Glossary · Regulation and data
What is KEP, Turkey's registered email, and what is it for?
KEP (kayıtlı elektronik posta, registered electronic mail) is the qualified form of email that provides legal evidence of a message's use, including its sending and delivery. Accounts come from KEP providers authorised by Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority, and companies use them for official correspondence and commercial notices.
Last updated: · Author: Şevket Erer, Co-founder, AI Specialist
Why is KEP used?
With ordinary email it is hard to prove a message reached the other side. In the KEP system, the records and KEP evidence created by the provider have the force of a formal deed and count as conclusive until proven otherwise (KEP Regulation Article 15(1)). The moment of sending and delivery is documented by that evidence, so in a dispute both sides look at the same record.
Turkish Commercial Code Article 18(3) says that between merchants, notices putting the other party in default, terminating a contract or withdrawing from it are made through a notary, by registered letter, by telegram, or by KEP using a secure electronic signature. A commercial notice can therefore be sent electronically without going to a notary.
How does sending by KEP work?
The process has four steps: an account with an authorised provider, a secure electronic signature where needed, evidence created by the provider, and the rule on when the recipient is deemed to have read the message. The sender keeps the evidence; even if the recipient never opens the account, the message counts as delivered at a given moment. A company with a KEP address therefore checks its inbox regularly.
- An account is opened
A KEP account is opened with an authorised KEP provider after identity verification.
- The message is signed
Notices under Turkish Commercial Code Article 18(3) are sent with a secure electronic signature.
- Evidence is created
The provider creates KEP evidence, signed with its own certificate, showing that the action took place at a given moment (KEP Regulation Article 3(1)(k)).
- It counts as read
Even if the account is not opened, barring force majeure a message arriving on a working day is deemed delivered and read on the next working day (KEP Regulation Article 12(2)).
An example
A construction firm wants to notify a subcontractor in writing that a delivery date has been missed. With its legal adviser it prepares the text and sends it, with a secure electronic signature, to the subcontractor's KEP address. The delivery evidence is filed next to the contract; even if the subcontractor does not open the account for a few days, the day the notice is deemed received is clear.
Which misconception about KEP comes up most often?
Because KEP looks like ordinary email, people assume its delivery and reading rules work like email too. The KEP Regulation, however, sets its own rule for when a message counts as delivered and read. The item gives the common belief, what the Regulation says, and a link to the text in the Official Gazette.
Myth: A KEP message does not count as delivered until the recipient opens it.
Fact: Even if the account is not accessed, barring force majeure a message arriving within a working day is deemed to have reached the holder and been read on the next working day (KEP Regulation Article 12(2)). KEP Regulation, Article 12
The business regulation timeline shows, with official sources, when this rule came into force and where it sits among other business rules.
This page is general information, not legal advice; the regulations were last checked on 25 September 2026. Official text: Turkish Commercial Code (mevzuat.gov.tr), Regulation on the Registered Electronic Mail System (Official Gazette)
How it looks in Corex360
Quotes and contracts sit in the Quotes and Contracts tabs of the same customer card. In Corex Drive, files live inside the record they belong to; the customer card has Files and Drive tabs. A KEP account connection is not promised; which document is kept in which tab is shown in the demo.
Terms often confused with it
| Contract management | Contract management follows a contract through its life; KEP is the channel that proves a notice about the contract reached the other side. |
|---|---|
| Secure electronic signature | A secure electronic signature shows who signed a document; KEP documents when a message was sent and delivered. For notices under the Commercial Code the two are used together. |
Related terms: Contract management, VERBİS (Turkey's data controllers registry)
FAQ
Can a KEP notice replace a notarised notice?
Between merchants, Turkish Commercial Code Article 18(3) lists notaries, registered letters, telegrams and KEP with a secure electronic signature in the same paragraph for default, termination and withdrawal notices. For correspondence with a non-merchant, or where special rules apply, ask your legal adviser.
When is a KEP message deemed read?
Even if the holder does not log in, barring force majeure a message arriving on a working day is deemed delivered and read on the next working day (KEP Regulation Article 12(2)). A company with a KEP address therefore needs to check it regularly.
Can a personal data request be made by KEP?
Yes. The Communiqué on Applications to the Data Controller lists a KEP address among the ways to apply (Communiqué Article 5(1), Board decision 2020/746). In that decision the Board told a company to arrange for requests to be received at its own KEP address.
Was this page useful?