ANKARA — On September 26, 2026, tens of thousands of aspiring legal professionals across Turkey took a critical step toward their career goals. The Assessment, Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) successfully administered two of the country’s most significant professional examinations: the Law Professions Entrance Exam (Hukuk Mesleklerine Giriş Sınavı – HMGS) and the Administrative Judiciary Pre-Exam (İdari Yargı Ön Sınavı – İYÖS).
A total of 20,966 candidates participated in the exams, which serve as essential gateways for individuals seeking to practice law, enter the judiciary, or secure administrative judicial roles in Turkey. The results of these highly anticipated assessments are scheduled to be officially announced on October 22, 2026.
The administration of these exams represents a major logistical and academic milestone for Turkey’s legal and educational systems. Designed to standardize and elevate the quality of legal services across the nation, the exams evaluate the core competencies of law graduates and qualified social science majors before they can proceed to professional internships, judge-candidate training, or notary public licenses.
Logistical Scale and Examination Structure
To accommodate the thousands of candidates sitting for the exams, ÖSYM established a comprehensive organizational network spanning multiple provinces. The exams were conducted with high security and strict adherence to national testing standards.
The HMGS, which attracted the vast majority of the candidates, was held in 18 exam centers across 17 provinces. The exam utilized 43 separate buildings and 677 individual halls to accommodate the large influx of law graduates.
Meanwhile, the İYÖS, which is tailored for graduates of specific social and administrative science programs, was conducted in nine exam centers across eight provinces. This exam was hosted in 11 designated buildings and across 79 halls.
Both examinations commenced simultaneously at 10:15 AM. Candidates were allocated a standard duration of 155 minutes (2 hours and 35 minutes) to complete the tests. To ensure equal opportunity and accessibility, ÖSYM granted an additional 30 minutes of exam time to candidates who were eligible for and required special accommodations, allowing them a total of 185 minutes to complete their answers.
The exams were administered in a multiple-choice, standardized test format. Each candidate was presented with 120 questions covering a broad spectrum of legal principles, constitutional law, civil law, administrative procedures, and other core academic subjects. The evaluation of the exams will be conducted on a 100-point scale. To be considered successful and qualify for the next stage of their professional careers, candidates must secure a minimum passing score of 70 points.
Over 19,000 Candidates Apply for the HMGS
In an official statement regarding the administration of the exams, ÖSYM President Prof. Dr. Bayram Ali Ersoy provided detailed statistics on candidate participation and the extensive human resources required to pull off the nationwide operation.
According to Prof. Dr. Ersoy, a total of 19,276 candidates applied to sit for the HMGS, reflecting the high demand and the competitive nature of the legal profession in Turkey. The İYÖS, on the other hand, saw applications from 1,690 candidates.
To ensure the smooth execution, security, and integrity of the examinations, a massive workforce was deployed. A total of 3,398 personnel, including test proctors, administrative staff, and law enforcement officers, were on duty across all exam venues. Security measures were tightly maintained at the entrance of every building, with standard security screenings conducted to ensure a fair and quiet testing environment for all participants.
Prof. Dr. Ersoy also highlighted the inclusive measures taken by ÖSYM to accommodate candidates with special needs or unique circumstances. "We have taken every necessary precaution to ensure that our candidates can take their exams in a comfortable and stress-free environment," he stated.
As part of these efforts, specialized testing environments were prepared for 81 disabled candidates who applied for the exams, ensuring they had full access to necessary accommodations. Furthermore, to accommodate candidates currently in correctional facilities, four buildings specifically adapted for testing within prison complexes were utilized for the HMGS.
In line with social solidarity principles, certain candidates were exempted from paying the standard examination fees. This exemption was granted to veterans, as well as the spouses and children of martyrs and veterans. A total of 140 candidates benefited from this policy, allowing them to sit for the exams free of charge.
Eligibility Criteria and Academic Requirements
The HMGS and İYÖS serve different segments of graduates, each tailored to specific professional trajectories within the Turkish legal and administrative frameworks.
Who Can Take the HMGS?
The HMGS is mandatory for individuals who wish to pursue careers as lawyers, notaries, or judges within the civil and criminal justice systems. Eligibility for the exam is restricted to:
- Graduates who have successfully completed their undergraduate degrees from law faculties (Hukuk Fakültesi) at recognized Turkish universities.
- Graduates of foreign law faculties who have obtained an equivalence certificate (denklik belgesi) from the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). To receive this certificate, foreign-educated graduates must take and pass deficiency courses at Turkish law faculties to align their education with the national curriculum and legal system.
Passing the HMGS with a score of 70 or above is a mandatory prerequisite for starting a legal internship (avukatlık stajı) or applying for the judicial candidate exams for civil judges and prosecutors.
Who Can Take the İYÖS?
The İYÖS is designed specifically for individuals aiming to enter the administrative judiciary as administrative judges (idari hakim). Unlike the HMGS, which is exclusive to law school graduates, the İYÖS is open to a broader range of academic backgrounds, provided the applicants’ undergraduate programs include comprehensive legal coursework. Eligible candidates include:
- Graduates of four-year undergraduate programs in political science, administrative sciences, economics, and finance.
- Graduates of foreign higher education institutions in the aforementioned fields, provided their degrees have been officially recognized as equivalent by the relevant Turkish higher education authorities.
This pathway allows qualified professionals with strong backgrounds in public administration, economics, and political systems to bring their specialized knowledge to the administrative courts, which handle disputes involving public institutions and state administration.
Raising the Standards of the Legal Profession
The introduction of the HMGS and İYÖS represents a relatively recent and highly debated reform in Turkey’s legal education and professional qualification systems. Historically, law graduates in Turkey were eligible to begin their legal internships immediately upon graduation without having to pass a standardized national licensing exam.
The implementation of these exams was introduced as part of the government’s Judicial Reform Strategy, which aimed to address concerns regarding the rapidly growing number of law faculties and graduates in the country. By establishing a centralized, rigorous examination process, policymakers sought to ensure that only candidates with a strong grasp of fundamental legal concepts could enter professional practice.
Legal experts and educators have noted that the 70-point passing threshold serves as a critical quality control mechanism. This standard encourages law schools to maintain high educational qualities and motivates students to approach their undergraduate studies with greater diligence.
For the candidates who sat for the exams, the stakes are incredibly high. Months of rigorous preparation culminate in this single test, where a difference of a fraction of a point can delay their career progression by a year.
As the candidates now enter a period of waiting, ÖSYM’s evaluation teams will begin processing the optical answer sheets. The official results, which will be published on the ÖSYM results portal (sonuc.osym.gov.tr) on October 22, 2026, will determine the next generation of attorneys, judges, and prosecutors who will shape the future of the Turkish justice system.
