Share certificate

A share certificate is a negotiable instrument issued to represent a share in a Turkish joint-stock company. It may be issued in registered or bearer form.

Certification facilitates transfer. Bearer certificates change hands by delivery, although such transfers must now be notified to the Central Securities Depository. Registered certificates are transferred by endorsement and delivery. Minority shareholders may demand that registered certificates be printed at the company's expense.

Shares not embodied in certificates are equally valid and transferable; the certificate carries the share but does not create it. The distinction nonetheless matters in practice, particularly because the disposal of certificated shares can have different tax consequences from the disposal of uncertificated ones.