OBTAINING A TURKISH DRIVING LICENCE

This information is written from the standpoint of a UK citizen who is resident in Turkey however it will similarly apply to most other European nationalities. Citizens of the USA may experience more problems as there is no Federal issue of their licences and they differ between States. WHY DO YOU NEED A TURKISH DRIVING LICENCE? In you are a citizen of any European country but you are staying in another European country the law states that, once you have been resident there for 6 months, you must have a Driving Licence for that country. Turkey follows the European rules. So far the rules have not been rigidly enforced and hearsay says that you can get away with being here for a couple of years before it is best to apply. Ka is always fairly laidback about such things, other Districts may not be. Keeping a notarised translation of your driving licence in your car was always a good idea. The fact is that, if you are a resident and do not have a licence and you become involved in a road traffic accident then the Polis will tend to add another penalty to the list of things that you have done wrong,. It is similar to not wearing a seat belt, you are rarely stopped for this, but if you are stopped for something else or if you are involved in a RTA it will be added to your penalties. More seriously and recently, Turkish Insurance Companies have been claiming that if you do not have a Turkish driving licence you are breaking the law and so you are driving illegally and so you have invalidated your insurance. Therefore they will not pay your claim. This is the same the world over; they want your money but make every excuse not to pay for the risk that you thought that you had covered. In effect without a Turkish Driving Licence your Kasko is valueless. Vehicle Hire companies are aware of this and they may not hire a car to foreign residents if they do not have a Turkish Driving Licence. Several reputable companies in Ka already have this ban in place. Another good reason to have a Turkish Driving Licence is that is granted for life. No obligatory health checks and declarations are required as you get older. There are usually no problems in using the licence to drive within Europe and to hire cars there. PREPARATION: You can only get the equivalent Turkish licence of your own driving licence, i.e. if you have a car licence you will get a car licence. I you have a moped licence you will get a moped licence (50cc). The same for a motor bike licence. If you have full licence you will get all, (A2+B). So check your entitlement before you start the process and see the notes at the end of this document. You cannot apply for a Turkish Driving Licence if you have an old style UK driving Licence. So if you are old enough to have one of these, you will firstly have to apply to the DVLA for a new EU photo-id licence. Most of this can now be done online but the licence can only be posted to a UK address. It may be worth noting that if you are no longer resident in the UK and have no permanent address there then you are not, officially, entitled to have a UK driving licence. The majority of the offices you have to visit in Ka only speak Turkish. So spend some time with Google Translate and have the appropriate requests written in Turkish.

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A CAUTIONARY NOTE: The information in this document is for foreign residents of Ka, Kalkan and the surrounding areas. What you will actually need and have to do will vary depending in which District of Turkey you live, each of which will have a different interpretation of the rules. Even within the Ka area the procedures change over time, and from time to time at the discretion of various officials and sometimes for no discernible reason! I have noted below where some of us have experienced differing requirements. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 5 passport photographs, Polis 4, Health Check 1. (Usually 8 for 10 TL). Blue dossier, officially stamped (2 TL per). Some areas you dont need this. Form EK18 (1 TL per form, get 2 just in case you mess things up!). Turkish translation of your EU plastic licence notarised (100 120 TL). Criminal record check document (5 TL). Health check document. Some people have not had to have a health check; you can ask whether this is necessary. Card showing your blood type. Residency ikamet. Notarised translation of your Passport (100 120 TL). Sometimes you can submit a copy of your passport without a translation. Kimlik Number. Tax office receipt for money paid for appropriate licence type required. Tax Number (just in case). Loads of money! It will cost up to 800 TL per person if you need new translations. Quite a lot of time.

THE PROCEDURE: Obtain your passport photos from your favourite photo shop. Go to the fishmonger down the small road off the old market square, near the TEDAS office. Turn your back to his shop and you will see in front of you a narrow alleyway which leads to some steps. Go up the steps and take the door on your left. You will now be in the offices of the Ka Chauffeurs & Drivers Association (Ka ofrler ve Otomobilciler Odas). It you are lucky there may be someone there to answer your knock. Mustafa Demirtepe, the Baskan, a charming man, will probably invite you to have a glass of tea. The actual address is Emin Erdem Meydan Belediye, Dkkanlar No. 15, Ka, Antalya. Ask there for the dossier (blue) and Form EK18 and pay the few lira required. There may be a small setback... the dossier has to have an official stamp which, I was informed, can only be done in Kinnik! Usually they have a supply of a few pre-stamped dossiers, but you may have to return in a couple of days when someone has gone to Kinnik to get some more. I have been told that recently the dossier is no longer de riguer, so enquire. Go to a caf and spend some time filling in the top half of Form EK18. The lower part is for Polis use. Obviously it is all in Turkish, but fairly understandable. Go to the Noter and get the translations required for your EU driving licence and passport if you do not already have these. (Note what I wrote above about the need for a translation of your passport, the Noter may be able to advise the current requirement).

