Documents a construction site in Türkiye must keep, and how long they last

Which documents must be on a Turkish construction site?

Site paperwork falls into four groups: zoning and permit (the building permit, or yapı ruhsatı, with its approved drawings, the contract with the yapı denetim firm, the licensed third-party inspector every project must appoint, and the site manager's undertaking), social security (the SGK workplace file), occupational health and safety (OHS) records, and commercial documents (insurance, bank guarantees, subcontracts, municipal permits). Zoning Law 3194, art. 29, requires the permit and its attachments to be kept on site, and the Work Equipment Regulation, art. 7, requires inspection reports to be available whenever an inspector asks.

Start by knowing your hazard class. In the current Workplace Hazard Classes list, residential and non-residential building construction (NACE 41.00.01 and 41.00.02), concrete work and scaffold erection are all "very hazardous" (çok tehlikeli). The periods below use that class.

Document and validity table

How often is the risk assessment renewed?

At least every 2 years on very hazardous workplaces, but the same article requires a full or partial update whenever the workplace, technology, equipment or methods change, or after an accident or near miss. A construction site changes every month, so in practice you update the relevant section each time a new phase starts or heavy plant arrives. The emergency plan follows the same 2, 4 and 6-year logic, with a drill at least once a year.

When must scaffold and crane reports be renewed?

Building scaffolds: at least every 6 months, and again after first erection and every time the scaffold is raised or altered. A facade scaffold that climbs floor by floor needs a new report at each lift. Cranes: at least yearly, with a load test at each inspection and a structural capacity test at least every 3 years and after major repairs. Fixed equipment is re-inspected after every relocation.

How should reminders and ownership work?

1. List every item. Each scaffold, crane, generator and compressor is its own line.
2. Take expiry dates from the document, not from memory, and add post-erection checks.
3. Give each document one owner: permits to the project manager, OHS to the OHS specialist, equipment to the site manager, guarantees and SGK to accounts.
4. Remind at 30, 14, 7 and 1 days: time to book the inspector, confirm the date, check it happened, and a final warning.
5. Archive, do not delete, the old certificate when the new one arrives.
6. Review monthly everything expired or due within 30 days.

What is needed for the occupancy permit?

The occupancy permit (yapı kullanma izni, or iskân) is requested from the authority that issued the building permit, which must decide within 30 days (Law 3194, art. 30). Lists differ by municipality; commonly requested items include the inspection firm's completion documents, an SGK clearance letter, the energy performance certificate and lift registration where there is a lift. Start the file early, since clearance letters can take weeks. Contract dates such as guarantee and insurance expiry come from your subcontracts; see contract templates.

Checklist

• Permit and approved drawings on site, current versions.
• Permit date + 2 years and + 5 years in the calendar.
• Risk assessment and emergency plan match the current phase.
• Every worker's training and health check within the last year.
• Every scaffold inspected within 6 months and after its last lift.
• Crane, electrical, earthing, compressor and plant reports within a year, with EKİPNET numbers.
• Every document has an owner and 30/14/7/1-day reminders.

How does this work in Santix?

The Documents section of Santix holds permits, the inspection contract, risk assessment, emergency plan, training and health records, all-risk policy, bank guarantees, inspection reports, lift and occupancy documents per project. You scan a document with the camera; type, number and expiry date are read and suggested for you to check. Notifications go out 30, 14, 7 and 1 day before expiry, and expired documents show in red. Santix does not decide legal periods for you; you confirm the expiry date from the document. See document tracking and the revision guide for permit-level drawing changes. The app interface is in Turkish.

Sources

• Zoning Law No. 3194, arts. 29, 30
• Regulation on Health and Safety in the Use of Work Equipment, art. 7 and Annex III
• OHS Risk Assessment Regulation, art. 12
• Regulation on Emergencies at Workplaces, arts. 13, 14
• Workplace Physician Regulation, art. 9
• Worker OHS Training Regulation, Official Gazette 2 April 2026, No. 33212

Checked on 13 November 2026. All-risk, guarantee and municipal permit periods depend on the contract or municipality, so no general period is given.