Certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı, mirasçılık belgesi) has two names for the same document: its statutory name is mirasçılık belgesi, and its popular name is veraset ilamı. It shows who the heirs are and their shares of the inheritance. As a rule, statutory heirs can obtain this document either from a notary public or from the Civil Court of Peace (Turkish Civil Code art. 598). The statute and regulation reserve certain cases exclusively for the court; these are listed one by one below.
The order of succession, the classes of heirs and the surviving spouse’s share are explained on the Inheritance Law page. This article addresses how the document is obtained.
How is a certificate of inheritance obtained? The short answer
- First decide which route to take. If the matter can be resolved solely by examining civil registry records, go to a notary public; if an examination is required, go to the Civil Court of Peace.
- At a notary public: you submit your request orally or in writing, it is entered in the record, the notary examines the civil registry records and, if it is established that you are a statutory heir, a document showing the shares of the inheritance is issued.
- In court: you apply to the Civil Court of Peace; because the matter falls within non-contentious jurisdiction, the judge conducts the investigation of their own motion.
- If the document is wrong, objection and cancellation remedies are available; the invalidity of the certificate of inheritance may be asserted at any time.
What is a certificate of inheritance for?
The statute defines the document as follows: upon application, persons who are determined to be statutory heirs are issued a document showing their status as heirs by the Civil Court of Peace or by a notary public (Turkish Civil Code art. 598/1). The power of notaries public to issue this document was added to the article by Law No. 6217 in 2011.
The document is required for most transactions such as transfer of title in the land registry, access to bank accounts, transfer of vehicles and participation as an heir in proceedings to which the deceased was a party. If you are considering renouncing the inheritance, the time limit continues to run separately; see how to renounce an inheritance.
The document has an important limitation: the invalidity of the certificate of inheritance may be asserted at any time (Turkish Civil Code art. 598/3). The document is not a judgment that definitively establishes who the heir is.
From a notary public or from court?
For a legal heir, both doors are open as a rule. The distinction arises from the following: the notary may issue the document only in cases where they can decide by consulting the civil registry records alone.
Upon application, the notary examines the civil registry records and first determines whether the person concerned is a legal heir. The records may be submitted by the person concerned or obtained electronically by the notary; if they cannot be obtained, they are requested in writing from the Turkish civil registry directorate. If it is established that the person is a legal heir, the document showing the inheritance shares, together with copies, is issued (regulation art. 4).
Cases in which the notary cannot issue the document
The Turkish Notary Law lists three cases: issuance of a certificate of inheritance requiring judicial proceedings, insufficiency of the civil registry records, and the document being requested by foreign nationals (art. 71/B).
The regulation expands on this. Examples of situations requiring judicial proceedings include issuance of the document requiring an expert examination or hearing of witnesses, and the request having a foreign element (regulation art. 5).
In addition, the Union of Notaries of Türkiye specifically lists on its own service page the circumstances in which a certificate of inheritance cannot be issued by a notary public:
- parentage between the deceased and the applicant cannot be established
- there is a parentage relationship, but the person is not a legal heir
- the deceased left a will
- the deceased died before 04/04/1926
- the deceased died before 23/11/1990 and their spouse was alive
- the deceased or one of the heirs died on the same day as another heir
- the deceased or an heir is legally absent
- the deceased or an heir is an adopted child
- having been deprived of citizenship or holding more than one citizenship
If any of the circumstances in this list apply, going to a notary public would be a waste of time. If the notary public identifies a circumstance preventing the document from being issued, they will draw up a “Refusal Certificate” and refer the person concerned to the Civil Court of Peace. If the civil registry records are incomplete, the person is referred to the Turkish civil registry directorate; once the records have been corrected, an application may be made to the notary public again.
What changes if there is a will?
Two distinct situations must not be confused.
If you are an appointed heir or a beneficiary under a will, you can obtain the document only from the court. Unless an objection to the testamentary disposition appointing an heir or making a bequest is raised within one month of its notification to the heirs or other beneficiaries under the will, the Civil Court of Peace issues to the person in whose favour the disposition was made a document showing that they are an appointed heir or a beneficiary under the will (Turkish Civil Code, art. 598/2). The law does not mention the notary public in this paragraph: the amendment to 2011 added the phrase “or by the notary public” only to the first paragraph.
