Quick answer: Company formation in Türkiye is not one procedure handled by one institution. The process is a sequence of handoffs between the founder’s document file, MERSİS, the Trade Registry, the tax administration and licensed CPA/SMMM onboarding, banks and—only where applicable—SGK, work-permit, municipal or sector authorities.
This page is the institution-by-institution procedure map: it shows which authority or actor controls each handoff and what that stage does not guarantee. For the broad end-to-end legal and operational overview, use Company Formation in Turkey: Complete 2026 Guide. For the step-by-step order and dependencies between those stages, use Process of Establishing a Company in Turkey. For pre-filing readiness, use What Do You Need to Start a Company in Turkey?. For MERSİS/Trade Registry filing mechanics, use Company Registration in Turkey: MERSİS & Filing Guide. For timing, use the separate company formation timeline guide.
Company Formation Procedure Map: Who Controls What?
| Stage |
Main institution / actor |
What it controls |
What it does not guarantee |
| Foreign-document preparation |
Home-country authorities, notaries, apostille/consular route |
Authenticity and usability of shareholder/authority records |
Turkish Trade Registry acceptance if the document is incomplete for the intended purpose |
| MERSİS preparation |
Ministry of Trade system |
Electronic company/registration data |
Final Trade Registry acceptance |
| Legal registration |
Relevant Trade Registry Directorate |
Company establishment and commercial-registry record |
Bank approval, tax verification or work permit |
| Tax / licensed CPA/SMMM onboarding |
Tax administration + licensed SMMM/CPA |
Tax-facing setup, professional authorisations and filing responsibilities |
Banking or sector licence approval |
| Corporate banking |
Chosen bank |
KYC/AML, UBO, source-of-funds, account approval and activation |
Approval merely because the company is registered |
| Employment / foreign personnel |
SGK and Ministry of Labour where applicable |
Employer/social-security and work-permit processes |
Automatic permission based on company ownership |
| Sector / premises permissions |
Municipality or sector regulator where applicable |
Activity-specific operating permissions |
Permission simply because the Trade Registry accepted the company |
Procedure rule: A successful step in one institution does not automatically complete the next institution’s review.
Company formation is a sequence of connected but institution-specific procedures.
Procedure 1: Identify Each Institution’s Decision and Required Evidence
Use the agreed company plan to identify which institution receives each part of the file. The Trade Registry, tax administration, bank and any activity regulator answer different questions; the same company document may support more than one process without completing all of them.
For each handoff, record the receiving office, the application or transaction, the evidence requested, the person submitting it and the confirmation expected back. Use the roles and responsibilities guide to assign work between the founder, coordinator and licensed professionals. Use the process guide to arrange the stages in the correct order.
Procedure 2: Separate Foreign-Document Authentication from Filing Acceptance
Source-country authorities and corporate records establish facts such as a foreign company’s existence or signatory authority. The applicable apostille or consular process authenticates the relevant public document, while a sworn translator and notary handle the Turkish-language or certification layer where required. The Turkish receiving institution still decides whether the resulting evidence meets its own filing requirements.
When a document is returned for correction, identify the missing fact or form before asking for another stamp or translation. A correctly authenticated document can still omit the authority the transaction needs. The apostille guide and sworn translation guide explain those separate document procedures.
Procedure 3: Prepare the Company Through MERSİS
MERSİS is the Ministry of Trade’s central registration system. The core company data are prepared there, including the company title, shareholders, capital, address, activity and management/representation rules.
MERSİS should be treated as a master data layer. The supporting documents must match the electronic record. The most common preventable problems are identity spelling differences, mismatched authority wording, address inconsistency and capital/shareholding data that do not align across the file.
Official portal: MERSİS.
Procedure 4: Submit to the Trade Registry
The relevant Trade Registry Directorate reviews the incorporation package and registers the company when the applicable requirements are satisfied. The registry procedure concerns the legal establishment of the company and its commercial-registry record.
Registration also triggers an important inter-agency handoff. Current Ministry and Invest in Türkiye guidance states that the Trade Registry/MERSİS framework sends company-incorporation information electronically to the relevant tax office and SGK. That notification reduces duplicate startup filings, but it does not mean every tax, employer, payroll or operational obligation has already been completed.
Do not mix the Trade Registry’s role with later institutions. It does not decide whether a bank will open the account, whether a foreign founder receives a work permit or whether an activity-specific licence is granted.
Workon coordinates the registration file and connected operational steps according to the agreed scope.
Procedure 5: Complete the Tax and Professional Onboarding Layer
After legal registration, the company’s tax-facing setup and recurring compliance responsibilities must be organised. For companies whose startup is registered through the Trade Registry within the statutory framework, current Revenue Administration guidance states that the Trade Registry notification satisfies the separate commencement-notification obligation; the taxpayer does not file a duplicate startup notice merely because the company was incorporated. A licensed SMMM/CPA is central to the continuing professional-compliance layer, but the exact engagement and ongoing scope should be confirmed for the company’s activity and filing obligations.
Important distinction: the CPA’s regulated professional work is not the same as Workon’s coordination role, and the tax-office procedure is not the same as the Trade Registry procedure.
Use Turkish CPA Requirement for the dedicated professional-compliance guide.
Procedure 6: Treat Tax-Office Address Verification as a Separate Process
The tax administration may carry out the commencement-of-business verification process according to its own rules. The company should have a real, supportable registered address and be prepared with the requested evidence and contact coordination.
This is not a routine Trade Registry “site inspection.” The institutions and purposes are different.
For registered-address and tax-verification detail, use Virtual Office Tax Office Verification in Turkey.
Procedure 7: Apply for the Corporate Bank Account Separately
A newly registered company does not receive an automatic bank account. Banks perform their own KYC/AML review covering the entity, shareholders, ultimate beneficial owners, directors/signatories, business model, expected transactions and source-of-funds information.
