Official Gazette / April 6 - 12, 2026

Amendments to the Regulation on the Sale, Transfer, and Registration of Vehicles now mandate that license plates printed in violation of standards be replaced free of charge by the authorized institution, and have made photographic recording mandatory during the license plate printing process. The deadline for transitioning to new license plate molds has been set for January 1, 2027.  

With the amendment to the Regulation on the Working Procedures of Neighborhood Watchmen, watchmen have been granted permission to conduct pat-down searches if there is sufficient suspicion of the presence of weapons or cutting tools on a person or in a vehicle they have stopped. Working hours have been limited to 40 hours per week, with shifts set between sunset and sunrise. While the regulation aims to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between watchmen and police, there appears to be a clear legal inconsistency arising from the attempt to regulate matters such as body and vehicle searches—which should be governed by law—through a regulation. 

The Regulation on Family Medicine Practice has been amended to allow family physicians to provide online health services. The procurement of medical devices, equipment, and consumables has been largely left to the physician. Provisions have been introduced to allow for the change of family physician registration in cases of violence against the physician or staff, and cameras have been made mandatory in family health centers. A procedure has been adopted where patient data is kept exclusively in the Ministry of Health system. No external records will be kept by family health units anymore. 

Following the amendment to the Health Implementation Communiqué, the Social Security Institution (SGK) has begun procuring certain medications used in the treatment of heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and epilepsy from abroad as alternative treatments, and increases have been made in food support for celiac disease and protein metabolism disorders. The Choline PET procedure, used in cancer diagnoses and produced in Turkey, has been included in the scope of coverage.

The Communiqué on the Strategic Priority of Investment Projects has been amended, increasing the number of products on the list. Infant and toddler formula and plant extracts used in the pharmaceutical industry have been added to the list. Additionally, a list of 36 critical raw materials, including boron, copper, lithium, and uranium, has been added to the communiqué.