This guide explains registration through the Turkish Embassy or one of the six Consulates General under Article 27/A of Law No. 5490, when a recognition case before a Turkish family court is needed instead, and what happens to custody and support orders, remarriage, surnames and inheritance.
A judgment from a US state court ends a marriage in the United States. It does not change the Turkish civil register. The register records every citizen’s marital status and every marriage and divorce (Population Services Law No. 5490, Article 7(1)(d) and (f)), and it is updated only when the US judgment is filed through one of the channels Turkish law provides. Until then, a Turkish marriage office, a land registry and anyone settling an estate in Türkiye will see a record that still shows the marriage.
There are two channels. The first is administrative: registration under Article 27/A of Law No. 5490 (Nüfus Hizmetleri Kanunu) through a Turkish mission in the United States or a population directorate in Türkiye. The second is a recognition case (tanıma davası) before a Turkish family court under Article 58 of the Law on International Private and Procedural Law (MÖHUK, Law No. 5718). This guide explains which channel fits which American situation, which papers to order from the clerk of court and the Secretary of State, and what a US custody or support order needs in addition to the divorce.
Three American situations and where each one starts
A Turkish-American who divorced in Florida and wants to remarry in Istanbul. Florida law calls the decision a judgment of dissolution of marriage (Florida Statutes, section 61.052). If the former spouse is also a Turkish citizen, the consulate route needs both of them, so cooperation matters. If the former spouse never held Turkish citizenship, the Turkish-American can file alone.
A US citizen whose former spouse is a Turkish citizen. The former spouse’s Turkish record still shows the marriage. The statute lets the Turkish former spouse register alone. The American can join that application or, if the former spouse does nothing, ask a Turkish court to recognize the judgment.
Parents who divorced in Illinois with orders on parenting time and child support. The divorce can be registered at a consulate. The parenting and support provisions cannot be given effect that way: they need a decision of a Turkish court if a parent wants to rely on them or enforce them in Türkiye.
A Turkish-American who kept Turkish citizenship is a Turkish citizen for all of this. Turkish law defines multiple citizenship as a Turkish citizen holding more than one citizenship at the same time (Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Article 3(1)(b)). Someone who was a Turkish citizen by birth and gave up that citizenship with permission is in a different position: such persons, and their descendants covered by Article 28 of Law No. 5901, are entered in the Blue Card register (Mavi Kartlılar Kütüğü), and Article 8/A of Law No. 5490 requires those registered there to declare every civil-status event, a term that includes divorce (Article 3(1)(y)), to a population directorate in Türkiye or to a Turkish mission abroad.
What the Turkish record means while the divorce is missing
Remarriage. Anyone who wants to remarry must prove that the earlier marriage has ended (Turkish Civil Code, TMK, Article 130). A marriage concluded while one spouse is still married is void (TMK Article 145(1)). Because the register records marital status, a US decree that has not been entered leaves a Turkish citizen’s record at “married”.
Inheritance. Divorced spouses are not, in that capacity, each other’s legal heirs and lose benefits given to them by dispositions upon death (such as wills) made before the divorce, unless the disposition shows otherwise (TMK Article 181(1)). Turkish law also gives a foreign judgment res judicata or conclusive-evidence effect only once a Turkish court has found that it meets the enforcement conditions (MÖHUK Article 58(1)). That effect runs from the moment the US judgment became final (Article 59), so recognition after a death still counts, but someone has to obtain it. The estate itself, from the certificate of inheritance to the title transfer, is the subject of inheriting property in Türkiye as a US heir.
The family home in Türkiye. If a property in Türkiye served as the family residence, a spouse may not transfer it, end its lease or restrict rights over it without the other spouse’s express consent (TMK Article 194(1)), and the non-owner spouse may ask the land registry to annotate the title (Article 194(3)).
Turkish offices. When a Turkish administrative office is asked to act on a foreign judgment, the same court procedure applies as for recognition (MÖHUK Article 58(3)). The Population Services Implementing Regulation applies this to the civil register: before a foreign judgment can be acted on, a Turkish court must recognize or enforce it (Article 60(1)), while foreign decisions on divorce, nullity, annulment or the existence of a marriage are registered under Article 27/A and the Registration Regulation (Article 60(2)).
