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Turkish Identification Number
View on WikipediaTurkish Identification Number (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Kimlik Numarası or abbreviated as T.C. Kimlik No.) is a unique personal identification number that is assigned to every citizen of Turkey.
Foreigners residing in Turkey at least six months for any purpose receive a Foreigner Identification Number, which is different from the Turkish Identification Number.[1]
Purpose
[edit]The purpose of identification number's introduction is to resolve the problems that arise by same names of different citizens and to speed up the information transfer between the public institutions. With the identification number, services like taxation, security, voting, education, social security, health care, military recruitment, banking and many others can be carried out more quickly, rationally and reliably.[2]
History
[edit]The Turkish Identification Number was introduced on October 28, 2000 in conjunction with the Act No. 3080, which amended the initial Population Registration Act No. 1587,[3] and applied to all citizens born after 1840, dead or alive around 120 million people at that time. It was issued by the 923 registration offices at district level across the country.[2]
From January 1, 2003 on, all public institutions integrated the personal identification number in their certificates and documents like identity card, passport, international family book, driving license, form and manifesto they issue to citizens. The Identity Card Serial Number formerly in use was not needed any more and so cancelled.[3]
MERNİS Project
[edit]Turkish Identification Number was developed and put in service in context of a project called Central Registration Administration System (Turkish: Merkezi Nüfus İdaresi Sistemi, abbreviated as MERNİS),[2]
The idea for the project was born in 1972 after the Population Registration Law was enacted. Following infrastructural works done by the State Planning Organization and later by the Middle East Technical University, the World Bank financially supported the project in 1996 with credit.[4]
The cost of the project amounted to US$35 million. Personal data of 70 million Turkish citizens, 5 million Turks living abroad and 24 million dead were recorded in a databank with the help of the personal identification number using a special software that was developed for US$400,000. Moreover, 23 million records of married, divorced and naturalized people were added giving identification number.[5]
After accomplishment of the initial issue of the personal identification number, it is being given only to newborns and naturalized people.[2]
The MERNİS database is in online service since the end of November 2002, however not fully open to the public for secrecy of private data.[4] However leaked copies of the database have surfaced following a security breach by staff who sold copies on DVD in 2010,[6] and which became widely available on the internet via peer-to-peer file sharing services in early 2016.[7]
Identification number
[edit]The identification number is a unique 11-digit number given by the MERNİS computer on the basis of the citizen's registration record that is kept by the registration office. The number does not reflect any personal information about the citizen. It is not possible to change the identification number once applied.[2]
Query of the identification number
[edit]The identification number can be obtained by the registration offices or online at internet via the Ministry of Interior's portal.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Türkiyede Oturan Yabancıların Nüfus Kayıtlarının Tutulması Hakkında Yöetmelik" (in Turkish). Ministry of Justice. 2006-10-20. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ a b c d e "MERNİS Projesi hayata geçiyor/ Nüfus kayıtları bilgisayarlara taşınıyor". Dünya Gazetesi (in Turkish). 2000-10-24. Retrieved 2009-11-14.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "MERNİS Projesi-Genelge 2002/22" (PDF) (in Turkish). Prime Ministry-General Directoriate of Personnel and Principles. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2007. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ a b "Projeler: Dünden Bugüne MERNİS" (in Turkish). Ministry of Interior-General Directoriate of Registration and Citizenship. Archived from the original on 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "TC kimlik numarasında hata". Hürriyet. Forum Alev. 2006-12-10. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ^ "Tüm bilgileriniz şu anda satılıyor olabilir". Hurriyet. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ "Turkey MERNIS Citizen Database Leak: What You Need to Know". D8 News. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ "T.C. Kimlik No. Sorgulama" (in Turkish). Ministry of Interior-General Directoriate of Registration and Citizenship. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
External links
[edit]- Validation of Turkish Identification Number in Python, at Caner BASARAN's software repository.
