Debt Collection & Enforcement Lawyer in Istanbul, Turkey

An enforcement lawyer in Turkey collects debts through enforcement proceedings, defends debtors against unfounded or excessive claims, pursues attachment of a debtor's assets, and represents both creditors and debtors in bankruptcy and concordat proceedings. A debt collection lawyer in Istanbul representing a foreign creditor will also typically advise on the extra steps needed to enforce a foreign contract or judgment against a debtor located in Turkey.

The clients in this area are usually of three kinds. Foreign companies and individuals who are owed money by a Turkish buyer, borrower, business partner or tenant; landlords, Turkish and foreign, whose tenants have stopped paying rent; and foreigners living in or connected with Turkey who are themselves facing enforcement, for example after receiving a payment order or finding that a bank account or part of a salary has been seized. Each side has its own time limits, and several of them are as short as five or seven days.

Our guide to debt collection in Turkey follows a typical creditor's file step by step. This page gives the wider framework, including the debtor's side, the sale of seized assets, bankruptcy and concordat.

Turkey has a state enforcement system that a creditor can use without first going to court. The creditor files a request at an enforcement office (icra dairesi), the office orders the debtor to pay, and if the debtor neither pays nor objects in time, the office can seize and sell the debtor's assets. Compulsory collection, meaning seizure and sale, is carried out only by the enforcement offices; a creditor cannot take the debtor's property by itself.

Three bodies are involved. The enforcement office runs the proceedings: it issues orders, seizes assets and organises sales. The enforcement court (icra mahkemesi) decides complaints against the office's acts and the specific disputes the law gives it, such as the removal of an objection or eviction of a tenant. The ordinary civil and commercial courts hear full disputes about whether the debt exists, such as an action to annul an objection.

The main routes are: enforcement without a judgment (ilamsız takip), the most common route for contracts, invoices and loans; the special route for cheques, promissory notes and bills of exchange (kambiyo senetlerine dayalı takip); enforcement of a court judgment (ilamlı takip); enforcement of a pledge or mortgage; eviction of tenants; and, against merchants and companies, the bankruptcy route (iflas yoluyla takip). A merchant can be pursued by attachment or by bankruptcy, and a creditor who has chosen one route can switch once to the other without paying the fee again (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act, Art. 43).

Yes. The enforcement system does not depend on the creditor's nationality or residence. A foreign supplier whose Turkish buyer did not pay, a foreign individual who lent money to someone in Turkey, a foreign investor whose Turkish partner did not repay a loan and a foreign landlord with an unpaid tenant can all start proceedings at a Turkish enforcement office.

A few rules apply specifically to creditors abroad. A creditor living abroad states an address in Turkey in the enforcement request; if none is given, the place where the enforcement office is located is treated as the creditor's address (Art. 58). The request shows the Turkish identity or tax number where the creditor has one, and the bank account into which collected money will be paid, which can be the account of the creditor's lawyer (Art. 58). The creditor does not need to travel: a lawyer in Turkey can file and follow the whole file on the basis of a power of attorney.

Where the creditor's claim arises from trade, our commercial law page covers contracts, invoices and commercial disputes, and our corporate law page covers claims connected with a Turkish company and its partners.

Not always. Under the Code of Obligations, the debtor of a debt that has fallen due goes into default on receiving the creditor's demand; where the payment date was agreed, the debtor is in default as soon as that date passes (Code of Obligations No. 6098, Art. 117). Default matters because default interest runs from that day. Many creditors send a formal warning through a notary (ihtarname) even when the law does not require one, because it fixes the date of default in writing and gives the debtor a last opportunity to pay.

Mediation is not required to start enforcement proceedings. It becomes relevant when a lawsuit is needed later. For commercial cases whose subject is a sum of money, including claims for a receivable or compensation, actions to annul an objection, negative declaratory actions and recovery actions, applying to a mediator before suing is a condition of the lawsuit; the mediator concludes within six weeks, extendable by up to two weeks in necessary cases (Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, Art. 5/A). A lawsuit filed without the required mediation is dismissed on procedural grounds. From the application to the mediation office until the final report, limitation periods stop and time limits that extinguish rights do not run (Mediation in Civil Disputes Act No. 6325, Art. 18/A).

