Civil Registration Services Law (Law No. 5490)

(1) The purpose of this Law is to ensure the identification and determination of natural and legal events relating to a person's personal and civil status and nationality, and to changes that may occur therein, from birth until death; their entry in registers established for this purpose; the creation of a national address database in electronic form; and the linking of civil registry records with address information.

(1) This Law covers the substantive and procedural provisions concerning the regulation, conduct and development of civil registration services for Turkish citizens, persons who were Turkish citizens by birth but lost Turkish citizenship by obtaining permission to renounce it and their descendants, and foreigners present in Türkiye.

(1) In this Law:

a) Address: the identification of any parcel of land or building in terms of its geographical location and function,

b) Address declaration form: the form used for the notification of addresses, the format and content of which are determined by the Ministry,

c) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 Address components: the verbal and spatial data required to reach address information, such as province, district, village and village dependencies, neighbourhood, boulevard, avenue, street, building, external door number, internal door number and postal code,

ç) Repealed: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1

d) Family: persons of the same lineage registered under one family sequence number, together with their spouses and children,

e) Family register: the register in which records relating to civil status events are kept in paper or electronic form,

f) Family sequence number: the number assigned to families according to the order in which they are entered in the family register,

g) Ministry: the Ministry of Interior,

ğ) Supporting document: official documents such as forms, official reports, court decisions, notarial deeds, and birth or death reports that form the basis of the civil status events entered in the family register, together with their backup copies,

h) Amended: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 8 Valuable papers: the identity card, the international family booklet and the blue card,

ı) Other address: places other than the address of domicile,

i) General Directorate: the General Directorate of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs,

j) Provincial directorate: the provincial directorate of civil registration and citizenship,

k) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 Identity Sharing System: the system through which records kept in the central database are shared with institutions and with legal persons providing public services,

l) Institution: public institutions and organisations other than the General Directorate,

m) Added: 9/5/2012, Law No. 6304, Art. 11 Blue Card: the official document issued to persons who were Turkish citizens by birth but lost Turkish citizenship by obtaining permission to renounce it, and to their descendants specified in Article 28 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 dated 29/5/2009, showing that they may benefit from the rights specified in that Article,

n) Added: 9/5/2012, Law No. 6304, Art. 11 Register of Blue Card Holders: the register in which the records of persons who were Turkish citizens by birth but lost Turkish citizenship by obtaining permission to renounce it, and of their descendants, are kept in electronic form,

o) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 Central database: the data kept in electronic form by the General Directorate,

ö) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 MERNİS: the Central Civil Registration Administration System,

p) Numbering: the act of assigning names or numbers to address components such as neighbourhoods, quarters, squares, boulevards, avenues, streets and buildings,

r) Amended: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 8 Identity card: the Republic of Türkiye identity card showing that the person is a Turkish citizen and is registered in the family register,

s) Civil registration services: the work and operations relating to the collection of information concerning civil status events and concerning a person's civil registration and address of domicile, its entry in civil registers, its protection and, where necessary, its classification and evaluation,

ş) Civil registry record: the personal information entered in the family register,

t) Civil registry record extract: the document showing summaries of the personal information entered in the family register,

u) Civil register: the entirety of records consisting of the family register, the special register and their backups,

ü) Civil registry directorate: the district civil registry directorate,

v) Civil registry director: the district civil registry director,

y) Civil status event: an event that brings about a change in personal status, such as birth, death, marriage, divorce, adoption, recognition, correction of records, correction of filiation and absence,

z) Special register: the file in which supporting documents, kept by category such as birth, marriage, divorce, death, correction of records and other events and classified separately, are placed,

aa) National address database: the central database in which address information is kept,

bb) International family booklet: the multilingual official document containing the identity information of the spouses and children forming a family and proving their nationality,

cc) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 Power of attorney: a notarised document containing authority of representation,

çç) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 Register of foreigners: the register in which the records of foreigners who have been assigned an identity number are kept in electronic form,

dd) Building documents: the Building Permit Form, the Building Occupancy Permit Certificate, the burned and demolished buildings form and the building schedule,

ee) Address of domicile: the place where a person resides with the intention of remaining permanently,

ff) Added: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 8 Biometric data: person-specific data obtained from fingerprints, vein patterns and the palm, collected in order to enable identification and identity verification operations to be carried out through electronic systems,

gg) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 Data Sharing Board: the board established to evaluate requests concerning the sharing of information contained in the central database,

ğğ) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 1 Competent administration: the administrations vested with the authority and responsibility for address numbering or for issuing building documents,

hh) Added: 23/7/2020, Law No. 7252, Art. 8 Electronic Identity Verification System: the system enabling the Republic of Türkiye identity card to be used in electronic identity verification operations,

shall mean.

(1) Civil registration services shall be carried out by the central and provincial organisation of the Ministry and by the diplomatic and consular missions abroad.

(1) Civil registers are official documents which must be kept permanently, in which civil status events are registered on a district and family basis for the purpose of determining persons' identities, addresses of domicile, family ties, citizenship status and personal circumstances.

(2) Records kept in the family register and special registers, their backups and record extracts taken from them have the same legal value. Where there is a discrepancy between the records, the supporting document on which the record is based shall prevail until the contrary is proven.

(3) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 2 The Ministry is authorised to keep a single record for each person in the family registers kept in electronic form and to link person and event records with the Republic of Türkiye identity number. In this case, provisions of other laws contrary to this Article shall not apply.

(1) Civil status events shall be registered, by use of a communication network, in the family registers at civil registry directorates and in the central database.

(2) In order to ensure uninterrupted service in the event of natural disasters and extraordinary situations, the Ministry shall ensure that a backup of the central database is kept at a different location.

(3) Volume and page sequence numbers shall be placed on each page of family registers kept on paper. The number of pages of which the register consists shall be written at its end. The page joints shall be sealed and the end certified by the civil court of first instance.

(4) The Ministry is authorised to determine the procedures and principles concerning the keeping of civil registers, to amend them in line with developments in legislation and in the system, and to abolish the use of family registers kept on paper.

(1) A separate family register shall be kept for each neighbourhood or village. Family registers shall contain the following information:

a) Republic of Türkiye identity number.

b) The name of the province, district, village or neighbourhood in which the person is registered, together with the volume, family and individual sequence numbers.

c) The person's first name and surname, sex, father's and mother's names and surnames, and the previous surnames of married women.

ç) Place of birth, date of birth by day, month and year, and date of entry in the register.

d) Changes occurring in personal status, such as marriage, divorce, establishment or denial of filiation, death, and acquisition or loss of citizenship, or corrections made by competent authorities.

e) Religion.

f) Marital status.

g) Address of domicile.

ğ) Photograph.

h) Added: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 9 Biometric data.

ı) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 3 Information relating to custody and guardianship.

Amended last sentence: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 3 The records specified in subparagraphs (a), (g), (ğ), (h) and (ı) shall be kept only in electronic form.

(2) Citizens who do not have a family register in Türkiye and who reside in foreign countries shall be registered in a family register to be opened at a civil registry directorate designated by the Ministry.

