Bureaucratic Turkish is the language of forms, regulations, court documents, and official correspondence, and its entire purpose is to issue obligations without naming anyone who issues or owes them. Nobody commands; nobody is commanded. Instead, requirements "are necessary" (gerekmektedir), actions "will be carried out" (edilecektir), and the human agents vanish into passives. To read it you must recognize a small set of impersonal verb forms, the necessitative modals, long izafet document chains, and a handful of frozen formulae. This page assembles that toolkit.
Depersonalized obligation: gerekmektedir and -(y)AcAktIr
The grammatical heart of officialese is the future-assertive -(y)AcAktIr and the formal-present -mAktAdIr (here in gerekmektedir "it is necessary"). Together they state what will happen and what is required as impersonal, settled fact — no "you must", no "we will", just an institutional voice.
| Form | Structure | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| gerekmektedir | gerek- + -mektedir | it is necessary |
| edilecektir | edil- + -ecek + -tir | it will be done / carried out |
| uygulanacaktır | uygulan- + -acak + -tır | it will be applied |
| iletilecektir | iletil- + -ecek + -tir | it will be conveyed |
Başvurular en geç 30 Haziran tarihine kadar yapılacaktır.
Applications will be submitted by 30 June at the latest. (future-assertive -(y)AcAktIr; impersonal, no ‘you’)
Eksik belgeler tamamlanmadan işlem yapılamayacaktır.
No transaction can be carried out until the missing documents are completed. (negative future-assertive -AmAyAcAktIr)
Söz konusu evrakın bir hafta içinde teslim edilmesi gerekmektedir.
The aforementioned document must be submitted within one week. (gerekmektedir = ‘it is necessary that …’)
Note the hardened -tIr ending after the voiceless k of -AcAk (edilecek + tir → edilecektir). The -DIr here is the same assertive copula you meet in academic prose; in officialese it converts an instruction into a binding statement of fact.
Formal modals: -mAlI and -mAsI gerekir
For obligation, bureaucratic Turkish uses two depersonalizing strategies. The necessitative -mAlI(-dIr) ("must / should") states obligation directly but impersonally. More common, and more characteristic, is the nominalized obligation -mAsI gerek(mekte)dir, literally "its doing is necessary" — the verb becomes a noun (teslim edilme-si "the being-submitted of it") whose submission "is required", so no person is ever told to do anything.
Form, mavi tükenmez kalemle doldurulmalıdır.
The form must be filled in with a blue ballpoint pen. (necessitative -mAlIdIr; impersonal must)
İlgili belgelerin asıllarının ibraz edilmesi gerekmektedir.
The originals of the relevant documents must be presented. (nominalized obligation: ibraz edilmesi gerekmektedir)
Adayların sınav saatinden yarım saat önce salonda bulunmaları gerekmektedir.
Candidates must be present in the hall half an hour before the exam time. (bulunmaları gerekmektedir; plural-possessive nominalization)
The English speaker's instinct is to look for "you must" with a subject. There isn't one. The obligation is attached to a nominalized event (ibraz edilmesi "the presenting of"), and the person who must act appears, if at all, only as a genitive possessor (adayların "candidates'"). This is depersonalization at the level of grammar.
Heavy passivization and impersonality
Like academic prose, bureaucratic Turkish deletes agents through impersonal passives, but it leans even harder on them and on the formal-present -mAktAdIr. Decisions "are taken", notifications "are made", and procedures "are followed" — all without a doer.
Konu, ilgili birime iletilmiş olup gerekli inceleme yapılmaktadır.
The matter has been conveyed to the relevant unit and the necessary examination is being carried out. (chained impersonal passives, no agent)
Karar, tebliğ tarihinden itibaren on beş gün içinde dava konusu yapılabilir.
The decision may be made the subject of a lawsuit within fifteen days from the date of notification. (impersonal legal-style passive)
The doer's absence is not vagueness — it is the point. Officialese aims to make obligations and decisions stand as institutional facts, independent of any individual.
Izafet document and institution chains
Bureaucratic text is saturated with long izafet (genitive-possessive) chains naming documents, offices, and procedures. You cannot parse a form sentence without recognizing them. Each noun modifies the next; the possessive -(s)I links the chain.
Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü'ne başvurmanız gerekmektedir.
You must apply to the General Directorate of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs. (long izafet chain naming the office)
İkamet izni başvuru formunun eksiksiz doldurulması zorunludur.
The residence-permit application form must be filled in completely. (izafet chain: ikamet izni → başvuru formu; zorunludur ‘is obligatory’)
Parse front-to-back: ikamet izni "residence permit" → başvuru formu "application form" → … formu-nun "of the … form" (genitive opening the obligation clause). The chain names one document, and the obligation attaches to its being filled in (doldurulması).
