A certificate of inheritance in Turkey, called a mirasçılık belgesi or veraset ilamı, records the applicant’s status as an heir. A foreign applicant must use the court route because Article 71/B of the Notary Law excludes notarial issue where the certificate is requested by a foreigner. A foreign grant of probate may be relevant evidence, but should not be assumed to replace a Turkish certificate for property in Turkey.
The certificate is one part of dealing with an estate. Applicable law, inheritance shares, wills and tax are addressed in the guide to inheritance with a foreign element in Turkey.
1. What Does a Certificate of Inheritance Establish?
Article 598 provides for a document showing the status of statutory heirs who establish that status on application. The certificate evidences heirship; under Article 599, where Turkish succession law applies, inheritance is acquired by operation of law on death. Obtaining the certificate is therefore different from the legal event by which the inheritance is acquired.
“Başvurusu üzerine yasal mirasçı oldukları belirlenenlere, sulh mahkemesince veya noterlikçe mirasçılık sıfatlarını gösteren bir belge verilir.”
(4721 sayılı Türk Medenî Kanunu m.598)
“Mirasçılar, mirasbırakanın ölümü ile mirası bir bütün olarak, kanun gereğince kazanırlar.”
(4721 sayılı Türk Medenî Kanunu m.599)
A certificate does not itself complete every later transaction concerning estate assets. The person using it must still address the applicable requirements for the particular property or transaction. Nor does it mean that a disputed entitlement can never be revisited: Article 598 expressly allows invalidity of the certificate to be raised at any time.
2. Can a Foreigner Obtain the Certificate from a Notary?
No. Article 71/B identifies three situations in which a notary cannot issue the certificate: adjudication is required, population records are insufficient, or the applicant is a foreigner. For a foreign applicant, the court route is required even if the family considers the succession straightforward.
“Mirasçılık belgesi verilmesinin yargılamayı gerektirmesi, nüfus kayıtlarının mirasçılık belgesi verilmesi konusunda yeterli olmaması veya mirasçılık belgesinin yabancılar tarafından talep edilmesi durumunda, mirasçılık belgesi noterler tarafından verilemez.”
(1512 sayılı Noterlik Kanunu m.71/B)
The issuing court is the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) under Article 598. Article 383 of the Code of Civil Procedure supplies the general court rule for non-contentious matters, subject to contrary provision.
“(1) Çekişmesiz yargı işlerinde görevli mahkeme, aksine bir düzenleme bulunmadığı sürece sulh hukuk mahkemesidir.”
(6100 sayılı Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu m.383)
3. Can a Foreign Grant of Probate Be Used in Turkey?
A foreign inheritance document and a Turkish certificate serve different procedural roles. In its decision concerning Norwegian heirs and an immovable property in Turkey, the Court of Cassation held that a foreign certificate could not be recognised for the transfer of that Turkish immovable. It also expressly accepted that the foreign document could be used as discretionary evidence in a new Turkish certificate application.
“Bu nedenle Türkiye’de bulunan taşınmazların intikali için yabancı ülke mahkemelerince verilmiş mirasçılık belgelerinin, Türk mahkemesi münhasıran yetkili olduğundan; Türk mahkemelerince tanınması mümkün değildir”
(Yargıtay 8. Hukuk Dairesi, E. 2013/23629, K. 2014/18556, T. 17.10.2014 — BOZULMASINA)
Unofficial translation: “For this reason, since the Turkish court has exclusive jurisdiction, certificates of inheritance issued by foreign courts for the transmission of immovable property situated in Türkiye cannot be recognised by the Turkish courts.”
“Ancak bu şekildeki yabancı mirasçılık belgesinin tanınması istemi reddedilmiş olsa bile;Türkiye’de yeniden açılacak bir mirasçılık belgesi verilmesi davasında “takdiri delil” olarak kullanılmasına yasal bir engel bulunmamaktadır”
(Yargıtay 8. Hukuk Dairesi, E. 2013/23629, K. 2014/18556, T. 17.10.2014 — BOZULMASINA)
Unofficial translation: “However, even where the request for recognition of such a foreign certificate of inheritance has been refused, there is no legal obstacle to its being used as discretionary evidence in a fresh action for the issuing of a certificate of inheritance brought in Türkiye.”
