Terms of service

1. Parties and formation of the agreement

1.1. These Terms of Service (the "Agreement") are entered into between SERHAN YILDIRIM "SEALINGO" ("Sealingo"), located at Yakuplu Mah. 65. Sk. No: 35 İç Kapı No: 7, 34500 Beylikdüzü / İstanbul, registered with the Beylikdüzü Tax Office under tax number 9590626265, with MERSİS number 2647397864600013, registered with the İstanbul Ticaret Sicil Müdürlüğü under registry number 946570, and the Customer who opens a business or individual account on the Sealingo platform.

1.2. The Agreement is formed electronically when, on the registration form, the box showing acceptance of the Agreement (for a Commercial Customer, together with the Data Processing Agreement) and, depending on the purpose of use, the declaration of commercial or professional purpose (clause 1.5) or the declaration of personal use (clause 18.2) are checked and the registration is submitted. A new version of the Agreement takes effect when the Account Admin accepts it on the platform (clause 13).

1.3. The person who accepts the Agreement on behalf of a Business Customer represents that they are authorized to represent and bind the Business Customer. A person who accepts without such authority is personally liable for the resulting damages under the provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (TBK) on unauthorized representation. An Individual Customer accepts the Agreement in their own name.

1.4. For Commercial Customers, the Data Processing Agreement is an integral part of this Agreement; it does not apply to Consumer Customers (clause 11.4). The pre-contractual information form and the distance sales contract a Consumer Customer approves for each credit order form part of that order (clause 18.4). The credit prices, language coefficients and Sworn & Notarized Delivery page prices on the Pricing page, and the notary fee estimate and courier fee shown on the order screen, as they stand at the time of the order, are annexes to the Agreement. The Privacy Notice (KVKK) and the Cookie Policy are for information purposes.

1.5. Purpose of use. The service is offered for commercial or professional activity and, in an individual account, for personal use. The purpose of use is chosen and recorded at registration:

• A Commercial Customer (a Business Customer or an Individual Customer that chooses professional use) declares during registration that it acquires and will use the service for its commercial or professional activity and that it is not acting as a consumer. Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection and the related Distance Contracts Regulation, including the right of withdrawal, do not apply to the relationship with a Commercial Customer.
• A natural person who will use the service for personal purposes, outside their commercial or professional activity, opens an individual account and chooses personal use as the purpose of use. This person is a Consumer Customer, and clause 18 applies to them. A business account cannot be opened for personal use.

A change from professional use to personal use, or from personal use to professional use, is made only by Sealingo, at the Customer's request and through support. If there are serious indications that a Commercial Customer uses the service as a consumer, Sealingo asks for the purpose of use to be corrected; if it is not corrected, clause 12.4 applies.

1.6. Sealingo records by whom, for which version and when the acceptance, the declaration in clause 1.5 or clause 18.2 and the approvals in clauses 18.4 and 18.6 were made. Pursuant to Article 193 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (HMK), the parties agree that these and Sealingo's other electronic records on the platform constitute evidence unless proven otherwise.