Turkish Identification Number
View on GrokipediaPurpose and Legal Framework
Introduction and Objectives
The Turkish Identification Number, designated as the T.C. Kimlik Numarası, constitutes an 11-digit unique identifier mandated for all Turkish citizens, generated and assigned through the Central Civil Registration System (MERNİS) based on an individual's registration record. This number is allocated at the point of birth registration for offspring of at least one Turkish citizen parent, irrespective of birthplace, or upon completion of naturalization procedures granting citizenship. As a permanent and non-transferable code, it encapsulates core personal data linkage from inception, enabling comprehensive tracking of civil status changes throughout life.[1][6][7] The system's core objectives center on establishing a centralized, digitized framework for population management that supplants fragmented, paper-based records prone to inconsistencies. By assigning a singular, algorithmically verified identifier, MERNİS seeks to eradicate duplicate registrations, standardize inter-institutional data exchanges, and integrate disparate government databases covering taxation, healthcare provisioning, social security entitlements, and voter authentication. This architecture supports real-time verification and interoperability between public and private entities, minimizing reliance on redundant documentation.[7][8] In pursuit of administrative efficacy, the identifier addresses vulnerabilities in prior name-centric systems, such as identity conflation from homonyms, thereby curtailing opportunities for fraudulent claims in service access and resource allocation. Its deployment has demonstrably expedited procedural workflows—facilitating identity confirmation, bolstering oversight in fiscal and welfare distributions, and curtailing informal economic activities—while fostering a unified informational ecosystem that enhances governance precision without compromising individual record integrity.[7][8]Legal Basis and Mandatory Usage
The Turkish Identification Number, known as T.C. Kimlik Numarası, derives its foundational legal authority from Law No. 3080, enacted on October 28, 2000, which amended the pre-existing Population Law No. 1587 to establish a unique 11-digit identification system assigned to every Turkish citizen, regardless of birth date or status.[9] This amendment mandated the replacement of prior numbering systems with the T.C. Kimlik Numarası in official records, ensuring universal applicability to approximately 120 million registrations covering citizens born after 1840. Subsequent codification in Law No. 5490 on Population Services, effective from June 29, 2006, reinforced this framework by requiring automatic assignment upon birth registration or citizenship acquisition, with the number remaining unique and unchangeable for life.[10] Mandatory usage is explicitly stipulated in Article 47(1) of Law No. 5490, which demands inclusion of the T.C. Kimlik Numarası on all forms, declarations, identity cards, documents, and other records issued in an individual's name, rendering it indispensable for official transactions such as administrative filings, contracts, and public service applications.[11] For Turkish citizens, this number doubles as the Tax Identification Number (TIN) under domestic tax regulations, with automatic linkage eliminating separate issuance and imposing a legal duty to furnish it for fiscal obligations, including income declarations and business registrations.[4] Non-citizens, such as residents or entities, may receive equivalent numbers but lack this automatic integration. Enforcement relies on administrative and penal measures outlined in Law No. 5490, where failure to comply with registration duties or accurate documentation incurs graded fines starting from 51 TL for minor delays up to thousands for deliberate omissions or falsifications, escalating for repeat offenses.[12] In tax contexts, omitting the TIN-equivalent T.C. Kimlik Numarası can trigger substantial penalties under revenue laws, potentially blocking transactions or imposing surcharges. Misuse, including unauthorized disclosure or fabrication, attracts criminal liability under Articles 135-136 of the Turkish Penal Code for unlawful personal data handling, with imprisonment risks up to several years in severe cases, alongside civil sanctions from the Personal Data Protection Authority for excessive processing beyond necessity.[13] These mechanisms ensure enforceability, prioritizing the number's role in preventing duplication and fraud while upholding data minimization principles in lawful contexts.Historical Development
Pre-Digital Registration Systems
In the Ottoman Empire, civil registration practices originated with the introduction of nüfus defterleri (population registers) starting in 1831, which documented vital events including births, marriages, deaths, and migrations at the local administrative level. These manual ledgers, supplemented by identification documents such as the Tezkere-i Osmaniye issued from 1863, recorded personal identifiers like full name, age, birthplace, religion, and family ties, serving as the basis for administrative and military conscription purposes.[14] Formal census legislation in 1875 and 1884 institutionalized this framework, mandating population registers at the district (kaza) level to track household compositions and enable rudimentary civil status verification.[15] Upon the Republic of Turkey's establishment in 1923, the Ottoman registration infrastructure persisted, with nüfus defterleri evolving into family-based record books (soy kütüğü) maintained by local population directorates (nüfus müdürlükleri).[16] These paper records centralized household data under the paternal head, relying on descriptive attributes—such as given name, father's name, mother's name, birth date, and village of origin—for individual identification, without a standardized unique code. Updates occurred through manual entries during life events, with extracts (nüfus kayıt örneği) issued for official transactions like inheritance or military service. The system's decentralized, analog format faced mounting pressures from Turkey's demographic expansion, with population rising from 13.6 million in the 1927 census to 67.8 million by 2000, alongside urbanization that shifted residents from 24.2% urban in 1950 to 64.9% by 2000.[17] [18] Local registries struggled with inter-jurisdictional coordination for migrants, fostering duplicate entries amid prevalent identical naming conventions and exposing gaps in real-time tracking, as evidenced by the subsequent push to digitize records via the MERNIS initiative to consolidate fragmented data.[19] This administrative burden, intensified by rural-to-urban flows overwhelming manual verification processes, underscored the limitations of name-based matching in preventing identity overlaps or fraudulent claims by the late 20th century.[20]MERNİS Project and Modernization
