How is the date of electronic service in UETS assessed?

The day a document reaches an account, the day it is opened and read, and the day it is legally deemed served may differ. The first step in reviewing a UETS record is to distinguish these dates. An SMS is information about a message in the account, not the served document itself.

Summary: Electronic service through UETS is deemed effected at the end of the fifth day following arrival at the recipient’s electronic address. Not reading the document does not remove this rule, and delayed SMS or email alerts do not by themselves invalidate service. Nevertheless, the service date and the final day for an objection or application must be assessed separately. This note explains only the general UETS rules.

What is a UETS address, how is it obtained and where do you sign in?

UETS is the electronic service system established and operated by PTT under Article 7/a of the Notification Law and the Electronic Notification Regulation. For natural persons, the electronic notification address is created by PTT as a single, unique address based on identity information.

Article 5 of the Regulation lists groups such as public administrations, private-law legal entities, notaries, lawyers registered with a bar, and registered mediators and experts among the recipients to whom electronic service is mandatory. Persons outside this scope may obtain an address on request; once the address is obtained, service on these persons must also be made electronically.

PTT points to pttbasvuru.etebligat.gov.tr for applications and ptt.etebligat.gov.tr for signing in to the account. According to PTT’s guide dated 6 November 2024, to open a UETS address to receive notifications through the e-Devlet gateway, the two-step login feature must first be enabled on the e-Devlet account. According to the same guide, notifications are followed by signing in to ptt.etebligat.gov.tr with e-Devlet, an electronic signature or a mobile signature. The same guide states that once the account is activated as a “Recipient” (“Alıcı”), this address replaces the physical service address. Activation should be decided with regard to whether the account can be checked regularly.

Electronic notifications sent by courts through UYAP also reach the UETS address. According to UYAP’s e-Tebligat explanations, the address information is transferred to UYAP automatically by PTT; no separate notification is required.

When signing in, the address bar should be checked, and the official address should be typed directly rather than using links received by message. For technical problems, the channels announced by PTT are the 444 1 788 call centre and epd-elektroniktebligat@ptt.gov.tr.

Which dates in a UETS record should be distinguished?

The Electronic Service Regulation requires separate evidence records for receipt by the system, delivery to the recipient, reading and deemed procedural service. These describe different stages of the same message and must not replace one another. The rules appear in Articles 3 and 20 of the Regulation.

For example, the decision date written on a document is not its arrival date in UETS. The day it is downloaded does not automatically become the service date either. Record the document date and system-event dates separately.

Does leaving the document unopened postpone service?

The general UETS rule is deemed service at the end of the fifth day after arrival at the electronic address. Reading is not a separate starting point replacing that rule. UYAP’s electronic-service explanations and Article 9 distinguish these events.

Failing to check the account because “I have not opened it yet” therefore does not prevent deemed service. Earlier reading must likewise not be confused with the general service rule described here. Whether a particular act has a different legal consequence tied to actual knowledge requires separate examination.

What does an absent SMS mean?

SMS and email announce that a new electronic service message exists. Under Article 10, failure or delay in providing this information for any reason does not affect the validity of service. Monitoring based solely on telephone alerts may therefore be incomplete.

Checking the UETS account and keeping contact details current should be considered together. Do not trust only a notification’s sender name; check the original document through the official account. Sharing passwords or verification codes is not part of reviewing a document.

Which documents should be kept together?

An SMS screenshot alone does not show the contents and complete history of service. For recordkeeping, distinguish:

• the original served document and annexes, showing what was communicated;
• electronic-service evidence records, showing which system event occurred and when;
• the issuing authority and file number, helping identify which proceeding the message concerns.

Clear filenames are useful, but the downloaded document’s contents must not be changed. Documents containing personal data should not be shared in public folders or messaging groups.

Is the service date enough to calculate the final day?

Not by itself. Without knowing the act, applicable procedural rules and remedy, there is no common final day for every service. The UETS service date is one element of the examination, not the whole examination.

Distinguish arrival, reading and service records correctly and examine the original document with its annexes. These UETS explanations should not automatically be applied to every electronic-notification system governed by other legislation. This text does not calculate a deadline for a particular file.