MERSIS MERSIS

MERSIS, short for Merkezi Sicil Kayit Sistemi (Central Registry Recording System), is the unified electronic company registry operated by the Turkish Ministry of Trade since 2013. Every joint-stock company (Anonim Sirket / A.S.), limited liability company (Limited Sirket / Ltd. Sti.), cooperative, and most other entity types must register through the MERSIS portal, after which they receive a unique 16-digit MERSIS number that follows the entity for life. Pre-MERSIS, Turkish company registration was a paper-based process at each provincial Ticaret Sicil Mudurlugu (Trade Registry Office); MERSIS centralizes all of that data into a single online system, though the actual signing of incorporation documents still happens before a Turkish notary or trade-registry officer. The MERSIS number is required on every Turkish invoice, every Ticaret Sicil Gazetesi (Trade Registry Gazette) publication, every contract with public bodies, and every bank-account application for Turkish entities. Non-residents forming an Anonim Sirket or Limited Sirket interact with MERSIS through their Turkish lawyer or accountant, who has authorized access. All major events in the company life cycle - capital increases, share transfers, address changes, director changes, mergers, dissolutions - flow through MERSIS and are simultaneously published in the Trade Registry Gazette.

Foreign founders incorporating in Turkey - whether a Limited Sirket in Istanbul, a free-zone company in Antalya or Izmir, or a holding company structure for real-estate investments tied to Turkish citizenship-by-investment - will see their MERSIS number on the trade-registry confirmation, the tax office (Vergi Dairesi) registration, and every notarized document going forward. The system also handles online annual general meeting filings and pre-meeting director/shareholder lists.