When you need a lawyer in Turkey — whether you’re dealing with a property purchase, a contested divorce, a criminal charge, or a residency issue — one of the first things that crosses your mind is the cost. Turkish legal fees are governed by a mandatory minimum fee schedule, yet what you actually pay often looks nothing like a simple number. The price depends on the type of case, the court handling it, the stage of proceedings, and the agreement between you and your attorney.
Here is a clear breakdown of how Turkish lawyer fees work in 2026.
The Minimum Fee Schedule: The Foundation of Everything
Turkey’s Bar Association (Türkiye Barolar Birliği) publishes a mandatory minimum attorney fee schedule — known as the AAÜT — which was most recently updated and published in the Official Gazette on November 4, 2025, and remains in force throughout 2026.
This minimum schedule sets the floor, not the ceiling. Lawyers are strictly prohibited from charging below these rates, but they are free to charge more — and in practice, especially for complex or high-stakes cases, they routinely do.
There are two types of fees under this system:
- Flat fees (maktu ücret): Applied when the case does not have a measurable monetary value — divorce, custody, eviction, and similar matters. The fee is fixed based on which court handles the case.
- Proportional fees (nispi ücret): Applied when the case involves a monetary claim — debt recovery, damages, inheritance disputes, real estate title actions. The fee is calculated as a percentage of the claim value, on a sliding scale.
Under the 2026 schedule, proportional fees for monetary claims are calculated on a tiered basis: higher percentages apply to the first bracket of the claim value, with the rate stepping down through subsequent tiers at 8%, 5%, 3%, 2%, and 1%.
Flat Fees by Court Type in 2026
The 2026 minimum schedule sets flat fees as follows across the main court types:
- Civil Courts of First Instance (Asliye Mahkemeleri): TRY 45,000
- Civil Courts of Peace (Sulh Hukuk): TRY 30,000
- Consumer Courts: TRY 22,500
- Administrative and Tax Courts (no hearing): TRY 30,000
- Heavy Criminal Courts (Ağır Ceza): TRY 65,000
- Enforcement proceedings (İcra): TRY 9,000 for general enforcement, TRY 20,000 for eviction-related proceedings
These are the legal minimums. In Istanbul, Ankara, or Izmir, actual fees charged to clients are typically 2 to 4 times these figures.
Criminal Defense Fees
For criminal matters, the 2026 minimum attorney fees by court are:
- Summary Criminal Courts (Sulh Ceza Hakimliği): TRY 15,000
- Criminal Courts of First Instance (Asliye Ceza): TRY 45,000
- Heavy Criminal Courts (Ağır Ceza): TRY 65,000
- Juvenile Courts: TRY 45,000
- Juvenile Heavy Criminal Courts: TRY 65,000
For serious criminal matters — fraud, drug offenses, violent crimes — actual attorney fees in Turkish law firms routinely exceed the minimums by a significant margin.
Divorce and Family Law Fees
Divorce cases fall into the flat fee category since they are not disputes over a measurable monetary sum. Under the 2025–2026 minimum attorney fee schedule (AAÜT), the following rates apply to divorce cases heard in family courts:
| Case Type | 2026 Minimum (VAT Included) | Typical Market Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Uncontested Divorce | TRY 49,500 (floor) | TRY 75,000 – 100,000 |
| Contested Divorce | TRY 49,500 (floor) | TRY 110,000 – 150,000+ |
Consultation Fees
Under the 2026 schedule, in-office verbal consultations are billed at TRY 4,000 for the first hour, with TRY 1,800 charged for each additional hour. For consultations held at a location the attorney travels to, the rate rises to TRY 7,000 for the first hour and TRY 3,500 per subsequent hour. No attorney may charge below these consultation rates.
Many Turkish law firms offer an initial consultation at a fixed flat rate — often between TRY 3,000 and TRY 10,000 depending on the firm and city — before a formal representation agreement is signed.
Contractual Fees vs. Court-Awarded Fees: A Distinction That Matters
One of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of Turkish legal fees involves two separate concepts that often get confused:
- Akdi vekalet ücreti (contractual fee): This is what the client pays the attorney directly under their agreement.
- Karşı vekalet ücreti (counter-party fee): This is awarded by the court against the losing party at the conclusion of a case.
Under Turkish law, the court-awarded fee belongs to the attorney — not to the client. It cannot be offset against what the client owes to the attorney, and it cannot be seized by the client’s creditors. Winning a case in Turkey means the court may order the other side to pay attorney fees, but that money goes to the lawyer, not back into the client’s pocket.
What Foreign Nationals Should Know
Foreign nationals retain Turkish lawyers for a wide range of matters: real estate acquisitions, Turkish citizenship by investment or marriage, inheritance, divorce from a Turkish spouse, deportation defense, and commercial disputes.
If you are a foreign national signing a power of attorney before a Turkish notary, interpreter fees are charged separately — typically between TRY 1,000 and TRY 2,500 — on top of the notary’s own fees and the attorney’s professional fees.
Beyond the minimum schedule, fees for foreign clients at internationally oriented Turkish law firms are often quoted in USD or EUR rather than TRY, which hedges against currency fluctuation. For a straightforward real estate purchase or citizenship application, attorney fees in this segment typically range from $500 to $2,500 USD. For contested litigation or criminal defense involving foreign nationals, fees frequently start at $2,000–$5,000 and climb substantially for complex matters.
Additional Costs Beyond the Attorney Fee
Retaining a Turkish lawyer is only part of the financial picture. Depending on the nature of the matter, clients should budget separately for:
- Court filing fees and stamp duties — calculated as a percentage of the claim value for monetary cases
- Expert witness and appraisal fees — common in real estate, construction defect, and medical malpractice cases
- Notary fees — required for powers of attorney, official translations, and various real estate procedures
- Official translation costs — foreign-language documents must be rendered into Turkish by a sworn translator
- Appeal stage fees — regional appellate courts (İstinaf) and the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) each carry their own separate fee schedule
How Turkish Lawyer Fees Are Set in Practice
The most accurate fee assessment can only be made after the attorney reviews the file type, its scope, the evidence at hand, the stage of proceedings, and the scope of legal services requested. In practice, this means a first consultation is almost always necessary before a firm fee is agreed.
Turkish attorneys may structure their fees as:
- A single upfront retainer covering the entire case
- A staged payment tied to procedural milestones
- A monthly retainer for ongoing corporate or advisory work
- A contingency-adjacent arrangement for certain debt recovery matters (though pure contingency billing is regulated and subject to its own legal limits)
Local bar associations — such as the Istanbul Bar — also publish their own recommended fee schedules, which are advisory rather than mandatory. These local schedules tend to reflect real market conditions more accurately than the national minimum, and are frequently used as a reference point in fee negotiations.
Attorney Ozan Soylu — Legal Services in Turkey
Av. Ozan Soylu and the Soylu Law Firm represent clients in a wide range of civil, criminal, and family law matters across Turkish courts. The firm works with both Turkish nationals and foreign clients navigating the Turkish legal system — including those dealing with divorce, inheritance, real estate disputes, citizenship procedures, and criminal defense.
For all legal matters concerning Turkish law, you can reach out to Attorney Ozan Soylu. Legal consultancy and representation services are provided with a dedicated approach for foreign nationals. To submit your questions, contact us.
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