The consulate route: what Article 27/A asks for and how the file moves
What the statute requires
Article 27/A(1) of Law No. 5490 covers foreign decisions on divorce, nullity, annulment, or whether a marriage exists. Such a decision is registered in the civil register on four conditions, in the statute’s own order:
- The parties apply together, in person or through agents; where one party has died or is a foreigner, the party who is a Turkish citizen, or that party’s agent, may apply alone.
- The decision was given by a judicial or administrative authority competent on the subject under the laws of the state where it was given.
- The decision has become final in due form.
- The decision is not manifestly contrary to Turkish public order.
The sole-applicant option for a Turkish citizen whose former spouse is a foreigner or has died was added by Law No. 7226 in 2020. The procedure is set out in the Regulation on Registration of Decisions of Foreign Judicial or Administrative Authorities in the Civil Register (Official Gazette, 7 February 2018, amended 30 August 2020), referred to here as the Registration Regulation.
Who signs
If both former spouses are Turkish citizens, both must apply. They do not have to appear together: they may apply at the same time or separately, but separate applications may not be more than ninety days apart (Registration Regulation Article 6(1)). If one former spouse is American only, the Turkish citizen may apply alone (Article 6(2)). If one has died, the surviving Turkish citizen may apply alone (Article 6(2)); if the former spouses have both died before anyone applied, persons with a legal interest may apply, except for divorces made by a unilateral declaration of will (Article 6(3)). Applications can be made through a legal representative or an agent (Article 6(1)); the agent may be a Turkish citizen or a foreign individual (Article 4(1)(i)).
Where to file
Abroad, registration belongs to the Turkish missions in the country where the decision was given (Law No. 5490, Article 27/A(2)). For a decree from any US state, that means the Embassy in Washington, D.C. or one of the Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. In Türkiye, the application goes to the provincial population directorate of either party’s domicile; a party with no domicile in Türkiye may use one of eighteen listed directorates, among them Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya (Registration Regulation Article 5).
What happens to the file
A commission at the mission or the directorate examines whether the decision can be registered and decides by majority (Articles 8 and 9(2), 9(4)). It meets within fifteen days at the latest when it has files on its agenda (Article 9(3)). Missing documents trigger a ninety-day period to complete them, after which the application is rejected (Article 7(4)). The application is rejected if a case about the same decision has been brought in Türkiye and is pending or has been dismissed (Article 9(6)), and a decision manifestly contrary to Turkish public order is rejected with reasons (Article 9(7)). A decision to register is entered in the family register within seven days (Article 10(1)).
The US paperwork: clerk of court, Secretary of State, translator
Article 7(1) of the Registration Regulation lists what the commission needs. Here is how each item is usually obtained in the United States.
- The decision. The original of the decision, duly certified, with a Turkish translation (Article 7(1)(b)). Ask the clerk of the court in the county where the case was heard for a certified copy of the final judgment, then have it apostilled.
- Proof of finality. If the decision carries no note of finality, a certified document showing that it became final under the laws of the issuing country, with a translation (Article 7(1)(c)). Ask the clerk which document the court issues for this. Whether and when a US judgment became final is a US-law question for a US-qualified attorney.
- The apostille. The Apostille Convention has been in force for the United States since 15 October 1981 and for Türkiye since 29 September 1985. State court documents are apostilled by the authority each state designates, generally the Secretary of State. The Regulation itself keeps treaty rules on certification of foreign official documents in force (Article 14(2)).
- The translation. The Turkish translation must be certified by a notary or a Turkish mission, or bear an apostille from the competent authority of the country concerned (Article 7(1)(b)).
- Identity. Copies of identity cards or passports; for a foreign party, Turkish translations certified by a notary (Article 7(1)(ç)).
- Agent. For an application through an agent, the original or a certified copy of a special power of attorney with a photograph (Article 7(1)(d)). The Regulation accepts a power drawn up by Turkish authorities or by foreign authorities and duly certified (Article 4(1)(ı)). Signing at a Turkish Consulate General or before a US notary public with an apostille is compared in power of attorney and apostille from the US for Türkiye.
