the matter has been accepted.
The information and time limits on this page have been prepared in accordance with the legislation in force as of 5 September 2026. Since legislation may change, time-limit calculations must in all cases be made in accordance with the current statutory text.
The appropriate course of action in enforcement and bankruptcy matters may vary depending on the nature of the claim, the supporting documents, the debtor’s legal status and the steps taken during the enforcement proceedings. It is therefore important to pursue the claim through the appropriate enforcement procedure, carefully monitor the time limits for objections and applications, and take the necessary steps in a timely manner.
Merve Kartal
attorney at law