Using a Foreign Power of Attorney in Türkiye

A power of attorney signed abroad for use in Türkiye, for example to sell property or settle an inheritance, can take two routes under the Turkish Notaries Law.

Two routes in the Notaries Law

The first is the consulate. Abroad, notarial duties are carried out by Turkish consulates, inside the consulate building, under the law's provisions on notarial acts. A power of attorney drawn up there is a Turkish notarial act from the start.

The second is a foreign notary. For a notarial act carried out abroad under that country's procedure, the law provides that the signature and seal of the competent foreign authority beneath it are certified by the consul, and it adds that the provisions of special laws are reserved. Ask the Turkish office that will act on the document which form of certification it accepts before the power of attorney is signed.

What the receiving offices ask

The land registry follows its own rule. Under the Land Registry Regulation, if an application is made through a representative, the representative must present a power of attorney drawn up in accordance with the Notaries Law that authorises the specific transaction. Name the property transaction in the power of attorney.

Turkish notaries, in turn, translate a document written in a foreign language before they issue a certified copy of it.

We prepare the Turkish translation in Ankara through translators sworn before a Turkish notary, and a Turkish notary certifies it where required. The receiving office decides whether the power of attorney covers the transaction.