A trademark application number is the unique number that TÜRKPATENT (Turkish Patent and Trademark Office) assigns to every trademark application and that identifies the file for its entire life; it consists of the filing year and a serial number within that year (a representative example: 2026/012345). A trademark application number search in Turkey brings up a single, correct file, unlike a name search: there is no risk of spelling differences, similar names or getting lost among dozens of records bearing the same name.
Below you will find how to read the number, where it appears in each document, how to search by number, how it differs from registration and Madrid numbers, and what to do if you do not have the number.
What Is a Trademark Application Number?
An application number is the identification number given to a file when a trademark application reaches the Office, and it identifies the file in every action, from filing to registration and from renewal to assignment. The same trademark name can appear in more than one file, but an application number belongs to one file only. That is why official correspondence, oppositions and contracts refer to a trademark by its number rather than its name.
The value of the number becomes clear when you consider it together with the filing date. Under Article 15(1) of Industrial Property Law No. 6769 (SMK), an application with no formal deficiencies is finalized as of the date, hour and minute it was received. The number is the address of the file that carries this priority: behind that number you find the priority date, the term of protection and every action on the file. We explain the steps through which an application is completed in EPATS in our guide to the EPATS trademark application.
How Do You Read an Application Number?
For Turkish national trademark applications, the number has two parts, usually separated by a slash. Each part carries different information.
The year part
The first part of the number shows the year the application was filed. This tells you the age of the file at a glance and gives the first clue for calculating the term of protection: under Article 23 SMK, protection lasts 10 years from the filing date, so a number beginning with 2016 indicates that the term of protection expires, or has expired, during 2026. The exact day, however, is read not from the number but from the filing date recorded in the file.
The serial number
The part after the year is the serial number within that year. The leading zeros of this part and its general written form may look different in different documents and on different screens. When searching, copy the number exactly from the document; if no result appears, try the same number again in the format the screen expects, for example with or without the leading zeros. The serial number does not conclusively show which of two applications filed in the same year came first; in a priority dispute, what counts is the recorded date, hour and minute.
To make this concrete with a made-up example, suppose the mark "NORDIKA" has the number 2019/045678. The year part tells you that the application was filed in 2019 and that the 10-year protection will expire in 2029. When you open the file by number and see the filing date as, say, 14 March 2019, the calculation becomes precise: protection ends on 14 March 2029, and the renewal request must be made within the six months before that date. The number gives you the year; the file gives you the day.
Where Does the Application Number Appear?
The number appears on almost every official document relating to the file. The main places to look are:
- The application record: the file record and application details created in EPATS when the application is completed.
- The EPATS file screen and notifications: every letter the Office sends carries the number of the file concerned.
- e-Devlet: the list of applications and registrations recorded in your own name.
- The Official Trademark Bulletin: every published application appears together with its number.
- The registration certificate: the application number and date are printed on the certificate.
- Attorney correspondence: if you work with an attorney, reports and notices are sent with the number.
- The register extract: the official copy of the register entry obtained from the Office shows the file's number and date.
If you own more than one trademark, gather the numbers in a single table: number, trademark name, classes, filing date and expiry date of protection. At times such as a change of attorney, a corporate merger or an assignment, this table is the simplest way of never losing track of which file is where; your renewal calendar also comes straight out of it.
We describe in detail what information appears next to the number on the registration certificate, and what the certificate is used for, in our article on the trademark registration certificate.
How Do You Search a Trademark by Application Number?
A search by number takes a few minutes and follows this order:
- Copy the number exactly. Take the year and serial number as they appear in the document; mixing up the year digits when typing by hand is the most common mistake.
- Open TÜRKPATENT's search page. Alongside the name-based trademark search, the page has a section dedicated to file tracking; as of September 2026 this section is headed "Dosya Takibi" (File Tracking), although interface labels can change over time.
- Enter the number and search. If no result appears, try different formats in terms of the separator and leading zeros.
- Verify the file's identity. Do the mark shown, the owner's name, the filing date and the classes match the file you expect?
- Read the status and the history of actions. Note the stage the file has reached and its last action.
- Get official confirmation if needed. If a legal or commercial decision depends on the result, confirm it with a register extract.
We explain in table form what the status wording in the opened file means, and how much of an obstacle it is for you, in our article on trademark status meanings. The steps for viewing files recorded in your own name through e-Devlet can be found in our guide to e-Devlet trademark search and status tracking.
If you do not have the number, only the trademark name, Webx's trademark registration search tool is one of the quickest routes to it. The tool works by name, and the "Application No." column in its results table shows each record's number. After picking the right record by owner name and classes and noting its number, you can move on to file tracking.
Why Searching by Number Beats Searching by Name
A search by number is the most reliable way of tracking a specific file; a search by name is the only way of seeing similar trademarks. Neither replaces the other; they answer different questions.
| Criterion | Search by name | Search by number |
|---|---|---|
| Number of results | Many records | A single file |
| Effect of a spelling mistake | Can miss the record entirely | No problem once the format is corrected |
| Different owners with the same name | High risk of confusion | No risk |
| Seeing similar trademarks | Possible | Not possible |
| Best use | New-name research, identifying the owner | Tracking and confirming a specific file |
The practical rule is this: if you are asking whether a name is available, start with the name; if you are asking where a specific trademark stands today, finish with the number. We compare all the ways of confirming the registration of a trademark that belongs to someone else in our article on how to check if a trademark is registered.
Are the Registration Number and the Application Number the Same?
