Power of Attorney from Abroad
You can instruct a Turkish lawyer without travelling. A power of attorney is issued either at a Turkish consulate or before a foreign notary with an apostille and sworn translation. The critical detail is content: Turkish law requires certain acts to be listed as special authorities. A general power of attorney is routinely rejected for divorce, property sale, acknowledgment, settlement and withdrawal.
📌Two routes, different requirements
The first route is a Turkish consulate or embassy in your country. The consulate prepares the instrument in Turkish, so nothing further is needed — no apostille, no translation. You attend in person with your passport and, for most purposes, photographs. The second route is a notary in your own country. That instrument must then carry an apostille under the Hague Convention (or, for non-signatory states, consular legalisation) and be translated by a sworn translator in Turkey, with the translation certified by a Turkish notary. The consulate route is slower to book but produces fewer rejections.
📌Special authorities must be named
This is where powers of attorney fail. Turkish law requires that certain acts be expressly and separately authorised; a broad clause permitting the agent to do 'all necessary acts' does not cover them. The list includes filing and conducting a divorce, selling or mortgaging immovable property, acknowledging a claim, waiving or withdrawing a claim, entering a settlement, submitting to arbitration, appointing a substitute attorney, accepting or renouncing an inheritance, and filing a criminal complaint or withdrawing one. If the authority you need is not on the face of the document, the registry or the court will refuse the act and a fresh power of attorney will be required — a delay of weeks when you are abroad.
📌Photographs and identity details
For a number of transactions — property sale and purchase being the main one, and divorce proceedings another — the power of attorney must bear the principal's photograph. Consulates and Turkish notaries know this; foreign notaries frequently do not, and a photographless instrument is the second most common cause of rejection. The document should also state the principal's full name as it appears in the passport, passport number, date of birth, parents' names where available, and the agent's name and Turkish bar registration details.
📌Scope, duration and revocation
A power of attorney does not need to be open-ended. It can be limited to a single transaction, a single property identified by its parcel details, or a fixed period. For clients abroad this is usually the sensible approach: a narrow instrument for the specific matter rather than a broad one that remains in circulation. Revocation is made through a notary and takes effect once notified; where the power was used for a registered right, the revocation should also reach the relevant registry. Keeping a record of where copies were filed makes revocation far easier later.
💡Practical points
- Send a draft first. Ask your Turkish lawyer for the exact Turkish wording before you attend the consulate or notary. Adapting a foreign template almost always omits a required special authority.
- Name the property. For a property transaction, include the province, district, neighbourhood, block (ada) and parcel (parsel) numbers. A power referring only to 'my property in Bodrum' may not satisfy the registry.
- Two originals. Ask for more than one certified copy. Different institutions retain the copy they are given.
- Married names. If your passport name differs from the name on the Turkish title deed or court file, bring the document evidencing the change; the mismatch will otherwise stop the transaction.
- It is not a blank cheque. A power of attorney is a serious instrument. Grant it to a lawyer registered with a bar association, and keep the scope as narrow as the matter allows.
I handle written correspondence in English without difficulty — email, WhatsApp messages, contracts and documents. My spoken English is limited, so for anything detailed I prefer to work in writing, or to hold the call with an interpreter present. This affects only the channel, not the work itself: filings, hearings and correspondence with Turkish authorities are conducted in Turkish in any event.
This page is general information, not legal advice. It does not create an attorney–client relationship. Turkish law changes and outcomes depend on the facts of each case. For your own situation, please get in touch: +90 532 390 48 06 (WhatsApp) · mert@avukatmertcelik.com
written by
Av. Mert Çelik
Muğla Bar Association · No. 2039 · Bodrum · since 2018
NoteThis page is general information only; every matter has its own facts. Our office is in Bodrum, Muğla.
This page is for general information only and does not constitute a legal opinion or the provision of legal services. Turkish legislation changes; please consult a lawyer about your current situation.