Once enforcement proceedings become final, the first step a creditor usually takes is wage attachment (maaş haczi). Under the law, the amount necessary for the maintenance of the debtor and their family is set aside from the salary first, and the rest is attached. However, the amount attached cannot be less than one quarter of the salary (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK) art. 83(1)-(2)). We explain how proceedings become final and the time limits for objecting in our article on payment orders. This article deals with the stage after the proceedings have become final.
Which income is subject to wage attachment?
The scope of İİK art. 83 is broad. Salaries, all kinds of wages, allowances, retirement pensions and income paid by insurance or pension funds are subject to this article. The Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) also treats items paid regularly every month, such as supplementary payments (ek ödeme) and revolving fund payments (döner sermaye), as part of the salary.
There is no provision in the law making the minimum wage entirely exempt from attachment. The salary of a minimum-wage employee is also attached under the same rule.
Some income, however, cannot be attached at all (İİK art. 82):
- student scholarships,
- compensation paid for harm to bodily integrity or health,
- retirement pensions paid to those disabled in military or police service.
The rate: at least a quarter, and at most a quarter for employees
For civil servants and similar income, one quarter is a minimum. If the amount needed for maintenance is low, the enforcement officer may attach more.
For employees subject to the Labour Code (İş K.), the rule is different: no more than one quarter of the monthly wage may be attached (Labour Code art. 35). The Court of Cassation accepts that, even if there is more than one attachment on an employee’s salary, the total deduction cannot exceed one quarter. Under the same article, the rights of alimony creditors are reserved.
If there is more than one attachment: the ranking rule
If attachments arrive on a salary from more than one enforcement file, the attachments are ranked in order. No deduction can be made for a later attachment until the deductions for the earlier-ranked attachment have been completed (İİK art. 83(2)). In other words, two separate quarters are not deducted at the same time for two separate files. The later creditor waits for the earlier file to be closed.
Priority of alimony claims
Under the settled practice of the Court of Cassation, current (ongoing) monthly alimony is deducted first, even if attachments were placed on the salary earlier. From the remaining salary, taking the maintenance amount into account, a share of not less than one quarter of the remainder is set aside for the earlier creditor. Accrued (arrears of) alimony, on the other hand, waits its turn like an ordinary claim.
Worked example
Bank A, and two months later Company B, have attachments placed on the salary of a civil servant whose net salary is TRY 40,000.
- One quarter of the salary: TRY 10,000. This amount goes to A until A’s debt is paid off.
- B’s attachment is placed in the queue. Once A’s file is closed, the deductions continue for B.
- If current alimony of TRY 6,000 a month comes in between, TRY 6,000 is first deducted for alimony. TRY 8,500, at least one quarter of the remaining TRY 34,000, goes to A. The debtor is left with TRY 25,500.
To see the current amount of the file with interest and costs, you can use our enforcement file current debt calculator.
Can a retirement pension be attached?
Income, monthly payments and allowances received from the Social Security Institution (SGK) cannot be attached as a rule. There are two exceptions to this rule: SGK’s own premium and other claims, and alimony debts (Social Security and General Health Insurance Law (SSGSSK) art. 93(1)). If attachment of a pension is requested for any other claim, the enforcement officer rejects the request unless the debtor consents.
The timing of consent matters. The Court of Cassation requires the proceedings to have become final for the consent to be valid. It treats consent given before, or at the same time as, the proceedings becoming final as invalid.
The “consent to wage attachment” clause in credit card and loan agreements
Clauses common in bank agreements, such as “I hereby consent in advance to the attachment of my salary”, are not valid. The law declares void any agreements made in advance on the attachment of assets and rights that are exempt or partly exempt from attachment (İİK art. 83/a). For this reason, wage attachment for a credit card or consumer loan debt is also carried out within the limits of İİK art. 83.
For a retirement pension, however, consent given at the enforcement office (icra dairesi) after the proceedings have become final may be treated as valid. So think about the rate and the consequences before signing a consent petition.
The employer’s obligations
An employer that receives a wage attachment order must notify the enforcement office within one week at the latest that it has applied the attachment and of the amount of the salary. It must make the deduction and send it promptly until the debt is paid off. The employee leaving the job or a change in the salary must also be reported immediately (İİK art. 355).
If an employer does not make the deduction or does not send the money, the enforcement office collects this amount from the employer without any need for a separate court judgment. The employer has a right of recourse against the employee for the amount it paid (İİK art. 356).
Complaint of exemption from attachment and the time limit
If the rate of attachment is too high, or income that cannot be attached has been attached, a complaint (şikâyet) is filed with the enforcement court (icra mahkemesi). The time limit is seven days from the date the act becomes known (İİK art. 16(1)). However, because the salary deduction is repeated every month, the Court of Cassation does not treat a complaint against monthly deductions as subject to the seven-day limit. Even so, applying without delay is the safest course.
Recent Court of Cassation decisions
- Court of Cassation 12th Civil Chamber, 11.12.2025, E. 2025/5695, K. 2025/8172: An institution that had not replied to a wage attachment order had been added to the enforcement file as a debtor and its receivables had been attached. The order had been sent by post although electronic service was mandatory. The Chamber treated this service as null and void and held that the complaint could not be dismissed as out of time. Text of the decision
- Court of Cassation 12th Civil Chamber, 05.03.2025, E. 2025/667, K. 2025/1969: After the proceedings had become final, the debtor had consented to the attachment of their entire retirement pension, and later asked for the attachment to be lifted, arguing that they could not make ends meet. The dismissal of the complaint was upheld by majority. The dissenting opinion argued that the debtor still had a right to complain with respect to the maintenance amount. Text of the decision
- Court of Cassation 12th Civil Chamber, 27.03.2024, E. 2023/6476, K. 2024/3012: The debtor’s supplementary payment and revolving fund income, paid every month, had been attached in full. Because the deduction was repeated every month, it was accepted that the complaint was not subject to the seven-day limit, and the dismissal on the ground of being out of time was reversed. Text of the decision
- Court of Cassation 12th Civil Chamber, 27.02.2024, E. 2023/4990, K. 2024/1857: In a petition filed on the day they received the payment order, the debtor had both acknowledged the debt and consented to the attachment of their retirement pension. Because the consent was not given after the proceedings had become final, it was held invalid. 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.