Pharmacists in Turkey: What They Can Do, Prescriptions and How to Qualify (2026)
What a Turkish pharmacist may and may not do, how colour prescriptions and night duty work, and how Turkish and foreign graduates qualify.
Table of Contents
Pharmacists in Turkey work under Law 6197. Only a pharmacist may run a pharmacy, and they must be there in person while it is open. Medicines are sold only in pharmacies, never online. Most prescriptions arrive as e-prescriptions. Red, green, purple and orange ones are kept for tightly controlled medicines. To practise you must be a Turkish citizen with a Turkish pharmacy degree or a foreign one that YÖK has recognised.
In short · checked 14/10/2026
A Turkish pharmacist is a health professional with a protected counter: only they may sell medicines, and the law spells out what they may and may not do.
Who are you?
- Ask: advice on non-prescription medicines and health products is part of the job.
- Equivalents: the pharmacist may give you another brand from the same equivalent group.
- Four working days: collect your medicine within 4 working days of the prescription date, or SGK will not pay for it.
- No online sales: pharmacies may not sell medicines online or send them by courier.
- Turkish degree: the Ministry of Health registers your pharmacy diploma, and you can practise.
- Foreign degree, Turkish citizen: you need YÖK equivalence (1,250 TL in 2026), the STS Eczacılık exam (pass mark 40 out of 100) and a one-month internship in a Turkish pharmacy.
- Your own pharmacy: first work at least a year as an assistant pharmacist, then apply for a place.
- Citizens only: pharmacy is reserved for Turkish citizens, and a work permit does not change that.
- Mavi Kart: former citizens keep most citizens’ rights, but the law does not name pharmacy. Ask the provincial health directorate before you plan on it.
- As a customer: foreign residents and visitors use any pharmacy, including the night-duty pharmacy.
What a pharmacist may do: and what they must refuse
In Türkiye a pharmacy counts as a health service, not just a shop. Law 6197 lets only a pharmacist open or run one, and the pharmacist must be there in person whenever it is open. The rules for pharmacists list the work: helping patients use medicines safely, advising on non-prescription medicines and health products, reporting side effects and keeping patients’ details private. Human medicines, infant formula and special medical foods are sold only in pharmacies. Pharmacies may also sell supplements, cosmetics, baby food and some medical supplies.
Can the pharmacist… · checked 14/10/2026
Hand over a request, get a stamp
Tap a request slip: the stamp gives the rule.
- Yes
Yes. Medicines with the same active substance, dose and similar form sit in one equivalent group, and the pharmacy may swap within it. SGK can mark some groups as not swappable. SGK pays up to the cheapest medicine in the group plus 6%.
SGK rules (SUT) 4.4.2
- No
No. Selling medicines or special medical foods online or by any electronic means is banned, and so are couriers and touts. A pharmacy may not even run a website in its name.
Law 6197, Art 24; Regulation, Art 43
- Only if
Only if it is an e-prescription. Prescriptions that arrive by internet, fax, phone, courier or a broker are refused. An e-prescription signed electronically by the doctor is the exception.
Regulation, Art 28
- No
No. A prescription is dispensed as written. If a dose looks wrong, the pharmacist contacts the doctor. If the doctor cannot be reached, they give no more than the maximum in the codex and tell the health authority.
Law 6197, Art 25
- No
No. The pharmacy keeps narcotic and psychotropic prescriptions and does not hand them back. Each new supply needs a new prescription.
Regulation, Art 29–30
- Yes
Yes. Advice on non-prescription medicines and health products is one of the duties the rules give pharmacists.
Regulation, Art 7
- Only if
Only on prescription. The pharmacists’ union TEB imports medicines that are not licensed or not available in Türkiye, with the Ministry of Health’s permission, and delivers them to the patient.
TEB, medicines from abroad
- Only if
Only for first aid after an accident. Otherwise doctors may not see patients in a pharmacy.
Law 6197, Art 37
- No
No. A prescription is shown only to the doctor and to the patient or a relative.
Regulation, Art 32
- No
No. The pharmacist must be there in person during opening hours. An absence of more than 24 hours is reported. For up to 15 days a substitute pharmacist takes over. After that, a manager is appointed or the pharmacy closes.
Law 6197, Art 35
- No
No. The rule is one pharmacist, one pharmacy. An owner may not take other jobs either, except teaching or elected posts.
Law 6197, Art 18–19
Yes, No or Only if, as the law and the rules for pharmacies put it. A pharmacist may still refuse a sale for safety reasons.
Two of these rules surprise people from abroad. There is no legal online pharmacy in Türkiye: since a change in July 2025 the ban covers special medical foods too, and a pharmacy that uses couriers or touts faces a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 TL, doubled on a repeat. And a pharmacist owns one pharmacy, never a chain. For what that means when you need medicine at home, see our guide to buying medicine online in Turkey.