2. Definitions

• Platform: The web application offered at sealingo.co and its subdomains, and the translation engine connected to it.
• Customer: A Business Customer or Individual Customer that opens an account on the Sealingo platform. Companies, organizations, sworn translators, translation agencies, customs brokers, import and export companies, law firms and students who use the service for personal purposes are examples of Customers.
• Commercial Customer: A Customer that uses the service for its commercial or professional activity: a Business Customer or an Individual Customer that chooses professional use.
• Consumer Customer: An Individual Customer that chooses personal use as the purpose of use at registration and uses the service for purposes outside their commercial or professional activity; a consumer within the meaning of Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection. A student who has a foreign technical article, their thesis or their diploma translated is an example of a Consumer Customer (clause 18).
• Business Customer: A company, organization or business, including sole proprietorships, that opens a business account. A business account is opened with Sealingo's approval, and the account may have at most 3 Users (clause 5).
• Individual Customer: A natural person who opens an individual account and uses the service alone. An Individual Customer uses the service either as a freelance professional for their own commercial or professional activity (professional use) or for personal purposes (personal use; Consumer Customer). A freelance sworn translator, a customs broker working in their own name and the owner of a sole proprietorship working alone are examples of professional use. An individual account is opened on registration and has a single User (clause 5). A sole proprietorship that will work with a team opens a business account.
• Source Document: Each file the Customer uploads to the platform for translation.
• Draft Translation: The translation the platform produces from a Source Document, together with the accompanying layout, Quality Control Report, delivery note and flagged items.
• Job: A request opened by the Customer to have one or more Source Documents translated into the same target language.
• Approval: The approval of a job on the platform by the Customer's authorized person. The authorized person is a User with the admin or translator role for a Business Customer, and the Customer itself for an Individual Customer. Approval completes the job and unlocks the translation without the watermark (clause 3.6). Translation credits are deducted on delivery, regardless of approval (clause 6.3). In a job for which Sworn & Notarized Delivery is selected, Customer approval is not required: the job is completed automatically when the translation is delivered, the Additional Fees are deducted and the job passes to the Partner Agency; the Partner Agency's Sworn Translator reviews and approves the translation (clauses 17.5 and 17.6).
• Sworn Translator: A translator who has taken an oath before a notary. A Sworn Translator is not required to use the service. If the translation needs to be used as a sworn translation or with notarization, there are two routes: (a) the Customer's own Sworn Translator reviews and signs the translation; this may be the Customer itself, an employee or a translator of the Customer's choosing; (b) the Customer selects Sworn & Notarized Delivery and the Partner Agency's Sworn Translator reviews and signs the translation (clause 17). Sealingo itself is not a Sworn Translator and does not sign translations.
• User: A person who opens an account in the Customer's account or is invited to a Business Customer's team. For an Individual Customer, the single User is the Customer itself.
• Account Admin: The User with the admin role for a Business Customer; the Customer itself for an Individual Customer.
• Credit: The unit of payment for the service fee. 1 credit corresponds to 1,000 characters of source text for English and German; a language coefficient applies to other languages (clause 6.1).
• Sworn & Notarized Delivery: Sworn delivery or notarized delivery (clause 17). In a job for which Sworn & Notarized Delivery is not selected, the translation is delivered only on the platform (digital delivery).
• Partner Agency (partner agency): A translation agency that has signed a written partner agreement with Sealingo and has a Sworn Translator. The Partner Agency carries out Sworn & Notarized Delivery on behalf of Sealingo; it does not enter into a separate agreement with the Customer. There may be more than one Partner Agency.
• Original Document: The original of a document collected from the Customer by two-way courier in notarized delivery.
• Additional Fee: The sworn fee, notary fee and courier fee for Sworn & Notarized Delivery (clause 17.7).
• Sworn & Notarized Delivery Page: 1,000 characters, excluding spaces, in a document. Each document counts as at least 1 page (clause 17.7).
• Recipient and Pickup Contact: The Recipient is the person who will receive the translation in Sworn & Notarized Delivery. The Pickup Contact is the person who will hand the Original Document to the courier in two-way courier delivery. The Customer designates both.

3. Subject and nature of the service

3.1. Sealingo provides a software service that reads Source Documents, translates them with AI models, fits them into the original layout and runs them through automated quality control. Translations are prepared to sworn translator standards; this phrase describes how the translation is prepared and does not mean that the translation is a sworn translation or that it is free of errors (clause 3.3). In digital delivery, the output of the service is the Draft Translation. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, the output is the printed copy of the translation signed by the Partner Agency's Sworn Translator and, in notarized delivery, notarized by the notary (clause 17).

3.2. Sealingo is not a translation agency, a Sworn Translator or a notary. It does not itself sign, stamp or certify translations. It does not provide apostille or consular legalization services. If the Customer selects Sworn & Notarized Delivery, Sealingo arranges the signature and notarization through a Partner Agency. The Partner Agency's Sworn Translator applies the signature and stamp in their own name and under their own responsibility. The notary performs notarization as part of their statutory duty (clause 17). Sealingo does not enter into a contractual relationship with the Customer's own clients or with the persons to whom the translation will be submitted, and assumes no obligations toward them. The Customer is their sole counterparty.

3.3. AI and automated reading systems can make errors despite carefully designed checks: they may skip a line; misread a name, number or date; or mistranslate a term. The Quality Control Report and flagged items are intended to assist the Customer's review; they are not an assurance of accuracy.

3.4. Fields in a document that are illegible, ambiguous or require confirmation are not guessed; they are left to the Customer's decision as flagged items.