If you are a legal heir and there is a will, the law does not exclude you from the first paragraph. By contrast, the Union of Notaries of Türkiye treats the existence of a will left by the deceased as one of the circumstances in the list above in which a document may not be issued by a notary public. In practice, an application to the Civil Court of Peace should be expected in these cases.
How does the process work at the notary public?
The request may be made orally or in writing; upon application, the request is entered in the minutes and the forms prepared by the Union of Notaries of Türkiye are used (regulation art. 10).
The transaction is carried out by the notary public personally. It may also be carried out by a law faculty graduate who has been granted signature authority within the notary office or by a notary trainee (regulation art. 11, Turkish Notary Law art. 71/B). Transactions and exchanges of information and documents may also be carried out electronically, using a secure electronic signature where necessary; transactions carried out in this manner are recorded centrally (regulation art. 13).
How does the process work in court?
The issuance of a certificate of inheritance is one of the matters the law expressly classifies as non-contentious jurisdiction (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure, art. 382/2-c-6). This has four practical consequences:
- The competent court is the Civil Court of Peace (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 383).
- To the extent appropriate to its nature, the simplified trial procedure applies and, unless provided otherwise, the principle of ex officio investigation prevails (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 385). The judge is not bound solely by the evidence adduced by the parties.
- Interested persons who have a legal interest may, subject to special statutory provisions, apply for appeal before the Regional Court of Appeal within two weeks of learning of the decision (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 387).
- Appeal on points of law before the Court of Cassation is not available: no appeal on points of law before the Court of Cassation may be made against decisions rendered in non-contentious jurisdiction matters (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 362/1-ç). The route ends at the appeal before the Regional Court of Appeal.
Which court should you apply to?
The jurisdiction rule in non-contentious jurisdiction matters is broad: unless the law provides otherwise, the court of the place where the requesting person or one of the interested persons resides has jurisdiction (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 384).
The practical consequence of this is as follows: even if the deceased died in another province, an heir residing in Alanya may apply to the Alanya Civil Court of Peace for a certificate of inheritance.
How are the costs determined?
The fee to be charged by the notary public is separately set out in the Turkish notary fee tariff, and the documents issued in connection with these transactions are exempt from valuable paper charges (Turkish Notary Law art. 71/B). In addition, the costs of inquiries made through the Kimlik Paylaşımı Sistemi (the Turkish identity-data sharing system) and the Adres Paylaşımı Sistemi (the Turkish address-data sharing system) are collected from the person concerned against a receipt (regulation art. 14). In other words, in addition to the fee in the tariff, a separate inquiry cost arises.
In the court route, on the other hand, the application fee, the decision and judgment fee, and the advance for expenses come into play. Since both the notary fee tariff and the fee schedules are renewed every year, no current amount is given on this page; the tariff in force should be consulted for the figure.
Can it be obtained from e-Devlet (the Turkish e-government portal)?
The Ministry of Justice has a service on e-Devlet (the Turkish e-government portal) called “Veraset İlamı Sorgulama” (Inheritance Certificate Inquiry). According to the Ministry’s statement, since 16 December 2016 a certificate of inheritance can be viewed via e-Devlet, and citizens who are registered in UYAP as heirs can access the service. According to the Union of Notaries of Türkiye, on the other hand, from 4 February 2022 information concerning certificate of inheritance transactions carried out at notary offices can also be accessed through the same service.
The distinction is important: this service enables the viewing of an existing record; it is not an application channel for the document itself. If there is no previously obtained document, an application must first be made to a notary public or to the Civil Court of Peace.
What should be done if the document is incorrect?
Objection to the document issued by the notary public. Any person who made the application or who claims that their interests have been infringed by the certificate of inheritance issued by a notary public may object to the competent Civil Court of Peace. A copy of the decision rendered upon the objection is notified to the notary office that issued the document and to the Union of Notaries of Türkiye (Turkish Notary Law art. 71/C, regulation art. 6). In the event of an objection, the document is removed from its special file and sent directly to the court upon the court’s request (regulation art. 12). The law and the regulation do not prescribe a time limit for this objection.
Annulment. The invalidity of a certificate of inheritance may be asserted at any time (Turkish Civil Code art. 598/3). With regard to documents obtained from a court, the following is added: unless the law provides otherwise, decisions in non-contentious jurisdiction do not constitute res judicata in the substantive sense (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 388).
