A power of attorney in Turkey is called a vekâletname, and the rules for drawing one up differ from what foreign buyers are used to at home. The cardinal rule: a power of attorney for anything that passes through the land registry (tapu) is valid only if it was drawn up by a Turkish noter (notary) or by a Turkish consulate abroad. A power of attorney from a notary in your own country, apostille and all, will not be accepted at the land registry office. Below: why that is, exactly what to put in the document, and how to revoke it in good time.
What a vekâletname is and who certifies it
A vekâletname is a written instrument by which the principal (vekâlet veren) confers on a representative (vekil) the right to act on their behalf. In Turkey only two bodies certify it: a notary's office (noterlik) inside the country, and the consular section of a Turkish embassy or consulate general abroad. A consul performs notarial functions under Turkish law, which is why a consular power of attorney ranks equal to a notarial one.
Let us dispose of a common misconception straight away: law firms, estate agencies and translation bureaus do not issue powers of attorney. They can draft the text, book your appointment and arrange an interpreter, but the certifying signature and seal always belong to a noter or a consul. If someone offers to "do the power of attorney at the agency office", that is not a power of attorney.
The key constraint: for property, only a Turkish noter or a Turkish consulate
Article 89 of the Turkish Notary Law (Noterlik Kanunu) requires certain documents to be executed in a special, "drawn-up" form (düzenleme şeklinde): the notary does not merely witness a signature but composes the text, establishes the parties' intent and reads the document aloud. That list covers contracts and powers of attorney which by their nature call for action at the land registry, along with wills, sales with retention of title and the preliminary contract for the sale of property (satış vaadi).
The practical consequence: a power of attorney issued by a notary in another country will not do for tapu transactions. The official information notes published by Turkish consular posts put it in plain terms — for contracts and powers of attorney requiring action at the land registry, a document executed before foreign authorities cannot be recognised as valid in Turkey, apostille or no apostille.
What to do if you are abroad
The one dependable route is to book an appointment at your nearest Turkish consulate general and have the vekâletname drawn up there. Appointments are normally made through the official consular services portal; only the principal attends, and the presence of the future representative is not required. A consular power of attorney is already drafted in Turkish and needs neither apostille nor translation — it can be handed straight to your representative in Turkey.
A local notary's power of attorney with an apostille and a sworn translation remains a working tool for other purposes: representation in court, tax matters, some administrative procedures, and occasionally banking. We set out the legalisation route for such a document in detail in our article on the apostille for Turkey. But you cannot build a property transaction on it: you risk turning up on signing day with a document nobody will accept.
Why a photograph and a sworn translator are required
For powers of attorney covering property transactions — sale, gift, mortgage, partition — Turkish law requires a photograph of the principal to be affixed to the document and stamped over. Without the photograph the land registry office will not accept it. A practical tip: turn up at the notary or the consulate with at least two colour passport-format photographs taken within the past six months.
The second requirement concerns language. If the principal does not speak Turkish, the notary must engage a sworn translator (yeminli tercüman) registered with that notary's office. The translator attends in person, reads the text aloud in translation and signs the document alongside you. This is no formality: it is how the law ensures you understand the scope of the powers you are handing over. Line up the translator early — at the height of the season in Alanya you can wait a day or two for one to be free.
General or specific power of attorney
Turkish practice distinguishes a general power of attorney (genel vekâletname), covering a broad range of actions, from a specific one (özel vekâletname) issued for a defined task.
There is a nuance here that is often overlooked: generality alone confers no right to dispose of property. Turkish law requires a special authority (özel yetki) — an express and unambiguous reference to selling, transferring title, or creating a mortgage. Absent that wording, the registry will refuse, however sweeping the rest of the text may look.
The converse holds too: a broad power of attorney that includes authority to sell is a document with which your apartment can be sold without your knowledge, should anyone care to. The sensible approach is therefore a specific power of attorney for a defined transaction, with the property and the time limit clearly stated.
Which powers to spell out
Specifying too little costs you a second trip to the notary; specifying too much costs a great deal more. Work from a realistic list of tasks.
TaskWhat the text must containBuying a propertyAuthority to acquire property, to sign documents at the land registry directorate (tapu müdürlüğü), to file applications and to receive the tapuSelling a propertyExpress special authority to sell and to transfer title, identifying the propertyLand registry proceduresFiling applications with TKGM, booking appointments and acting through Web-Tapu, obtaining extracts and encumbrance detailsTax officeObtaining a tax number (vergi numarası), representation at the vergi dairesi, payment of dutiesUtilitiesOpening and transferring electricity, water and gas subscriptions, settling arrears, arranging the DASK policyBankingOpening an account, operating it, depositing and transferring funds — with the caveat that a bank may apply its own rulesCourtsRepresentation in court and enforcement proceedings — only in the name of an advocate (avukat); this authority cannot be given to anyone elseFor a transaction it is worth identifying the property itself: province, district, mahalle, the ada and parsel numbers, and the number of the independent unit (bağımsız bölüm). The power of attorney will then work for that one apartment and no other.
