Commercial and corporate

Company formation (incorporation)

The process by which a Turkish company is created through the drafting and signing of its constitutive document and its registration with the trade registry.

All terms

Company formation in Türkiye begins with the founders drafting and signing the constitutive document and is completed by registration with the trade registry. The company acquires legal personality upon registration; founders remain liable for acts carried out in the company's name before that moment.

The process involves choosing the company type and trade name, determining the capital, preparing the document through the central registry system (MERSİS) and having signatures certified at the registry office. Registration is announced in the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette, and tax and social security registrations follow from it.

Deficiencies in the constitutive document and conflicts with existing trade names are typical causes of delay. Formations with foreign shareholders additionally require certified translations and corporate authorisation documents.

Statutory basis

  • TTK m.335
  • TTK m.585

The glossary is provided for information only and does not constitute legal advice. What a term means in a specific case depends on the details of the file.