Pharmacists in Turkey: What They May Do and How to Qualify
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, the higher education board, 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 the social security agency (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 is 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.
- Safe use: helping patients use medicines safely.
- Advice: on non-prescription medicines and health products.
- Side effects: reporting them.
- Privacy: keeping patients’ details private.
- Pharmacy only
- Human medicines, infant formula and special medical foods.
- Also sold
- 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.
- 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
Answers: Yes, No or Only if. 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. More on this: 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.
Coloured prescriptions · the dates
Some medicines need a coloured prescription
- 1985Red and green paper prescriptions
- 17 March 2017Red and green move into the colour e-prescription system
- November 2017Purple and orange join the system
- 1 April 2018Some closely watched medicines that need only a normal prescription go through the colour system too
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 allows, 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.
Your doctor decides which prescription a medicine needs.
The 4-day clock
Collect within 4 working days
- Day 0written
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4last day
- After day 4SGK no longer pays
At the counter · medicines SGK pays for
- You pay 20%
- of the price. Pensioners and their dependants pay 10%.
- + 3.76 TL
- per prescription, up to three boxes
- + 1.25 TL
- for each extra box
No share to payMedicines on SGK’s exemption list, with a medical report
Pricier brandIf it costs more than the cheapest in its equivalent group plus 6%, SGK does not pay the difference
Night duty: who keeps the light on
Where a town has more than one pharmacy, the local health authority sets a night and Sunday duty rota, and every pharmacist must follow it and the holiday orders.
- 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.
How the rota reaches you
- Chamber of pharmacistsDraws up the rota and enters it in the Eczanem Nerede app. There are 56 chambers.
- Health directorateThe provincial or district health directorate approves it.
- Police, hospitals, pressThey get the rota. It also appears on the provincial directorate’s website.
- YouLook at the pharmacy door, or open the Eczanem Nerede app of TEB, the pharmacists’ union: the nearest duty pharmacy on a map.
Outside local opening hours and on public holidays, only duty pharmacies open, including those in shopping centres. Tonight in your city: pharmacies in Turkey.
Becoming a pharmacist: degree, registration, specialty
Law 6197 sets four conditions for practising.
- Citizenship: you are a Turkish citizen.
- Diploma: a pharmacy diploma from a Turkish faculty, or a foreign one recognised under the law.
- Registration: the Ministry of Health has registered the diploma.
- Clean record: none of the legal barriers, 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 13:45, 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 over 300.
Foreign pharmacists and foreign degrees: five bolts on one door
Pharmacy is one of the professions reserved for Turkish citizens, so a foreigner with 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.
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, the higher education board, and ÖSYM, the national exam centre.
- Apply to YÖKThe 2026 fee for a diploma equivalence application is 1,250 TL. Add a certificate of a one-month internship in a Turkish pharmacy registered with a chamber of pharmacists.
- Sit the STS Eczacılık examIt is on 7 November 2026 at 13:45, at ÖSYM’s e-exam centre in Ankara: 75 questions in 110 minutes, pass mark 40 out of 100, fee 2,500 TL. Only people who applied to YÖK for pharmacy equivalence may sit it.
- Finish what is missingTake any missing courses and complete the internship.
- Get the certificateYÖK issues the equivalence certificate.
The questions come from these fields
- 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
- pharmaceutical toxicology
The list can change, and a field may get no question.
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).
- Also credited
- Years in a hospital pharmacy, or as a second pharmacist.
- No pharmacy found
- The chamber of pharmacists places you in the order of applications, and you start within 30 days.
- Absences
- 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. Each further step for a second pharmacist is the same size, because the regulation uses one figure for both.
- Required hire
- It must start within 30 days and be reported to the provincial health directorate.
- If ignored
- A warning and 30 days to comply. Then the licence is suspended for 30 days, and after that without a time limit.
- A front (muvazaa)
- If a non-pharmacist is found to be the real owner, the licence is cancelled and the pharmacist is barred for five years.
- After a death
- 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. More: 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. More: pharmacies in Turkey.
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
Rules and fees change. The provincial health directorate or your chamber of pharmacists has the last word.
- 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 24.10.2026
- 2026-STS Eczacılık guide — ÖSYM, checked 24.10.2026
- 2026-EUS guide — ÖSYM, checked 24.10.2026
- Diploma equivalence: fees and documents — YÖK, checked 24.10.2026
