Official Gazette / August 3-16, 2026

With Law No. 7592 on Amendments to the Higher Education Law and Certain Other Laws, final-year students will be granted two additional exam opportunities to graduate at the end of their maximum period of study, excluding the internship period; however, intermediate-year students who have reached their maximum period of study will not be granted additional exam rights. Those who use theses or other works written by others, those who mediate such works, or those who prepare them on behalf of others will be dismissed from their profession, and the academic degrees and titles obtained through these means will be revoked. Furthermore, these individuals will be subject to a judicial fine of up to 10,000 days. Those who forge or have others forge diplomas or certificates will be punished according to the provisions on forgery of official documents. Individuals who were dismissed from universities or who earned the right to register for a program but did not do so will be able to begin their studies in the 2026-2027 academic year, provided they apply within 4 months from the effective date of this regulation and meet the established criteria. Those performing their military service on the effective date of the regulation will be granted the rights specified in this regulation if they apply to the relevant higher education institution within 2 months following their discharge.

With the Regulation on the Rental of Motor Land Vehicles, a licensing requirement has been introduced for institutions engaged in vehicle rental. Additionally, a requirement was set that rented vehicles must not be older than 6 years, and an upper limit on usage was set at 180,000 kilometers for gasoline/diesel vehicles and 300,000 kilometers for electric vehicles. An upper limit was set for deposits based on the daily rental rate, and regulations were made requiring deposits to be returned within 7 days and prohibiting deductions from deposits for normal wear and tear. Furthermore, a judicial decision was added to the legislation as a procedural requirement for businesses to claim depreciation from consumers. For prepaid rentals, no deductions can be made for cancellations made more than 24 hours in advance, and protections such as winter tires and insurance must be mandatorily included in the rental price. 

With the amendment to the Regulation on the Protection and Use of Agricultural Lands, applications for agricultural structures and non-agricultural use made while the Regulation on the Protection, Use, and Planning of Agricultural Lands dated December 9, 2017—which was repealed last month—was in effect will be evaluated under the provisions of the former regulation. The minimum land size required to build a vineyard house on special product and marginal agricultural lands has also been reduced. The limit, which was 50 decares, will now be applied as 20 decares.

With the amendment to the Regulation on the Administration of Treasury Immovables, maintenance, repair, security, and cleaning operations for coastal areas and shorelines that comply with the Coastal Law, the Regulation on the Implementation of the Coastal Law, and approved zoning plans can now be carried out by the Ministry in addition to municipalities, and the Ministry may lease these areas to its own sub-units.

Following the amendment to the Regulation on the Protection of Drinking and Utility Water Basins, basin protection areas will now be marked on cadastral maps and noted in the land registry; basin protection plans will serve as the basis for the preparation of zoning plans; power plants, including renewable energy plants, cannot be established on water surfaces; and existing basin protection plans will be brought into compliance with the new regulation within 1 year.

With the amendment to the Customs General Communiqué on Temporarily Imported Land Vehicles, a period of up to 2 years may be granted for vehicles brought temporarily from abroad to those who are retired abroad. In addition to the rights holder, the spouse or relatives of the rights holder living outside of Turkey will also be able to use the temporarily imported vehicles. Other individuals residing outside of Turkey will only be able to use the vehicle provided that the permit holder is present in the vehicle.

With the Regulation on Local Climate Change Action Plans, a Climate Change Coordination Board will be established in every province, and climate change efforts will be monitored by governorates with the participation of local governments, professional organizations, and NGOs.