This route is commenced by the creditor's application to the enforcement office, without any need for a court judgment. The enforcement director checks that the request contains what the law requires and issues a payment order, which is served on the debtor (Art. 60). Our enforcement cost calculator estimates the fees paid when the request is filed.

The payment order tells the debtor several things at once (Art. 60): to pay the debt and costs into the enforcement office's bank account within seven days; if the signature on the document relied on is not the debtor's, to say so separately and clearly within the same seven days, failing which the document is treated as signed by the debtor for the purposes of the enforcement; to state within the same period any objection to all or part of the debt or to the creditor's right to enforce; to declare assets within those seven days if no objection is made; and that enforcement will continue if the debt is neither paid nor objected to.

A person who receives a payment order has a short window. Within seven days of service the debtor can pay, object, or do neither; doing nothing allows the proceedings to become final. The objection is made to the enforcement office by petition or orally; an objection made at a different enforcement office is forwarded by that office to the competent one (Art. 62). It need not be long, but the law attaches consequences to its content.

An objection to part of the debt has to state clearly which part and how much; otherwise it is treated as not made (Art. 62). If the debtor disputes the signature on the document, this has to be stated separately and clearly, or the signature is treated as accepted for the enforcement (Art. 62). The debtor gives an address in Turkey with the objection; if the debtor later moves without giving a new address in Turkey and none can be found, service at the address in the request is treated as service on the debtor (Art. 62). In a later hearing on the removal of the objection, the debtor cannot change or widen the grounds of objection, apart from what appears from the creditor's own document (Art. 63).

Objecting does not end the claim; it moves the dispute to a court. An objection later found unjustified can lead to compensation of at least 20% of the amount (Arts. 67, 68). A debtor who believes nothing is owed can also bring a negative declaratory action, and a debtor who had to pay money not owed can claim it back within one year (Art. 72). For a foreigner who has left Turkey, the proceedings continue in the same way; a lawyer in Turkey can object and follow the file on the basis of a power of attorney.

A timely objection stops the proceedings automatically (Art. 66). A creditor wishing to continue has two options: bringing an action before the general courts to annul the objection, or, where in possession of certain documents proving the debt, applying to the enforcement court to have the objection removed. The second route is generally faster but is available only for certain types of documentary evidence. Which route fits a given file depends on the documents behind the claim.

Cheques, promissory notes (bono) and bills of exchange have their own, faster enforcement route, which can be used even where the claim is also secured by a pledge (Art. 167). The creditor files the original instrument with the request. The enforcement officer checks that the document is a negotiable instrument and that it has fallen due, and sends the debtor a payment order with a copy of it (Art. 168).

The payment order gives the debtor ten days to pay. Objections are made not to the enforcement office but to the enforcement court, within five days: a complaint that the document is not a negotiable instrument, a denial of the signature, or an objection that the debt is not owed, has been paid, was extended or is time-barred, or that the office lacks jurisdiction (Art. 168). Unlike ordinary enforcement, these objections do not stop enforcement steps other than sale; the enforcement court can stop the proceedings temporarily if the objection appears serious or is supported by the documents filed (Arts. 169, 169/a, 170). A debtor who wrongly denies the signature can be fined 10% of the claim (Art. 168). A debtor who neither pays nor objects declares assets within ten days (Art. 168).

A bounced cheque can also have criminal consequences. On the holder's complaint, a person who caused a cheque presented within the legal period to be marked as without funds faces a judicial fine of up to 1,500 days for each cheque, not less than the unpaid amount, and a ban on issuing cheques and opening cheque accounts; these cases are heard by the enforcement court (Cheque Act No. 5941, Art. 5). The criminal complaint and the enforcement proceedings run separately.

A creditor who holds a Turkish judgment for money or security files it with the enforcement office, which serves an execution order (icra emri) on the debtor. The order gives seven days to pay or provide the security ordered, and warns that compulsory enforcement will follow unless the debtor obtains a decision staying execution from the enforcement court or, through an appeal or retrial, from the court concerned; it also asks the debtor to declare assets within those seven days (Art. 32).

