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NEWSLETTER 2011
306
Would a Signature Stamp be Legally Valid?
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Att. Sedef Üstüner
A signature is a sign which is placed on a document or under a writing
to show that the document or the writing was signed by the signatory and
that the signatory accepts the content of the document or the writing.
In the intensive tempo of daily commercial life, the signature stamp
is applied in a serial way, rather than as indicating an examined, duly-
signed document. These applications cause many discussions on whether
signature stamps can substitute for wet signatures or not. In this respect,
we will draw attention to the issue of whether signature stamps placed
under agreements are valid or not.
The provisions regarding signatures are stipulated in the Code
of Obligations (“CO”) and the Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”). The
explanations of these provisions are given below.
• Pursuant to Article 14 of the CO, a person who will become a
debtor by signing a document must put a handwritten signature on
the document. However, in cases where the customary rules allow,
and particularly when large quantity of negotiable instruments
will be issued, signatures affixed by means of an instrument are
also deemed to be valid.
• Pursuant to Article 15, persons who are not able to sign (illiterates
or the blind) may use their fingerprints or any handwritten marks,
or affix a seal provided that they are approved in due form.
• Article 297/2 of the CCP stipulates that an illiterate or a person
unable to sign may use a fingerprint or affix a seal and in such a
case, the board of alderman or two locally well- known witnesses
must approve that the fingerprint belongs to that person or that the
seal was affixed by that person.
Pursuant to the provisions stated above, in line with the practice and
the precedents of the Supreme Court, as a general rule, persons who are
able to sign must use their handwritten signatures. Handwritten signatures
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Article of February 2011