There have been significant changes in law regarding the civil society in Turkey between 2004 and 2008. Legal issues concerning non-governmental organizations can be confusing in practice since they are regulated by different laws and regulations. With our 15 years of experience, we aim to eliminate this confusion and to provide information on legislation and practices.
In practice, it is possible to declare a temporary address for an association that is in the establishment phase. Although having an independent residence with the establishment of the association is the healthiest method for carrying out the activities of the association in practice.
If an association is going to change the residence (office, headquarter) address in the same province, the board of administration should take a decision for this change and there is no need for a general assembly resolution. The change decision should be notified to the Provincial Directorate of Civil Society Relations over DERBİS within 45 days.
If an association is to move its address (office, headquarter) to another province, the resolution of the general assembly must be taken. Again, within 45 days after the resolution, the mentioned change should be notified to the Provincial Directorate of Civil Society Relations Directorate via DERBİS.
The Regulation of Associations for holding general assembly meetings has brought an obligation “to be held every three years at the latest". In this case, meetings will have to be held at most every three years. However, in the statute of the association, it is possible to reduce this period, for example, to stipulate that the meetings will be held every year or every two years.
Associations can also hold general assembly and board of administration meetings electronically. Information and criteria on specifications of softwares to be used for holding general assembly and board of administration meetings can be found in Turkish at the web page of GD of Information Technologies of the Ministry of Interior.
Unless otherwise stated in the charter, the board of directors consists of five principal and five substitute members. It is possible to increase this minimum number specified by the statute of the association. Membership in the board of directors starts with the election and lasts until the end of the membership period.
Membership registration book, document registry book, official minute book and operating ledger are amongst the essential books for associations. It’s mandatory to keep above-mentioned books/ledgers for an association. These books can be certified either by the Provincial Directorates of Civil Society Relations or can be notarized. Besides, although it’s not mandatory, an inventory book and receipt book can also be kept.
In lieu of “off the shelf” ledgers and books, you can also utilise the ledgers and books, created by using A4 pages, but those versions can only be notarized. In terms of the legitimacy of the books/ledgers, there is no difference where they are certified. They can be certified free of charge by the Provincial Directorates of Civil Society Relations, however, the standard fees must be paid to the public notary for these procedures.
For more information on book-keeping, please check out the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Interior, DG of Civil Society Relations website (only in Turkish).
The minute book is the ledger in which the decisions of the administration board of an association are written. Only permanent members can sign the minute book. A substitute member who attended the meeting should not sign it on behalf of permanent members. When writing decisions, headings must be indicated clearly. It’s advised to write decisions with the same pen and handwriting. A decision can last more than one page. However, signatures should be put right after each decision without leaving a space. If there is a space between the text and signatures in previous decisions, those spaces should be sealed by drawing a line. Any decisions can be written into the decision book. It doesn't matter whether it's implemented or not.
Format of the decisions which will be entered into minute books, consists of number and date of decisions, agenda items and the participants of the board meeting. Please be noted that the minute book can also consist of certified A4 pages, instead of a printed notebook.
For more information on book-keeping, please check out the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Interior, DG of Civil Society Relations website (only in Turkish).
Members of an association should be entered into the membership registration book. Credentials of members and their entry and exit dates have to be included in the book. The membership entrance and annual fees can be entered as well. The decision date of the administration board of the association regarding the membership should be written as the start date of the membership.
It’s advised to keep the membership registration book up to date, because it’s a document that is checked during auditing.
For more information on book-keeping, please check out the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Interior, DG of Civil Society Relations website (only in Turkish).
The sum of the association is entered into the operating ledger in the beginning of each financial year. Incomes and expenses are written in the operating ledger during the financial year. At the end of each financial year, the differentiation amount between income and expenses needs to be kept either in the bank account or the cash box of the association. If the annual income of an association exceeds 600,000 TL, the general ledger should be kept. Public benefit associations should keep the ledger on the basis of balance.
For more information on book-keeping, please check out the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Interior, DG of Civil Society Relations website (only in Turkish).
The document registry is a ledger where inbound and outbound official documents are registered. It is the book in which documents are registered such as official letters, invitations, petition letters, etc. from the tax office or the Provincial Directorate or General Directorate of Civil Society Relations. There is no need to register membership applications in the document registry book. The document registry is not considered a financial material.
For more information on book-keeping, please check out the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Interior, DG of Civil Society Relations website (only in Turkish).