Amended together with its heading: 18/10/2018, Law No. 7148, Art. 32

(1) The Ministry is authorised to assign identity numbers to foreigners falling within the scope of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 dated 4/4/2013, to register them in the register of foreigners, and, upon request, to assign a foreigner identity number (YKN) to foreigners who apply to a public institution in Türkiye or to our diplomatic and consular missions in connection with any transaction. Members of diplomatic missions are outside the scope of this provision.

(2) The period of validity of the foreigner identity number, the documents to be requested at the time of and after application, and other matters shall be determined by a regulation to be issued by the Ministry of Interior.

Added: 9/5/2012, Law No. 6304, Art. 12

(1) Persons who were Turkish citizens by birth but lost Turkish citizenship by obtaining permission to renounce it, and their descendants specified in Article 28 of Law No. 5901, shall be registered in the Register of Blue Card Holders kept in electronic form by the General Directorate. Persons registered in this Register are obliged to declare all civil status events to civil registry directorates when in Türkiye and to diplomatic and consular missions when abroad.

(1) Civil registry records and the documents on which the keeping of these records is based are confidential. They may not be viewed or examined by anyone other than the authorised and responsible officials and persons with powers of inspection and supervision. Courts are outside the scope of this provision.

(2) Officials who enter this information in civil registry records and other personnel who make use of civil registry records within the scope of the Identity Sharing System are likewise obliged to observe this confidentiality. This obligation shall continue after public officials leave their posts.

(1) Civil registry records shall be taken as the basis in transactions carried out by institutions in relation to a person. Where there is a discrepancy between records, no change shall be made to the civil registry records; the other records shall be corrected in accordance with the applicable procedure.

(1) Every person who is a citizen of the Republic of Türkiye is obliged to have himself or herself entered in the civil registers and to obtain an identity card by applying to the civil registry directorate in Türkiye or to the diplomatic or consular mission abroad. The parents or guardians or curators of minors, or, in their absence, persons having the children in their care and the officials of organisations authorised by the Law on the Social Services and Child Protection Agency No. 2828 dated 24/5/1983, are responsible for having the civil status events of minors registered and obtaining their identity cards.

(2) Persons who subsequently acquire Turkish citizenship shall also be entered in the civil register as of the date on which they acquire citizenship.

(1) Every record and annotation concerning personal status entered in civil registers must be based on documents drawn up by officials authorised under this Law in accordance with the prescribed procedure and model.

(2) At the end of each transaction, the supporting documents shall be signed by the officials registering civil status events after being entered in the family registers, and one copy shall be placed in the relevant special register, which is to be sent to the General Directorate for archiving.

(1) Documents and official reports concerning civil status events notified by authorised persons and organisations shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of this Law. The Ministry is authorised to decide on the use of electronic signatures in all kinds of civil registration transactions.

(1) Closing of a civil registry record means rendering a record incapable of being processed by reason of events such as death, absence, loss of Turkish citizenship, marriage, divorce, being adopted, or correction or denial of filiation.

(2) The record shall be reopened when the reason for its closure ceases to exist or when a new reason arises requiring the record to be reopened. Events in personal status that occurred after the reopening of the record shall be entered in the person's record.

Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 5

(1) The birth of every child born alive must be notified, as from the birth, to the civil registry directorate within thirty days in Türkiye, or to the diplomatic or consular mission within sixty days abroad. Birth notifications may also be made to the health institutions where the birth took place.

(2) Births taking place in health institutions, and births taking place outside health institutions under the supervision of health personnel, shall be notified by the relevant health unit to the civil registry directorate of the place where they are located within five working days. The notification shall include a report or official document proving that the birth took place in a health institution or under the supervision of health personnel, together with a form petition stating the request for registration of the birth.

(3) Notification of a birth that did not take place under the supervision of health personnel shall be made with a report or document to be issued by the physician or member of a health profession who monitored the mother during pregnancy.

(4) Birth notification of children born outside the monitoring of health personnel shall be made by oral declaration to civil registry directorates. For every oral declaration, it is mandatory for family physicians to investigate the accuracy of the declarations upon the order of the chief of the local civil administration.

(5) Birth notification shall be made by the parent, guardian or curator, or, in their absence, by the child's grandmother, grandfather or adult siblings, or by persons having the child in their care. The name given to the child shall be written without abbreviation and shall not exceed three names. The procedures and principles concerning birth and pregnancy reports, the notification of births and the drawing up of birth reports shall be determined by the Ministry after obtaining the opinion of the Ministry of Health.

(6) Birth notifications abroad shall be made by submitting to the diplomatic or consular mission an official document or report obtained from foreign authorities. Where the birth notification cannot be made in person to the diplomatic or consular mission, it may also be made by sending to the mission the official document or report obtained from foreign authorities and a petition stating the name given to the child, together with documents showing the identity information of the mother and father.

(7) Stillborn children shall not be entered in the family register. Where more than one child is born in one delivery, they shall be entered in order of birth.

(1) In determining the date of birth of children under six years of age who are notified after the expiry of the time limit specified in Article 15 of this Law, the declaration shall be taken as the basis. If the child has completed six years of age, the child shall be brought to the civil registry directorate and his or her age shall be determined by an official health institution. Where an official document relating to the birth is submitted, there shall be no need for age determination.

(1) Where civil registry directorates learn of the existence of children not notified within the time limit or of adults not registered in the civil register, they are authorised to summon to make a declaration the adults themselves; in the case of children, their parents, guardians or curators, or, in their absence, their grandmothers, grandfathers or siblings, or persons having the children in their care, or the village or neighbourhood headmen (muhtar). Upon this summons, the persons concerned are likewise obliged to apply to the civil registry directorates and make a declaration within thirty days.

(2) If notification is not made within the given time limit, then, as deemed necessary by the chief of the local civil administration, the necessary steps shall be taken by law enforcement forces to bring such persons by force, and the child's registration in the family registers shall be ensured.

(1) Officials of organisations authorised by Law No. 2828, persons responsible for orphanages, care homes and similar places, and individuals are responsible for checking the identity cards of children or adults whom they employ or accommodate, making declarations to civil registry directorates in order to ensure the registration of those not registered in the family registers, and having the necessary procedures carried out.

(2) Law enforcement officials are obliged, after taking the necessary action concerning persons who are unable to prove their identity during identity checks or in connection with any procedure and persons whom they determine not to be registered in the civil register, to notify the documents they draw up to the civil registry directorate of that place.

(3) School principals are responsible for notifying to the civil registry directorate of that place the declared identities of children applying for school enrolment who are not registered in the civil register, together with the identities and addresses of their fathers, mothers, guardians or curators.

(4) Public or private institutions are obliged to request an identity card from persons whom they will employ, and to notify civil registry directorates of the declared identities and addresses of persons whom they find not to be registered in the civil register.

(1) The registration in civil registers of foundlings who are unable to express themselves owing to their young age shall be carried out by the civil registry directorate of the place where they were found, on the basis of official reports of law enforcement officials or relevant institutions stating this situation or on the basis of declarations of the persons concerned.

