Setting Up a Company in Türkiye: The 20 Essential Steps Checklist for 2026

Are you planning to set up a company in Türkiye or establish a subsidiary of your existing business? Successfully entering the Turkish market requires careful preparation of the legal, administrative and operational steps involved, well before the company is formally registered.

From choosing between a Turkish Limited Liability Company (Ltd. Şti.) and a Joint Stock Company (A.Ş.) to determining share capital, preparing incorporation documents and establishing legal representation, each decision must be made in the right sequence to avoid delays and operational difficulties.

To support foreign businesses and investors throughout this process, Advantis Conseils Turquie offers a free checklist covering the 20 essential steps to setting up a company in Türkiye in 2026.

Organised into three key stages, this practical checklist helps you monitor your progress, from initial planning and strategic decisions through to registration with the Turkish Trade Registry.

The 20 Essential Steps to Setting Up Your Company in Türkiye

1. Define and Validate Your Company's Key Requirements

The first stage involves establishing the legal, financial and organisational framework of your future company. These decisions must be aligned with your business activities, applicable regulatory requirements and long-term development objectives in the Turkish market.

☐ 1. Legal structure: Choose between a Limited Liability Company (Ltd. Şti.) and a Joint Stock Company (A.Ş.).

☐ 2. Shareholding and governance: Identify shareholders, determine the ownership structure and establish the management framework.

☐ 3. Legal representation: Appoint company representatives and define their signing authorities.

☐ 4. Company name and registered office: Verify the availability of the proposed company name and secure its registered address.

☐ 5. Share capital and financing: Determine the share capital and prepare a cash flow budget for the first 12 months.

☐ 6. Banking arrangements: Select a bank and anticipate Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and ultimate beneficial ownership verification.

☐ 7. Business activities and regulations: Define the company's scope of activities, select the appropriate NACE code and identify any required licences or permits.

☐ 8. Local administration: Appoint a local accounting firm and organise the company's post-incorporation management.

Why is this stage important? A company may be legally incorporated without being immediately ready to operate. Its legal structure, capitalisation, representation arrangements and local administration should therefore be planned in advance to facilitate a smooth transition to business operations.

2. Prepare the Company Incorporation Documents

Establishing a company in Türkiye as a foreign investor requires a set of legal and administrative documents. When shareholders are based abroad, certain documents may require apostilles, legalisation or certified translations before they can be accepted by the relevant Turkish authorities.

Thorough preparation helps minimise requests for additional documentation and avoid delays in the incorporation process.

☐ 9. Parent company documents: Obtain a recent commercial registry extract and the parent company's articles of association.

☐ 10. Shareholders and directors: Collect identification documents, corporate information and evidence of authorised representation.

☐ 11. Powers of attorney and corporate resolutions: Prepare the resolutions and authorisations required for incorporation.

☐ 12. International document formalities: Arrange apostilles, legalisation and certified translations where required.

☐ 13. Document verification: Ensure that all information is accurate and consistent across the incorporation documents.

An important consideration: Documents issued abroad must comply with the requirements of the competent Turkish authorities. Inconsistencies relating to shareholders, company representatives or signing authorities may result in requests for corrections and additional documentation.

3. Complete the Company Formation and Registration Procedures

Once the company's structure has been validated and all supporting documents are ready, the formal incorporation process can begin.

In Türkiye, this typically involves obtaining the necessary tax identification numbers, registering the company through the MERSİS system and submitting the incorporation file to the relevant Trade Registry Office.

☐ 14. Tax identification: Obtain the required tax identification numbers.

☐ 15. MERSİS registration: Enter the company's incorporation details into the central registry system.

☐ 16. Articles of association: Finalise the articles of association and the rules governing company representation.

☐ 17. Share capital and banking: Arrange the required capital contributions according to the selected legal structure.

☐ 18. Corporate documentation: Prepare signature documentation and the necessary corporate records.

☐ 19. Trade Registry submission: Sign and submit the complete incorporation file.

☐ 20. Company registration: Obtain formal registration and verify the required official publications.

Registration with the Trade Registry marks the legal establishment of your company in Türkiye. However, incorporation is only one stage of the process and does not necessarily mean that the business is immediately ready to begin operations.

After Incorporation: Is Your Company Ready to Operate?

Setting up a company in Türkiye does not automatically mean that it is ready to issue invoices, recruit employees or carry out its intended business activities.

Depending on the nature of your project, several additional requirements may need to be addressed. These include establishing accounting and tax compliance procedures, activating corporate bank accounts, formalising signing authorities, completing employer and social security registrations, implementing electronic invoicing systems and obtaining any necessary operating licences.

For subsidiaries owned by foreign groups, local administrative management and legal representation must also be considered, particularly when the parent company has not yet established a permanent local management team in Türkiye.

Advantis Conseils Turquie supports foreign businesses not only with company incorporation but also with the organisation of their ongoing administrative, operational and accounting management, including the appointment of local representatives with appropriate signing powers.

Download the Free 20-Step Company Formation Checklist

To help you plan and monitor your company formation project in Türkiye, we have brought together all 20 essential steps in a practical, downloadable PDF checklist.

Designed for business owners, export directors, international business development managers and investors, this checklist is a useful reference document that you can save, share with your team and use throughout the incorporation process.