Enforcement proceedings (debt collection proceedings)

Enforcement proceedings are the process a creditor initiates through the enforcement office to collect an unpaid debt with the coercive power of the state. Since self-help is prohibited, this is the legal route to collection in Türkiye.

Proceedings begin with an enforcement request filed with the office and run, depending on the basis, as judgment enforcement, enforcement without judgment or the special track for negotiable instruments. The debtor is served a payment or enforcement order; once the proceeding becomes final, attachment, sale and distribution follow. Throughout, both parties may challenge the office's acts before the enforcement court.

A finalised proceeding permits attachment of wages, bank accounts, vehicles and real property. For debtors, monitoring service of documents and objection deadlines is vital: a proceeding not objected to in time becomes final even where no debt actually exists, leaving litigation as the only later remedy.