In practice, Turkish national trademark files continue to be tracked by their application number after registration, while the registration certificate and the register also show a number and date relating to registration. Although the two numbers appear in the same sequence in many records, do not treat this as an absolute rule: read the two fields on the document separately and check which number the search screen asks for. Confusion usually arises when the different numbers associated with a file are mixed up.
| Number | Who assigns it? | What does it identify? | Where is it used? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application number | TÜRKPATENT | The national trademark file | Searches, oppositions, renewals, recordals |
| Registration number | TÜRKPATENT | The register entry of the registered mark | Registration certificate, register |
| International registration number | WIPO | The Madrid System registration | Madrid Monitor, subsequent designations |
| Bulletin issue number | TÜRKPATENT | The Bulletin in which the file was published | Establishing the publication date and opposition period |
| Document or transaction number | TÜRKPATENT | A single request or item of correspondence | Tracking correspondence in EPATS |
The Bulletin issue matters in particular: under Article 18 SMK, the period for opposing a publication is two months from publication, and it is triggered not by the application number but by the date of the Bulletin in which the file was published.
How Do You Search a Madrid International Registration Number?
WIPO gives registrations made through the Madrid System an international registration number that contains no year; this number is the common identifier for every country designated in the registration. The search is made with this number in WIPO's Madrid Monitor, where you can follow the holder, the designated countries and the protection decisions issued by those countries. We have compiled the country-by-country databases in our guide to international trademark search databases.
International applications originating from Turkey
An international application based on an application or registration in Turkey is forwarded to WIPO through TÜRKPATENT. Under TÜRKPATENT's 2026 trademark fee schedule, the fee for this transmission (item 02.01.19) is TRY 3,850, and TRY 3,350 for international applications with Turkish wording (item 02.01.35); fees payable to WIPO are separate. Such files have two identifiers: the number of the underlying application or registration in Turkey, and the international registration number assigned by WIPO. Keep both together in your records; one is needed for national actions and the other for actions abroad.
Foreign registrations designating Turkey
For an international registration of a foreign trademark that designates Turkey, the primary identifier is the international registration number. Check in both Madrid Monitor and the Turkish records whether protection has been granted for Turkey, or refused in part; an international registration being in force does not automatically mean it is protected in Turkey.
The fee amounts relate to 2026; current amounts should be checked against the TÜRKPATENT fee schedule, because it is updated every year. Attorney service fees are not included in the official fees.
Actions Tracked by Application Number
Almost every action taken after a file is opened runs through its number. Knowing the number correctly saves time in the actions below and prevents action being taken on the wrong file.
| Action | Role of the number | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal | The file to be renewed is selected by number | The term is calculated from the filing date |
| Recording an assignment, license or pledge | The recordal request is made against the file number | The number must be stated expressly in the contract |
| Opposition to publication | The opposed application is identified by number | The period is two months from Bulletin publication |
| Letter of consent | The numbers of the earlier mark and the new application are stated | A wrong number can make the document useless |
| Register extract and official letter | The request is made against the file number | TRY 2,890 (02.01.05) and TRY 280 (02.01.18) in 2026 |
| Updating an address or company name | The files to which the change applies are identified by number | List every number in the portfolio |
Renewal is especially tied to the number: the request is created in EPATS against the file number, and the deadline is calculated from the filing date behind that number. We explain the timing and steps of renewal in our guide on trademark renewal.
5 Common Mistakes When Searching by Number
Searching by number reduces mistakes but does not eliminate them. The five most common mistakes are:
- Confusing the filing year with the registration year. The year part of the number is the filing year; registration usually happens in a later year, and the term is calculated from the filing date.
- Searching an international registration number on the national screen. The number assigned by WIPO is searched in Madrid Monitor; it may return nothing in national file tracking.
- Mistaking the Bulletin issue number or a document number for the application number. Notifications and the Bulletin contain several numbers; pick out the one that identifies the file.
- Acting on a divided file using the old number. After a division or partial assignment, the goods and services split off are tracked under a new number.
- Looking at a single number and missing the portfolio. The same mark may be protected by separate files filed at different dates, for different classes or in different forms.
What If You Do Not Know the Number?
The number remains in the Office's records; what has been lost is only your access to it. Proceed in this order:
- If it is your own trademark, check e-Devlet and EPATS first. Files recorded in your name or your company's name are listed with their numbers.
- Go through your paperwork. The registration certificate, Office notifications, attorney reports and payment records contain the number.
- Search by trademark name. Query the name on the search screen or in the Webx tool; pick the right record by owner name, classes and the image of the mark, and take its number.
- Search by owner name. Files belonging to the same person or company are listed; try different spellings of the company name as well.
- If it is someone else's trademark, ask for the number in writing. If the party claiming registration avoids sharing the number, that alone is a sign that deserves attention.
- Get help if you get nowhere. Where the name is spelled differently, the owner has changed its company name or the file has been divided, finding the right record can take expertise.
Conclusion
A trademark application number search is the shortest way to track a specific trademark without mistakes, but it does not replace a name search for seeing similar marks. Key takeaways:
- The application number is the file's unique identifier; it consists of a year and a serial number and does not change over the life of the file.
- The number appears in the application record, notifications, the Bulletin, the registration certificate and the register extract.
- Priority and the term of protection are calculated from the filing date and time in the file, not from the number.
- For Madrid registrations, the primary identifier is WIPO's international registration number; protection for Turkey is checked separately.
- Writing the number correctly in renewals, assignments, oppositions and letters of consent removes the risk of acting on the wrong file.
Shall we track your file numbers together?
Send us the numbers of the files in your portfolio, or of those you want to follow, through our contact page; our team, which works with trademark attorneys authorized before TÜRKPATENT, will report the current status of each file and its upcoming deadlines. For continuous monitoring, our trademark watch service tracks your renewal dates and similar applications published in the Bulletin in a single system.
