The right to publish official announcements is the right that directly determines the economic survival of a newspaper or an internet news site in Turkey. Its rules are gathered in the Official Announcements and Advertisements Regulation: the waiting period, the staff, the content, sales, traffic, the quota, supervision and sanctions. This guide covers the system article by article, under 69 headings.

The Skeleton of the System

PartSubjectArticles
General provisionsPurpose, scope, definitions, intermediation, the list, the right, İLANBİS, the staff, content, names, invoicing, accounting, the workplaceArts. 1–30
NewspapersPlaces of publication, categories, waiting, continuity, delivery, the imprint, the staff, surface area, pages, printing, distribution, sales, indicatorsArts. 31–51
Internet news sitesCategories, waiting, the concession, continuity, the imprint, the staff, content, traffic, design, indicatorsArts. 52–68
Distribution and publicationThe quota, the coefficient, the distribution table, General Category announcementsArts. 69–77
Official advertisementsScope, content, waiting, special issues, the staff, surface area, continuity, deliveryArts. 78–91
SupervisionInspection boards, the journalist member, duties and powers, expensesArts. 92–110
Sanctions and final provisionsResumption, set-off and compensation, ending of the right, exceptions, objections, the commission, governorships, transitionArts. 111–118, provisional Arts. 1–7

1. The Framework of the Regulation

Art. 1: the purpose of the Regulation is to govern the procedures and principles concerning the publication of official announcements and advertisements without regard to differences of opinion and doctrine. Under Art. 7, official announcements and advertisements are published through the Agency.

2. The Waiting Period

Type of publicationWaiting periodProvision
Newspaper36 monthsArt. 33
Internet news site24 monthsArt. 54/1
Internet news site — meeting twice the conditions6 months + an 18-month continuation after the rightArts. 54/2–3
Internet news site — a quota place with no site holding the right6 monthsArt. 54/4
Official advertisements — newspaper and magazine2–12 issues according to the publication intervalArt. 80

3. The Staff Conditions

4. Content and Identity Conditions

5. Financial and Administrative Conditions

Art. 27: the invoice is drawn up over the amount remaining after the commission of the Agency has been deducted from the tariff price. Art. 116: the commission rate is 15%.

6. Newspapers: Place of Publication, Category and Continuity

CategoryPlace of publicationMinimum actual sales
Category 1İstanbul3,000
Category 2Ankara, İzmir1,600
Category 321 provinces400
Category 419 provinces400
Category 538 provinces300
Category 6The districts within Art. 31/1-(c) and (ç)100

7. Newspapers: Printing, Distribution and Sales

8. Indicators and the Quota

Arts. 47 and 65: to benefit from an additional indicator it is necessary to have published official announcements for at least 6 months, to have maintained the condition for at least 1 month counted backwards, and to apply in signed form stating the provision relied on.

9. Internet News Sites

CategoryUnique visitorsPage views
General Category250,000750,000
Category 125,00075,000
Category 215,00045,000
Category 310,00030,000
Category 45,00015,000
Category 51,5004,500

10. Periodicals That Will Publish Official Advertisements

11. Supervision

Art. 92/1: every publication holding the right or within the waiting period is inspected at least once every 2 years. Art. 94/2: the board consists of 2 Agency officials, being 1 chair and 1 member; where considered necessary, 1 journalist member is included.

12. Sanctions and Objections

13. The Geographical Exception and the Transition

Quick Reference: The Critical Periods

PeriodSubjectProvision
3 working daysNotification of staff information to İLANBİSArt. 22
3 working daysNotification of a change of dealerArt. 42/6
The first working dayNotification of a change of imprint and place of printingArts. 36/2, 41/4
09.00Uploading the copies and pages to İLANBİSArt. 35/1
09.00Being offered for sale at the final point of saleArt. 42/4
16.00 on the 3rd working dayDelivery of the printed copy to the branch of the AgencyArt. 35/2
5 working daysRemoval from the staff of an intellectual worker against whom a case has been broughtArt. 114/2
10 working daysObjection to a decision of the Directorate GeneralArt. 115/1
3 monthsResumption of the General Category rightArt. 53/5
6 monthsResumption of a suspended rightArt. 113/1-a
2 yearsThe ban on applying after traffic manipulationArt. 63/3

The Other Main Guides

GuideScope
official-announcements-questions-turkeyThe official announcement questions most often asked in practice
turkish-press-law-no-5187-article-by-articleDefinitions, the imprint, the declaration, liability, the right of reply, penalties
the-constitutional-basis-of-press-freedom-in-turkeyConstitution Arts. 13, 22, 25–32, 41, 90, 133 and 148
rtuk-legislation-law-no-6112-turkeyThe 24 broadcasting principles, commercial communication, licensing, sanctions
trt-legislation-law-no-2954-turkeyBroadcasting principles, the right of reply, liability, the levy
harmful-publications-and-child-protection-in-turkeyLaw No. 1117, the Board, the stamp, sale in envelopes, reporting on children
copyright-data-protection-and-access-to-information-in-turkish-newsQuotation, attribution, reader data and access to information
turkish-media-ancillary-legislation-mapLegal deposit, printing houses, elections, service, the levy, transmission, advertising
the-turkish-directorate-of-communications-organisation-and-powersPresidential Decree No. 14, the service units, 19 regional directorates, CIMER
working-as-a-foreign-journalist-in-turkeyWork permits, residence, card types, the letter of introduction, customs