Lost or Worn Vehicle Registration (Ruhsat): How to Get a Replacement
Your vehicle's ruhsat — officially the motor vehicle registration certificate (tescil belgesi) — can slip out of your wallet and get lost, get stolen, or simply wear out and become illegible over the years; all three lead to the same solution: getting a new registration certificate issued. The usual problem is not knowing where to apply, which documents to bring, and what has actually changed about the fee. In this article we walk through the steps to take when your ruhsat is lost, stolen, or worn out, the correct place to apply, and the documents required, based on the official sources of the General Directorate of Security (EGM — Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü, Turkey's national police, which runs the vehicle-registration/tescil system) and the Union of Turkish Notaries (TNB). Note: this article is about reissuing the ruhsat itself; selling or transferring a vehicle is a completely different process, which we also touch on below.
Lost, stolen, or worn ruhsat: the first step
If the ruhsat was stolen or lost, the first thing to do is report it to the police; this both reduces the risk of the document being misused and gives you a record/report to bring along when you apply for a replacement. In the case of wear, no such report is needed — you apply directly to the registration authority with the old, illegible document, since the renewal process already requires surrendering the old document (EGM).
There's a practical reason not to put this off: Article 23 of Highway Traffic Law No. 2918 (Karayolları Trafik Kanunu) requires that the vehicle's registration certificate be properly kept in the vehicle; a driver who does not have the document in the vehicle is subject to an administrative fine and the vehicle is barred from traffic until its details are verified (mevzuat.gov.tr). The base amount set out in the law text for this clause is 92 TL; however, under the Law's Additional Article 3, such fixed fine amounts are increased each calendar year by the revaluation rate announced under the Tax Procedure Law, so the fine actually issued in 2026 differs from the 92 TL figure in the law text — confirm the current amount via the traffic-fine inquiry service. In other words, if you keep driving after losing your ruhsat, a traffic check could leave you facing both a fine and being unable to continue on the road — which is the most concrete reason not to delay your renewal application.
Where do you apply?
There's a point that's often confused here because of the arrangement under which notaries handle vehicle sales: even though a sale/transfer is done at a notary, reissuing a lost or worn ruhsat is still the job of the traffic registration authorities, not notaries. The Union of Turkish Notaries' own Vehicle Registration System (ARTES) source states this explicitly: "Until the transfer of all Vehicle Registry and Registration transactions to Notaries is completed, an application must be made to the General Directorate of Security's traffic registration branches for the document to be reissued" (TNB). So as of today, the correct place for a lost/worn ruhsat is any provincial or district traffic registration branch office. Per EGM's own regulation, this transaction can also be carried out outside the place where the vehicle is registered — "document renewal transactions can be carried out at any traffic registration authority" (EGM) — meaning that even if you lose your document while traveling, you can go to the registration authority in whichever province you're in.
Documents required
According to EGM's own regulation titled "Document Renewal (Wear), Issuing a Document Due to Loss," the following are required for the application (EGM):
- A petition from the vehicle owner (or their legal representative),
- If the vehicle's inspection period has expired, the inspection must have been carried out,
- In-person application by the vehicle owner or their legal representative — applications made via power of attorney additionally require a notarized power of attorney,
- For renewals due to wear, surrender of the old document (this requirement naturally does not apply in the case of loss/theft).
In addition to these, you need to bring your identity document and — in the case of loss/theft — the police report/petition documenting your report to the police. Since a vehicle without a ruhsat also cannot go through inspection (we covered this requirement in detail in our documents required for inspection article), checking the vehicle's inspection and insurance status via e-Devlet (Turkey's e-Government portal) before applying speeds up the process — showing up at the counter with an expired inspection pushes your renewal application to a second appointment.
Article 13 of Motor Vehicles Tax Law No. 197 (Motorlu Taşıtlar Vergisi Kanunu) only halts the sale/transfer transaction and the technical inspection for vehicles with unpaid MTV (Motor Vehicles Tax) debt; it does not include a separate debt/lien precondition for reissuing a lost or worn ruhsat (EGM). Even so, checking via e-Devlet before applying whether your vehicle has any debt, lien, or pledge record reduces the chance of surprises at the counter.
How much is the fee?
The motor vehicle registration certificate is a valuable paper (değerli kağıt) listed in the schedule attached to Valuable Papers Law No. 210 (Değerli Kağıtlar Kanunu); the fee paid for reissuing the document is also determined under this Law and is updated each year by the General Communiqué on the Valuable Papers Law published by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. Since this fee changes every January, we're not giving a single TL figure here; you can learn the current amount from your traffic registration authority before applying.
Losing your plate is a different process from losing your ruhsat
The ruhsat (paper document) and the plate (metal plate) are often confused, but under EGM's own regulation these are two entirely separate processes. If both of your vehicle's plates were stolen, a theft report must first be filed with the relevant police unit; if both plates were lost, an application must be made to the registration authority with a petition — in both cases, your vehicle must be issued a new registration plate number (EGM). By contrast, if only one of the two plates is lost or stolen, the plate number does not change; a new plate is issued with the same number upon petition (EGM). In both scenarios, a valid compulsory traffic insurance policy and — if expired — a valid inspection are required (EGM).
If you want to change your plate voluntarily (for example, due to relocation or a notary-processed plate change), EGM's rule is clear: "For a voluntary relocation or notary-processed plate change, application to the relevant traffic registration authority is required within one month. Otherwise, the plate change will not be carried out" (EGM) — meaning missing this one-month window can mean having to start the process over.
In summary
For a lost, stolen, or worn ruhsat, the correct address is still today the traffic registration branch office — notaries only handle sale/transfer transactions; we covered this distinction separately in our vehicle transfer and sale article. With a petition, a current inspection if needed, and your identity document, you can apply to any registration authority and get your new document issued; since processing time varies by office and how busy it is that day, we won't promise an exact timeframe — you'll get a clear date when you ask at the counter. Keeping a digital copy of your ruhsat and other documents somewhere separate is the most practical measure that makes this whole process unnecessary from the start. If you'd like to check your ruhsat's current details and registration status anytime, see our ruhsat and registration lookup article, and for a general overview of your whole document world, check out our ruhsat and documents guide.