How to File for Bankruptcy in Turkey (2026 Guide)

In Turkey, a bankruptcy petition is filed with the commercial court of first instance (asliye ticaret mahkemesi) at the place where the debtor's centre of business (muamele merkezi) is located. The petition is filed either by a creditor (usually after first starting enforcement proceedings by way of bankruptcy at the enforcement office) or by the debtor itself. The answer to the question of how to file for bankruptcy therefore depends first on this: who is applying, and is the debtor subject to bankruptcy?

In this guide we explain the steps of a bankruptcy petition, the documents required, the cost items and what happens after the decision. If you would like information on a specific assessment of your file and on representation, see our bankruptcy and concordat service page.

Who Can File for Bankruptcy?

A bankruptcy petition can be filed only against a debtor who is subject to bankruptcy; it can be filed by a creditor or by the debtor. Under Article 43 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004 (İİK), those subject to bankruptcy are, as a rule, merchants (tacir) and persons who are subject to bankruptcy under the provisions on merchants.

• Subject to bankruptcy: joint stock and limited companies, general and limited partnerships, cooperatives, and individual merchants who run a commercial enterprise in their own name.
• As a rule not subject to bankruptcy: tradespeople and craftspeople (esnaf), self-employed professionals and individuals who are not merchants. Enforcement against them proceeds by way of attachment (haciz).
• Borderline cases: a merchant who has only just stopped trading, a person whose ownership of a business is disputed, or businesses of associations and foundations that are treated as merchants. In these cases, merchant status is examined separately on the basis of documents.

In practice, the question asked most often is how a person "declares bankruptcy". In short: bankruptcy is opened by a court decision, not by a person's own declaration. Even if the debtor announces that it cannot pay, bankruptcy does not begin unless the court decides that the conditions are met.

How Do You File for Bankruptcy as a Creditor?

A creditor usually files for bankruptcy by first starting enforcement proceedings by way of bankruptcy at the enforcement office and then bringing a bankruptcy action before the commercial court of first instance. There are three routes.

Ordinary bankruptcy route

1. Request for enforcement: The creditor asks the enforcement office (icra dairesi) to start enforcement proceedings by way of bankruptcy (iflas yoluyla takip), and a bankruptcy payment order (iflas ödeme emri) is sent to the debtor.
2. Debtor's response: Within the period stated in the payment order, the debtor pays the debt, objects or stays silent. The periods are short and are written in the payment order.
3. Application to the court: If the debt is not paid, the creditor asks the commercial court of first instance to declare the debtor bankrupt. If the debtor has objected, the creditor also asks, in the same action, for the objection to be set aside.
4. Deposit order: If the court accepts that the claim exists, in practice it gives the debtor time to deposit the debt, interest and costs with the court cashier (depo emri).
5. Decision: If the debtor does not make the deposit, or cannot prove that the debt has been paid or deferred, the court declares the bankruptcy.

While the action is pending, the court may also order protective measures to safeguard the creditors' interests, such as making an inventory of the debtor's assets.

Bankruptcy route for negotiable instruments

If the claim is based on a cheque, promissory note or bill of exchange, the bankruptcy route for negotiable instruments (kambiyo senetlerine mahsus iflas yolu) under İİK Article 171 et seq. can be used. On this route the periods are shorter and the debtor's grounds for objection are limited. Before starting proceedings, check whether the instrument meets the formal requirements.

Bankruptcy without prior enforcement (direct bankruptcy)

İİK Article 177 lists the cases in which a creditor can bring a bankruptcy action directly, without first starting enforcement proceedings. This route is available, for example, if the debtor has no fixed residence, is hiding its assets or has suspended its payments. The burden of proving these grounds lies with the creditor.

Debtor's Petition for Its Own Bankruptcy

A debtor that is subject to bankruptcy can petition for its own bankruptcy under İİK Article 178 by declaring that it is insolvent (aciz hali). No prior enforcement proceedings are needed for this petition. The petition is filed directly with the commercial court of first instance.

As a rule, the debtor attaches to its petition its balance sheet, its commercial books and a list showing all its debts and the addresses of its creditors. On the basis of these documents, the court examines whether the debtor is really unable to pay its debts.

