Who can benefit from digital company status, which 2 conditions does Law No. 7582 set?
Only a company that meets two conditions together can use the one concrete legal benefit of digital company (dijital şirket) status, the exemption from chamber and exchange dues: its founders must have qualified as incubation entrepreneurs under Law 4691, and the company must be set up and run in line with the definition the Ministry of Industry and Technology will set (Law 7582, Official Gazette, 4 June 2026). KOSGEB, Türkiye’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, asks only for a fit with the definition in its own supports and does not mention incubation. The Ministry’s definition had not been published as of 14 October 2026.
For a founder, this means the question “will this be a digital company?” cannot be answered with certainty today, but it is clear which door asks for which condition. The legal exemption and KOSGEB support may cover different people, so assess them separately.
Which two conditions does Law 7582 set for a digital company?
A founder who has qualified as an incubation entrepreneur, and a company that fits the Ministry’s definition. Article 11 of Law 7582 places these two conditions side by side, joined by “and”, in a new paragraph added to Law 5746. The article entered into force on publication, 4 June 2026, but applying it depends on the definition.
First condition: a founder qualified as an incubation entrepreneur
Under Law 4691, an incubation entrepreneur is an early-stage entrepreneur working on R&D, technological innovation, software or design in an incubation centre. Qualifications and length of stay are set by regulation. How “having qualified” will be proven is unclear.
Second condition: a company set up and run in line with the definition
The company must be set up and run in line with the definition the Ministry will set. Its content, such as field of activity, scale, ownership structure or company type, is unknown. The claim that a digital company is “a new company type” appears in some commentary but not in any official text.
What does KOSGEB ask of a digital company, and how does it differ from the law?
KOSGEB asks only for a fit with the digital company definition. The KOSGEB Entrepreneur Support Programme and its Directive dated 5 October 2026 do not mention the incubation entrepreneur condition. The Directive does not define a digital company itself; it leaves that to the Ministry.
The general conditions still apply to a digital company
A KOSGEB Database record, an up-to-date Business Declaration, fitting the SME definition, being aged 0-1 and working in a supported sector are still required. The exemptions do not replace these conditions.
How does a software founder run into the digital company conditions?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- An evening at the kitchen table, the law open
- The turning point: the word “and”
- The lesson: read each benefit’s conditions separately
Usually by mistaking two doors for one. The scene below is illustrative and describes no real person: a software founder preparing to incorporate in Istanbul in autumn 2026. The facts come from the law and the KOSGEB Directive.
An evening at the kitchen table, the law open
A founder who has just shipped the first version of a mobile app sits with a partner at the kitchen table. The text of Law 7582 is open on one screen, KOSGEB’s renewed programme page on the other. The founder assumes the status means no dues plus a grant, and rushes into an application calendar.
The turning point: the word “and”
The founder stops at the word “and” in the law. A fit with the definition is not enough for the dues exemption; qualified incubation status is needed too, and the team is not in any incubation centre. KOSGEB does not ask for that condition. That evening, it becomes clear that the two doors open on different conditions.
The lesson: read each benefit’s conditions separately
The next day the founder keeps two separate lists: incubation options for the legal exemption, and an application file for KOSGEB that waits for the definition. Two benefits with the same name may not open to the same person, so keep those two lists separate in your own plan too.
Which founders do the digital company conditions affect, and how?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- A software team in an incubation centre is close to both conditions
- A platform founder outside incubation leans on KOSGEB
- Companies founded before the definition face uncertainty
A software team in an incubation centre is closest to both doors. A young founder outside incubation can lean only on the KOSGEB side. Companies founded before the definition and foreign founders are least certain: the tax exemption announced on 27 April 2026 came without criteria, and the treatment of foreign ownership is unknown.
A software team in an incubation centre is close to both conditions
An R&D or software team in a technopark or an off-zone incubation centre comes closest to the legal description of incubation. If it fits the definition, both the dues exemption and KOSGEB support may come into play. How the status will be documented is still unclear.
A platform founder outside incubation leans on KOSGEB
A young founder working from home, selling services on a platform or building an app may not meet the incubation condition. If the business fits the definition, KOSGEB’s Platform Costs Support and Business Setup exemptions are the more realistic door. The dues exemption may stay out of reach.
