The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has reorganized the payment, deadline, and refund rules to be applied to applications concerning protected historical structures and conservation areas. With the regulation published in the Official Gazette dated October 27, 2026, it has been mandated that fees for certain document requests, appeals, and procedures requiring special examination must be paid in advance before the application is processed.
One of the most notable points in the regulation is the special tariff introduced for the Bosphorus. For applications within the scope of the Coastal Strip and Outlook Zone defined in the Bosphorus Law, the unit price in the relevant service fee schedule will be charged at double the rate. Value-added tax will be calculated separately.
DOUBLE TARIFF TO BE APPLIED IN THE BOSPHORUS
The new rule does not cover the entirety of Istanbul or all regions of the Bosphorus, but specifically the Coastal Strip and Outlook Zone clearly stated in the regulation. In these areas, the base service fee for a request to remove the registration record of a single historical structure requiring protection will increase from 10 thousand liras to 20 thousand liras for individuals. The 20 thousand lira fee charged to companies for the same procedure will be applied as 40 thousand liras.
According to the fee schedule added to Law No. 2863 on July 31, 2026, 12 thousand 500 liras will be charged to individuals and 25 thousand liras to companies for requests to remove the registration record of a conservation area, change its grade, or redefine its boundaries. For requests regarding the removal of registration records of individual structures or changing their protection zones, the fees will be 10 thousand liras for individuals and 20 thousand liras for legal entities.
The fee for the application document issued for certain appeals made to the High Council for Conservation has also been set at 12 thousand 500 liras for individuals and 25 thousand liras for legal entities. For information requests regarding protected immovable properties, 175 liras per document and 400 liras per map sheet will be paid. For requests for digital conservation boundaries or registration maps, a fee of one thousand liras per map sheet will be applied.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD
According to the regulation, the applicant will be required to apply to the relevant unit of the Ministry within six months from the date the service fee is paid. If the application is not completed within this period, the process will not be taken into consideration and the amount paid will not be refunded.
There are also some exceptions in the calculation of the period. The time spent for the completion of information and documents requested by the Ministry will not be included in the six-month calculation. If it is documented that the application could not be made due to force majeure, the period will begin from the date the obstacle is removed.
If a re-evaluation of a process that has been carried out and completed as a result of an application is requested, a new application fee must be paid. In the event that decisions taken by the Ministry's units are canceled by the administrative judiciary, the previously collected service fee will not be refunded.
In cases where there is more than one paid service within the same application, a separate fee will be charged for each service. However, a duplicate fee cannot be charged for the same transaction. In case of incomplete or incorrect payment, the application will not be processed until the deficiency is corrected.
For conservation-purpose zoning plan changes and projects such as energy, mining, roads, and similar, the size of the area subject to examination will be taken as the basis for fee calculation. The total examination area will be taken into account in the 0-5 hectares, 5-10 hectares, and over 10 hectares tiers in the tariff. A base tariff of 5 thousand liras will be applied for up to 5 hectares in archaeological and historical sites, and 10 thousand liras in urban and urban archaeological sites; an additional fee of 3 thousand liras per hectare will be charged for parts exceeding 5 hectares.
The regulation stipulates that the amounts in the fee schedule will be increased annually by the revaluation rate. The updated tariff will be published on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's website every January. Services requested within the scope of plans, projects, construction, and similar works prepared by public institutions and organizations will be kept outside the specified fee scope of the regulation.
News Source: 12punto
