If, in proceedings by general attachment, you objected to the payment order (ödeme emri) within seven days of service (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK) art. 62), the proceedings stop (İİK art. 66). The file is not closed, however. The creditor may then apply to the enforcement court or to the ordinary courts to set the proceedings in motion again. We explain how to object in our article on payment orders. This article describes what the debtor will face after objecting.
What happens immediately after the objection?
- The proceedings stop and no attachment can be made. The objection automatically stops the proceedings for the part you objected to.
- The proceedings continue for the part you accepted. If you objected to only part of the debt, the proceedings continue for the rest (İİK art. 66(1)). In a partial objection, if you did not clearly state the amount you object to, the objection is deemed not to have been made at all (İİK art. 62).
- The objection is notified to the creditor. The enforcement office (icra dairesi) serves the objection on the creditor by memorandum within three days (İİK art. 62(2)). The creditor’s time limits start with this service.
- Your address matters. You must give an address in Türkiye with your objection. If you change your address and do not notify the new one, service at the address in the request for enforcement is deemed made on you (İİK art. 62(3)). So do not miss court summonses.
The position is different for cheques and promissory notes. In proceedings based on a negotiable instrument (kambiyo senedi), the objection is made to the enforcement court (icra mahkemesi) and does not stop enforcement steps other than sale (İİK arts. 169, 170). For the proceedings to stop, the court must make a separate decision.
The creditor’s options
| Route | Where | Time limit | What it means for the debtor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Removal of objection (İİK art. 68) | Enforcement court | 6 months from service of the objection on the creditor | Works only if there is an acknowledgement of debt with an admitted signature or an official document. If you prove your objection with a document of the same kind, the request is rejected. |
| Provisional removal of objection (İİK art. 68/a) | Enforcement court | 6 months | Comes into play if you denied the signature on an ordinary written instrument (adi senet). |
| Action for annulment of objection (İİK art. 67) | Ordinary court | 1 year from service of the objection | The creditor proves the claim with any kind of evidence. Details in this article. |
| Ordinary claim lawsuit (İİK art. 67(5)) | Ordinary court | After 1 year has passed | The proceedings do not continue automatically; compensation for bad-faith denial cannot be claimed. |
If the creditor does not request removal of the objection within six months, they cannot start new enforcement proceedings without a judgment for the same claim (İİK art. 68(1)).
Note: The one-year time limit starts with proper service of your objection on the creditor. If the objection was not served, the creditor having learned of it in some other way may not start the time limit. Before concluding that “a year has passed, the file is over”, check the service records in the enforcement file.
If you denied the signature
If the creditor requests provisional removal of the objection, a debtor living within the jurisdiction of the enforcement office conducting the proceedings must attend the hearing in person unless they give a valid excuse. If you do not attend, the objection is provisionally removed and a fine of ten per cent of the claim in the proceedings is imposed. The same fine applies if the signature turns out to be yours (İİK art. 68/a).
After a provisional removal decision, you can file an action for release from debt (borçtan kurtulma davası) within seven days by depositing fifteen per cent of the claim. If you do not, the decision and any provisional attachment become final (İİK art. 69).
If you receive a mediation invitation
For commercial claims (Turkish Commercial Code (TTK) art. 5/A), disputes within the jurisdiction of the consumer court (Consumer Protection Law (TKHK) art. 73/A), claims arising from an employment relationship (Labour Courts Law (İşMK) art. 3) and lease and condominium disputes (Mediation in Civil Disputes Law (HUAK) art. 18/B), the creditor must apply to a mediator before filing an action for annulment of objection. You may therefore receive a call or invitation from a mediator some time after your objection.
Do not ignore this invitation. A party that fails to attend the first meeting without a valid excuse is held liable for half of the other party’s litigation costs, even if it wins the lawsuit in part or in full. The attorney fee awarded in its favour is also halved (HUAK art. 18/A(11)).
The 20% compensation risk
Objecting is not free. If the action for annulment of objection is upheld, the debtor pays, at the creditor’s request, compensation for bad-faith denial (icra inkâr tazminatı) of not less than twenty per cent of the amount awarded. If the proceedings are found to be unjustified and in bad faith, it is the creditor who is ordered to pay the same compensation (İİK art. 67(2)). In removal of objection too, where the request is granted or rejected on grounds relating to the merits, the losing party pays the other party, at its request, compensation of not less than twenty per cent (İİK art. 68).
According to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), for compensation for bad-faith denial in an action for annulment of objection the claim must be liquid, meaning the debtor must be able to calculate on their own how much they owe. This compensation is not awarded for claims whose existence requires a trial. Even so, objecting to a debt you accept merely to gain time can turn into a heavy cost.
If the proceedings resume, the enforcement costs are also borne by the debtor (İİK art. 59). You can see the fee amounts with our enforcement fee calculator.
What can you do as the debtor?
- Negative declaratory action: While the proceedings are stopped, you can file a lawsuit for a declaration that you do not owe the debt (İİK art. 72). In a commercial dispute, mediation is also required for this lawsuit (TTK art. 5/A).
- Gather your evidence now: Payment receipts, reconciliation correspondence, and return and defect notifications will be useful once a lawsuit is filed.
- Pay attention to the content of your objection: If you accepted the debt relationship and objected only as to payment, interest or amount, the creditor may request removal of the objection without the document requirement applying.
Recent Court of Cassation decisions
- Court of Cassation 6th Civil Chamber, 01.04.2026, E. 2025/2016, K. 2026/1188: The debtor’s objection petition had not been served on the creditor. Service on the creditor of an enforcement court decision on a complaint of improper service does not replace service of the objection. The one-year time limit was therefore deemed not to have started, and the dismissal of the lawsuit as out of time was reversed. Text of the decision
- Court of Cassation 9th Civil Chamber, 17.06.2025, E. 2025/2034, K. 2025/5133: In an action for annulment of objection, the claim was not considered liquid because its existence required a trial. The 20% compensation for bad-faith denial awarded against the debtor was reversed. Text of the decision
- Court of Cassation Assembly of Civil Chambers, 14.05.2025, E. 2024/779, K. 2025/294: The Assembly stated that removal of objection is not a lawsuit in the technical sense. In their objection, the debtor had accepted the legal relationship and objected only to payment and the interest rate. In that situation the document requirement in İİK art. 68 did not apply, and the removal of the objection to the interest rate was upheld. Text of the decision
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. For your specific situation, please seek advice from a lawyer.