Companies founded before the definition face uncertainty
Whether a company founded today will count as a digital company once the definition appears is unknown. KOSGEB’s age 0-1 condition also makes timing matter. The incorporation date is a strategic decision for both benefits.
Which digital records should a digital company candidate keep in order now?
The KOSGEB application itself is digital: it runs through e-Devlet, Türkiye’s e-government gateway, and requires a KOSGEB Database record and an up-to-date Business Declaration. Records of platform registration fees and a web presence describing your activity let you move fast once the definition appears.
Keep platform registration fees in a separate folder
Platform Costs Support is tied to the platform registration fee, so keep invoices from the marketplace, app store or software platform you use in one place. Which platforms count will become clear with the definition.
Describe your activity clearly on your website
A plain site that shows your product, software and design work is visible proof of activity in an incubation meeting and in a support application. This helps whatever criteria the digital company definition brings.
What should a founder aiming for digital company status do this week?
Score yourself against the two conditions separately, update your KOSGEB Database record and Business Declaration, and ask incubation centres about your options in writing. Our preparation checklist for a KOSGEB application lists the steps one by one. Our digital company page tracks the current situation.
Keep two notes for the two conditions
In the first note, write down your incubation position: are you in a centre, and how is your R&D and software work described? In the second, note what could affect a fit with the definition: ownership structure, field of activity, incorporation route.
Do not rush the incorporation date
The age 0-1 condition and an exemption period that starts “from the incorporation date” make the founding day matter. Plan the date as the definition and your incubation position become clearer. We run this preparation with founders through our digital consulting service.
Quick Summary
- The legal dues exemption requires both an incubation entrepreneur founder and a fit with the Ministry’s definition (Official Gazette 33270).
- The exemption covers TOBB, chamber and exchange fees and dues for up to three years from incorporation (Official Gazette 33270).
- KOSGEB asks only for a fit with the definition and pays Platform Costs Support at 100%, non-repayable, over 24 months (KOSGEB Directive).
- Businesses fitting the definition are exempt from four Business Setup Support conditions (KOSGEB Directive).
- The Ministry’s digital company definition had not been published as of 14 October 2026.
Short Glossary
- Incubation entrepreneur
- Incubation entrepreneur is the legal term used to describe an early-stage founder doing R&D, software or design work in an incubation centre.
- Dues exemption
- Dues exemption is the term used for relieving a company of TOBB, chamber and exchange fees and dues for a set period.
- Platform Costs Support
- Platform Costs Support is the KOSGEB support item used to cover the platform registration fee of a business fitting the digital company definition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
If you would like to assess the two conditions against your own situation together, fill in the consult your expert form.
The definition and conditions of the digital company scheme are not final yet; check the latest information with the Ministry of Industry and Technology, KOSGEB and the Official Gazette before deciding. This is not legal or financial advice.
Support amounts and conditions can change; check the current terms on the institution’s official page before applying. This article is not financial or legal advice.
Sources: TÜRMOB, circular on Law 7582 (law dated 4 June 2026, accessed 14 October 2026) · Official Gazette 33270 (4 June 2026) · KOSGEB Entrepreneur Support Programme Directive (5 October 2026) · KOSGEB, Entrepreneur Support Programme (accessed 14 October 2026)
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Under the law, the exemption covers fees and dues to TOBB, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye, and to chambers and exchanges, for up to three years from incorporation. Whether “up to three years” means a full three years for every company may depend on implementing rules. The wider picture is in our article what is a digital company in Türkiye.
Under the Directive, a business set up in line with the definition receives Platform Costs Support equal to its platform registration fee, at 100%, non-repayable, over 24 months. The programme page gives no upper amount. Who exactly qualifies will become clear with the definition.
Businesses that fit the digital company definition are exempt from four conditions: entrepreneurship training, the 50% ownership share, the restriction on previous businesses or shares, and sole representation. Article 16 of the Directive lists these four exemptions.
The legal dues exemption looks difficult, because it requires incubation entrepreneur status. KOSGEB asks only for a fit with the definition, so a business that fits it can apply for KOSGEB supports.
No official text says so. The phrase appears in some commentary; the law only refers to companies that fit the definition the Ministry will set.
This is not yet known. Whether companies founded before the definition will later count as digital companies has not been settled in any published text.