Buying or inheriting property in Türkiye: documents and interpreters
Buying, selling or inheriting property in Türkiye as a foreigner: identity documents, powers of attorney, the sworn interpreter and inheritance papers.
In 30 seconds
- Transactions take place at the land registry office (tapu müdürlüğü), and the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre decides which documents foreigners use.
- If any applicant does not speak Turkish, a sworn interpreter must be present, and that interpreter presents the record of an oath taken before a court.
- A foreign heir applies to the civil court of peace for a certificate of inheritance, because a notary cannot issue it.
- Ask the land registry office for its list
- Prepare passports or national ID cards
- Arrange a power of attorney if a proxy acts
- Book a sworn interpreter with a court oath
- Sign the deed at the land registry office
- Heirs: get the certificate from the civil court
When you buy, sell or inherit property in Türkiye, the transaction takes place at the land registry office (tapu müdürlüğü). The document side has four parts: your identity documents, any power of attorney, an interpreter if you do not speak Turkish, and, for heirs, a certificate of inheritance. This section explains them in the order you meet them. It does not cover acquisition limits, fees or taxes.
Property documents for foreigners in Türkiye: who needs them
Three kinds of reader need this section. Buyers and sellers come to the land registry office to sign. Representatives come with a power of attorney. Heirs come to register what they inherit.
The General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (Tapu ve Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü, TKGM) decides which documents foreigners and foreign companies use. The list can change by circular. So ask the office handling your transaction for its current list before you order translations.
Some purchases by foreigners may also involve a valuation report. Ask the office whether yours does. This section is one part of the wider work of a sworn translation office in Ankara for foreigners and international companies.
| Situation | Document or role | Translation or interpreter |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer or seller with a Latin-script passport | Passport or national ID card | No Turkish translation required |
| Passport or ID in another script | Passport or national ID card | Turkish translation if the office asks |
| Party without Turkish at the land registry | Presence at the transaction | Sworn interpreter with a court oath record, who signs the deed |
| Power of attorney made at a Turkish notary | Notarial deed for the specific transaction | Sworn interpreter at signing if the grantor lacks Turkish |
| Power of attorney made before a foreign notary | Original power of attorney | Translation by a sworn translator, then the Turkish notary; ask what the office accepts |
| Foreign heir needing a certificate of inheritance | Application to the civil court of peace | Translation of foreign documents filed with the court |
The usual order of steps
Every transaction differs, but the order is usually the same.
- Ask for the list. Contact the land registry office and ask which documents it wants from you.
- Prepare identity documents. You show an ID issued by your own country or a passport. A passport or ID card written in Latin script needs no Turkish translation at the land registry. For a passport or ID card in another script, the office may ask for a Turkish translation if it considers one necessary.
- Decide who acts. If a proxy acts for you, the power of attorney must be drawn up by a notary as a notarial deed. It must authorise the specific transaction and bear your signature. A promise to sell real property also needs a notarial deed. A certified signature alone is not enough.
- Arrange the interpreter. If any applicant lacks Turkish, a sworn interpreter must be present.
- Sign at the land registry office. The interpreter signs the deed or the application as well.
If you do not speak Turkish and sign a power of attorney at a Turkish notary, a sworn interpreter is present there too. A notarised translation, where one is needed, works like this. A sworn translator translates. The notary adds an endorsement that identifies the translator, and dates, signs and seals it.
A power of attorney made before a foreign notary is a separate case. A notice from one Turkish consulate says the foreign country’s apostille is required. It also says a translation made in Türkiye by a sworn translator needs a Turkish notary’s certification, while a translation made abroad needs an apostille of its own. Treat this as one consulate’s practice. Ask the land registry office what it accepts for your document.
Interpreter at the land registry office
If any applicant does not know Turkish, a sworn interpreter must be present at the transaction. The interpreter hands the office the record of an oath taken before a court. The regulation names that court oath. It does not list a notary’s oath report, so ask the office before you book anyone.
The interpreter signs the deed or application. The deed records the interpreter’s residence and identity. The interpreter must be literate and have legal capacity. Staff of the office handling your transaction cannot act as interpreter or witness.
Two witnesses are needed in certain cases, such as an inability to sign, illiteracy, doubt about identity or a life-care contract. They are not needed just because a party lacks Turkish. Our page on interpreters for notaries, courts and weddings compares the roles.
Inheriting property in Türkiye
Succession follows the deceased’s national law, but Turkish law applies to immovable property located in Türkiye. A lawyer decides how that applies to your estate.
Heirs are registered at the land registry on a certificate of inheritance (mirasçılık belgesi) issued by the competent authority. A civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) or a notary can issue one. A notary cannot do so when foreigners request it, so a foreign heir applies to the court. Foreign-language documents filed in court need a Turkish translation, and the court may ask for a particular form. Ask the court before you order. If you hold a certificate of inheritance from another country, ask the office and a lawyer what they accept.
If the inheritance is not registered within two years of the death, the land registry office may apply to the court itself. A foreign heir who does not know Turkish needs the court-sworn interpreter at the land registry as well. Start from the overview of sworn translation in Türkiye if you are choosing a translator for any of these documents.
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