Validity period and when a power of attorney ends
Under Turkish law a power of attorney runs indefinitely unless it states a time limit. It stays in force until revoked or until something occurs that terminates the agency. As a general rule under the Code of Obligations, agency ends on the death, loss of legal capacity or bankruptcy of the principal — unless the parties have agreed otherwise or the nature of the mandate points the other way.
Open-ended sounds convenient, but in practice it is the main source of trouble: a power of attorney issued "for the transaction" five years ago carries on working long after the transaction closed. So either cap the period expressly in the text (a few months, say), or revoke the document the moment the job is done.
Note separately that individual institutions and banks may, under their internal rules, ask for a "fresh" power of attorney and decline to work with a document several years old. That is policy rather than law, but you may well run into it.
How to revoke a power of attorney: the azilname
Revocation is called azil, and the revocation instrument is an azilname. The principal may revoke at any time and without giving reasons.
- Go to a noter (in Turkey) or to a Turkish consulate (abroad) and have the azilname drawn up. You will need your identity document and the details of the power of attorney being revoked: the name of the notary's office, the date and the register number (yevmiye numarası), plus the representative's details.
- Make sure the revocation reaches the representative. Until they have been notified, their good-faith actions can still bind you as against third parties.
- Send the azilname to the land registry office for the district where the property is located. The registry gives effect to the revocation from the moment it arrives, and this is your key protection against a backdated sale of the property. An owner can also initiate revocation in person at the tapu müdürlüğü, or through the Web-Tapu system.
In theory Turkish law does not tie revocation to a rigid form — a letter can do it. But do not rely on that: without notarial form and notice to the registry you cannot prove when the revocation took effect, and that moment decides the outcome of any dispute. Revocation is the one procedure where economising on the notary is a false saving.
Why broad powers are dangerous
Turkish courts regularly hear claims to set aside a land registry entry on the ground of "abuse of the agent's mandate" (vekâlet görevinin kötüye kullanılması). The logic of the settled case law runs as follows: even where the power of attorney says "to sell at any price to any person", the representative must act in good faith and in the principal's interests, and a sale at an obviously undervalued price or to a connected party is not in good faith.
The good news is that such claims rest on property law, and the supreme court proceeds on the basis that they are not subject to a limitation period. The bad news is that you will only recover the property if you can prove that the acquirer acted in bad faith. If the apartment was bought by someone who knew nothing of your arrangements, they will most likely remain the owner, and you will be left with a damages claim against your representative.
Hence the practical conclusions: do not give a general power of attorney to people who have their own interest in the transaction, keep the scope of authority narrow, and do not leave the document in force any longer than you need it.
Common mistakes
- Having the power of attorney drawn up by a notary at home and counting on the apostille. That does not work for the land registry. Only a Turkish noter or a Turkish consulate.
- Arriving without photographs. For a property power of attorney the photograph is mandatory — you will have to rebook the appointment.
- Not checking the translation. The sworn translator is obliged to read the document out. If you are simply handed a Turkish text to sign, ask for it to be translated in full and query every clause you do not follow.
- Forgetting the özel yetki. The general phrase "to represent my interests" confers no right to sell property.
- Issuing a single power of attorney "for everything, for ever". Keep them separate: the transaction, the bank, the residence permit, the utilities are different tasks with different scopes of authority.
- Failing to revoke after completion. The document carries on working; revoking is inexpensive and takes a single visit.
- Giving a power of attorney to the seller, the developer or a member of the seller's agency staff. More on this in our article on buying property by power of attorney.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have a power of attorney drawn up in Turkey without a residence permit?
Yes. A valid passport is enough. If you have already obtained a Turkish tax number or a foreigner's identification number, bring them — the notary will enter the details in the document.
Does the representative need to attend the notary appointment?
No. The power of attorney is signed by the principal. All you need are the representative's exact details: given name and surname as they appear on their documents, T.C. kimlik or foreigner's identification number, and address.
How much does a power of attorney cost?
Notarial tariffs in Turkey are revised annually, and a document with a photograph for the land registry costs more than a standard one. Check current figures directly with the notary's office or the consulate — there is little point publishing numbers that go stale every January. The sworn translator's work is charged separately.
Is a Turkish power of attorney valid in my own country?
To use it outside Turkey you will need an apostille from the kaymakamlık (district governorate) or the valilik (provincial governorate), plus a translation into the relevant language. The procedure is set out in our article on the apostille.
Can a power of attorney be given to several people at once?
Yes, and it is sometimes useful: signing authority at the land registry to an advocate, say, and day-to-day matters to a trusted person on the ground. Confirm with the notary whether the representatives act jointly or each independently.
What if the power of attorney is lost?
A copy can be obtained from the issuing notary using the register number. If the document may have fallen into the wrong hands, do not replace it — revoke it: have an azilname drawn up and notify the land registry.
Need a hand?
New Time Investment handles property transactions and document processing in Alanya and across Turkey. We will help draft the right wording for your power of attorney, arrange a sworn translator and a notary appointment, check the property before you buy, and make sure the power of attorney is revoked promptly once the deal is done.
This article is for general information. The requirements of Turkey's land registry, notarial system and migration authority change periodically, and the practice of individual offices differs — before filing anything, verify the current rules with the relevant authority or with a qualified professional.