Türkiye · Compliance
Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) compliance in Türkiye
Achieve Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) compliance with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.
- Compliance, end to end
- Dubai office team
- Effivity software included
- Academy training included
Who asks for Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) in Türkiye
Clients include
Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) compliance in Türkiye at a glance
Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK) is the instrument itself: it applies to the organisations within its scope, and buyers and partners in Türkiye ask for evidence that you meet it.
Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data, published in the Official Gazette on 7 April 2016 and amended since, including by Law No. 7499 in 2024, is Türkiye's data protection law, and the Personal Data Protection Authority in Ankara, acting through its nine-member Board, enforces it. It sets processing principles, conditions for special categories of data, duties to inform and to answer data subjects, security measures, breach notification, registration with the Data Controllers' Registry and a transfer-abroad regime built on adequacy decisions and safeguards such as standard contracts. There is no KVKK certificate; compliance is shown through records, notices, contracts and filings, and ISO/IEC 27701 or ISO/IEC 27001 from an accredited body is an optional supplement. Sterling's Dubai office runs data mapping, notice reviews and contract work on-site or remotely, bringing 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, with Effivity and Sterling Academy included.
Who needs Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) in Türkiye, and what happens without it
These are the organisations in Türkiye that most often need to show Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK).
- Companies that process personal data of staff, customers, patients or users in TürkiyeThe Law applies to natural and legal persons that process personal data wholly or partly by automated means, or by other means as part of a filing system.
- Data controllers that must register in VERBİSPersons who process personal data register with the Data Controllers' Registry before processing, unless the Board grants a derogation.
- Groups, cloud users and exporters that send personal data abroadTransfers abroad follow a regime built on adequacy decisions, appropriate safeguards and incidental exceptions, rebuilt in 2024.
- Software, outsourcing and contact-centre firms acting as processorsA controller is jointly responsible with its processors for security measures, so processor contracts and audits matter.
- Employers, clinics, retailers and platforms handling special categories of dataHealth, biometric and other special categories carry stricter conditions for processing.
Not sure which of these applies to you?Answer a short set of questions and your readiness report arrives by e-mail.
Take the free readiness checkTürkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) requirements in Türkiye
Strip away the vocabulary and Türkiye's KVKK asks a business to comply in six areas of personal data handling.
In Türkiye these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) explained →
How to achieve Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) compliance in Türkiye
One team from the Dubai office carries the work from scoping to sign-off. Clients across Türkiye are served from Sterling's Dubai office, on-site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise.
- Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
- Gap assessment against Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) and the Turkish requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
- Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
- Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before any external review.
- Reviews by regulators, customers and auditorsSterling supports the reviews your regulators, customers and auditors run.
- End to end, from one team
- Effivity ISO & GRC software
- Preferential Sterling Academy access, with complimentary awareness training for your people
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard
- Vulnerability assessment on ISMS engagements
The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.
How long does Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) compliance take in Türkiye?
There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In Türkiye these are the factors that set the timeline.
- Number of processing activities, systems and processors to map
- VERBİS registration or exemption analysis
- Cross-border transfers to review under the amended regime
- Staff training and the first breach-response exercise
Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.
How much does Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) compliance cost in Türkiye?
The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and any external assessor’s fees, which are quoted separately. In Türkiye these factors move both.
- Number of legal entities, business units and data subjects in scope
- Volume and sensitivity of data, including health, biometric and employee data
- Review and renegotiation of processor and transfer contracts
- Security remediation and any legal counsel fees, quoted separately
Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.
Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) consultants and assessors in Türkiye
Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; your regulators, customers and auditors then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.
- Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
- Ask the consultant how the local requirements in Türkiye are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
- Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
- Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.
Laws and regulations that drive Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) in Türkiye (4)
| Instrument | How it treats the standard |
|---|---|
| Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK) | The instrument itself Principles, conditions for processing, special categories, transfer abroad, duties to inform and to secure data, breach notification, the Data Controllers' Registry and the Board's powers; it creates no certificate and cites no ISO standard. |
| Law No. 7499 of 2 March 2024 (amending the Law) | Amendment Rebuilt the transfer-abroad rules around adequacy decisions, appropriate safeguards such as standard contracts and binding corporate rules, and incidental exceptions, and changed the conditions for special categories of data. |
| Personal Data Protection Authority — registry, breach, complaint and standard contract channels | Regulator tools VERBİS, a breach notification form, a complaint module and the standard contract for transfers, with Board decisions, principle decisions and guides on its site. |
| Cyber Security Law No. 7545 | Related Sets cyber security tasks for the Cyber Security Presidency and does not replace the data protection law's duties. |
Accreditation, audit language and remote audits in Türkiye
Compliance, not certification: the Law creates no certificate of conformity. Evidence is your own records, privacy notices, processor contracts, VERBİS entries, breach register, transfer documents and the Board's decisions you follow. ISO/IEC 27701 or ISO/IEC 27001 certification by an accredited body is an optional way to evidence the systems behind your answers; Global ACI's TÜRKAK entry shows ISO/IEC 27001 but no ISO/IEC 27701 line. Sterling is not a regulator and does not certify, accredit, attest or validate. Edition and transition details: Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) hub →
Audit language
Turkish is the usual working language and the audit is normally run in it; agree the audit language, any interpreter and the language of controlled documents with the certification body at application, and say early if records will be in English.
Remote and on-site
Data mapping, notice and contract reviews and training can be done on-site or remotely; registry entries and breach notices are filed through the Authority's channels.
Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) in Türkiye: questions clients ask
Is there a KVKK certificate?
No. The Law creates no certificate of conformity. You show compliance through records, notices, processor contracts, registry entries, a breach register and the transfer documents the Law requires. ISO/IEC 27701 or ISO/IEC 27001 certification by an accredited body can support those answers but does not replace them. Confirm your position with counsel or the Authority.
Who must register with the Data Controllers' Registry?
Natural and legal persons that process personal data register before they start, unless the Board grants a derogation. The Law says the Board may set derogations using objective criteria such as the nature and quantity of the data, a legal basis for the processing, or transfer to third parties. Whether you are exempt is the Board's call, so check its current decisions.
How may personal data be sent abroad?
Under the Law as amended in 2024, a transfer needs a lawful condition plus an adequacy decision, or, without one, an appropriate safeguard: a Board-approved agreement, binding corporate rules, a standard contract published by the Board or an approved written commitment. Incidental exceptions exist as a last resort. Ask counsel to map each transfer to one of these routes.
What must a company do after a personal data breach?
The Law says that where processed data are obtained by others unlawfully, the controller must tell the data subject and notify the Board within the shortest time, and the Board may announce the breach. The Authority's site carries a breach notification form. Keep a breach register and take advice from counsel on how the duty applies to an incident.
More on Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) for Turkish organisations
Other standards Turkish businesses ask Sterling for
Organisations in Türkiye often combine Türkiye Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.
Start with a free discovery call from the Dubai office
A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.
Sources
- Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK) — kvkk.gov.tr (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Law No. 7499 of 2 March 2024 (amending the Law) — kvkk.gov.tr (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Personal Data Protection Authority — registry, breach, complaint and standard contract channels — kvkk.gov.tr (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Cyber Security Law No. 7545 — resmigazete.gov.tr (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- TÜRKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency) — global-aci.org; turkak.org.tr (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Public procurement under the Public Procurement Law and the Public Procurement Authority — kik.gov.tr; dosyalar.kik.gov.tr (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
- Defence and aerospace programmes — ssb.gov.tr (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
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