This holding concerns foreign inheritance documentation for Turkish immovable property. It should not be enlarged into a statement that every foreign succession document is useless or every foreign judgment has the same treatment. The court quashed the premature dismissal and explained that the missing Turkish certificate could be addressed during the proceedings. The foreign document remained relevant evidence.
An English grant of probate, German inheritance certificate or another foreign record must therefore be examined for what it actually establishes, the assets concerned and its proposed use. The title of the document alone does not answer those questions.
4. Which Law Determines the Heirs?
Article 20 of the Private International Law Act generally refers succession to the deceased’s national law, while applying Turkish law to immovables in Turkey. It separately refers the grounds for opening succession, acquisition and partition to the law of the country where the estate is situated. A foreign-element file cannot simply assume that every asset follows the same rule.
“(1) Miras ölenin millî hukukuna tâbidir. Türkiye’de bulunan taşınmazlar hakkında Türk hukuku uygulanır. (2) Mirasın açılması sebeplerine, iktisabına ve taksimine ilişkin hükümler terekenin bulunduğu ülke hukukuna tâbidir.”
(5718 sayılı Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun m.20)
For the certificate application, identify the deceased, nationality, family relationships and assets relevant to the request. A family tree based on incomplete records may not establish all the people whose rights need to be considered. Differences in spelling, names or civil-status records should be explained rather than left as conflicting attachments.
5. Documents and Authentication of Foreign Records
Prepare the records that substantiate the death, the applicant’s identity and the claimed relationship, together with any foreign succession document or testamentary material relevant to the request. The evidential task follows Article 598: the claimed status as an heir must be established. This is an evidence framework, not a universal official document checklist; the court may need further material to resolve the particular file.
Foreign official documents also raise an authentication question. Article 224 requires certification by the competent authority of the issuing state or the relevant Turkish consular authority, while reserving the provisions of international treaties binding on Turkey:
“(1) Yabancı devlet makamlarınca hazırlanan resmî belgelerin, Türkiye’de bu vasfı taşıması, belgenin verildiği devletin yetkili makamı veya ilgili Türk konsolosluk makamı tarafından onaylanmasına bağlıdır. (2) Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu milletlerarası sözleşmelerin yabancı resmî belgelerin tasdiki ile ilgili hükümleri saklıdır.”
(6100 sayılı Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu m.224)
The applicable treaty and the issuing country must therefore be checked before deciding the authentication route. An apostille or consular certification question is separate from whether the document proves the claimed family relationship. A formally authenticated record can still leave substantive discrepancies unresolved.
6. Which Court Location and Can a Representative Apply?
Article 43 sets the special jurisdictional rule for inheritance proceedings involving a foreign element: the deceased’s last domicile in Turkey or, if that domicile was outside Turkey, the location of estate assets. The general non-contentious venue rule in Article 384 is expressly subject to a contrary provision. The international element and nature of the application must be considered before choosing a court solely by the applicant’s address.
“(1) Mirasa ilişkin davalar ölenin Türkiye’deki son yerleşim yeri mahkemesinde, son yerleşim yerinin Türkiye’de olmaması hâlinde terekeye dâhil malların bulunduğu yer mahkemesinde görülür.”
(5718 sayılı Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun m.43)
Under Article 71, a person with litigation capacity may bring and pursue proceedings personally or through an appointed representative. A foreign heir’s residence abroad does not make personal conduct of every procedural step the only route. The authority given to a representative must cover the intended proceedings and any separate later transaction.
“(1) Dava ehliyeti bulunan herkes, davasını kendisi veya tayin ettiği vekil aracılığıyla açabilir ve takip edebilir.”
(6100 sayılı Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu m.71)
7. Issuing a Certificate Is Different from Cancelling One
A fresh request for a certificate and an adversarial challenge to an existing certificate must be distinguished. The Fourteenth Civil Chamber explained the civil court of peace’s issuing function in the following passage:
“Öte yandan genel hüküm niteliğinde bulunan TMK’nun 598/1. fıkrasında da, mirasçılık belgesinin sulh hukuk mahkemesince verilmesi öngörülmüştür. 6100 sayılı Kanunun çekişmesiz yargı işleri başlığını taşıyan 382/1-c kısmının 6. bendine göre, mirasçılık belgesi verilmesinin sulh hukuk mahkemesinin görev alanına girdiği ve çekişmesiz yargı kapsamına alındığı belirlenmiştir.”