There is no objection in the ordinary sense. Within seven days of service, the debtor can apply to the enforcement court on limited grounds: that the debt has become time-barred, or that it was paid or deferred. Payment or deferment has to be proved by a document drawn up or duly certified by a competent authority, such as a notary, or acknowledged before the enforcement office or a court (Art. 33). A debtor who appeals the judgment can obtain a stay of execution by depositing the amount, giving security accepted by the enforcement court, or showing that enough of the debtor's assets are already attached (Art. 36). Enforcement based on a judgment becomes time-barred ten years after the last step in the file (Art. 39).

A foreign judgment is not enforced automatically. A final foreign judgment in a civil matter can be enforced in Turkey only after a Turkish court grants an enforcement order (tenfiz) (Private International Law Act No. 5718, Art. 50). The case is heard by the civil court of first instance at the Turkish domicile of the person against whom enforcement is sought, failing that at their place of residence, and, if there is neither, by a court in Ankara, Istanbul or İzmir (Art. 51). Anyone with a legal interest in enforcement can apply (Art. 52).

The petition is filed with the original judgment duly certified by the authorities of that country, or a copy certified by the court that gave it, a document showing that the judgment is final, and certified translations of both (Art. 53). The case is examined under the simplified procedure, and the other side can object only on the ground that the conditions are not met, or that the judgment has already been satisfied in whole or in part or that something prevents its execution (Art. 55). Once granted, the foreign judgment is enforced like a Turkish judgment, through the enforcement offices (Art. 57). An appeal against the enforcement decision suspends its execution (Art. 57).

A creditor whose money debt has fallen due and is not secured by a pledge can ask the court to attach the debtor's movable and immovable property, receivables and other rights in advance, whether held by the debtor or by third parties (Art. 257). For a debt not yet due, this is possible only where the debtor has no fixed residence, or is preparing to hide or move assets or to flee, or is carrying out fraudulent acts against creditors, in order to escape the debt (Art. 257). The order is given by the court competent under the venue rule for enforcement, on evidence that convinces the court of the claim and, where necessary, of the grounds for attachment; the court can decide with or without hearing the parties (Art. 258).

In practice a precautionary attachment (ihtiyati haciz) is often requested at the start, so that bank accounts are blocked before the debtor learns of the proceedings. A refusal can be appealed, and so can an order made in the presence of the debtor (Art. 258).

Once the period in the payment order has passed, and any objection has been removed, the creditor can request attachment (haciz) without waiting for the debtor's declaration of assets (Art. 78). The office carries out the attachment within three days of the request, and assets registered in an official registry, such as land and vehicles, can be attached directly by entry in the registry (Art. 79). The right to request attachment lapses one year after service of the payment order; the time during an objection or lawsuit, or during an instalment agreement made at the enforcement office, is not counted (Art. 78).

In practice the most common targets are bank accounts, salaries, vehicles, land and shares, and money that other people or companies owe the debtor. After attachment, the creditor has to request the sale within the legal period; otherwise the attachment falls (Arts. 106, 110).

The law lists assets that cannot be attached (Art. 82). They include state property; all kinds of items a debtor whose economic activity rests on physical work rather than capital needs to continue working; the tools, equipment and books needed for the debtor's trade or profession; the personal belongings of the debtor and family members living under the same roof and all household goods in common use, except money, securities, gold, silver, precious stones, antiques and ornaments; two months' food and fuel for the family; compensation paid for bodily injury or damage to health; student grants; and a home suitable to the debtor's situation. Farmers keep the land, animals and tools needed for the family's living.

There are two important limits. First, the exemptions for work tools, farm assets and the home do not apply where the debt arises from the price of that very item (Art. 82). Second, if such an asset is worth more than the debtor needs, it can be sold, and a part of the price suitable to the debtor's situation is left to the debtor, for example to buy a suitable home (Art. 82). The enforcement officer decides whether the requested attachment is allowed, and that decision can be challenged by complaint (Arts. 16, 82). Agreements made in advance that exempt assets may be attached are not valid (Art. 83/a).