Prescriptions: an e-signature and five colours
Most prescriptions in Türkiye are e-prescriptions (e-reçete): the doctor signs them electronically. SGK’s rules keep paper for a few cases, such as magistral medicines, some foreign patients covered by social-security agreements, emergencies and home care. When the systems are down, the paper slip is stamped to say so.
- Who may write one: a physician, a dentist, a vet or an agricultural engineer.
- What it shows: the patient’s name, the diagnosis, and the doctor’s name, title, diploma number, workplace and signature.
- Refused: an illegible or coded prescription, or one without the doctor’s address and diploma number.
Some medicines need a coloured prescription. Red and green ones date from 1985. Coloured e-prescriptions have existed since 17 March 2017, and purple and orange ones joined the system in November 2017. Since 1 April 2018, some closely watched medicines that need only a normal prescription also go through the colour system. Tap a slip to see what each colour means at the counter.
Prescription colours · checked 14/10/2026
Five colours, five rulebooks
White · normal reçete
- What for
- Most medicines: the everyday prescription.
- How it is written
- As an e-prescription with the doctor’s e-signature. Paper only in the exceptions SGK lists, such as a system outage.
- At the counter
- Collect within 4 working days of the date written for SGK to pay. The pharmacist may swap to an equivalent brand.
Red · kırmızı reçete
- What for
- Narcotic medicines. Red prescriptions date from 1985.
- How it is written
- In the colour e-prescription system since 17 March 2017.
- At the counter
- The pharmacy keeps the prescription and does not hand it back. A new supply needs a new prescription. TİTCK caps the boxes per red prescription for each medicine.
Green · yeşil reçete
- What for
- Psychotropic medicines. Green prescriptions date from 1985 too.
- How it is written
- In the colour e-prescription system since 17 March 2017.
- At the counter
- The pharmacy keeps the prescription and does not hand it back. A new supply needs a new prescription.
Purple · mor reçete
- What for
- Medicines made from blood (blood-derived products).
- How it is written
- Added to the electronic system by a circular of 28 November 2017.
- At the counter
- Tracked through the colour system, which is linked to İTS medicine tracking and e-Nabız.
Orange · turuncu reçete
- What for
- Clotting-factor products.
- How it is written
- Added to the electronic system with purple, by the circular of 28 November 2017.
- At the counter
- Tracked through the colour system, which is linked to İTS medicine tracking and e-Nabız.
Colours as TİTCK and the rules for pharmacies describe them. Your doctor decides which prescription a medicine needs.
The four working days matter. SGK’s rules say medicines are supplied within 4 working days of the date the prescription was written, and after that the pharmacy does not supply them on it. With a medical report, the next supply can be given up to 15 days before the last one runs out, and a long-term medicine can be written for up to three months at a time.
What you pay at the counter is set by SGK too. For medicines SGK pays for, pensioners and their dependants pay 10% of the price and others pay 20%. On top of that comes 3.76 TL per prescription for up to three boxes and 1.25 TL for each extra box. Medicines on SGK’s exemption list, backed by a medical report, are free of these shares. If you choose a brand that costs more than the cheapest in its equivalent group plus 6%, SGK does not pay the part above that.
Night duty: who keeps the light on
Where a town has more than one pharmacy, the local health authority organises night and Sunday duty, and every pharmacist must follow the rota and the holiday orders. The chamber of pharmacists draws up the lists and the provincial or district health directorate approves them. The lists go to the police, hospitals and the press, and appear on the provincial health directorate’s website.
- On every door: every pharmacy, even a closed one, shows the duty pharmacies’ names, addresses and phone numbers outside, lit or on a screen.
- Ring the bell: a duty pharmacy may keep its door shut at night, but it must have a bell and serve you when you ring.
- Airports: pharmacies at international airports may open around the clock, with one pharmacist for every 8 hours.
Outside local opening hours and on public holidays, only duty pharmacies open, including those in shopping centres. The pharmacists’ union TEB runs an app, Eczanem Nerede, that shows the nearest duty pharmacy on a map, with rotas entered by the 56 chambers of pharmacists. To find one in your city tonight, see our guide to pharmacies in Turkey.
Becoming a pharmacist: degree, registration, specialty
Law 6197 sets four conditions for practising: Turkish citizenship, a pharmacy diploma from a Turkish faculty or a foreign one recognised under the law, that diploma registered by the Ministry of Health, and none of the barriers the law lists, such as certain criminal convictions. The counter is not the only job. Pharmacists may also be the responsible manager of a drug warehouse, and may open or manage drug factories, cosmetics makers and research centres.
Specialising · 2026-EUS
Pharmacy specialties start with ÖSYM’s central exam, the EUS. The 2026 exam is on 7 November 2026 at ÖSYM’s e-exam centre in Ankara: 75 questions in 110 minutes, 2,500 TL to apply. Applications ran from 23 September to 1 October, with a late day on 8 October. To be placed you need at least 50 in the YDS English exam or an equivalent, no more than five years old.
