Service by publication is the form of service made on persons whose address is unknown, and it directly concerns newspapers and online news sites. The procedure is regulated in Articles 28 to 31 of Service Law No. 7201.
When is service by publication made? (Art. 28)
Article 28 opens with a single sentence: service on those whose address is unknown is made by publication. The article then defines “unknown”: the address of a person on whom service cannot be made under the preceding articles, and whose domicile, residence or place of business also cannot be found, is treated as unknown.
That an address is unknown is not accepted of itself; it must be established. The article provides two steps: the matter is established by the process server having it annotated by the neighbourhood or village headman; and in addition the authority issuing the service asks those official and private establishments and offices it considers necessary for the addressee’s address and has it investigated and established through the police.
Where service by publication is required on persons residing in foreign countries, the authority issuing the service additionally sends the documents to be served together with copies of the announcement to the known address abroad by registered post with acknowledgment of receipt, and places the postal receipt on the file.
Where is it published? (Art. 29)
Under Article 29 service by publication is made upon a decision given by the authority issuing the service with a statement of grounds. The places of publication are listed in the article:
| Place | Explanation |
|---|---|
| A newspaper | A newspaper expected to reach the knowledge of the person concerned most reliably and, if there is one, published in the place where the issuing authority is located |
| An online news site | Determined by the same criterion |
| The Press Advertisement Agency Announcement Portal | It is also published there |
| The authority’s notice board | The documents to be served and a copy of the announcement are posted somewhere everyone can easily see at the authority |
The article also allows a second announcement: the authority may decide, as the case requires, that a second announcement be made. The period between the two announcements cannot be less than one week. Where necessary the second announcement may also be made in foreign newspapers.
What must the announcement contain? (Art. 30)
Article 30 lists the compulsory content of the announcement. Checking that these items are complete when you take a service-by-publication text for publication prevents later disputes about procedure:
- The names and surnames of those concerned
- Their occupations
- Their domicile, residence or places of business
- A summary of the content of the documents to be served
- The subject and reason for the service, in an intelligible form
- Which authority the announcement was given by
- If the announcement contains a summons, where, for what, and on which day and at what hour attendance is required
When is service deemed to have been made? (Art. 31)
Article 31 determines the date of service: service by publication is deemed to have been made seven days after the date of the last announcement. The authority deciding on service by publication may, as the case requires, fix a longer period; but that period cannot exceed 15 days.
| Situation | Date of service |
|---|---|
| Rule | 7 days after the date of the last announcement |
| If the authority fixes a longer period | At the end of that period — 15 days at most |
That provision makes correct recording of the publication date critical: the start of the legal consequences depends on it.
The official announcement dimension
Service-by-publication announcements are assessed within the scope of Article 5(1)(a) of the Regulation on Official Announcements and Advertisements: announcements whose publication is compulsory under a law, presidential decree, by-law or regulation are official announcements. Since publication of service by publication is made compulsory by Law No. 7201, it falls within that scope.
Article 77 of the Regulation, in listing the official announcements to be published in General Category online news sites, includes many announcements of a similar nature: those under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the Tax Procedure Law, the State Procurement Law, the Expropriation Law, and announcements of absence, cancellation and registration of title deeds, inheritance and succession under the Turkish Civil Code, as well as announcements relating to extraordinary prescription.
A practical checklist for the publication
- Did the announcement come through the Agency? An official announcement arriving directly is not published.
- Are the particulars in Article 30 complete?
- Is the date of publication recorded? The date of service depends on it.
- If a second announcement was requested, is there at least one week between the two?
- Is the announcement stored in a searchable form in your archive?
Conclusion
Service by publication is made on persons whose address is unknown and is published in a newspaper, an online news site and the Press Advertisement Agency Announcement Portal; the documents and a copy of the announcement are additionally posted somewhere visible at the authority. The announcement must contain the particulars in Article 30.
Service is deemed to have been made seven days after the date of the last announcement; the authority may fix a longer period of up to 15 days. Where a second announcement is to be made there must be at least one week between the two.