Free business email in Turkey: set up name@yourbusiness.com.tr

Turkish companies have one email requirement that is written into law and one that is written into how customers behave. The legal one is KEP, the registered electronic mail that limited and joint-stock companies must hold for official notifications. The practical one is the ordinary address on your quotations, your Trendyol seller profile and your e-Fatura PDFs, which is what buyers in Istanbul, Bursa or Hamburg actually see. KEP cannot replace the ordinary address and the ordinary address cannot replace KEP. This guide sets up the ordinary one, free, on a .com.tr domain.

Quick answer

Register yourbusiness.com.tr at a TRABİS-accredited registrar, paying in lira. Create a free OquMail workspace with no card, add the domain, paste four DNS records, click Verify and create your mailboxes. Keep your KEP address with its KEP provider for official notices; use the new mailboxes for everything else.

KEP and ordinary email: two different things

• KEP (Kayıtlı Elektronik Posta) is a registered mail service with legal evidential value, delivered by licensed KEP providers. Limited and joint-stock companies are required to hold one for official correspondence and legal notices. Messages cost per send and the address ends in a provider domain such as .kep.tr.
• Ordinary email is for customers, suppliers, invoices and daily work. It is what this guide sets up, and it is free.
• An e-Fatura or e-Arşiv invoice is issued through a GİB-registered integrator; the PDF copy that customers actually read is sent from your ordinary address. Both exist side by side.

Choosing your domain: .com.tr or .com

Since 2022 Turkish domains are managed by TRABİS under the BTK and sold through accredited registrars such as Natro, İsimtescil and Turhost. The .com.tr ending no longer needs trade registry documents for most names and is priced in lira.

• .com.tr: the standard for Turkish companies, recognised by local buyers and tender boards; registered in lira at an accredited registrar
• .com: fine if most customers are abroad; many exporters hold both and point them at the same mailboxes
• Turkish characters (ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş, ü) are possible in domain names but cause trouble in email addresses. Register the plain ASCII form for the domain you use in addresses.

Why a domain address matters in Turkey

Exporters supplying EU buyers from Bursa, Denizli or Gaziantep are vetted on their paperwork, and an address on the company domain matching the MERSİS record and the invoice is part of it. Marketplace sellers on Trendyol and Hepsiburada deal with seller support, returns and invoices by email and need an address that outlives any one employee. Tourism operators in Antalya, Bodrum and Cappadocia compete for foreign bookings against competitors whose addresses match their websites. Locally, a limited company writing to a bank, a notary or a customs broker from a free webmail address is asked to confirm the request through the company.

Step by step: from domain to working inbox

1. Register yourbusiness.com.tr at a TRABİS-accredited registrar. Pay by Turkish card, bank transfer or a local wallet; the domain is active within hours.
2. Go to oqumail.com and create a free workspace with your name and a password. No card, no trial countdown.
3. In the dashboard choose Add domain and type yourbusiness.com.tr. OquMail shows the four DNS records to add.
4. Log in to the registrar, open the DNS management screen, and add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records exactly as shown. If the registrar bundles a hosting plan with its own mail, delete the hosting mail records first.
5. Return to OquMail and click Verify. The live check names any record still missing.
6. Create your mailboxes: info@, satis@ (sales), muhasebe@ (accounts) and one per person. The free plan allows up to 15 mailboxes with 5 GB each.
7. Send a test from webmail to a Gmail address, then add the account to Outlook or the Gmail app on your phone with the settings below.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

What it costs in Turkey

• The .com.tr domain: a yearly fee in lira at the registrar
• KEP: separate, paid per message to the KEP provider, required by law for companies; unchanged by this setup
• Mailboxes: free on OquMail, up to 15 with 5 GB each, 250 sends a day per mailbox
• No foreign-currency card needed at any step

Mistakes common in Turkey

• Publishing the KEP address as the customer contact. Customers cannot write to it without their own KEP account, and each message costs you.
• Turkish characters in mailbox names. Use ascii (ismail@, not the form with dotless ı) and put the correct spelling in the display name.
• Letting the web agency own the domain. Insist on the registrant being your company and keep the login.
• Türk Telekom, Turkcell and Vodafone consumer lines block outgoing port 25. Use port 587 in every mail app.

Common questions

Does OquMail replace KEP?

No. KEP is a licensed registered-mail service with legal standing. OquMail provides the ordinary mailboxes on your domain for everything that is not an official notice.

Does it work with Outlook and my phone?

Yes. Add an IMAP account with the settings above in Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app, using your full address as the username.

What are the limits?

15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, no expiry. Extra mailboxes are added on request without touching DNS.

Want to see how your own domain is set up? Use the free SPF checker, DMARC checker and MX lookup: they run in your browser and store nothing.