(2) Persons with intellectual disabilities over eighteen years of age who have been found shall be notified by their curators to be appointed by the court. The notification must be made to the civil registry directorate with a health board report to be obtained from a fully equipped state hospital.

(3) If the date of birth, first name and surname, and mother's and father's names are not specified in the official reports drawn up concerning such persons, the first name and surname and mother's and father's names shall be given by the civil registry directorate. If the date of birth has not been determined, it shall be determined by an official health institution.

(1) Persons who acquire Turkish citizenship pursuant to law shall be registered in the family register in accordance with the forms to be drawn up upon the decision of the competent authorities or boards.

Repealed: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 27

(1) The Ministry shall take and implement all kinds of measures necessary for marriage procedures to be carried out as an integral part of civil registration and citizenship services.

(2) The marriage officer is, in places where there is a municipality, the mayor or the official designated by the mayor for this task, and, in villages, the village headman (muhtar). The Ministry may confer the authority and duty of marriage officer on provincial directorates of civil registration and citizenship, civil registry directorates, diplomatic and consular missions, and provincial and district muftiates. Where one of the spouses is a foreigner, (...) municipal marriage offices and civil registry directors are authorised to conduct the marriage.

(1) Those who conduct marriages pursuant to Article 22 are obliged to send to the civil registry directorate the marriage notification to be drawn up within ten days from the date on which the marriage took place, and the civil registry directorate is obliged to register it.

(2) The record of a woman who marries shall be transferred to her husband's household. A woman whose husband dies shall remain in the family register of her deceased husband unless she remarries. However, she may, if she so wishes, return to her father's register.

(3) Marriages conducted by diplomatic and consular missions shall be notified to civil registry directorates within thirty days from the date on which the marriage took place.

(4) Marriages that were concluded under the former provisions before 4/10/1926, the date of entry into force of the repealed Turkish Civil Code No. 743, and that have not yet been registered in the civil registers, shall be registered in the family register upon the persons concerned obtaining a court decision.

(1) Marriages concluded abroad by Turkish citizens before competent foreign authorities shall be valid, provided that they comply with the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 of 22/11/2001 and that there is no ground requiring nullity. Notification of such marriages shall be made by the husband, or by the wife where the husband is a foreigner, at the latest within thirty days, by submitting the document obtained from the foreign authority that concluded the marriage to the foreign mission in that place or by sending it to the foreign mission. The foreign mission receiving the declaration shall be obliged to draw up the marriage notification in accordance with the procedure and send it to the civil registry directorates.

(2) Where there is no foreign mission in that place or notification cannot be made to the foreign mission, the marriage notification may also be made within the country by submitting it to a civil registry directorate, provided that the marriage certificate obtained from the foreign authorities has been translated into Turkish, duly certified and authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Registration in the register shall be carried out by means of the marriage notification to be drawn up on the basis of this document.

(1) A woman who acquires Turkish citizenship by marriage shall be registered in her husband's household. Where the marriage of a woman so registered in the family registers ends otherwise than by death, her record shall be moved to the end of the register in which she is recorded.

(2) A man who acquires Turkish citizenship by marriage shall be registered in the household to which his wife's record was moved upon marriage. Where the marriage ends otherwise than by death, the wife's record shall be moved to the household in which she was recorded before the marriage, while the husband's record shall remain in the household in which it is recorded.

(1) The waiting period of the woman shall take effect from the date on which the court decision becomes final.

(1) Decisions on divorce or annulment of marriage must include the following information:

a) The Republic of Türkiye identity numbers, first names, surnames, places and dates of birth, and fathers' and mothers' names of the parties, as well as the woman's surname before marriage and information on the place where they are recorded in the family register.

b) The children born during the marriage and their identity information.

c) Other substantive and procedural provisions required by the procedural legislation governing the decision.

Added: 17/4/2017, Decree-Law No. 690, Art. 4; Adopted without amendment: 1/2/2018, Law No. 7077, Art. 3

(1) Decisions given by judicial or administrative authorities of a foreign country concerning divorce, nullity or annulment of marriage, or determination of whether a marriage exists, shall be registered in the civil register on the conditions that the parties apply jointly, in person or through their attorneys, or, where one of the parties has died or is a foreigner, that the other party who is a Turkish citizen or his or her attorney applies alone; that the decision has been given by a judicial or administrative authority competent in the matter under the laws of the State in which it was given and has become final in accordance with the procedure; and that it is not manifestly contrary to Turkish public order.

(2) Registration in the civil register shall be carried out abroad by the foreign missions in the country where the decision was given, and within the country by the civil registry directorates designated by the Ministry.

(3) The recognition in Türkiye of decisions in respect of which the request for registration has been refused on the ground that the conditions listed in this Article have not been fulfilled shall be carried out pursuant to the Law No. 5718 of 27/11/2007 on Private International Law and International Civil Procedure.

(4) The procedures and principles for the implementation of this Article shall be determined by the Ministry by regulation.

(1) Recognition shall be notified to the civil registry directorate within ten days from the date on which the recognition was made: by the court, if it was made before the court upon the written application of the father; by the notary, if it was made by a deed drawn up upon application to the notary.

(2) Where recognition is made by a declaration in the father's will, notification to the civil registry directorate shall be made by the judge who opens the will.

(3) A declaration of recognition made to a civil registrar shall, however, be registered directly in the family registers.

(4) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 7 Children who are recognised, or whose descent is established by a judgment of paternity, shall be transferred to their father's household with the father's name and surname.

(5) Notifications relating to recognitions made abroad may be made to the foreign missions or, provided that they are translated into Turkish and certified, within the country to the civil registry directorates.

(1) A decision of adoption shall be notified by the court to the civil registry directorate of that place within ten days. The adoption shall be registered in the family registers, and the record of the adopted person shall be moved to the family register of the adopter.

(1) Adoptions made abroad before competent foreign authorities shall also be valid in Türkiye, provided that they comply with Turkish legislation in respect of the essential conditions.

(2) The enforceability in Türkiye of decisions and documents concerning adoptions given by foreign judicial or administrative authorities which have become final under the law of that country or which produce the effect of a final judgment shall be subject to a decision of enforcement or recognition being given by the competent Turkish court.

(1) The following:

a) In cities and towns, those authorised to issue burial permits pursuant to the Public Hygiene Law No. 1593 of 24/4/1930,

b) In villages, the official physician or the officials of the health institution, if any, otherwise the village headmen,

c) In health institutions such as hospitals and care homes, the institution's management,

ç) In military units, physicians or persons assigned by unit commands in accordance with the internal service legislation, and military recruitment branches,

d) In natural disasters, officials to be assigned by the chief local administrative authorities,

e) In judicial incidents and accidents, the relevant offices of the public prosecutor,

shall be obliged to notify the death to the General Directorate or to the civil registry directorate within ten days from the date on which the event occurred, and foreign missions within ten days from the date on which they become aware of the event.

