Most foreign buyers in Alanya budget carefully for the price of the apartment, the agent's fee and the title-deed tax. Then, a week before the signing, the lawyer mentions a document called the DAB and the whole timeline suddenly depends on a bank you have never used. This guide walks through exactly what the DAB is, how to get it without delaying your purchase, and what it costs you in time and paperwork.
What the DAB actually is
DAB stands for Döviz Alım Belgesi — the Foreign Currency Purchase Certificate. It is an official bank document proving that you brought foreign currency into Turkey and converted it into Turkish lira specifically to buy your property. Since the start of 2022, the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM) will not transfer a title deed to a foreign buyer through the Web-Tapu system unless a valid DAB is on file.
In plain terms: no DAB, no tapu. The certificate is not optional paperwork you can fix later — it is a gate the transaction has to pass before ownership changes hands.
Why Turkey introduced the rule
The requirement sits inside the Communiqué on Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency and Article 13 of the Central Bank's Capital Movements Circular. The goal is twofold: channel incoming foreign currency through the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) to support the lira, and make the money trail behind every foreign purchase transparent for anti-money-laundering purposes.
For you as a buyer, the practical consequence is simple. The price you pay must arrive as foreign currency, be sold to a Turkish bank, and be recorded on a certificate before the Land Registry will act.
Step-by-step: getting your DAB before the tapu appointment
The mechanics are straightforward once you know the order. The certificate is usually produced the same day you instruct the bank, but the funds transfer that precedes it can take several working days, so start early.
| Step | What happens | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get a Turkish tax number and open a Turkish bank account | Buyer |
| 2 | Transfer the purchase amount in USD, EUR or GBP into that account | Buyer's home bank |
| 3 | Instruct the bank in writing to sell the currency to the CBRT | Buyer + bank |
| 4 | Bank converts to lira at the CBRT rate and issues the DAB | Turkish bank |
| 5 | Present the DAB at the Land Registry with the valuation report | Buyer / lawyer |
Banks such as Ziraat, Vakıfbank and Halkbank all issue the certificate, increasingly as an electronic e-DAB carrying a QR code that the Land Registry can verify on the spot.
What it costs you in time and money
The conversion itself is done at the Central Bank rate, but plan for the international transfer fee from your home bank and a small handling charge on the Turkish side. The bigger cost is time: international transfers can take a few working days to clear before the certificate can even be issued. Buyers who leave the transfer to the last moment routinely push their tapu appointment back a week.
You will also need a SPK-certified valuation report (ekspertiz raporu) before the transfer, and the amount on the DAB must not be lower than the sale price declared on the title deed. Treat these as a single bundle of requirements rather than separate errands.
If you are still mapping out the full purchase journey, our Buying Your First Property in Alanya: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreign Buyers sets the DAB in the wider sequence of steps, and How to Buy Property in Alanya as a Foreigner: Complete 2026 Guide covers the documents foreign buyers gather before signing.
Mistakes that delay your title transfer
- Declaring a sale price below the DAB amount. The figures have to align; a gap triggers a deficiency notice at the registry.
- Stating the sale is "paid in full" when it is not. Mismatches between the deed narrative and the actual fund flow stall the transfer.
- Assuming non-bank installment payments count. The currency has to move through the banking system to generate a DAB.
- Leaving the tax number and account to the last day. Both are prerequisites for the transfer that feeds the certificate.
Budgeting for the DAB is really budgeting for time. Once you understand that the certificate is the keystone of the whole transfer, the rest of the cost picture — taxes, fees and legal charges set out in The Complete Guide to Property Taxes and Legal Costs in Turkey — falls into place around it.
Who needs a DAB — and who doesn't
The certificate is tied to foreign buyers paying in foreign currency. If you are a foreign national acquiring residential or commercial property and your funds originate abroad, you are squarely inside the rule. Buyers sometimes ask whether a Turkish-resident foreigner, or someone already holding lira in a Turkish account, is exempt — the safe answer is to confirm with the bank and your lawyer before the appointment, because the Land Registry decides on the documentation in front of it, not on assumptions about your status.
A common misunderstanding is that the rule only bites on large purchases. It does not scale with a threshold you can duck under: the requirement attaches to the transfer of title to a foreign buyer, regardless of whether the apartment is a modest one-bedroom in Oba or a sea-view penthouse. Plan for the DAB on every foreign-currency purchase.
The bottom line
The DAB is not a hidden tax or a trap; it is a compliance step with a predictable rhythm. Convert through a Turkish bank, match the certificate to your declared price, and bring the e-DAB to the registry alongside your valuation report. Do that, and the currency rule becomes a routine box to tick rather than the thing that derails your closing.
