Marriage Formalities in Turkey

Necessary documents for marriage:

1- Petition of the marriage. To start an action the groom and bride must file a petition of the marriage. “Evlenme Beyannamesi”

2- Passport, Identification card, birth certificate,

3- Health certificate.

4- 4 pictures belong to bride and groom.

5- Certificate of Capacity to Marry. (Single, divorce, widow or widowed.)

Conditions for a Valid Marriage

1- Capacity to marry: Only those persons who have sufficient mental capacity to make fair judgments are allowed to marry. Mental illness is, therefore, a bar to marriage. In addition, a person must have reached the minimum age of 18 to marry.

2- Absence of consanguinity: Marriage between close relatives is prohibited.

3- Already existing marriage: Monogamy is one of the essential principles of Turkish family law. A second marriage can not be entered into unless the first is terminated.

4- Waiting period: Married women whose marriage has been dissolved cannot marry before the expiration of three hundred days from the date of dissolution. The divorce decree may also state a waiting period within which the guilty spouse may not remarry.

5- Sickness: Certain sicknesses, such as epilepsy, hysteria etc., constitute a bar to marriage.

Only civil marriages performed by authorized marriage officers are allowed in Turkey. Married couples cannot again be married in Turkey under the Turkish law.