(2) Death reports reaching civil registry directorates after the statutory time limit has expired shall be accepted and processed by the civil registry directorates if they have been drawn up on the basis of the records of official health institutions or other official documents.

(3) Deaths occurring within the country shall be notified to the civil registry directorate of the place where the death occurred; where the place of death cannot be determined, to the civil registry directorate of the place where the body was found; and where the death occurred in a vehicle, to the civil registry directorate of the place where the body was removed from that vehicle.

(4) If the deceased has no record and his or her Turkish citizenship and family are established at the end of the investigation to be carried out, a birth report shall be drawn up and first the birth and then the death shall be entered in the family register.

(1) If a person disappears in circumstances that make his or her death certain, the death shall be entered by drawing up a death report upon the order of the chief local administrative authority of the place applied to, even if the body has not been found.

(2) For action to be taken under this Article, a descendant or ascendant or a sibling of the person presumed dead, or, failing them, his or her heirs, must document the event by applying with a petition, or the competent authorities must notify the situation to the civil registry directorate by an official letter.

(3) If the documents attached to the petition and, where necessary, the investigation to be conducted by the civil registry directorate are deemed sufficient to prove the truth of the event and that the person alleged to have died was present there at the time the event occurred, the death shall be recorded upon the order of the chief local administrative authority.

(1) Death reports concerning persons who have died but who appear alive in the family registers shall be drawn up by the civil registry directorates upon application with a document showing the death, and the necessary action shall be taken. Where no document can be produced, the death report to be drawn up after the truth of the declaration of death has been investigated by the civil registry directorates shall be processed upon the order of the chief local administrative authority.

(2) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 8 Persons in respect of whom no transaction has been carried out for a long time according to the records in the central database and who are likely to be dead given their age shall be identified by the General Directorate. The identified records shall be investigated by the law enforcement forces upon the order of the chief local administrative authority. The deaths of those found to be dead as a result of the investigation shall be registered.

(1) Decisions of absence shall be notified by the courts to the civil registry directorate of that place within ten days and shall be registered in the family registers by civil registrars.

(1) Unless there is a final court judgment, no record in the civil registers may be corrected and no annotations that would change the meaning of the records and the information they contain may be entered. However, clerical errors made during the registration of events in the family registers shall be corrected by the civil registry directorate in accordance with the supporting document.

(2) Requests concerning the information on religion in the family registers shall be registered, changed, left blank or deleted in accordance with the written declaration of the person.

(1) The following procedures shall be followed in corrections of records made by court decision:

a) Actions for correction concerning civil registry records shall be brought before the competent civil court of first instance of the place of the residence address by the persons requesting the correction, and by public prosecutors upon the request of the relevant official authority. Actions for correction of records shall be heard and decided (...) in the presence of the director of the civil registry or the civil registrar he or she assigns.

b) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 9 Where there are just grounds, a correction relating to the same matter may be requested from the judge. In the case of a change of name, the civil registry directorate shall also correct the record concerning the father's or mother's name of that person's children, and in the case of a change of surname, the surname of the spouse and of the minor children.

c) Actions for declaratory judgment shall constitute a presumption for actions to be brought for the cancellation or correction of a record.

(2) Applications alleging that persons are using a record belonging to another person shall be examined and concluded by the Ministry.

(1) The General Directorate and civil registry directorates shall be authorised to apply for all legal remedies against decisions given by the court.

(2) The General Directorate and civil registry directorates shall be exempt from statutory fees and all court costs.

(1) Among the information listed in Article 7 of this Law that must be registered in the family registers, information that is present in the supporting document but has been registered in the civil registers incorrectly or incompletely or has not been entered at all, as well as duplicate records, shall be regarded as clerical errors. Such clerical errors shall be corrected or completed by the General Directorate or by the civil registry directorates.

(1) The General Directorate shall be authorised to convert to the Gregorian calendar year the dates of civil status events of citizens recorded in the Hijri or Rumi calendar according to the civil registry records and to enter them in the family registers, and to complete the missing elements of the dates of birth of those whose month and day of birth are unknown.

(2) In calculating the age of persons whose year of birth is recorded but whose month and day of birth are not recorded, the first day of July of the year of birth shall be taken as the starting point, and for those whose month is recorded but whose day is unknown, the first day of that month shall be taken as the starting point.

(1) Civil registry records established on the basis of a document not drawn up in accordance with the procedure shall be cancelled by a decision to be given by the court upon the request of the General Directorate or the civil registry directorates. The cancellation of annotations and explanations entered in the civil register shall also be subject to the same procedure.

Amended: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 12

(1) The Ministry shall be authorised to determine the information to be included in the identity card, as well as the design, procurement, printing, distribution and delivery method of the card, the system to be used in its production and personalisation, and the electronic identity verification system.

(2) The type and nature of the biometric data to be included in the identity card and the age at which it is to be taken shall be determined by the Ministry.

(3) Persons whose biometric data are to be taken shall, as a rule, apply in person. Identity card applications for children whose biometric data are not to be taken shall be made by their parents or guardians and by the persons under the notification obligation set out in Articles 15 and 17.

(4) Biometric data kept in the central database may not be used other than for identity verification procedures.

(5) A person may, at the time of application, designate by written consent the person who will collect his or her identity card.

(6) Where there is doubt as to whether the person requesting an identity card and the person recorded in the civil registers are the same person, an investigation shall be conducted by the law enforcement forces upon the order of the chief local administrative authority.

(7) In applications made due to the loss or replacement of an identity card, a temporary document, the procedures and principles of which are determined by the Ministry, may be issued, valid until the new one is issued.

(8) No entries or marks other than those provided for in this Law may be placed on the identity card. The identity card may not be retained by any person or institution.

(9) After the marriage procedure is completed, the couple shall be given an international family booklet.

(10) International family booklets and blue cards shall be printed by the Ministry of Finance in the design and quantity determined by the Ministry. Family booklets and blue cards shall be sent by the Ministry of Finance, within the country, to finance officials to be delivered to civil registry directorates and marriage registry offices, and abroad, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be delivered to foreign missions. International family booklets and blue cards shall be delivered to the civil registry directorate up to a maximum of three thousand units with payment deferred, and subsequently in batches of three thousand units against payment in advance.

(11) The fee for the identity card, international family booklet and blue card shall be collected at the time of application. No valuable paper fee shall be charged where the birth notification is made within the statutory time limit, nor for identity cards to be issued within the scope of Law No. 2828.

(12) International family booklets and blue cards returned due to incorrect writing shall be deducted from the valuable paper fee. Where identity cards are replaced due to faulty production or writing, no identity card fee shall be charged.

(13) The General Directorate, civil registry directorates and foreign missions shall not be subject to the provisions of the Surety Law No. 2489 of 2/6/1934 with respect to the fees for identity cards, international family booklets and blue cards.

(14) The procedures and principles concerning the deposit of identity card fees into Treasury cash offices shall be determined jointly by the Ministry and the Ministry of Finance.