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Go to the Polyclinic and get a health check. You have to state whether you will be driving a car or a car and a motor bike. I am not sure why! If you are in the SGK health scheme you should be registered with a doctor and the check is free. One photograph is required and you may be asked to return to pick up the form. Some people, including me, have not had to have a health check. The Polis said to me that if I was healthy enough to have a UK licence then I must be healthy enough to have a Turkish licence! So it might be worth trying to submit your forms first before doing the health check. If you are registered with a doctor he may have your blood type on record. Ask him/her for a record card. If your blood type is not on record then go to the Ka Hospital and ask for the test. This is quicker that getting it done at the Polyclinic as they will only send your blood sample to the hospital and you will have to return later to get the result. At the hospital, depending on the time of day, you can get the whole procedure done quickly and walk out with your record card. There may be a small fee, about 10 TL for this. Note that if you are in the SGK then the health check and the blood test should both be free. If you are not registered but have ikamet then you should get the same price as a Turk who does not have National Insurance. If you only have a tourist visa the costs are now very high. But if you only have a tourist visa you cannot apply for a Turkish diving licence, so no problem! Next you will have to spend some time at the Ka Town Hall. This is the Kaymakams building opposite the Jandarma offices to the left of the Harbour. Go up the stairs to the 3rd floor and along the corridor to the left towards the TAPU office. At the end of the corridor is a small office with one Policeman in attendance, so dont go at lunchtime! You have to fill in a small form and he will then organise the check of your Turkish criminal records. Dont forget to take your passport and ikamet. You will have to fill in a small form and pay 5 TL. You will return an hour or so later to pick up the form. While you are waiting go to the Tax (Maliye) Office on the first floor. You cant miss this, there is a big sign; they always want you to be able to pay the money! Go to the Cashiers window just inside the door past the Managers Office. Pay for the licence you require. As at the beginning of 2012 this was 385 TL for a full licence for car & motor bike of any cc. You will get a receipt. You may need to get this stamped by the Maliye Manager. Check this requirement. Dont go to the Maliye at the last week of any month when everyone is paying their vehicle tax, some Turks have a proclivity for pushing into queues, especially past stupid yabanci! Finally take all the documents to the Polis Trafik Ofis. This is the last door outside on the right as you face the Town Hall. Present all your papers at the counter and pray that you have everything in order. You will have to fight for attention amongst the many Trafik Agents who are registering vehicles, etc. If all is OK you will pay another fee of 57.5 TL and the Polis will then send enquiries off to the UK DVLA to check that you actually have a current UK Driving Licence, valid for the groups for which you have applied and paid. This is done by snail mail and takes about 5 weeks. BUT there have been occasions when applicants have not had enquiries made by the Polis to the DVLA and they have got their driving licence the next day. You will not be notified when document are returned from the DVLA and you will have to go to the office, usually several times, to enquire as to progress. When you determine that the information has arrived from the DVLA they will then start the work to produce your new licence. They do not self-start! You will be asked to come back in the next day or so. On returning you may be finger printed electronically and a file for you will be created, in the blue dossier that you supplied.

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The fingerprinting depends on the District where you live and what equipment they have at the polis Station, so far, it has not been done in Ka, but be prepared. You will then be given your licence and you have to pay another fee of about 30 TL to have in laminated! Before this is done you must check that your new licence is correct. A full licence (Car + Scooter + Motorbike) reads B+A2. B is a Car only; A2 is a full motorbike and scooter licence, no car. If all is OK go to your favourite Bar, have a drink, relax and congratulate yourself on all the effort. Addendum. DVLA stuff. Existing driving licence holders with moped entitlement If you already have the entitlement to ride a moped - you won't lose it. Currently your entitlement is shown on your driving licence as category P and covers you to ride mopeds with: an engine size up to 50 cylinder capacity (cc) a maximum speed up to 50 kilometres per hour (km/h) From 19 January 2013, new European rules will apply. You won't lose your entitlement but it will show differently on any driving licences issued to you after that date. Your entitlement will show as: Category AM (the European category) - lets you ride mopeds with a maximum design speed over 25 km/h but not more than 45 km/h, small three wheelers (up to 50 cc and below 4 Kilowatt (kW)), and light quadricycles (unladen mass less than 350 kilograms (kg) and up to 45 km/h) Category P - extending the above to include two or three wheeled mopeds with a higher maximum speed of up to 50 km/h (to retain your existing entitlement) Category Q - extending the above to include two or three wheeled mopeds with a maximum speed up to 25 km/h (to retain your existing entitlement) You won't need to do anything your existing entitlement is still valid. This might cause some difficulty until the Turkish Polis work out what has happened! If you have a car licence... If you obtained your full car licence before 1 February 2001 you are entitled automatically to ride a moped without L-plates (D-plates in Wales). If you obtained a full car licence after 1 February 2001 you must first complete a CBT course and obtain a DL 196 certificate to validate your entitlement.

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