A US Power of Attorney for Property in Türkiye

Someone living in the United States who sells or buys property in Türkiye may act through a representative there. The Turkish land registry then looks at the power of attorney itself: who drew it up and what authority it gives.

What Türkiye asks for

Under the Turkish Land Registry Regulation, a representative acting on someone's behalf must present a power of attorney drawn up under the Turkish Notaries Act that authorises the specific transactions requested. The document should therefore name the transaction plainly.

The Notaries Act offers two routes abroad. Turkish consuls carry out notarial work inside the consulate building under the Act's provisions on notarial acts. For a notarial act done abroad under local procedure, the consul certifies the signature and seal of the competent local authority beneath it; the Act reserves provisions of special laws.

A US notary: the county step

If the power of attorney is signed before a US notary, three of the four states below require a county certification before the state adds its apostille. In New York, notarized documents must be certified by the County Clerk of the county where the notary is certified to notarize. In Maryland the document goes to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the notary was commissioned, then to the Secretary of State in Annapolis. Kentucky requires the notary's signature on paper documents to be certified by the County Clerk where the notary is registered; electronically notarized PDFs skip that step. In Wyoming the document must be acknowledged before a Wyoming notary or certified by a Wyoming official such as a County Clerk.

The notarised Turkish translation is prepared in Ankara by translators sworn before a Turkish notary. Which certification it accepts is a matter for the land registry office handling the transaction; ask before the document is signed.