What do “safahat” records mean in UYAP, and what do they show?

When you open a file in the UYAP Citizen Portal, you encounter a section titled “safahat”. Unlike the file’s cover details, this section shows a record of the steps taken on the file over time.

Summary: “Safahat” is a word of Arabic origin that the dictionary defines as “stages”. In UYAP it refers to the record of the steps taken in a file. According to official UYAP material, this record includes the subject of the case, the file’s status, the parties, the stage of the case, the hearing date and whether the file has returned from the Court of Cassation. Safahat is not the same as document content or a service date; this distinction matters especially when deadlines are calculated.

What does safahat mean?

In the TDK Current Turkish Dictionary, “safahat” appears as a word of Arabic origin meaning “stages”. Its singular form, “safha”, is defined in the same dictionary as “stage, phase”.

UYAP uses the word close to this general meaning: it refers to the steps and stages a file has gone through. The official UYAP services page, describing the Citizen Portal, lists “all document content and safahat information contained in the physical file” as separate items. In UYAP’s own wording, document content and safahat information are two different things.

What do case safahat records show?

In the UYAP Citizen Portal material, “safahat information on events occurring in the file” is illustrated with the following headings among the information that can be seen through the portal:

• the subject of the case,
• the status of the file,
• the parties,
• the stage of the case,
• the hearing date,
• whether the file has returned from the Court of Cassation.

Steps such as adding a document to the file, setting a hearing date or transferring the file to another unit also appear in this record in chronological order. The order of the entries makes it easier to see at which stage a file stands.

Safahat, however, does not by itself show the legal consequence of a step. For example, a line reading “decision issued” does not on its own reveal the content of the decision, whether it has become final or whether it was properly served. The decision and the file must be examined together for that.

Is safahat the same as document and service information?

No; these concepts are often confused. The distinction can be summarised as follows:

• File cover details: basic information such as the subject of the case, the parties and the case number.
• Safahat: the chronological record of the steps taken in the file.
• Document: the document itself added to the file and its content.
• Service: notification of a document to the person concerned and the date of that notification.
• Hearing date: the date on which the hearing will be held.

This distinction is decisive, especially for application and objection periods. A date seen in UYAP is not automatically the service date or the last day of a period. The document date, the date of registration in the system, the date of knowledge, the hearing date and the service date may all differ. The last day should not be calculated from a single entry on the safahat screen.

You may also read our note that examines in more detail how to read the portal’s file and safahat information: How can case information be checked in the UYAP Citizen Portal?

How is safahat information accessed?

Safahat information is viewed through the UYAP Citizen Portal. Access options include an e-Devlet password, an electronic signature and a mobile signature. Lawyers reach the same information through the UYAP Lawyer Portal; the official UYAP services page also lists “access to file safahat information” under the Lawyer Portal.

The detail that can be displayed may vary with the login method, the user’s role in the file and system permissions. At this point it should be noted that official sources differ. UYAP’s current services page states that citizens who sign in with an e-Devlet password can examine the document content and safahat information in the file. An older help page of the portal states that users without an electronic or mobile signature can see only “certain safahat information”, and that document content is not displayed for personal-data security reasons.

For this reason, the answer to which document and which detail you can reach is the permissions presented on your own screen. A menu description in a help text prepared years ago does not by itself show current portal behaviour. The official portal should always be entered directly through vatandas.uyap.gov.tr or through the official UYAP entry service on e-Devlet.

What was the 2024 restriction on safahat queries?

There is an official example showing that safahat queries can be affected by system updates. In its announcement dated 3 May 2024, the Union of Turkish Bar Associations stated that a restriction had been placed on “safahat” queries for criminal and civil files via UYAP. The announcement said that, following talks with the Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Information Technology, update work on the safahat section was under way and the relevant query menu would be made available to lawyers again.

In its announcement dated 4 May 2024, the Union stated that safahat queries concerning civil files had been reopened, while update work on criminal files continued.

These two announcements show that the safahat screen is a system component that can change over time. If a current access problem arises, its source should be verified through official channels: the UYAP help desk or the relevant bar association.

In short

Safahat is the record of the steps taken in a file in UYAP; the dictionary meaning of the word is “stages”. It is not the same as file cover details, document content, a service date or a hearing date. Safahat is a useful starting point for seeing at which stage a file stands, but the assessment of deadlines and legal consequences should not rest on that screen summary alone.