Specialty training takes place in university pharmacy faculties. Clinical pharmacy (Klinik Eczacılık) and phytopharmacy (Fitofarmasi) each take three years. Clinical pharmacists have a place by law: since 1 January 2023, hospitals with 100 to 300 beds must employ one, plus one more for each further 200 beds above 300.
Foreign pharmacists and foreign degrees: five bolts on one door
Pharmacy is one of the professions reserved for Turkish citizens. The Ministry of Labour’s work-permit pages list it by name, and a foreigner who holds a work permit may not practise as a pharmacist. A Turkish citizen who studied abroad does have a route, and so, possibly, does a Mavi Kart holder. Pick a profile to see which bolts open.
Working as a pharmacist in Türkiye · checked 14/10/2026
Five bolts on the pharmacy door
Your profile
Shown: Turkish citizen, foreign degree
1 Turkish citizenship Open
You are a citizen.
Law 6197, Art 2
2 A recognised pharmacy diploma A step to take
YÖK equivalence (1,250 TL), the STS Eczacılık exam (2,500 TL, pass mark 40) and a one-month internship.
Law 6197, Art 2–3; YÖK
3 Diploma registered by the Ministry of Health A step to take
Once YÖK has issued the equivalence certificate.
Law 6197, Art 2
4 A year as an assistant pharmacist A step to take
Needed to open or manage a pharmacy. Hospital years count.
Law 6197, Art 5; Regulation, Art 16
5 A place for a new pharmacy A step to take
Places are announced at least twice a year. The highest score wins.
Law 6197, Art 5
No bolt is shut, but the diploma comes first: YÖK equivalence, the STS exam and the internship.
All four profiles side by side
Turkish citizen, Turkish degree
- Turkish citizenship: Open
- A recognised pharmacy diploma: Open
- Diploma registered by the Ministry of Health: A step to take
- A year as an assistant pharmacist: A step to take
- A place for a new pharmacy: A step to take
Turkish citizen, foreign degree
- Turkish citizenship: Open
- A recognised pharmacy diploma: A step to take
- Diploma registered by the Ministry of Health: A step to take
- A year as an assistant pharmacist: A step to take
- A place for a new pharmacy: A step to take
Mavi Kart holder
- Turkish citizenship: Check first
- A recognised pharmacy diploma: A step to take
- Diploma registered by the Ministry of Health: Check first
- A year as an assistant pharmacist: Check first
- A place for a new pharmacy: Check first
Foreign national
- Turkish citizenship: Shut
- A recognised pharmacy diploma: Shut
- Diploma registered by the Ministry of Health: Shut
- A year as an assistant pharmacist: Shut
- A place for a new pharmacy: Shut
Bolts 1 to 3 let you work as a pharmacist; bolts 4 and 5 are for opening your own pharmacy.
The diploma route runs through YÖK and ÖSYM. YÖK’s 2026 fee for a diploma equivalence application is 1,250 TL, and pharmacy graduates must show a certificate of a one-month internship in a Turkish pharmacy registered with a chamber of pharmacists. The 2026 STS Eczacılık exam is on 7 November 2026 at ÖSYM’s e-exam centre in Ankara: 75 questions in 110 minutes, pass mark 40 out of 100, fee 2,500 TL. It is open only to people who applied to YÖK for pharmacy equivalence. Once you pass and finish any missing courses and the internship, YÖK issues the equivalence certificate.
The exam covers the whole degree: analytical chemistry, physiology and pathology, biochemistry, pharmaceutical microbiology and immunology, medical biology, public health, pharmacy law and ethics, pharmacology, clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy and botany, pharmaceutical technology and toxicology.
Owning a pharmacy: one year, one score, one pharmacy
To open a pharmacy, or to manage one as the responsible pharmacist, you first work at least a year as a yardımcı eczacı (assistant pharmacist). Years in a hospital pharmacy or as a second pharmacist count. If you find no pharmacy yourself, the chamber of pharmacists places you in the order of applications, and you start within 30 days. Three unexcused absences found in inspections wipe out the time.
New pharmacies are not opened freely. A district (ilçe) gets one pharmacy for every 3,500 people, and a settlement with no pharmacy can get one regardless. The Ministry announces places at least twice a year and the highest placement score wins: years in the profession plus a service score weighted by district, with a quarter added for a doctorate. Ties go to a draw. A pharmacist who hands over their pharmacy has their score halved.
Who must work in a busy pharmacy · 2026 limits
Coats on the hooks
Example shown: 95,000 prescriptions and 45 million TL turnover a year.