- Turkish court status. Information on any case about the decision in Türkiye, or a document from the judicial authorities that none is pending and recognition has not been refused before (Article 7(2)).
One gap appears often in US files: a marriage that was concluded in the United States and never reported to Türkiye. Article 24(1) of Law No. 5490 provides that a marriage Turkish citizens conclude before foreign authorities is reported to the Turkish mission within thirty days. If that never happened, raise it with the mission first, because the divorce refers to a marriage the Turkish record may not show.
When a Turkish family court has to decide
The consulate route is not available, or not enough, in several US situations:
- the commission refuses registration (Law No. 5490 Article 27/A(3) and Registration Regulation Article 11 then point to recognition under MÖHUK);
- both former spouses are Turkish citizens and one will not apply or cannot be found;
- the other former spouse disputes the US judgment, for example because they say they were never properly served in the US case;
- custody, support or property provisions must be given effect in Türkiye.
The court. Family courts hear the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments on family law (Family Courts Law No. 4787, Article 4, item 2; the item still names the former Law No. 2675, which MÖHUK Article 64(1) repealed). Where no family court has been set up, a designated civil court of first instance hears these cases (Law No. 4787, Article 2).
Venue and filing. Article 58 contains no venue or filing rules of its own. Its paragraph (1) makes recognition depend on the court finding that the judgment meets the enforcement conditions, and its paragraph (3) applies the same procedure where a Turkish administrative office is to act on a foreign judgment. The venue and filing provisions of MÖHUK are written for enforcement: under Article 51(2), enforcement may be sought where the respondent is domiciled in Türkiye, otherwise where the respondent is resident, and otherwise in Ankara, Istanbul or Izmir; the petition names the parties and the US court, with the date, number and summary of the judgment (Article 52); and it attaches the judgment, certified by the US authorities or by the court that gave it, a document showing it is final, certified by the US authorities, and certified translations of both (Article 53).
The conditions. The court checks the conditions of Article 54(1) except reciprocity. Point (b) concerns jurisdiction and has two limbs, joined in the statute by “or”: the judgment was given on a matter outside the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts, or, provided the respondent objects, it was not given by a court that took jurisdiction although it had no real connection with the subject matter or the parties. Point (c) requires that the judgment is not manifestly contrary to public order. Point (ç) concerns the respondent who was not duly summoned under the law of the place, was not represented, or was judged in default or in absence contrary to that law, and who objects in the Turkish court on one of those grounds.
The hearing. Under Article 55(1), an enforcement petition is served on the other side with the hearing date and decided under the simple procedure. The other side may object only that the conditions are missing, that the judgment has been performed in whole or in part, or that something has arisen that prevents its performance (Article 55(2)). Once the court recognizes the judgment, the civil register enters the date the US judgment became final as the divorce date (Implementing Regulation Article 27(1)).
Custody, parenting time and support orders from a US court
For the Illinois parents, the decisive question is what the order should do in Türkiye. Recognition makes it res judicata or conclusive evidence (MÖHUK Article 58(1)). Enforcement is needed to carry it out: a foreign civil judgment can be executed in Türkiye only after a Turkish court grants enforcement (Article 50(1)), and is then executed like a Turkish judgment (Article 57(1)).
Enforcement adds the reciprocity condition of Article 54(1)(a): an agreement based on reciprocity between Türkiye and the state where the judgment was given, or a statutory provision or actual practice in that state making Turkish judgments enforceable. On the US side, recognition of foreign judgments is largely state law. The Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act of 2005, a model act prepared for adoption by the states, does not make reciprocity a ground for refusal, but it does not apply to “a judgment for divorce, support, or maintenance” or other domestic relations judgments (Section 3(b)(3)). So the Act itself cannot show reciprocity for a support order; whether the law or practice of the issuing state makes Turkish judgments of this kind enforceable there is a US-law question. Our guide on enforcing a US court judgment in Türkiye explains the reciprocity condition in more depth.
