TUTOĞLULAW
Criminal law

Criminal complaint deadline

For offences prosecuted only upon complaint (Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) art. 73), calculates the last day of the six-month complaint period running from the date you learned of the act and the offender; for insult it also applies the two-year upper limit.

Used for insult and for the limitation check.

Enter the dates and calculate.

The complaint period

For offences whose investigation depends on a complaint (şikâyet), if the person entitled to complain does not file a complaintwithin six months of the day they learned of the act and of who the offender is, no investigation or prosecution can be carried out (TCK art. 73(1)–(2)). The period starts when the person learns of these facts; however, it cannot go beyond the limitation period for prosecution. Following an amendment in 2024, for insult the complaint period cannot exceed two years from the date the act was committed, whatever the date of learning.

A complaint can be filed with the chief public prosecutor’s office, the police or gendarmerie, the governor’s or district governor’s office, or a court (Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK) art. 158); it can also be filed through e-Devlet, Türkiye’s e-government portal. Withdrawing the complaint ends the case; withdrawal in respect of one of several co-offenders also covers the others (TCK art. 73(4)–(5)).

Legal basis

  • Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) art. 73 (offences prosecuted upon complaint; as amended in 2024)
  • TCK art. 66 (limitation period for prosecution)
  • Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK) art. 158 (reports and complaints)

These provisions and rates were last checked against official sources on 1 October 2026.

Note: Results are for general information and are approximate. The specifics of the file, court decisions and partial payments may change the result. Rates were checked against official sources on 1 October 2026.
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