Capital companies are in a separate position. Under Article 376 of the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK), if an interim balance sheet shows that the company is over-indebted (borca batık), the board of directors (in a limited company, the managers) is obliged to notify the court. This is not a matter of choice. On the bankruptcy procedure, İİK Article 179 provides that, for capital companies and cooperatives, where over-indebtedness is notified to the commercial court of first instance with an interim balance sheet by the management body, the liquidators or a creditor, and the court verifies it, bankruptcy is ordered without any prior enforcement proceedings. Delaying the notification may expose the directors to personal liability towards the creditors. For what over-indebtedness means for restructuring, see our article on bankruptcy law and corporate restructuring in Turkey.

Older sources still describe an application for "postponement of bankruptcy" (iflas erteleme). This procedure was abolished in 2018 by Law No. 7101; today, a debtor that wants restructuring instead of bankruptcy can apply for a concordat (konkordato).

Documents Required for a Bankruptcy Petition

The documents required for a bankruptcy petition depend on whether the applicant is a creditor or the debtor. A missing document does not, as a rule, cause the petition to fail, but it can drag the file out for months.

What the creditor needs to prepare

• The number of the enforcement file for bankruptcy, the payment order and the proof of service (for bankruptcy after enforcement proceedings);
• The basis of the claim: contract, invoices, current account statement, delivery documents or the original of the negotiable instrument;
• The debtor's current trade registry record and documents showing that it is a merchant;
• For direct bankruptcy, concrete evidence of the ground in İİK Article 177 (for example, bounced cheques showing that payments have been suspended);
• A power of attorney, if the application is made through a representative.

If the creditor is a foreign company, the power of attorney given to the Turkish lawyer must carry an apostille or consular legalisation and be translated into Turkish by a sworn translator. Invoices and contracts in a foreign language are also translated. In some cases, a foreign claimant may be asked to provide security.

What the debtor needs to prepare

• A current balance sheet and income statement and, for capital companies, an interim balance sheet showing over-indebtedness;
• Commercial books;
• A list showing the names and addresses of all creditors and the amounts owed to them;
• A list of assets: real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, receivables;
• A list of pending enforcement proceedings and lawsuits, and the position on tax and social security (SGK) debts;
• For companies, the resolution to apply, registry records and the signature circular (imza sirküleri).

Which Court Hears a Bankruptcy Action and What Are the Costs?

A bankruptcy action is, as a rule, brought before the commercial court of first instance at the place of the debtor's centre of business (the place where its commercial affairs are managed). For a company with its head office in Istanbul, this is the commercial court of first instance at the courthouse to which the head office belongs. The statement of claim can be filed with the court in person or, through a lawyer, via UYAP (the online system of the Turkish judiciary).

The costs consist of several items:

• Official fees: the application fee and the advance fees (peşin harç) are charged according to the tariffs annexed to the Fees Law (Harçlar Kanunu). These amounts are updated every year; check the tariff for the year of the application.
• Advance on costs: the advance the court requests for service, publication and court-appointed expert costs.
• Advance on bankruptcy costs: in practice, the applicant is asked for an advance for the first steps to be taken after the bankruptcy decision (publication, identification of assets, safekeeping). A debtor petitioning for its own bankruptcy has to pay this.
• Other expenses: review by an accountant (mali müşavir) and by a court-appointed expert, translation, lawyer's fees.

If the advance on costs is not paid, the file does not move forward. This is a practical obstacle especially for a debtor that has run out of cash and petitions for its own bankruptcy.

How Long Does the Bankruptcy Process Take?

The bankruptcy process usually takes a few months from the petition to the bankruptcy decision and, in most files, from one to several years from the decision to the end of the liquidation. What affects the duration most is whether the debtor objects and the size of the estate.

• Enforcement stage: service of the payment order and the objection period take a few weeks in files where service is straightforward.
• Court stage: a few months in files without an objection; longer in files with an objection that require review by a court-appointed expert.
• Appeal: an appeal to the regional court of appeal (istinaf) can be lodged against the bankruptcy decision. This stage can take months, depending on the court's workload.
• Liquidation: registration of claims, the ranking table, sale of the assets and distribution. Where there is a lot of real estate and there are many lawsuits, it can take years.