(Yargıtay 14. Hukuk Dairesi, E. 2016/18909, K. 2017/3212, T. 19.04.2017 — BOZULMASINA)
Unofficial translation: “On the other hand, Article 598(1) of the Civil Code, which is a general provision, also provides that the certificate of inheritance is to be issued by the civil court of peace. Under subparagraph 6 of section 382(1)(c) of Law No. 6100, headed non-contentious judicial matters, it has been established that the issuing of a certificate of inheritance falls within the jurisdiction of the civil court of peace and is included within non-contentious jurisdiction.”
The actual case concerned cancellation of an existing certificate, not merely its issue. The majority held that the cancellation dispute was contentious and belonged to the civil court of first instance, and quashed that court’s lack-of-jurisdiction decision. The decision was not unanimous. Its discussion of issuing a certificate should therefore not be cited as though it assigned every certificate dispute to the civil court of peace.
“Kaldı ki, mirasçılık belgesinin iptali davaları hasımlı olarak açılması zorunlu bulunduğundan çekişmesiz yargıdan çıkıp çekişmeli yargı haline geldiği de bir gerçektir.”
(Yargıtay 14. Hukuk Dairesi, E. 2016/18909, K. 2017/3212, T. 19.04.2017 — bozma)
Article 598 preserves the ability to raise invalidity of the certificate:
“Mirasçılık belgesinin geçersizliği her zaman ileri sürülebilir.”
(4721 sayılı Türk Medenî Kanunu m.598)
If a certificate omits an heir or records a disputed share, first identify the relief sought and the issuing authority. The procedure for that challenge should not be inferred from the procedure used for the original non-contentious application.
8. How Long Does the Certificate Take and What Costs Arise?
The provisions discussed here do not give one fixed completion period for every foreign-element certificate application. The practical duration depends on establishing heirship, obtaining usable foreign records and resolving any inconsistencies. A notarial timetable for a straightforward domestic record does not describe the foreign applicant’s court procedure.
Costs likewise depend on the proceedings and documentary work required. A certificate application, a contested cancellation case, authentication of foreign documents and later estate transactions are different tasks. No single amount follows from Article 598 or Article 71/B; the actual filing and document requirements must be identified before estimating the total.
- Identify the applicable succession rulesEstablish the deceased’s nationality and the nature and location of the relevant estate assets.5718 sayılı Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun m.20
- Prepare evidence of heirshipAssemble the records supporting the claimed status and address inconsistencies.4721 sayılı Türk Medenî Kanunu m.598
- Check foreign-document authenticationExamine certification and any applicable treaty before relying on foreign official records.6100 sayılı Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu m.224
- Apply through the court routeA foreign applicant cannot obtain this certificate through a notary.1512 sayılı Noterlik Kanunu m.71/B
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a veraset ilami?
It is a certificate of inheritance, also called a mirasçılık belgesi, showing heirship under Article 598 of the Civil Code. It evidences that status and does not itself complete every estate transaction.
Can a foreigner get a Turkish inheritance certificate from a notary?
No. Article 71/B of the Notary Law excludes notarial issue where the certificate is requested by a foreigner. The applicant uses the court route.
Does a foreign grant of probate replace the Turkish certificate?
The Court of Cassation decision discussed here rejected recognition of the foreign inheritance certificate for Turkish immovable property, while allowing it as discretionary evidence in a new Turkish certificate application. The document and assets must be examined rather than assuming automatic substitution.
Which court issues the certificate?
The civil court of peace issues the certificate under Article 598. Territorial jurisdiction must be assessed separately, including the special foreign-element inheritance rule in Article 43 of Law No. 5718.
Must I personally conduct the proceedings from abroad?
Article 71 of the Code of Civil Procedure permits a person with litigation capacity to conduct proceedings personally or through an appointed representative. The representative’s authority must cover the intended work.
Can an inheritance certificate be challenged later?
Article 598 states that invalidity may be raised at any time. An adversarial cancellation claim is distinct from a fresh non-contentious request for issue, as the judgment discussed in this guide explains.
Is there a guaranteed completion time?
The provisions discussed do not prescribe one universal end-to-end duration for foreign-element applications. The evidence required and any discrepancies in foreign records affect the work needed.