In actions for the annulment of a certificate of inheritance and the issuance of a new certificate of inheritance, the court of the place of residence of any one of the heirs also has jurisdiction (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 11/3). An heir residing in Alanya may therefore bring an annulment action in Alanya as well.
Foreign heirs and abroad
Foreigners cannot obtain a certificate of inheritance from a notary public; the fact that the request involves a foreign element is also listed among the circumstances in which a notary public may not issue the document (Turkish Notary Law art. 71/B, regulation art. 5). In these files, the application is made to the Civil Court of Peace.
As regards the applicable law, the rule is as follows: inheritance is governed by the national law of the deceased; Turkish law applies to immovable property located in Türkiye. Provisions concerning the grounds for the opening of the succession, its acquisition and its partition are governed by the law of the country where the estate is located (Turkish Code on Private International Law art. 20).
There is a separate rule on jurisdiction: actions concerning inheritance are heard by the court at the deceased’s last place of residence in Türkiye or, if the last place of residence was not in Türkiye, by the court where the property included in the estate is located (Turkish Code on Private International Law art. 43). Accordingly, in a matter with a foreign element, the “place where you reside” rule above should not be treated as applicable to every claim.
Foreign documents, apostille and powers of attorney are further explained on the Inheritance Law page. For the route to follow when several heirs cannot agree on immovable property, see the page on dissolution of co-ownership.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a difference between a certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı, mirasçılık belgesi)?
No, they are the same document. The statutory name is certificate of inheritance (Turkish Civil Code art. 598).
Can one of the heirs obtain the document alone?
The statute provides that the document is issued “to persons who are determined to be statutory heirs upon their application” (Turkish Civil Code art. 598/1) and the document is drawn up to show the shares of the inheritance (regulation art. 4). The other heirs are not required to join the application.
Which documents do I need to bring to a notary public?
The regulation lists no document other than a civil registry extract; the records may be submitted by the interested party or obtained electronically by the notary (regulation art. 4). Depending on the matter, the notary public may request additional information.
What happens if the notary public refuses to issue a certificate of inheritance?
The notary issues a “Refusal Certificate” and refers the matter to the Civil Court of Peace. If the issue is a deficiency in the civil registry records, the notary first refers the matter to the Turkish civil registry directorate.
How long is the document valid?
The statute does not prescribe a period of validity for a certificate of inheritance. On the other hand, its invalidity may be asserted at any time (Turkish Civil Code art. 598/3); if the civil registry records subsequently change, the document may also become contentious.
Can the decision be challenged?
A court decision may be challenged by appeal before the Regional Court of Appeal within two weeks (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 387); appeal on points of law before the Court of Cassation is not available (Turkish Code of Civil Procedure art. 362/1-ç). A document issued by a notary public may be challenged by way of objection before the Civil Court of Peace (Turkish Notary Law art. 71/C).
Legal basis
Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 — art. 598 (certificate of inheritance) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Turkish Notary Law No. 1512 — art. 71/A (other transactions that notaries public may perform), art. 71/B (procedure and limits to be applied), art. 71/C (objection) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Governing Notaries’ Performance of the Issuance of Certificates of Inheritance and the Invitation of the Spouse Who Has Left the Common Dwelling (Official Gazette 4.10.2011-28074) — art. 4, art. 5, art. 6, art. 10, art. 11, art. 12, art. 13, art. 14 — mevzuat.gov.tr
Turkish Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 — art. 11/3 (jurisdiction in an action for annulment), art. 362/1-ç (decisions not subject to an appeal on points of law before the Court of Cassation), art. 382/2-c-6 (non-contentious jurisdiction matter), art. 383 (court with subject-matter jurisdiction), art. 384 (jurisdiction), art. 385 (procedure and investigation by the court of its own motion), art. 387 (appeal before the Regional Court of Appeal), art. 388 (not constituting res judicata) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Law on Private International Law and Procedural Law No. 5718 — art. 20 (law applicable to inheritance), art. 43 (jurisdiction in inheritance cases) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Related pages
- Inheritance Law — parent page
- How to renounce an inheritance?
- Dissolution of co-ownership (Ortaklığın giderilmesi, izale-i şuyu) action
This article is provided for general legal information purposes only. Because the circumstances of each matter and the condition of the civil registry records vary, you are advised to obtain legal support from your attorney at law for your specific situation.