(15) Added: 23/7/2020, Law No. 7252, Art. 8 In the implementation of the Electronic Identity Verification System, transactions shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law No. 6698 of 24/3/2016 on the Protection of Personal Data and by obtaining the explicit consent of the person.

Amended: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 13

(1) For the issuance of identity cards and international family booklets, request forms whose form and content are determined and printed by the Ministry shall be used. No request form shall be required for the issuance of an identity card on the basis of birth reports.

(2) The Ministry shall be authorised to introduce or withdraw request forms and to determine their retention periods.

(1) Civil registry record extracts obtained by extracting the record of a person in the family register and having it certified as a true copy by the civil registry directorate shall be valid until proven otherwise. A civil registry record extract may not be issued without a written request stating the reason for the request and the purpose for which it will be used. However, where the person applies in person with an official document proving his or her identity, no written application shall be required. Civil registry record extracts shall not include personal information other than identity information unless expressly requested, with reasons, by those authorised to request them. No erasures or scrapings may be made on these documents.

(2) Civil registry record extracts not used within one hundred and eighty days from the date of their issuance shall lose their validity. The Ministry shall be authorised to shorten this period to as little as thirty days depending on the fields in which the civil registry record extract is to be used.

(1) The following:

a) The Ministry,

b) Foreign missions,

c) The Ministry of National Defence, for conscription procedures,

ç) Judicial authorities,

d) Law enforcement agencies, limited to judicial procedures,

e) Those authorised to conduct marriages, for marriage procedures,

f) Official health institutions, for death procedures,

g) The holders of the record or their spouses, parents, guardians, descendants and ascendants, or those who produce a power of attorney belonging to these persons,

shall be authorised to obtain civil registry record extracts directly from civil registry directorates.

(2) Institutions and legal persons other than those listed in paragraph 1 may obtain a civil registry record extract upon the order of the Ministry or the chief local administrative authority, by applying in writing and clearly stating the reason for the request. The Ministry shall establish an Identity Sharing System to implement the provisions of this Article.

(3) The disclosure of the residence address and other address information shall be subject to the consent of the person.

(4) Third parties other than the persons listed in subparagraph (g) of paragraph 1 may not obtain an extract or information concerning the civil registry record of a person other than information on marital status.

(5) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 10 Persons may, by using secure identity verification tools, query through the e-Government gateway the civil registry record extracts of themselves and their descendants or ascendants, and the residence documents of themselves and their minor children, and may submit the result to the relevant authority in physical or electronic form. Documents obtained through the e-Government gateway shall have the same legal value as other documents obtained from civil registry directorates.

Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 11

(1) The Ministry may share the data kept in the central database with institutions within the framework of the procedures and principles set out in this Law; it may share identity data with legal entities providing public services, insurance and pension companies operating within the framework of the Insurance Law No. 5684 of 3/6/2007, banks operating within the framework of the Banking Law No. 5411 of 19/10/2005, the Risk Centre and companies established for the purpose of information sharing pursuant to the last paragraph of Article 73 of Law No. 5411, financial leasing companies, financing companies and savings financing companies within the scope of the Law No. 6361 of 21/11/2012 on Financial Leasing, Factoring and Financing Companies, intermediary institutions and portfolio management companies within the scope of the Capital Markets Law No. 6362 of 6/12/2012, and payment service providers within the scope of the Law No. 6493 of 20/6/2013 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions; and it may share domicile and other address information with organisations providing address-based public services as determined by the Ministry, insurance and pension companies operating within the framework of Law No. 5684, banks operating within the framework of Law No. 5411, the Risk Centre and companies established for the purpose of information sharing pursuant to the last paragraph of Article 73 of Law No. 5411, financial leasing companies, financing companies and savings financing companies within the scope of Law No. 6361 on Financial Leasing, Factoring and Financing Companies, intermediary institutions and portfolio management companies within the scope of Law No. 6362, and payment service providers within the scope of Law No. 6493.

(2) A Data Sharing Board shall be established within the General Directorate to decide on who shall benefit from data sharing, the scope of the sharing and the method by which it shall be carried out. The working procedures and principles of the Data Sharing Board shall be determined by a regulation issued by the Ministry.

(3) Those specified in paragraph 1 may obtain only the information of the persons concerned, as a basis for their own business and transactions, and may not use the information they obtain for any purpose other than the performance of the defined services, nor give it to anyone other than the person concerned or those specified in Article 44. Officials serving at all stages of the system are likewise obliged to comply with these rules. This obligation shall continue after public officials leave their posts. Added sentence: 18/6/2020, Law No. 7247, Art. 8 Those specified in paragraph 1 are obliged to take and monitor all necessary administrative and technical measures to ensure that users of the Identity Sharing System use the system in accordance with the provisions of this Article, and to submit reports on the administrative and technical measures to the Ministry upon request. Action shall be taken against those acting contrary to the provisions of this paragraph in accordance with the provisions of the Law No. 6698 of 24/3/2016 on the Protection of Personal Data.

(4) Those specified in paragraph 1 may not request offline the data they may obtain from the Identity Sharing System. However, where it is established that there is a compelling need in the planning and conduct of a public service, and the purpose of use and the legal basis are specified, data requests may be met offline at a minimum level, in proportion to the need.

(5) The General Directorate shall take appropriate security measures to prevent the unlawful processing of and access to personal data and to ensure their preservation, and shall monitor and supervise that institutions and legal entities providing public services that request data also take these measures.

(6) The legal consequences of the use in business and transactions of information obtained from the General Directorate shall be the responsibility of the institution or legal entity receiving the information.

(7) Institutions and legal entities that can access civil registry record extracts, certificates of domicile and identity card copies through the Identity Sharing System shall obtain these documents from the Identity Sharing System without requesting them from the person concerned or from the civil registry directorate.

(8) The provisions of the Turkish Statistics Law No. 5429 of 10/11/2005 shall apply to the use of the databases established by this Law for statistical purposes.

(1) The identity number is a numbering system intended to establish links between the civil registry records of citizens of the Republic of Türkiye, to access the records of persons and to provide connections between records kept in public bodies. The Republic of Türkiye identity number shall be assigned to a person once and may not be changed.

(2) Repealed: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 27

(1) The Republic of Türkiye identity number shall be included in all identifying documents issued in the name of persons, such as all kinds of forms, declarations, identity cards, tax identity cards, driving licences and passports.

(2) The Republic of Türkiye identity number shall be taken as the basis in all kinds of transactions and records of institutions and of other natural and legal persons.

(3) The opinion of the General Directorate shall be obtained on problems arising in the application of the identity number and on matters on which there is doubt.

(1) Operations relating to the formulation, development and dissemination of the policy on keeping information on domicile addresses and other addresses, the determination of the dates of transition to general implementation by administrative unit, the linking of the national address database with the MERNİS database and the sharing of address information shall be carried out by the Ministry. Institutions shall meet the Ministry's requests for cooperation for the purpose of completing address records in the civil registers.

