How to register the IMEI of a phone brought from abroad
If you carried a phone into Türkiye yourself, you need an IMEI registration to keep using it on Turkish networks. The registration is filed through the "IMEI Kaydet" service on e-Devlet, after you have checked your registration entitlement and paid the usage permit fee.
A phone you carry into Türkiye yourself will work for a while without registration, but once that window closes the device is cut off from the network. The way to avoid that is to register the handset's IMEI number with the Central Device Registration System. A regulation amendment published in the Official Gazette on 2 July 2026 named the e-Government Gateway as the authority where this application is filed.
There are two sides to the job: the registration application on the Information Technologies and Communications Authority side, and the usage permit fee on the Revenue Administration side. They have to be done in the right order and against the right IMEI, because a fee paid against the wrong number will stall the whole thing.
The steps below cover the full chain, from finding the IMEI and checking your entitlement to paying the fee and confirming that the registration actually took.
- Time45 minutes
- DifficultyMedium
- Steps9
🧰 What you need
- An e-Devlet login: e-Devlet password, mobile signature, e-signature, Turkish ID card or internet banking
- The handset's 15-digit IMEI number
- The document you entered the country with (passport or ID card) and your date of entry
- A credit card or bank account to pay the usage permit fee
- The phone must have been carried in by the traveller in person
Steps
- Find the IMEI numberType *#06# on the phone's dialler and the IMEI appears on screen. You can also find it under Settings → About phone. An IMEI is 15 digits long, and dual-SIM handsets show two of them. Write the number down and check it against the label on the box so you know you have read it correctly.
- Check your registration entitlementOpen the "Kayıtlı Cihazlarım ve Kayıt Hakkı Sorgulama" (My registered devices and entitlement lookup) service on e-Devlet to see whether you still have an entitlement. Since 31 May 2019, one person may register only one device within a three-calendar-year window. This screen shows which device you registered previously and when your entitlement comes back. If you have none, there is no point going further.
- Prepare your entry detailsThe registration is filed under the details of the document holder who brought the device in. Note whether you entered on a passport or an ID card, the document number, and the date of entry. Getting these three wrong is the most common reason an application is refused.
- Pay the usage permit feeThe fee goes to the Revenue Administration. You can use the Digital Tax Office's Quick Payments → "Cep Telefonu Harcı Ödeme" (mobile phone fee payment) screen, pay by card through the Interactive Tax Office at ivd.gib.gov.tr, or pay at a tax office or partner bank. We do not quote the amount here because it is revised each year by the revaluation rate; you will see the current figure on the payment screen and on the e-Devlet service page. Enter the IMEI and your identity details on the payment screen exactly as they are.
- Open the IMEI Kaydet service on e-DevletSign in to e-Devlet, type "IMEI Kaydet" into the search box and pick the service run by the Information Technologies and Communications Authority. You can authenticate with an e-Devlet password, mobile signature, e-signature, Turkish ID card or internet banking. The registration must be filed from the account of the person who brought the device in - not from somebody else's.
- Fill in the formOn the service screen, enter the handset's IMEI number, the type of document you entered the country with (passport or ID card), the document number and your date of entry. On a dual-IMEI handset, be careful about which IMEI you are registering. Read the fields once more before you submit.
- Submit and follow the outcomeOnce you confirm the form the application goes into processing. You can follow whether the registration has been created through the same entitlement lookup service; when the device starts showing as registered, the job is done. If nothing shows immediately, wait a while and check again.
- Insert a Turkish SIM and confirm it worksPut a SIM from a Turkish operator into the handset, make a call and test the data connection. If the registration went through, the device is on the white list and works normally on the network. If it shows as registered but the line still does not work, take it up with your operator.
- Escalate to the BTK if something goes wrongIf the registration does not complete, the fee payment does not match up, or the device is cut off unfairly, you can call the BTK Consumer Contact Centre on 120. For a written record, file a consumer complaint at tuketici.btk.gov.tr. Keep your payment receipt and screenshots of the application.
⚠ This guide is general information. Yudum cannot be held responsible for the outcome of following it; for official procedures always rely on the institution's own statement. Steps and fees change over time.
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