Of all the ways a Turkish property transaction can fail on the day, the most avoidable is a power of attorney that the land registry will not accept. The document is valid, the transaction is agreed, the parties are ready — and the officer declines it because it lacks a photograph, or because it does not say what the transaction requires. This article sets out exactly what a land registry power of attorney must contain.
Why the land registry is strict
A transfer at the land registry moves ownership of real property, immediately and publicly. Once registered, unwinding it requires litigation. The registry's procedures are correspondingly formal: it verifies the parties' identity and authority at the counter, and it does not accept authority that has to be inferred.
Two consequences follow, and both surprise people accustomed to more flexible systems. Authority must be express, and identity must be verifiable from the document itself.
The photograph requirement
A power of attorney used for land registry transactions must bear the grantor's photograph, affixed and sealed as part of the instrument.
This is not local practice or officer discretion. A document without a photograph is refused at the counter, and no amount of explanation changes the outcome. The appointment is lost, and where the document was issued abroad, replacing it takes weeks.
It is the single most common defect in powers of attorney issued before foreign notaries, because foreign notaries do not ordinarily affix photographs and clients do not know to ask. The instruction has to be given in advance.
Two related points. The photograph must be recent enough to identify the grantor. And the seal or stamp overlapping it must be legible — a smudged or partially applied seal invites the same refusal as no photograph at all.
What the text must authorise
For a purchase, the operative text should expressly empower the attorney:
- to acquire immovable property on the principal's behalf, identifying the property where it is known — province, district, neighbourhood, block and parcel numbers, and independent section where applicable;
- to agree the price and the terms;
- to pay the price and to give receipt;
- to sign all documents and declarations at the land registry;
- to make the declarations required for the title deed fee;
- to request and have entered any annotation required, including the three-year annotation where the purchase is for a citizenship application;
- to obtain title deed records, registry extracts and zoning information;
- to arrange compulsory earthquake insurance and utility subscriptions;
- to appoint a substitute attorney.
For a sale, add express authority to sell, to determine the price, to receive the proceeds, and to give the seller's declarations and undertakings. Authority to buy does not include authority to sell, and vice versa — the registry reads each separately.
Where the property is not yet identified, the document should authorise acquisition of immovable property generally in a defined area, and the attorney's discretion should be understood between principal and attorney rather than left ambiguous in the document.
The annotation, specifically
For an investor buying with citizenship in mind, one line matters more than the rest: authority to have the three-year annotation entered on the title deed.
The annotation is what makes a purchase qualify. It is entered at the transfer appointment on request. A power of attorney that authorises the acquisition but not the annotation produces a valid purchase that does not qualify — and correcting that afterwards is not always straightforward.
Where the purchase is for citizenship, say so in the instructions and make sure the wording covers it.
Identity details
The document must identify the principal and the attorney in a way the registry can verify. That means full names exactly as they appear in identity documents, passport or identity numbers, dates of birth, and parents' names where the Turkish format requires them.
Transliteration is where this goes wrong. A name recorded one way in the passport, another in the tax record, and a third in the power of attorney produces a mismatch at the counter. The rule is to use the passport spelling everywhere, without variation, from the tax number application onwards.
Conflicts and limits on the attorney
Two constraints on the attorney's conduct are worth stating.
Self-dealing. An attorney may not, in principle, contract with themselves on the principal's behalf — buying the principal's property, or selling their own property to the principal — unless the power of attorney expressly permits it or the transaction's terms exclude any conflict. This protects the principal, and it should not be waived casually.
Acting for both sides. The same person representing buyer and seller raises the same problem and should be avoided in any transaction where the parties' interests are genuinely opposed.
Where a developer offers to have its own representative act for the buyer under a power of attorney, this is the objection to raise. The convenience is real and the conflict is too.
Where and how to issue it
Turkish consulate. The document is a Turkish notarial instrument: no apostille, no translation, and consular officers know the photograph requirement. The wait for an appointment is the constraint.
Foreign notary with apostille. Executed locally, apostilled under the 1961 Hague Convention or consular-legalised where applicable, then translated in Türkiye by a sworn translator with the translation notarised.
In both cases the operative text should be drafted in Türkiye first. Where a foreign notary is used, the instructions must include the photograph — this is the point at which to be explicit rather than polite.
Validity and revocation
A power of attorney remains effective until revoked, unless it states an expiry date. Registries may query documents that are several years old, and for a single transaction an expiry date is sensible.
Revocation is by an azilname entered in the Turkish notarial system, and it takes effect when properly registered and notified — not when decided. Where trust has broken down, revoke promptly and notify the institutions concerned rather than assuming the attorney will stop.
A short checklist before the appointment
- Photograph affixed, seal legible.
- Express authority to acquire (or to sell) immovable property.
- Authority to agree and pay the price, and to give receipt.
- Authority to have the annotation entered, where citizenship is intended.
- Property identified where known.
- Names matching the passport exactly, with identity numbers.
- Substitution clause included.
- Apostille and sworn translation, where issued abroad.
- Original in Türkiye before the appointment, not a scan.
Frequently asked questions
Is the photograph really mandatory? For land registry transactions, yes. The document is refused without it.
Can I use a scan on the day? No. The original must be presented.
Does authority to buy include authority to sell? No. Each must be expressed.
Can my lawyer buy from their own client? Self-dealing is constrained; take advice before any such arrangement.
What if the property is not identified yet? The document can authorise acquisition generally in a defined area; agree the discretion separately.
How long is it valid? Until revoked, unless it states otherwise. Old documents may be queried.
Whose name goes on the title? The principal's. The attorney signs on your behalf.
Get the document right once
A property power of attorney is a short document that either works or wastes a month. Everything that makes it work — the photograph, the express authorities, the annotation clause, the name spellings — is decided before it is signed, on the other side of the world.
Dural Hukuk drafts land registry power of attorney texts, specifies exactly what a foreign notary must do, and attends the registry under them for clients who cannot travel. Call +90 535 260 74 54 or use the contact form on this site.
This article is general information on Turkish law as at August 2026 and is not legal advice. Registry requirements are applied strictly; obtain advice before issuing a document abroad.