(2) The address standard shall be determined jointly, under the monitoring and responsibility of the General Directorate of Local Administrations, by the General Directorate, the Turkish Statistical Institute, the Turkish Standards Institution and other relevant organisations. The General Directorate of Local Administrations shall be responsible for notifying the determined standard to the competent administration. Institutions and natural and legal persons shall be obliged to comply with the address standard in their business and transactions relating to addresses.

(3) The Ministry shall be authorised to request all kinds of information relating to addresses from institutions. Institutions shall be obliged to respond to such request within twenty days.

(4) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 12 In business and transactions carried out on the basis of address, limited to the public services benefited from, the other address shall have the same legal value as the domicile address. Institutions shall also take other address information as the basis, like the domicile address, in the business and transactions they carry out.

(5) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 12 The provisions of the Notification Law No. 7201 of 11/2/1959 are reserved.

(1) Special provincial administrations and municipalities shall be obliged to define the address components within their areas of responsibility in accordance with the address standard, to assign them fixed identification numbers that may not be changed, and to create address information covering all addresses in their localities. Changes made for any reason in address components other than the fixed identification number shall also be monitored by the special provincial administrations and municipalities and entered into the national address database.

(2) The national address database shall be kept at the General Directorate. The General Directorate shall keep the domicile address information in the national address database up to date in electronic form, together with backup systems, by linking it with the personal records in the civil registers.

(3) Repealed: 9/5/2012, Law No. 6304, Art. 13; Re-enacted: 2/1/2017, Decree-Law No. 680, Art. 80; Adopted without amendment: 1/2/2018, Law No. 7072, Art. 78 The address records of Turkish citizens whose domicile address is abroad shall be kept according to the address data used in the country where they live, or according to information on that country and the mission to which they are attached.

Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 13

(1) The written declaration of persons shall be taken as the basis in address notification. Notification shall be made in person or by secure electronic signature.

(2) Address notification shall be made to civil registry directorates or to foreign missions. A declaration concerning a change of address may also be made, during an application relating to the receipt of a service, to organisations providing address-based services as determined by the Ministry.

(3) Address notification must be made within twenty working days.

(4) Adult members of a family whose domicile and other address are the same may make address declarations on behalf of one another. Persons submitting a power of attorney may also make notifications concerning the addresses of persons.

(5) The addresses of children and of persons under guardianship shall be notified by the parent, guardian or curator, or in their absence by the child's grandmother, grandfather, adult siblings or the persons in whose care the child is.

(6) Address notifications of persons staying in places such as nursing homes, orphanages, prisons and student dormitories shall be made by the officials of the relevant institution, and those of persons without relatives who are unable to make notification shall be made by the mukhtars.

(7) Where there is doubt as to a declaration, information and documents confirming the person's declaration may be requested.

(8) Competent administrations shall be obliged to enter the building documents that form the basis for the creation of addresses into the national address database simultaneously with the creation of the documents.

Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 14

(1) Address change declaration forms shall be sent by the organisations to the General Directorate in electronic form, or in paper form to the civil registry directorate of the place where the organisation is located within ten working days at the latest.

(1) The Ministry may, upon their request, provide address information to institutions in electronic form within the framework of the Identity Sharing System, in accordance with procedures and principles to be determined by the Ministry.(21)

(2) Mukhtar offices that have completed their technical infrastructure may access the Identity Sharing System for the purpose of monitoring whether the domicile address information within their areas of responsibility is up to date.

(3) Institutions shall take as the basis the address information kept at the General Directorate in the business and transactions they carry out.

(4) Information and documents relating to addresses may be obtained from civil registry directorates and from mukhtar offices that are connected to the Identity Sharing System and able to produce documents in conformity with the records in that system. The security of documents produced in this manner shall be ensured in accordance with the procedures and principles determined by the Ministry.

(5) MERNİS population information shall be used in population censuses or counts, in the compilation of family and vital statistics and in the application of laws that take this information as their basis.

(1) The General Directorate shall be responsible for inter-institutional coordination in order to ensure the effective, rapid and up-to-date creation and maintenance of the national address database. Institutions shall be obliged to share the information in their possession relating to addresses and address components with the General Directorate and with the relevant institutions.

(1) Officials responsible for registering civil status events shall be obliged to register in the family registers supporting documents drawn up at the civil registry directorate that must be registered in the family registers at the time of the transaction, and supporting documents drawn up by other authorities within seven days from the date on which they reach the civil registry directorate, and to send a copy thereof to the General Directorate.

(1) Chief clerks of courts shall be responsible for notifying all decisions and acts requiring registration in the family registers to the civil registry directorate of that place within ten days from the date of finalisation or issuance.

Repealed: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 27

Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 17

(1) Third persons may make declarations to serve as the basis for transactions at civil registry administrations only upon submission of a power of attorney.

(1) Persons left unrecorded in population registrations shall apply, with official documents showing that they are Turkish citizens, to the civil registry directorate of the place where they are located in Türkiye or, if abroad, to the nearest foreign mission. If, as a result of the examination to be carried out, there is no circumstance preventing their registration, they shall be registered in the family registers by the civil registry directorates.

(2) Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 18 Persons who died before the population registrations shall not be registered in the family registers. However, upon submission of the identity document of a person who died before the local registration and of a document relating to the death, an annotation shall be made in the records of the person's statutory heirs.

(1) Supporting documents drawn up upon notifications made to civil registry directorates shall be signed and approved by the civil registry directorate. The supporting documents must be signed by the person concerned himself or herself, or by the parent, guardian or a person submitting a power of attorney. The fingerprints of persons who are illiterate shall be taken.

(1) Where doubt arises as to declarations relating to civil status events and addresses, the necessary investigations and examinations shall be carried out by the law enforcement authorities upon the order of the local administrative chief and notified to the civil registry directorate.

(1) In calculating the time limits specified in this Law, the day following the date on which the event occurred shall be taken as the starting point. Time limits shall expire at the end of working hours on the last day of the prescribed period or, if the last day falls on an official holiday, on the first working day following the holiday.

(1) No transaction may be carried out and no entry may be made on old or former family registers that have been withdrawn from use.

(2) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 21 No correction may be made by the administration on the basis of old register records. The following annotation shall be made on records extracted from these registers: “It may not be taken as the basis for any legal transaction other than for the purpose of the determination by the courts of the identity and family ties of the person.”

(3) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 21 Where the supporting documents relating to civil status events cannot be found, the correction of clerical errors relating to a person's first name, surname, father's name, mother's name, date of birth or place of birth, or the completion of omissions, shall be carried out on the basis of the former family registers withdrawn from use. The following annotation shall be made on records extracted from these registers: “These records may not be taken as the basis in place of the current records.”

Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 22

(1) The list of the male population recorded in the family registers who reach military service age shall be obtained by the Ministry of National Defence through the Identity Sharing System.

(1) The Ministry shall be authorised to prepare the forms and documents to be used in the application of this Law and to make the necessary arrangements. Declaration forms relating to the notification of domicile addresses kept in electronic form shall be destroyed after being scanned and transferred to electronic form.