Frozen formulae
Officialese is studded with fixed phrases that you learn as units. They glue documents together and signal the official register instantly.
- gereği için — "for the necessary action", appended when forwarding a matter for processing.
- bilgilerinize sunulur — "is submitted for your information", a closing formula.
- ilgili makama — "to the relevant authority / to whom it may concern", a standard addressee.
- söz konusu — "the aforementioned / the matter in question".
- işbu — "this present (document)", archaic-flavoured but alive in legalese.
Dilekçeniz değerlendirilmek üzere ilgili makama iletilmiştir.
Your petition has been forwarded to the relevant authority for evaluation. (frozen formula ilgili makama + impersonal passive)
Söz konusu talebin gereği için biriminize iletilmesi rica olunur.
It is requested that the matter in question be conveyed to your unit for the necessary action. (söz konusu + gereği için + rica olunur, three frozen formulae)
A form sentence and an official instruction
Form sentence: "Bu form, ilgili müdürlük tarafından onaylandıktan sonra işleme alınacaktır." — "This form will be processed after it is approved by the relevant directorate." Note the stack: agentful passive (ilgili müdürlük tarafından onaylan-), the converb -DIktAn sonra "after", and the future-assertive işleme alınacaktır.
Official instruction: "Adayların, başvuru belgelerini eksiksiz olarak ilgili makama teslim etmeleri gerekmektedir." — "Candidates must submit their application documents in full to the relevant authority." The obligation is nominalized (teslim etmeleri) and declared necessary (gerekmektedir); the candidates appear only as a genitive possessor (adayların), never as a commanded subject.
Common mistakes
❌ Formu mavi kalemle doldur.
Incorrect — a bare imperative ‘doldur’ is far too direct/personal for an official instruction.
✅ Formun mavi kalemle doldurulması gerekmektedir.
The form must be filled in with a blue pen. (nominalized obligation, impersonal)
❌ Belgeleri bir hafta içinde getireceksin.
Incorrect — second-person future ‘getireceksin’ names an addressee; officialese deletes the agent.
✅ Belgelerin bir hafta içinde teslim edilmesi gerekmektedir.
The documents must be submitted within one week. (agentless nominalized obligation)
❌ Müdürlük formu onayladı, sonra işleme alıyoruz.
Incorrect register — active clauses with personal ‘alıyoruz’ are conversational, not bureaucratic.
✅ Form, ilgili müdürlük tarafından onaylandıktan sonra işleme alınacaktır.
The form will be processed after approval by the relevant directorate. (tarafından passive + future-assertive)
❌ Dilekçeni ilgili yere yolladık.
Incorrect — colloquial ‘yolladık’ and ‘ilgili yere’ instead of the frozen ‘ilgili makama’ and impersonal passive.
✅ Dilekçeniz ilgili makama iletilmiştir.
Your petition has been forwarded to the relevant authority. (frozen formula + impersonal passive)
❌ Bu belgeyi getir, lazım.
Incorrect — ‘getir … lazım’ is spoken-register necessity, not the official -mAsI gerekmektedir.
✅ Söz konusu belgenin ibraz edilmesi gerekmektedir.
The aforementioned document must be presented. (söz konusu + nominalized obligation)
Key takeaways
- Bureaucratic Turkish issues obligations without an agent: heavy impersonal passives plus the formal-present -mAktAdIr and future-assertive -(y)AcAktIr.
- ‘Must’ is depersonalized either directly (-mAlIdIr) or, more typically, by nominalizing the action and declaring it necessary (-mAsI gerek(mekte)dir); the obliged person appears only as a genitive possessor.
- Izafet chains name documents, offices, and procedures; you must parse them front-to-back to read any form sentence.
- Frozen formulae (gereği için, ilgili makama, söz konusu, bilgilerinize sunulur, rica olunur) are learned as whole units and instantly mark the register.
- Never expect plain imperatives or personal agents — officialese erases both on purpose.
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Start learning Turkish→Related Topics
- Academic and Scientific StyleC1 — The grammar of scholarly Turkish — the formal present -mAktAdIr, assertive -DIr, impersonal passives, and the heavy nominalization that makes academic prose impersonal and dense.
- The Formal Present -mAktA(dIr)C1 — The written, authoritative present-progressive -mAktA / -mAktAdIr — a register-marked equivalent of -(I)yor built on the locative of the -mAk infinitive.
- Izafet Chains and StackingB2 — How izafet constructions nest into long noun phrases — institutional names and bureaucratic Turkish — with one -(s)I per layer and any case suffix landing only on the final head.
- The -DIr Suffix: Assertion and RegisterB2 — The third-person copular -DIr is optional in everyday Turkish but adds formality, marks generic truths, and signals confident inference ('must be') — common in encyclopedic and scientific prose, yet stilted in casual conversation.