YouOwner and responsible pharmacist
Assistant pharmacistPaid at least 1.5 × the minimum wage
Second pharmacist 1Paid at least 3 × the minimum wage
Second pharmacist 2Paid at least 3 × the minimum wage
Second pharmacist 3Paid at least 3 × the minimum wage
One second pharmacist is required. The pharmacy must also take an assistant pharmacist if one applies.
| Second pharmacist | over 80,000 prescriptions or 66,899,094 TL turnover a year, one more per further step of the same size, at most 3 |
|---|---|
| Assistant pharmacist | over 31,722,520 TL turnover a year, if an assistant pharmacist applies |
Turnover is the previous year’s, excluding VAT. TİTCK set the 2026 limits on 2025 turnover, with TEB’s view. We assume each further step for a second pharmacist is the same size, as the regulation uses one figure for both.
The hire must start within 30 days and be reported to the provincial health directorate. A pharmacist who ignores the rule is warned and given 30 days; after that the licence is suspended for 30 days, and then without a time limit. Some other rules protect the profession from fronts. If a non-pharmacist is found to be the real owner (muvazaa), the licence is cancelled and the pharmacist is barred for five years. After a pharmacist dies, the pharmacy may run for the heirs under a manager for up to five years. It can run longer for minor children, or until a child studying pharmacy graduates.
Questions about pharmacists in Turkey
Can a foreign pharmacist work in Turkey?
Not as a pharmacist. Pharmacy is reserved for Turkish citizens, and a foreigner with a work permit may not practise it. Turkish citizens with a foreign degree can qualify through YÖK equivalence and the STS Eczacılık exam.
Can a Mavi Kart holder be a pharmacist?
Law 5901 lets Mavi Kart holders keep most citizens’ rights. The exceptions are voting, military service, duty-free imports and permanent civil-service posts. Pharmacy is not named either way, so ask the provincial health directorate or the chamber of pharmacists before you rely on it.
Can the pharmacist give me a different brand?
Yes, from the same equivalent group: same active substance and dose, similar form. SGK pays up to the cheapest in the group plus 6%.
How long is a prescription valid?
For SGK to pay, collect the medicine within 4 working days of the date written. With a medical report, the next supply can be given up to 15 days before the last one runs out.
Why did the pharmacy keep my prescription?
Red and green prescriptions, for narcotic and psychotropic medicines, stay at the pharmacy. You need a new one for the next supply.
Can I buy medicine online in Turkey?
No. Selling medicines online or by any electronic means is banned, and so is delivery by courier. See our guide to buying medicine online in Turkey.
How do I find a pharmacy open at night?
Every pharmacy shows the duty pharmacies on its door, and TEB’s Eczanem Nerede app shows them on a map. Our guide to pharmacies in Turkey has the details.
When is the next STS Eczacılık exam?
The 2026 STS Eczacılık is on 7 November 2026 in Ankara. Applications closed on 1 October, with a late day on 8 October.
How much must an assistant pharmacist be paid?
At least 1.5 times the minimum wage. A second pharmacist gets at least three times the minimum wage.
Can a pharmacist own more than one pharmacy?
No. The law allows one pharmacist one pharmacy, and the owner may not take other jobs except teaching or elected posts.
Sources and limits
We checked everything on 14 October 2026 in the laws and rules on mevzuat.gov.tr and on the pages of TİTCK, the Ministry of Labour, TEB, ÖSYM and YÖK. Rules and fees change, and the provincial health directorate or your chamber of pharmacists has the last word. What this guide does not cover: pharmacists’ pay above the legal floors, pharmacy profits, the number of pharmacists, university places, YÖK processing times and the next placement round.
- Law 6197 on pharmacists and pharmacies — mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 14/10/2026
- Regulation on pharmacists and pharmacies (12/04/2014) — mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 14/10/2026
- Health Implementation Communiqué (SUT) — SGK, on mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 14/10/2026
- Colour prescriptions for monitored medicines — TİTCK, checked 14/10/2026
- Professions reserved for Turkish citizens — Ministry of Labour and Social Security, checked 14/10/2026
- Work permit annotations — Ministry of Labour and Social Security, checked 14/10/2026
- Turkish Citizenship Law 5901, Art 28 — mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 14/10/2026
- Medicines from abroad — Türk Eczacıları Birliği (TEB), checked 14/10/2026
- 2026 second and assistant pharmacist limits — TEB, 24/07/2026, checked 14/10/2026
- Eczanem Nerede — TEB, checked 14/10/2026
- 2026-EUS and 2026-STS Eczacılık applications — ÖSYM, checked 14/10/2026
- 2026-STS Eczacılık guide — ÖSYM, checked 14/10/2026
- 2026-EUS guide — ÖSYM, checked 14/10/2026
- Diploma equivalence: fees and documents — YÖK, checked 14/10/2026
The illustrations were drawn for this guide and do not show real pharmacies, people or documents.