Amended: 25/6/2009, Law No. 5917, Art. 39

(1) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 23 A contribution fee shall be charged per query or per returned record in return for sharing the information in the Identity Sharing System with public bodies and organisations other than public administrations within the scope of general government and the Presidential offices, and with legal persons. The amount of the contribution fee shall be determined jointly by the Ministry and the Ministry of Finance, separately for spatial and textual data, taking into account the nature of the service provided from the Identity Sharing System, at not less than 3 kuruş. These amounts shall be increased each year by the revaluation rate determined and announced for the preceding year pursuant to the provisions of repeated Article 298 of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213 of 4/1/1961. The Ministry's records shall be taken as the basis in determining the number of queries and returned records.

(2) Contribution fees shall be calculated on the basis of the queries made in each quarterly period of the calendar year. The calculated contribution fees shall be notified to the querying institutions by the evening of the 15th day of the month following the period and shall be paid to the central accounting unit of the Ministry by the end of the month in which the notification is made.

(3) The connection to the system of those who fail to pay within the time limit shall be cut off. Contribution fees not paid within the time limit shall be pursued and collected by tax offices in accordance with the provisions of the Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables. Contribution fees shall be recorded as revenue to the general budget.

(4) Village and neighbourhood mukhtar offices shall be exempt from the contribution fee.

(5) The procedures and principles relating to the application of this Article shall be determined jointly by the Ministry and the Ministry of Finance.

Repealed: 11/10/2011, Decree-Law No. 666, Art. 1

(1) Village or neighbourhood mukhtars who issue an untrue domicile document or identity card request document, persons who make untrue declarations to the civil registry directorate in connection with any transaction, and persons who witness such declarations shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to four years.

(2) Public officials who fail to fulfil obligations relating to addresses or who act contrary to prohibitions shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 of 26/9/2004 relating to offences against the reliability and functioning of the public administration.

(1) Pursuant to this Law;

a) Public officials who are responsible for notifying civil status events and who fail to perform these duties within the time limits specified in this Law shall, even if the act constitutes another offence, be given an administrative fine of 25 New Turkish Liras (YTL) by decision of the district civil registry director of that place upon the proposal of the civil registry officer.

b) Repealed: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 24

c) Amended: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 14 An administrative fine of 50 Turkish liras shall be imposed on those who fail to fulfil the obligation to notify a change of address within the time limit, and of 1000 Turkish liras on those who make untrue declarations, by local administrative chiefs within the country and by foreign missions abroad.

(2) Administrative fines imposed abroad shall be collected, at the local currency equivalent at the time of the transaction, in the currency in which consular revenues are collected in the country where they are imposed.

(3) Pursuant to this Law;

a) Repealed: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 14

b) Repealed: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 14

c) Repealed: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 14

d) Amended: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 24 To the health personnel specified in Article 15 and the public prosecutor's offices specified in Article 31 of this Law,

the administrative fines specified in this Article shall not apply.

(1) Regulations relating to the application of this Law shall be put into force by the President of the Republic.

(2) The regulation relating to addresses and numbering, however, shall be prepared jointly by the Ministry, the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Turkish Standards Institution and put into force within ninety days.

(1) The posts set out in List (1) annexed to this Law have been created for use in the services within the scope of this Law and added to the section of the Ministry of Interior in Schedule (I) annexed to the Decree-Law No. 190 on General Staff Positions and Procedure.

(1) The Population Law No. 1587 of 5/5/1972, the General Population Registration Law No. 1543 of 24/2/1972, the Law No. 3686 of 5/7/1939 on Marriage Papers and Their Registration in the Civil Registers, Article 5, subparagraphs (a) and (d) of Article 6, Article 8 and Article 16 of the Identity Notification Law No. 1774 of 26/6/1973 and the expression "8" in Article 17 thereof, and the Law No. 1003 of 10/4/1927 on the Numbering of Buildings and the Naming of Streets have been repealed.

(1) The expression "must fill in an identity document in accordance with the specimen and submit it to the general law enforcement organisation within three days." has been added after subparagraph (c) of Article 6 of Law No. 1774, and the expression "and those staying in the places specified in subparagraph (d)" in the second paragraph of the same Article has been amended to read "those".

(1) Relates to the Law No. 3152 of 14/2/1985 on the Organisation and Duties of the Ministry of Interior and has been incorporated therein.

Added: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 15

(1) References in other legislation to the expressions “civil registry booklet”, “identity booklet”, “civil registry identity booklet”, “identity paper” and “civil registry paper” shall be deemed to have been made to the “Republic of Türkiye identity card”.

Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 25

(1) The Ministry may grant institutions issuing source documents relating to civil registry events and addresses, or foreign missions, the authority to transmit such documents electronically or to register them. The Ministry is authorised to decide that source documents shall be kept at the institutions granted registration authority.

(2) Upon the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, civil registry personnel may be assigned to the consular sections of embassies and to consulates general for the purpose of carrying out civil registry and citizenship procedures. The duties and responsibilities abroad and the terms of service of such officials shall be determined jointly by the Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 25

(1) Subject to a written request being made, where:

a) a woman who has been permitted to use the surname of her divorced spouse wishes to use her surname prior to marriage,

b) a woman bearing her previous surname together with her spouse's surname wishes to use only her spouse's surname,

the civil registry directorate shall carry out the necessary procedure.

Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 25

(1) Death events shall not be notified by the civil registry directorate to institutions and notaries on paper. Institutions and notaries shall ascertain death events electronically. Where, due to force majeure, information relating to death events cannot be transmitted electronically, it may be sent on paper.

(2) The provisions of Article 69 of the Notaries Law No. 1512 of 18/1/1972 and of Article 150 of Law No. 213 that are contrary to this Law shall not apply.

(1) Institutions and legal persons shall, within two years from the date of publication of this Law, bring their legislation into conformity with the provisions of this Law and shall be obliged to use the identity number in their transactions.

(1) From the date of publication of this Law, the following works and procedures shall be carried out, in order, in preparation for the implementation relating to the recording of address information:

a) The infrastructure works of the national address database shall be carried out within the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute and the database shall be established, and it shall be transferred to the General Directorate after completion of the works and procedures provided for in this Article.

b) The General Directorate of Local Authorities shall monitor the numbering and signposting works of the special provincial administrations and municipalities in accordance with the regulation on addresses and numbering.

c) Simultaneously with the address works, the special provincial administrations and municipalities and the General Directorate shall establish the technical infrastructure of the national address databases. A network infrastructure operating online between the special provincial administrations and municipalities and the national address database throughout the country shall be established by the Ministry of Transport. A central computer program through which every settlement unit can access the national address database shall be prepared by the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute. It shall be made available for use by the special provincial administrations and municipalities upon provision of the necessary encryption and user training.