Many banks may require an authorised person to attend in person. Bank-specific remote processes can sometimes be available, but they are separate from Trade Registry incorporation and remain subject to the bank’s approval.
See How to Open a Business Bank Account in Turkey.
Procedure 8: Activate Only the Digital Tools That Apply
KEP, e-signature, financial seal, e-Fatura, e-Arşiv and e-Defter should not be described as identical mandatory steps for every company on incorporation day. Applicability depends on the legal entity, current thresholds/rules and how the company will operate.
The right method is to determine which digital tools are required for the specific company and sequence them after the registration data and authorised users are ready.
Procedure 9: Add SGK, Work Permit and Licence Steps Only When Triggered
Do not automatically add SGK, a work permit or a municipal licence to every company checklist.
- SGK/employer setup: MERSİS can transmit the e-notification authorised-person data to SGK electronically, and current Ministry guidance states that employees declared in MERSİS as starting at formation can also be transmitted with registration so a separate notification for those declared employees is not required. Later hires and other employer obligations still follow the applicable SGK rules.
- Foreign founder or employee: company ownership does not itself grant the right to work in Türkiye; the applicable work-permit route should be assessed separately.
- Municipal/sector licence: depends on the activity and premises.
For foreign company owners who plan to work in Türkiye, use Work Permit for Company Owners in Turkey.
What Evidence Shows That an Institutional Step Is Complete?
An application reference, a document upload and a completed decision are different things. Use the record for the exact transaction rather than treating one successful registration as evidence that every institution has approved the business. The table below is an internal evidence-control aid, not a universal statutory document list.
| Institutional step |
Evidence to check |
What remains separate |
| MERSİS preparation or submission |
The relevant application reference, current status and the company data submitted for that transaction. |
A draft or submission reference is not the Trade Registry’s completed registration. |
| Trade Registry registration |
The completed registration record and the documents or Gazette announcement relevant to the registered transaction. |
The record must match the company and transaction; it does not establish bank activation or a sector licence. |
| Tax-facing setup or verification |
The applicable taxpayer record, notification or verification result for the process being checked. |
A tax number alone does not demonstrate completion of every tax, filing or address-verification obligation. |
| Corporate banking |
The bank’s confirmation of account status and the particular access or product being requested. |
Account approval, authorised-user access and availability of payment products are not interchangeable milestones. |
| Work or activity permission, when required |
The competent authority’s decision, including the person or activity covered, conditions and validity period. |
A filed application, company title or coordinator’s progress message is not the permission itself. |
For registry evidence, distinguish the Trade Registry Gazette announcement from an activity certificate; request the document needed by the receiving institution rather than assuming all company certificates prove the same facts.
When an institution requests a correction
Record the issuing institution, application reference, exact request, affected document or data field, response deadline if one was given, and the resubmission result. Establish whether the issue concerns a missing fact, document form, translation, signing authority or inconsistent data before ordering replacements. Use the separate responsibility and handoff guide to assign who prepares, reviews and returns the correction.
Legal Registration vs Operational Readiness
Legal registration: the Trade Registry has created the company’s legal existence.
Operational readiness: the company has the additional tax, banking, digital, employment and activity-specific capabilities required for its real business model.
The second milestone can occur later than the first. This is why company-formation procedures should be planned as a sequence of institutional handoffs rather than a single registration event.
How Workon Coordinates the Procedure
Workon is an Istanbul-based business setup, workspace and operational coordination platform for foreign founders and overseas companies entering Türkiye. Depending on the agreed scope, Workon coordinates the incorporation file, registered address, foreign-document and PoA sequence, MERSİS/Trade Registry workflow, bank-application preparation, licensed CPA onboarding coordination and connected operating requirements.
Regulated legal, tax, licensed CPA/SMMM, customs and other professional services are handled by appropriately authorised professionals. Banks and public authorities retain their own decision-making powers.
Review Workon’s company registration and operational coordination service.
Official Reference Points
Last reviewed: 17 September 2026. Institution ownership and handoff logic were rechecked; Trade Registry registration, tax/professional onboarding, bank KYC and triggered SGK/licensing steps remain separate gates. This guide provides general operational information and does not replace case-specific legal, tax, banking or professional advice.
Depending on the case, the workflow can involve foreign-document authorities, MERSİS, the competent Trade Registry Directorate, the tax administration and licensed SMMM\/CPA, the selected bank and, only when triggered, SGK, the Ministry of Labour, municipalities or sector regulators.
MERSİS is the central electronic registration and data-preparation system. The competent Trade Registry examines the incorporation file and completes the legal registration. A completed MERSİS entry is therefore not the same as an accepted registry filing.
The source documents originate from the relevant foreign authorities or corporate records, while the applicable apostille or consular route, sworn translation and Turkish formalities depend on the document, issuing country and receiving institution. Those steps should be confirmed before the file is ordered.
The tax administration controls the taxpayer-facing public process and the appropriately licensed SMMM\/CPA handles regulated professional tax and statutory-compliance work within their authority. Company formation coordination should hand the final registry file into that professional workflow.
The selected bank. It performs its own KYC and risk review of the company, shareholders, UBOs, signatories, business model, expected transactions and source of funds. Trade Registry registration does not compel bank approval.
Foreign work authorisation is controlled by the Ministry of Labour under the applicable route, while municipalities or sector regulators control activity-specific premises, product or operating approvals where required. Trade Registry registration does not replace those reviews.
For company startups registered through the Trade Registry within the applicable statutory framework, current Revenue Administration guidance states that the Trade Registry notification satisfies the separate commencement-notification obligation. This does not eliminate later tax, filing, verification or professional-compliance responsibilities.