These durations are general observations; the workload of the particular court and the structure of the file are decisive.

What Happens After the Bankruptcy Decision?

With the bankruptcy decision, all of the debtor's attachable assets form the bankruptcy estate (iflas masası), and the debtor loses the power to dispose of these assets. From then on, the estate is managed by the bankruptcy administration (iflas idaresi). The decision has the following consequences:

1. Publication: the bankruptcy office (iflas dairesi) publishes the decision and calls on creditors to lodge their claims. As a rule, the period for lodging claims is one month from publication.
2. Lapse of enforcement proceedings: enforcement proceedings previously brought against the debtor, as a rule, lapse, and no new proceedings can be started during the bankruptcy (İİK Article 193); creditors now turn to the bankruptcy estate.
3. Choice of the liquidation method: if the estate is small, summary liquidation (basit tasfiye) applies; otherwise, ordinary liquidation (adi tasfiye), conducted through creditors' meetings.
4. Ranking table: the bankruptcy administration examines the claims lodged and ranks them. A creditor whose claim is rejected can, as a rule, bring an action objecting to the ranking table (sıra cetveli) within fifteen days of its publication.
5. Sale and distribution: the assets are turned into money and distributed according to the ranking table.
6. Certificate of loss: a creditor who does not recover the full amount of its claim is given a bankruptcy certificate of loss (iflas aciz belgesi). As a rule, the debtor cannot be pursued again for this claim unless it acquires new assets.

The bankruptcy decision takes effect even before it becomes final: bankruptcy is deemed opened from the moment the decision is given. The debtor, or interested parties objecting to the decision, can file an istinaf appeal within the short period provided by law. In the bankruptcy of an individual merchant, the debtor's personal assets also become part of the estate; only assets that cannot be attached remain outside it. For sole traders, bankruptcy therefore has far more personal consequences than a company bankruptcy.

If you are on the creditor side, our article on the concordat process and creditor rights also offers guidance on the claim registration and ranking table stages. If there is a suspicion that managers hid assets or carried out fraudulent transactions before the bankruptcy, see our article on the fraudulent bankruptcy case for the criminal side of the process.

Common Mistakes in Bankruptcy Petitions

Most of the mistakes that delay a bankruptcy petition or leave it without result arise not from legal difficulty but from poor preparation. At Karanfiloglu Law Firm, in the files we have reviewed in Istanbul, the point where a debtor's own bankruptcy petition most often gets stuck is a creditor list that has not been fully prepared with addresses and current amounts.

• Not checking whether the debtor is subject to bankruptcy. Starting enforcement by way of bankruptcy against a debtor who counts as a tradesperson (esnaf) means a file that is rejected months later. The trade registry record should be obtained at the outset.
• Choosing the wrong route. A creditor holding a valid cheque who takes the ordinary bankruptcy route wastes the faster route for negotiable instruments.
• Not budgeting for the advance on costs. A file in which the advance is not paid does not move forward. The debtor should make sure it can cover this expense before applying.
• Delaying the over-indebtedness notification. A board of directors that postpones the notification on the basis that "we will recover" may face the risk of personal liability.
• Never considering a concordat. If the business still generates income, a bankruptcy petition can make permanent a problem that could have been solved without liquidation.

Which route is right for you depends on the amount of the debt, the structure of the security and the debtor's status as a merchant. A lawyer can assess this on the basis of your documents in a short meeting.

Should You Consider a Concordat Instead of Bankruptcy?

If the business still generates income and the debts could be paid if spread over time, a concordat is often a more suitable route than a bankruptcy petition. The concordat is regulated in İİK Article 285 et seq. The debtor presents a payment plan to its creditors; if the plan is accepted by the statutory majority and approved by the court, it binds all creditors.

The key difference between the two routes lies in the outcome. Bankruptcy leads to liquidation, and the company, as a rule, comes to an end. In a concordat, by contrast, the debtor continues its business under the supervision of a commissioner (komiser) and is, as a rule, protected against new enforcement proceedings during the moratorium (mühlet). The concordat has its own heavy documentary burden too, such as the preliminary plan and the independent audit report. For questions on commercial contracts and company management, you can also look at our commercial law page.