A declaration of assets (mal beyanı) is the debtor's statement, in writing or orally at the enforcement office, of the assets, receivables and rights held by the debtor or by others, earnings and income, sources of living, and how the debt can be paid (Art. 74). A debtor who does not object declares assets within the period in the payment order; a debtor whose objection was annulled or removed declares within three days of being notified of that decision (Arts. 60, 75).

A debtor who does not declare can, on the creditor's request, be placed in coercive detention (tazyik hapsi) by the enforcement court until the declaration is made, once only and for no more than three months (Art. 76). A false declaration is a separate offence, punishable on the creditor's complaint with imprisonment from three months to one year (Art. 338). The separate disciplinary detention for not declaring, formerly in the first paragraph of Article 337, was annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2008; payment orders still carry the standard warning, but the remaining sanction for a simple failure to declare is coercive detention.

The creditor or the debtor can request the sale of an attached asset within one year of the attachment, for movables and immovables alike, and this also applies to money owed to the debtor by third parties (Art. 106). If a sale requested in time fails at auction, the period is extended by one more year for the creditor who requested it (Art. 106). The valuation and sale costs are paid in advance with the request; for registered motor vehicles, storage, valuation and sale are requested together (Art. 106). If the sale is not requested in time, the attachment falls (Art. 110).

Sales are held as public auctions on the electronic sales portal connected to UYAP, with a bidding period of seven days (Art. 111/b). The dates of the first and second auction are announced at least fifteen days before bidding begins, and the second auction starts within one month after the first ends (Art. 114). Bidders deposit security of 10% of the estimated value (Art. 114). Both auctions open at 50% of the estimated value, and the winning bid has to exceed the higher of that figure and the claims secured on the asset ranking ahead of the creditor who requested the sale, plus the costs (Arts. 115, 129). The proceeds go first to the costs and then to the creditors; any surplus is returned to the debtor.

Enforcement law also protects debtors, Turkish or foreign. Exempt assets cannot be attached (Art. 82), a minimum part of the salary stays with the family (Art. 83), a home cannot be entered for attachment without court approval (Art. 79/a), instalment arrangements stop enforcement (Art. 111), the debtor can sell an attached asset personally at not less than 90% of its value (Art. 111/a), and every unlawful act of the enforcement office can be challenged before the enforcement court. For debtors facing several claims at once, the bankruptcy and concordat rules further down this page may also be relevant.

Enforcement officers sometimes attach items at an address that belong to someone other than the debtor, such as a spouse, a flatmate, a business partner or a company sharing the premises. The owner can make a third-party claim (istihkak iddiası) within seven days of learning of the attachment; otherwise the claim cannot be raised in the same proceedings (Art. 96). The enforcement office then gives the creditor and the debtor three days to say whether they dispute the claim; silence counts as acceptance (Art. 96).

Where the property was in the debtor's possession, the person holding a movable is presumed to own it, and items held jointly by the debtor and a third party are treated as held by the debtor (Art. 97/a). Items that by their nature clearly belong to a particular woman, man or child in a shared home, or that are used in that person's trade or profession, are presumed to be theirs (Art. 97/a). If the claim is disputed, the enforcement court decides whether to continue or suspend the enforcement, and the third party then has seven days from that decision to bring a third-party claim action in the enforcement court (Art. 97). The third party has to prove the claim, typically with invoices, contracts, bank records or witness evidence, and a third party who loses after obtaining a suspension pays compensation of at least 20% (Art. 97).

Where the property was held by the third party rather than the debtor, the burden is reversed: the creditor is given seven days to sue the third party in the enforcement court, the third party's claim is treated as accepted if no action is filed, and the property cannot be sold until the case ends (Art. 99).

Landlords in Turkey can recover unpaid rent and possession of the property through the enforcement office, without first filing an eviction lawsuit. Eviction through enforcement without a judgment is also excluded from the mediation requirement that applies to most rent disputes (Mediation Act, Art. 18/B). Lease disputes as a whole, including the grounds for eviction under the Code of Obligations, are covered in our guide on how to evict a tenant in Turkey and on our real estate law page.

