There is a specific order in which the procedures must be completed in order to establish a limited liability company with its headquarters located in Istanbul.

In this article, we will share summary information about which institutions in Istanbul will be applied to which institutions in which order for the establishment of a limited liability company.

After the contract and other documents required for the establishment of the company are prepared, the company contract must be entered from the Central Registration System (MERSIS). After entering the contract, an appointment must be made for the establishment from the Istanbul Trade Registry Directorate and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO).

Until the appointment date, the Istanbul Trade Registry Office may inform about some amendments to the Articles of Association. In this case, the transactions related to the changes requested by the Registry Directorate are completed.

On the appointment date and time, you must be present at the Istanbul Trade Registry Directorate with the company documents. During the application, payments are made for the establishment and legal books. The examination and approval of the incorporation documents are completed on the same day or the following day.

With the documents belonging to the registered company, in other words, the company whose establishment is permitted, a signature circular from the notary public and a power of attorney for business follow-up in official institutions are issued.

An application is made to the tax office to which the company’s address is connected and the company’s tax office registration is completed. The attendance officer from the tax office makes a physical visit to the address of the workplace and makes a physical determination at the workplace.

If the company will have a paid employee, registration is made to the Social Insurance Institution. The entry procedures of the employee through the SSI system are completed.

Registration to the Turkish Employment Agency takes place.

In order for the legal documents and transactions of the company to be recorded in the Ledger kept in electronic environment and to issue e-Invoices in electronic environment, registration and activation procedures are carried out to the necessary institutions. After approval, company-specific e-Invoice designs are made and the company will now be able to issue sales invoices electronically.

Optionally, an application is made for trademark and logo registration for the company. This process takes approximately 1 week to apply and approximately 6 months to obtain approval.

If the company will export, it is registered with the exporters’ union according to its field of activity. This process can be completed in approximately 1 week.

A work license application is made to the municipality to which the company is affiliated.  In some specific cases, such as the use of a virtual office, this is not necessary.

Once the above-mentioned registration procedures are completed (or in some cases still in progress), the company can start operating.  All transactions in Türkiye are mostly carried out and finalized by individuals and institutions providing public accountant financial advisor services who have obtained a legal authorization certificate.

Banu ATEŞ

Accounting Specialist

Karen Audit & Consultancy



Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.