In summary, the answer to how to file for bankruptcy depends on who is applying. A creditor usually starts with enforcement proceedings by way of bankruptcy at the enforcement office and brings a bankruptcy action before the commercial court of first instance. A debtor, on the other hand, petitions for its own bankruptcy by applying directly to the court with its documents. In both cases, merchant status, the right route, complete documents and the advance on costs decide the fate of the petition. If the business is still running, the concordat option should always be considered before applying.

Talk to a Lawyer in Istanbul

If you would like advice on your own situation, Karanfiloglu Law Firm is a registered law office operating in Istanbul and serving foreign and Turkish clients across Turkey. You can reach us by phone or WhatsApp at +90 532 659 35 11, by email at karanfiloglu.lawyer@gmail.com, or visit us at Merkez Mah. Hasat Sk. No:12, 34384 Şişli, İstanbul. For the work we handle on the debtor and creditor side, see our bankruptcy and concordat service page, and contact us to discuss your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you file for bankruptcy?

A bankruptcy petition is filed in writing with the commercial court of first instance at the place of the debtor's centre of business. A creditor usually first starts enforcement proceedings by way of bankruptcy at the enforcement office; a debtor can petition for its own bankruptcy without enforcement proceedings, with its balance sheet, books and creditor list.

How can an individual declare bankruptcy?

An individual who is not a merchant cannot, as a rule, go bankrupt; bankruptcy is possible only for persons subject to bankruptcy. Individual merchants who run a commercial enterprise in their own name, however, are subject to bankruptcy and can petition for their own bankruptcy. For debtors who are not merchants, a concordat application may be an option.

Who can bring a bankruptcy action?

A bankruptcy action can be brought by a creditor or by the debtor subject to bankruptcy itself. The creditor applies through the ordinary bankruptcy route, the bankruptcy route for negotiable instruments or, in the cases listed in İİK Article 177, direct bankruptcy. The debtor applies by declaring that it is insolvent.

What should the board of directors do if the company is over-indebted?

If the interim balance sheet shows that the company is over-indebted, the board of directors is obliged under TTK Article 376 to notify the court; if the court verifies the over-indebtedness, it will, as a rule, order bankruptcy under İİK Article 179 without prior enforcement proceedings. Delaying the notification can lead to the directors' personal liability. Whether a concordat application is possible should also be assessed at this stage.

Is postponement of bankruptcy still possible?

No, the postponement of bankruptcy procedure was abolished in 2018 by Law No. 7101. Today, a debtor that wants restructuring instead of bankruptcy can apply for a concordat, regulated in İİK Article 285 et seq.

How long does a bankruptcy petition take?

The time from the petition to the bankruptcy decision is usually a few months; it is longer in files where the debtor objects and review by a court-appointed expert is needed. After the decision, liquidation takes from one to several years in most files, depending on the size of the estate.

Can enforcement proceedings be brought against the debtor after the bankruptcy decision?

As a rule, no. When bankruptcy is opened, earlier enforcement proceedings against the debtor lapse, no new proceedings can be started, and creditors lodge their claims with the bankruptcy estate. A creditor who does not recover its full claim at the end of the liquidation is given a bankruptcy certificate of loss.

What are the costs of a bankruptcy petition?

The costs of a bankruptcy petition consist of official fees, the court's advance on costs and the advance on bankruptcy costs; fees for a court-appointed expert and a lawyer may be added. As the fee amounts are updated every year through the Fees Law tariffs, check the tariff for the year of the application.

About the Author

Kaan Karanfiloğlu is the founder of Karanfiloglu Law Firm, an Istanbul-based registered law office serving Turkish and international clients across Turkey. He is a lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association (Reg. No. 58270) and a member of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (No. 133074), and has practised law in Turkey since 2017. He is also a registered mediator (Reg. No. 41909). He graduated from Galatasaray University Faculty of Law in 2016 and advises clients in Turkish, English and French; the firm also serves Russian- and Chinese-speaking clients through native-speaking advisors at the office.

Legal Notice: This article provides general information about Turkish law and is not legal advice. Laws, regulations, official fees and procedures change over time and every situation is different. For advice on your own particular circumstances, please consult a qualified lawyer. No liability is accepted for any loss that may arise from reliance on the information in this article.