Bankruptcy proceedings (iflas) can be brought only against merchants under the Commercial Code, persons subject to the rules for merchants, and those made subject to bankruptcy by special laws, which in practice includes companies; a creditor can still choose attachment against them instead (Art. 43). Individuals who are not merchants cannot be declared bankrupt and are pursued only by attachment.

In the bankruptcy route, the payment order gives the debtor seven days to pay, to object that the debt is not owed or that the debtor is not subject to bankruptcy, or to propose a concordat (Art. 155). If there is no objection, the creditor asks the commercial court to declare bankruptcy; if there is an objection, the creditor asks the commercial court to remove it and declare bankruptcy, and the right to request bankruptcy lapses one year after service of the payment order (Art. 156). Where the debtor has no valid defence, the court orders the debtor to pay the debt with interest and costs, or deposit that amount with the court, within seven days; if the debtor does not, bankruptcy is declared at the first hearing (Art. 158).

Concordat allows any debtor who cannot pay debts as they fall due, or is at risk of not paying them, to ask for more time or a reduction of the debts in order to pay them or avoid bankruptcy; any creditor entitled to request bankruptcy can also ask for concordat proceedings against the debtor with a reasoned petition (Art. 285). The application goes to the commercial court of first instance, and the applicant pays the advance for concordat costs set in the tariff (Art. 285). Both individuals and companies can apply.

Decisions of the enforcement court can be appealed to the regional court of appeal (istinaf) within two weeks of service (Art. 363). The law lists decisions that cannot be appealed, among them decisions on complaints about the valuation, the security to bid at auction and the stay of a sale (Art. 363), and an appeal is available only above a monetary threshold, which is updated every year by the revaluation rate (Art. 363 and Additional Art. 1). An appeal does not stop enforcement steps other than the sale (Art. 363). Our appeal deadline calculator counts appeal periods from a given date.

Other appeal periods in this area follow their own rules. Decisions on concordat are appealed within two weeks (Art. 308/a). Judgments of the civil and commercial courts in actions to annul an objection, negative declaratory actions and recovery actions follow the general appeal rules of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Under the 2026 figures used in our calculator, two fees are paid when an enforcement request without a judgment is filed: a fixed application fee of TRY 732 and an advance fee of 0.5% of the claim. A collection fee is added later depending on when the debt is paid: 4.55% if paid after service and before attachment, 9.10% after attachment and before sale, and 11.38% after sale. The law makes these costs ultimately payable by the debtor, and the creditor recovers the amounts it advanced when collection succeeds. The creditor also advances the costs of service and of each step, such as valuation and sale. Our enforcement cost calculator gives an approximate total for a given amount; the exact figure is the enforcement office's own calculation.

Interest is claimed in the enforcement request with the date from which it runs (Art. 58). If the contract sets no rate, statutory interest applies; since the 2026 amendment it is calculated at 80% of the Central Bank's rediscount rate for short-term loans, as applied on 31 December of the previous year, with a mid-year change if that rate moves by five points or more (Law No. 3095, Art. 1). Default interest follows the same rate unless otherwise agreed, and in commercial matters the Central Bank's short-term advance rate can be claimed if it is higher (Law No. 3095, Art. 2). Where a lawyer represents the creditor, a lawyer's fee under the national minimum fee tariff is added to the amount claimed from the debtor.

Unless the law provides otherwise, every claim is subject to a ten-year limitation period (Code of Obligations, Art. 146). Five years apply, among others, to rent, interest on capital, wages and other periodic payments; to hotel, restaurant and similar bills; to small craft work and small-scale retail sales; to claims between partners or between a company and its partners or managers arising from the partnership agreement; to claims from agency, commission and mandate contracts; and to most claims from contracts for work (Art. 147). The main claims on cheques and promissory notes have their own three-year periods (Commercial Code, Arts. 749, 779, 814), and enforcement of a judgment becomes time-barred ten years after the last step in the file (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act, Art. 39).

