Cross-Border Jurisdictional Protocol
Turkey ratified the Hague Service Convention in 1972 and has fully objected to Article 8 (except service on a state's own nationals) and Article 10 in its entirety, so postal service and private agents are not valid. Every request goes through the General Directorate of Civil Affairs at the Ministry of Justice in Ankara, which forwards it to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for execution via the Turkish postal service. A Turkish translation makes a critical difference here: with one, the document can be served even against the addressee's will; without one, the addressee may simply refuse it.
We submit the Hague request to the General Directorate of Civil Affairs at Turkey's Ministry of Justice, which forwards it to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for execution — typically completing within three months, faster than many Hague jurisdictions.
Start a Turkey Central Authority filing →Providing a Turkish translation is what makes service enforceable even if the addressee is unwilling to accept it. We prepare certified translations to secure the stronger form of service under Article 5(1).
Prepare a compliant translation →Turkey charges no government fee for executing a service request, one of the more cost-efficient Central Authority jurisdictions to work with once the filing itself is properly prepared.
Start your filing →Complete National Jurisdiction
Active network of local agents, court officers, and Central Authority specialists covering every administrative region.
All international document handoffs are executed pursuant to local sovereignty statutes and returned with court-certified evidentiary declarations.
Judicial Knowledge Base
No. Turkey has objected to Article 10 in its entirety, so service must go through the Ministry of Justice's Central Authority rather than direct mail or a private process server.
A significant one. If a Turkish translation is provided, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office can serve the document even against the addressee's will. Without a translation, the addressee may simply refuse to accept it.
The General Directorate of Civil Affairs at the Ministry of Justice in Ankara.
Turkey reports an execution time of approximately three months, faster than many other Central-Authority-only jurisdictions.
No. Turkey charges no fee for executing a service request.
Consult with our international legal support specialists about service of process in Turkey.