3.5. Sealingo does not undertake that the translation is fit for a particular purpose or that it will be accepted by the relevant authority. This includes notarization, apostille, consular, customs, court and public authority applications. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, Sealingo also does not undertake that the notary will notarize; the cases where the notary does not act are set out in clause 17.10.

3.6. Draft Translations are marked with a "DRAFT" watermark before approval; the version without the watermark can be downloaded only after approval.

4. Customer responsibility and approval

4.1. Before using any Draft Translation, the Customer must have its authorized person review it line by line against the Source Document and make the necessary corrections. If the translation will be used as a sworn translation or with notarization and Sworn & Notarized Delivery has not been selected, this review is carried out by the Customer's Sworn Translator. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, this review and approval are not required from the Customer's authorized person; the Partner Agency's Sworn Translator reviews the translation, corrects it where necessary and approves it with their signature (clause 17.6).

4.2. Approval means that the Customer's authorized person has reviewed the Draft Translation, confirmed its accuracy and completeness, and adopted the translation on behalf of the Customer. A User with the translator role gives approval on behalf of the Customer. Responsibility arising from the content and use of a translation that has been approved, downloaded, signed, stamped, submitted for notarization or given to third parties lies with the Customer and the translator who approved it. A person who signs the translation in the capacity of a Sworn Translator bears the professional responsibility arising from their signature; this responsibility does not pass to Sealingo. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, professional responsibility arising from the content of the signed translation lies with the Partner Agency Sworn Translator who signed it. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, clause 17.6 applies instead of the approval provisions of this clause.

4.3. In digital delivery, the translator's statement, signature, stamp, notarization and similar steps are carried out by the Customer or the Customer's Sworn Translator; the platform does not fill in these fields. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, these steps are carried out by the Partner Agency's Sworn Translator and the notary; Sealingo arranges them and does not carry them out itself (clause 17).

4.4. The Customer is solely responsible for complying with all rules that apply to the conduct of its activity. Depending on its field of activity, these include notarial and sworn translation legislation, customs, legal practice and other professional legislation, professional rules and confidentiality obligations, the contracts it has made with its own clients, and any notification or disclosure obligations relating to the use of software and AI tools.

4.5. The Customer acknowledges that it is legally authorized to process and have translated the documents it uploads to the platform. A Commercial Customer also acknowledges that it has informed the persons whose personal data appear in the documents and that it has the necessary legal grounds; its detailed obligations regarding personal data are set out in the Data Processing Agreement. A Consumer Customer uploads only documents that belong to or were given to them and that they have the right to have translated (clause 11.4). The Customer acknowledges that it is authorized to provide Sealingo with the Recipient and Pickup Contact information it gives in a Sworn & Notarized Delivery order, and that it has informed these persons that their information will be transferred to Sealingo, the Partner Agency and the courier for the purpose of delivery.

4.6. The Customer may not use the service to: produce or use fake or falsified documents; use it for an unlawful purpose or in a way that infringes the rights of third parties; attempt to circumvent the platform's security or disrupt its operation; obtain bulk access with automated tools; reverse engineer it; resell the service to third parties; or develop a competing product. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, the Customer does not give the courier any document not specified in the order, any negotiable instrument (such as checks, promissory notes or share certificates), money or means of payment.

4.7. The Customer is responsible for the security of User accounts and for all actions of its Users on the platform. The Customer ensures that passwords are not shared, takes care to use two-step verification and, upon learning of unauthorized access, notifies Sealingo immediately at hello@sealingo.co.

4.8. Because of the Customer's breach of its obligations under this Agreement or a translation it has approved, the Customer's own clients, notaries, public authorities, data subjects or other third parties may bring claims against Sealingo, or administrative sanctions may be imposed on Sealingo. In that case, the Customer pays Sealingo the amounts Sealingo has been required to pay, including reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs. This does not apply to the part of the damage arising from Sealingo's fault.

5. Account types, team and access

5.1. There are two account types on the platform: the business account (Business Customer) and the individual account (Individual Customer). Packages, credit prices and credit rules are the same for both account types. An individual account is opened for professional use or personal use (clause 1.5); for personal use, prices are shown including VAT (clause 18.3).

5.2. A business account is opened after Sealingo has reviewed and approved the application. Sealingo may decline an application without giving reasons.