The MERNİS (Merkezi Nüfus İdaresi Sistemi), or Central Civil Registration System, represented a pivotal digitization effort for Turkey's population management, with conceptual roots tracing to 1976 under the State Planning Organization, though substantive implementation accelerated from 1997 onward through digitization of paper-based records between 1997 and 1999. This initiative centralized fragmented local registries into a national electronic database under the Ministry of Interior, enabling automated processing of civil status changes without reliance on manual family ledgers.[19][21] Core to MERNİS is its real-time linkage of vital events—encompassing births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and citizenship alterations—across all civil registration offices, ensuring instantaneous updates to a unified repository accessible nationwide. Identification numbers are generated sequentially upon initial registration, derived purely from entry order in the system rather than encoding demographic details like birth date or location, which preserves neutrality in numbering while facilitating checksum validation.[22][23][24] By consolidating data silos previously siloed in provincial offices, MERNİS enhanced inter-agency coordination, streamlining identification and service delivery to yield faster public administration processes, such as immediate verification for administrative transactions. This centralization underpinned subsequent advancements like the 2006 Address Based Population Registration System, which leveraged MERNİS records for register-based population statistics, supplanting error-prone traditional censuses with more reliable, annually updated figures that minimized undercounting in dynamic urban areas.[23][19]Implementation and Rollout in 2000
The Turkish Identification Number was officially rolled out on October 28, 2000, through Act No. 3080, which amended the Population Registration Act No. 1587 to establish a unique 11-digit identifier for all citizens, replacing reliance on names and sequential registry numbers prone to duplication.[25][2] This legislative change enabled the centralized assignment of numbers via the MERNIS system, drawing from a pre-generated pool organized by district, registry volume, and family sequence to cover approximately 60 million citizens at the time.[3] Implementation proceeded in phases, with initial assignments prioritized for newborns to integrate the number directly into birth registrations, while retroactive allocation occurred for adults based on existing civil records, requiring updates to identity documents upon renewal.[3][2] The transition from legacy paper-based systems involved digitizing vast registry data nationwide, a process managed by the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs to ensure sequential and verifiable numbering without gaps or overlaps.[3] Logistical execution included coordinating provincial offices for data verification and issuance of updated identity cards bearing the number, starting immediately after the rollout date, which mitigated duplication issues in administrative processes.[2] By 2006, integration advanced further under subsequent reforms, with the number becoming standard on all new documents, reflecting rapid systemic adoption amid ongoing MERNIS expansions.[25]Technical Structure and Validation
Digit Composition and Format
The Turkish Identification Number, known as T.C. Kimlik Numarası, is structured as an 11-digit numeric sequence without leading zeros, where the first digit ranges from 1 to 9. The initial nine digits constitute the core unique identifier assigned to each citizen, while the final two digits function as verification check digits derived algorithmically from the preceding ones to ensure data integrity.[3] This format adheres to a non-informative design principle, meaning the digits do not encode personal attributes such as date of birth, gender, or geographic origin of registration, unlike certain international systems that embed such details for administrative efficiency. Instead, the number is generated by the Merkezi Nüfus İdaresi Sistemi (MERNİS) in sequential order based on the timing of an individual's entry into the national population registry, prioritizing uniqueness and randomness to mitigate risks of prediction or identity inference.[2][1] This approach supports enhanced privacy by decoupling the identifier from exploitable biographical data, as the assignment relies solely on chronological registration records rather than demographic coding.[7]Checksum Algorithm and Verification
The Turkish Identification Number consists of 11 digits, with the 10th and 11th serving as check digits derived from the preceding digits via a mathematical algorithm to enable error detection and forgery prevention. To verify or generate the 10th digit, compute the sum of the digits in odd positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th, where position 1 is the leftmost digit) and the sum of the digits in even positions among the first eight (2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th). The 10th digit is then given by . For validation, this computed value must match the provided 10th digit; discrepancies indicate errors such as transcription mistakes or invalid generation.[26][27] The 11th check digit is calculated as the sum of the first 10 digits modulo 10. Verification requires recomputing this sum from the given first 10 digits and confirming it equals the 11th digit. The full validation process also enforces that the number comprises exactly 11 numeric digits and that the first digit is nonzero, as zero would imply an invalid or pre-2000 legacy format. These steps ensure deterministic local verification without requiring access to central registries.[26][27] This algorithm leverages modular arithmetic with a weighted multiplier of 7 on odd-position sums to enhance detection of common errors, including single-digit substitutions and adjacent transpositions, which would rarely preserve both check digits due to the asymmetric weighting. Empirical implementations in software libraries confirm its robustness for standalone checks, yielding a low false-positive rate for random invalid inputs—approximately 1 in 100, as each check digit independently filters roughly 90% of erroneous cases.[26] Public tools for verification include standalone online calculators that apply this algorithm to user-input numbers, providing instant feedback on mathematical validity. Developer libraries, such as Python'sturkish-validator package or JavaScript functions, integrate the logic for programmatic use, often in applications requiring real-time checks without transmitting full numbers to servers. These complement but do not replace official database queries, which incorporate additional personal data for comprehensive authentication.[28][29]