For child support, a convention also has to be considered. MÖHUK reserves the provisions of international conventions to which Türkiye is a party (Article 1(2)). The Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance entered into force for the United States on 1 January 2017 and for Türkiye on 1 February 2017. It applies to maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship towards a person under 21 and, where the application is made together with such a claim, to the recognition and enforcement of a spousal support decision (Article 2(1)). Its object includes co-operation between the authorities of the Contracting States and the recognition and enforcement of maintenance decisions (Article 1); an application under it is made through the Central Authority of the state where the applicant resides to the Central Authority of the requested state (Article 9). A maintenance decision made in one Contracting State is recognised and enforced in the others if one of the bases in Article 20 is met, and recognition and enforcement may be refused on the grounds listed in Article 22, such as manifest incompatibility with public policy. The Convention covers maintenance only. The 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention, which deals with parental responsibility, has been signed by the United States but is not in force for it, so the custody and parenting-time provisions of a US order remain subject to MÖHUK as described above.
A US order that divides or awards property in Türkiye needs the same care. The land registry is an administrative office, so Article 58(3) applies, and the jurisdiction condition in Article 54(1)(b) should be assessed before such an order is filed.
Choosing the route: a comparison
| Your situation | Route | Legal basis | Who files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divorce only; former spouse is a US citizen without Turkish citizenship | Registration at a mission or directorate | Law 5490 Art. 27/A(1); Regulation Art. 6(2) | The Turkish citizen alone, or both together |
| Both former spouses are Turkish citizens and both cooperate | Registration at a mission or directorate | Law 5490 Art. 27/A(1); Regulation Art. 6(1) | Both, together or within ninety days of each other |
| Both are Turkish citizens; one refuses or cannot be found | Recognition case before a family court | MÖHUK Art. 58; Implementing Regulation Art. 60(1) | The former spouse with a legal interest |
| The commission refused registration | Recognition case before a family court | Law 5490 Art. 27/A(3); Regulation Art. 11 | The applicant |
| Custody, parenting time, support or property must have effect in Türkiye | Recognition or enforcement case | Regulation Art. 9(5); MÖHUK Arts. 50 to 58; for child support, also the 2007 Hague Convention (MÖHUK Art. 1(2)) | A person with a legal interest |
| Both former spouses died before anyone applied | Registration (not for unilateral-declaration divorces) | Regulation Art. 6(3) | Persons with a legal interest, such as heirs |
After the entry: remarriage, waiting period and surname
The divorce date. The register shows the date the US judgment became final, not the date of the Turkish registration (Implementing Regulation Article 27(1)).
Waiting period. A woman whose marriage has ended may not remarry until three hundred days have passed; the period ends with childbirth, and the court removes it if she is shown not to be pregnant from the earlier marriage or if the former spouses wish to remarry each other (TMK Article 132). The period runs from the finality of the divorce decision (Implementing Regulation Article 23(1)), and marriage offices disregard it for a foreign woman whose national law has no waiting period (Article 23(2)). For a US divorce that became final long ago, the period may already have run by the time the divorce is entered.
Surname. A divorced woman keeps the personal status she acquired by marriage but takes back her pre-marriage surname. If she shows an interest in keeping her former husband’s surname and that this will not harm him, the judge allows it on her request (TMK Article 173(1) and (2)). When the divorce is entered, her record moves from her husband’s household back to the one she belonged to before the marriage (Implementing Regulation Article 28(1)). A woman who became a Turkish citizen through marriage to a Turkish citizen, or together with her husband, and was registered with his surname is registered with her pre-marriage surname where a foreign divorce is recognized or registered under Article 27/A (Article 28(7)).
Working with Lex Lata from the United States
Lex Lata acts for clients in the United States in Turkish registration files and recognition and enforcement cases concerning US divorces, and in the property and estate matters that follow from them. The work is done remotely and in English. We review the clerk’s certified copy, the finality document and the apostille before anything is translated, prepare the mission application or the court petition, and act before the family court under a power of attorney signed at a Turkish mission or before a US notary public with an apostille. Istanbul is seven hours ahead of New York and ten hours ahead of Los Angeles during US daylight saving time, and one hour more in winter, so calls usually fall in the US morning. Divorce proceedings in Türkiye, custody, maintenance and the division of matrimonial property are explained on our family law and divorce page. An overview of other matters for people in the United States is on our page about a lawyer in Türkiye for Americans, and you can write to us through the contact page.