ç) Within three hundred and sixty days at the latest from the date on which the address standard is determined, the address components of settlement units shall be brought into conformity with the standards by the special provincial administrations and municipalities, the numbering procedure shall be completed, and they shall be entered into the centrally established national address database by means of the program referred to in subparagraph (c).

d) For the purpose of on-site verification of the conformity of the numbering and signposting works carried out by the special provincial administrations and municipalities, a field check shall be conducted by the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute and the General Directorate of Local Authorities within ninety days after completion of the numbering procedure. The results of the check shall be entered into the national address database.

e) In order to associate the domicile addresses in the national address database with the personal records in the civil registers and to enable the keeping of personal domicile address records linked to the Republic of Türkiye identity number, a field implementation shall be carried out by the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute, starting from the settlements whose numbering has been completed and to be completed within six hundred and thirty days at the latest from the date of entry into force of this Law. The domicile address information ascertained in the field during the implementation on the basis of the national address database shall be matched electronically with the MERNİS records on the basis of the Republic of Türkiye identity number. During the field survey, a separate database shall be established for foreigners whose domicile address in Türkiye is ascertained.

f) The records obtained shall be posted for public display at the neighbourhood and village headman's offices for a period of sixty days. During the display period, the necessary corrections shall be made to the records according to the information obtained by the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute as a result of the examination to be carried out upon objections. Upon the records becoming final as a result of this work, the forms used in the field implementation shall be destroyed on site by decision of the local boards in accordance with the provisions of the Law No. 3473 of 28/9/1988 on the Adoption, with Amendments, of the Decree Having the Force of Law on the Destruction of Documents and Materials No Longer Required to Be Kept.

(2) The forms to be used during the procedures shall be prepared by the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute in cooperation with the General Directorate. The records relating to the questions added to the forms by the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute for statistical purposes shall be evaluated within the framework of the provisions of the Turkish Statistics Law.

(3) The field work to be carried out by the Presidency of the Turkish Statistical Institute within the scope of this Article shall be conducted within the framework of the provisions of Law No. 5429 relating to censuses and surveys. The relevant institutions may procure goods and services for the performance of the works and procedures specified in this Article. The provisions of the Public Procurement Law No. 4734 of 4/1/2002, except for the provisions on penalties and prohibition from tenders, and of Law No. 5018 shall not apply to the works to be commissioned within the scope of this Article. The procedures and principles of procurement of goods and services to be made within this scope shall be determined by the Council of Ministers according to the requirements of the service, in line with principles ensuring transparency, competition, equal treatment, reliability, public oversight, the meeting of needs under appropriate conditions and in a timely manner, and the efficient use of resources.

(4) The procedures and principles relating to the implementation of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be determined by regulation.

(1) The provision of Article 68 of this Law shall not apply to persons who, during the implementation period of provisional Article 2 of this Law, notify civil registry events after the expiry of the time limit provided for in the civil registry legislation, or who lose their identity cards or family booklets.

(1) Special provincial administrations and municipalities that cannot connect to the national address database within the time limit provided for in this Law shall ascertain the local address information, keep it up to date and send it electronically to the district civil registry directorates to be entered into the national address database.

(1) For the transfer to the father's household of children who, until this Law enters into force, have been registered in the mother's household as a result of a declaration of acknowledgement or a judgment of paternity, an application by one of the mother and father, or by the child himself or herself if the child is of full age, shall be required.

Added: 14/1/2016, Law No. 6661, Art. 16

(1) The issuance and distribution of identity cards shall be carried out until 31/12/2016 in accordance with the following procedures and principles:

a) Identity cards shall be printed by the Ministry of Finance in conformity with the form, size and specimen determined by the Ministry, and shall be sent to the accounting officers to meet the needs of the civil registry directorates and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet the needs of the foreign missions.

b) Taking into account the needs of the civil registry directorates, the accounting officer shall provide at most three thousand of each of the women's and men's identity cards, the price of which is to be paid subsequently, and thereafter in batches of three thousand against cash payment in advance. Where births are notified within the statutory time limit, no valuable paper fee shall be charged for the identity cards to be issued. Identity cards returned due to erroneous writing shall be deducted from the valuable paper fee.

c) Identity cards shall be delivered, within Türkiye by the district civil registry directorates and abroad by the foreign missions, to the persons themselves and, in the case of minors, to their parents, guardians or persons presenting an official power of attorney, and to persons under the obligation of declaration specified in Article 17 of this Law, within the framework of the procedures to be determined by the Ministry.

ç) The General Directorate and the consulates general shall not be subject to the provisions of Law No. 2489 with respect to the price of identity cards.

Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 26

(1) Until the contribution share pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 65 is determined jointly by the Ministry and the Ministry of Finance, the provisions of Article 65 as they stood before being amended by the Law introducing this Article shall continue to apply.

Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 26

(1) Subject to the person applying in writing within two years to the civil registry directorate where his or her domicile is located, surnames contrary to Article 3 of the Surname Law No. 2525 of 21/6/1934, and given names and surnames containing changes of meaning resulting from spelling and orthographic errors or from failure to use the circumflex mark, may be changed once only, without a court decision being required, by a decision of the provincial or district administrative board. The decision of the provincial and district administrative boards shall be final. If the person whose surname is changed is a man, the surnames of his wife, if any, and of his children who are minors on the date of application shall also be corrected together with his own. If the person whose surname is changed is a woman, the surnames of her children born out of wedlock who are minors, if any, shall also be corrected together with her own.

Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 26

(1) The records of persons admitted to Turkish citizenship as immigrants whose place and date of birth are erroneous shall be corrected by the civil registry directorate where they apply, within five years from the date of entry into force of this Article, with duly certified birth certificates.

Added: 19/10/2017, Law No. 7039, Art. 26

(1) Where children or adults adopted jointly or individually before the date of entry into force of this Article apply to the civil registry directorates within five years following the entry into force of this Article, the given names and surnames of the adopters shall be entered in the civil registry record as the mother's and/or father's name or surname.

(2) The consent of adoptees who are of full age and capable of discernment on the date of entry into force of this Article shall also be required.

Added: 6/12/2019, Law No. 7196, Art. 61

(1) Subject to the person applying in writing within three years to the civil registry directorate where his or her domicile is located, surnames contrary to Article 3 of the Surname Law No. 2525 of 21/6/1934, and given names and surnames containing changes of meaning resulting from spelling and orthographic errors or from failure to use the circumflex mark, that are contrary to general morality, or that are considered to be regarded as ridiculous by society, may be changed once only, without a court decision being required, by a decision of the provincial or district administrative board. The decision of the provincial and district administrative boards shall be final. If the person whose surname is changed is a man, the surnames of his wife, if any, and of his children who are minors on the date of application shall also be corrected together with his own. If the person whose surname is changed is a woman, the surnames of her children born out of wedlock who are minors, if any, shall also be corrected together with her own. The President of the Republic is authorised to extend the time limit specified in this Article by up to the same length of time.

Added: 8/4/2022, Law No. 7394, Art. 21

(1) The contribution share determined in paragraph 1 of Article 65 shall not be requested from the Presidential offices in respect of Identity Sharing System queries and returned records for the period before the date of entry into force of the amendment made to that paragraph by the Law introducing this Article.

(1) This Law shall enter into force on the date of its publication.

(1) The provisions of this Law shall be executed by the Council of Ministers.