This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Hakkımda İcra Takibi Var mı? E-Devlet'ten Sorgulama.
You can check free of charge, through the e-government portal and the national judiciary citizen portal, whether enforcement proceedings have been brought against you. If there are, the single decisive fact is when the payment order was served on you: the periods for objecting run from that date, and if they are missed the proceedings become final. In enforcement without a judgment the period is seven days from service.
A notice of salary attachment, or a message from the bank about a freeze — that is how most people find out that enforcement proceedings exist, which is to say after the proceedings have become final.
Yet you can check the file yourself at any time. This article explains where to look, what to look for, and which periods are running if you come across proceedings you never knew about.
Where Are Enforcement Proceedings Checked?
There are two channels, and both require identity verification.
The e-government portal. Once logged in, searching for the enforcement file service reaches the Ministry of Justice services, where summary information about files concerning you is shown.
The national judiciary citizen portal. More detail is available here: the file number, the creditor, the type of proceedings, the amount claimed, the enforcement office holding the file, and the history of steps taken.
If you have a lawyer, they can examine the file in detail through the lawyer portal and obtain copies of the documents.
These channels show only files to which you are a party; you cannot search another person's file.
What Should You Look For in the File?
The summary on screen contains several critical pieces of information:
- The type of proceedings. With or without a judgment, or founded on a negotiable instrument? The period and route for objecting depend on this.
- The date of service. When does the record show the payment order was served on you? The period for objecting runs from that date.
- The amount and its basis. The principal, interest and costs are shown separately.
- The creditor. The debt may have been assigned by a bank, in which case the creditor appears as an asset management company you have never heard of.
- Attachments. Is there an attachment on your salary, bank account, vehicle or property?
I Never Knew About the Proceedings — What Can I Do?
Behind most files of this kind lies irregular service: the payment order was sent to an old address, left with a neighbour, or the certificate of service was not drawn up properly.
The remedy is a complaint of irregular service. Under Article 32 of the Notification Act (Law no. 7201), where service was irregular the date on which the addressee states that they learned of it counts as the date of service. The period for objecting then starts running afresh.
The complaint is made to the enforcement court and requires prompt action. Try also to document the date on which you learned of it: the bank's message about the freeze, the deduction on your payslip, a dated printout of the portal enquiry.
| Type of proceedings | Period | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Without a judgment (general attachment route) | 7 days | Enforcement office |
| Founded on a negotiable instrument | 5 days | Enforcement court |
| Rent arrears with a claim for eviction | 7 days (objection) / 30 days (payment) | Enforcement office |
| Upon a judgment | No objection; a stay of enforcement is sought | Enforcement court |
| Late objection (irregular service and the like) | 3 days from the removal of the impediment | Enforcement court |
| Complaint (unlawfulness of an act) | 7 days | Enforcement court |
In enforcement without a judgment an objection stays the proceedings automatically. In proceedings on a negotiable instrument it does not; a stay must additionally be obtained from the enforcement court.
What If the Proceedings Have Become Final?
Where no objection was made in time the proceedings become final and attachment follows. The remaining routes are limited but they exist.
- Action for a negative declaration. A finding that no debt exists. It does not stay the proceedings automatically; an interim measure may be sought against security.
- Action for restitution. Once payment has been made, its return is sought on the ground that nothing was owed.
- Complaint that property is exempt. Where property attached is exempt by law, its release is sought.
- Payment by instalments. Under Article 111 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act, payment by instalments may be requested in defined circumstances.
On salary attachment, Article 83 sets the rule: the enforcement officer first sets aside what is necessary for the subsistence of the debtor and their family, and the amount attached may not be less than one quarter of the salary. In practice, for ordinary wages the deduction is made at one quarter. Maintenance claims fall outside this limit.
How Is the File Closed Once the Debt Is Paid?
Paying the debt does not close the file automatically. If the records stay open, problems follow later with credit and land registry transactions.
What to do: apply to the enforcement office asking for the file to be closed and for any attachments (land registry, vehicle, bank) to be released; then obtain a certificate that no debt remains.
Keep those documents. If proceedings are ever started a second time for the same debt, they are the only thing you will have to rely on.
If you come across proceedings you never knew about, the critical fact is the date on which you learned of them. Where service was irregular, that date counts as the date of service and the period for objecting runs afresh. Keep a dated printout of the portal screen and make the complaint without delay.