Inside an enforcement file there are further periods: the right to request attachment lapses one year after service of the payment order (Art. 78), and the sale has to be requested within one year of attachment (Art. 106). Which period applies, when it began and whether it was interrupted depend on the documents in each file.

There is no single answer, and no reliable estimate can be given before the file is examined. A debtor who pays after receiving the payment order ends the matter within the seven-day period. An undisputed file in which bank accounts are found through UYAP can move quickly, because the bank pays the enforcement office directly. A file in which the debtor objects moves to a court: the removal route before the enforcement court is generally shorter than an action to annul the objection, which may require mediation first and an appeal afterwards.

The other factors are practical: whether the debtor can be served at a known address, whether the debtor has assets in Turkey that can be found and seized, whether a third party claims the seized items, how long valuation and auction take, and whether the debtor enters concordat or bankruptcy. A creditor abroad also needs time for the power of attorney, translations and, where relevant, the recognition of a foreign judgment.

A foreign creditor's file usually starts with a power of attorney for a Turkish lawyer. In practice it is signed at a Turkish consulate, or before a notary abroad and then apostilled and translated into Turkish. A company creditor adds documents showing that it exists and who can sign for it, prepared in the same way.

The documents proving the debt follow: the contract, invoices, delivery or service records, bank transfer records, account statements, and correspondence in which the debtor acknowledges the debt or promises to pay. Where the claim rests on documents, the originals or certified copies are filed with the request (Art. 58), and documents in a foreign language are filed with a Turkish translation. A signed acknowledgment of debt with a notarised or acknowledged signature, a cheque or a promissory note can open the faster routes described above. A creditor relying on a foreign judgment adds the certified judgment, the certificate of finality and their certified translations (Private International Law Act, Art. 53). The checklist below summarises what is usually gathered.

Failing to repay a loan or pay an invoice is, in itself, a civil matter collected through enforcement, not a crime. Enforcement law does contain coercive and criminal sanctions for specific conduct: coercive detention for not declaring assets (Art. 76), imprisonment for a false declaration of assets (Art. 338), coercive detention for breaking an instalment undertaking (Art. 340) and for not complying with a maintenance order (Art. 344), and a judicial fine for a bounced cheque (Cheque Act, Art. 5). Obtaining money by deception is a separate offence under criminal law. Maintenance orders between family members are discussed on our family law page.

The Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act does not provide for a travel ban as a means of collecting a private debt. Travel bans in Turkey arise from other procedures, which are explained in our exit ban guide. Public debts such as taxes and social security premiums are collected by the administration under Law No. 6183 rather than through the enforcement offices; those disputes are covered on our tax law page.

Lawyers' fees in Turkey are subject to the national Attorneys' Minimum Fee Tariff, prepared each year by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations on the basis of proposals from local bars; a fee below the tariff cannot be agreed (Attorneys Act No. 1136, Arts. 164, 168). The law also allows a fee to be agreed as a percentage of the value of the claim or of the amount collected, up to 25 percent (Art. 164). A straightforward, undisputed collection differs significantly from a contested objection case, a foreign judgment enforcement or a bankruptcy or concordat proceeding, so the fee arrangement is discussed transparently and agreed in writing once the file has been reviewed.

Separately, the enforcement office adds a lawyer's fee under the tariff to the amount claimed from the debtor, and in court cases the losing party is ordered to pay the other side's lawyer's fee under the tariff. Unpaid wages and severance follow the special rules described on our employment law page.

For monetary claims, the competent enforcement office is determined by the jurisdiction rules of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the enforcement office where the underlying contract was made is also competent (Article 50 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act). A debtor domiciled in Ankara can therefore be pursued through the Ankara enforcement offices. A debt collection lawyer in Turkey registered with a Turkish bar can start and follow proceedings in every city electronically through UYAP.

We act as a debt collection lawyer in Istanbul and before the enforcement offices and courts in Ankara. The office is in Istanbul; files in Ankara and other cities are followed through UYAP and by attending hearings where needed, so a creditor looking for a debt collection lawyer in Ankara can also instruct a lawyer in Istanbul. Creditors living abroad can act through a power of attorney given at a Turkish consulate or apostilled abroad.