5.3. An individual account is opened when registration is completed, without separate approval by Sealingo. Sealingo may request information and documents showing the accuracy of the registration details or, from an Individual Customer that chooses professional use, its commercial or professional activity; if these are not provided, clause 12.4 applies.

5.4. The Customer is responsible for keeping its registration and billing details accurate and up to date.

5.5. Invoices are issued in the Customer's name, using the Customer's registered billing details. The billing details are:

• Business Customer: trade name, tax identification number, tax office and address; for a Business Customer that is a sole proprietorship, the owner's Turkish national ID number instead of the tax identification number.
• Individual Customer: full name, Turkish national ID number and address; for an Individual Customer that is a sole proprietorship, the tax identification number and tax office instead of the Turkish national ID number.
• Consumer Customer: full name, Turkish national ID number (required) and address; no tax office or tax identification number is requested.

5.6. A business account may have at most 3 Users, including pending invitations. Roles (admin, translator, uploader) and their permissions are defined on the platform. Decisions on approval and flagged items are open only to Users with the admin or translator role. An individual account has a single User; no team invitations can be made, and the account may not be shared with anyone else.

5.7. Only the Account Admin may accept new versions of the Agreement on behalf of the Customer.

6. Fees, credits and payment

6.1. The service fee is paid in credits. Credit prices and language coefficients are published on the Pricing page. Commercial Customers see prices excluding VAT, and VAT is added on payment; Consumer Customers see prices including VAT (clause 18.3). The credit price is the same in both cases. The credits to be used in a job are calculated document by document, and within each document language by language, based on the source text characters (including spaces) counted after reading; the breakdown of the calculation by document and language is shown on the job page. The calculation follows these rules:

• The language of the text is determined page by page during reading; for Word and Excel files it is determined for the document as a whole.
• On a page containing text in more than one language, the characters of languages written in a non-Latin script (such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Russian or Ukrainian) are counted toward that language. Latin letters, digits, spaces and symbols are counted toward the Latin-script language on the page. If there is more than one Latin-script language on the page, they are counted toward the first Latin-script language that is not the target language, in the order determined by reading; if there is no Latin-script language, they are counted toward the first language determined by reading for that page.
• Text counted toward the target language does not use credits, because it is already in the target language in the document.
• 1,000 characters counted toward a language equal as many credits as the higher of the coefficients of that language and the target language. Credits are rounded up to the nearest thousandth of a credit per language in each document.
• At least 1,000 characters are charged for each document containing text. The shortfall is calculated using the coefficient of the Latin-script language with the most text in the document or, if there is no Latin-script language in the document, the language with the most text.

6.2. Files rejected because they are illegible, and files containing no text, do not use credits. Correction rounds in the same job do not use additional credits.

6.3. Credits are reserved for the job before translation begins and are deducted when the translation is delivered to the Customer, that is, when the job is first opened for the Customer's review. Approval does not deduct translation credits separately; in a job for which Sworn & Notarized Delivery is selected, the Additional Fees are deducted when the translation is delivered and the job passes to the Partner Agency (clause 17.7). Credits are not deducted a second time for a job redelivered after correction (clause 6.2). No credits are deducted for a job in which all Source Documents are rejected as illegible; for a job that cannot be completed or is stopped before delivery, the reserved credits return to the balance.

6.4. If the available credits may not be sufficient for a job, Sealingo calculates the job's credits before translation begins and shows them on the job page as a binding quote. The quote is the maximum number of credits that will be deducted for that job: if the final calculation after reading (clause 6.1) exceeds the quote, the quote is deducted; if it is lower, the final calculation is deducted. The quote applies to the source and target languages for which it was calculated; if the Customer changes the job's languages, the credits are recalculated for the new language pair. If the balance is insufficient, the job is put on hold before moving to costly steps; when credits are topped up, it resumes automatically. The credit purchase suggested by the platform is for information only; the Customer may purchase any amount of credits. A job for which no credits are topped up within 30 days is closed and its documents are deleted; no credits are deducted for this job.

6.5. Payment is made by the method selected during the order: by wire transfer or EFT to the bank account shown on the order screen or, where offered on the platform, by credit or debit card. Card payments are received through the infrastructure of the licensed payment institution iyzi Ödeme ve Elektronik Para Hizmetleri A.Ş. (iyzico); card details are entered directly on iyzico's payment page and are not seen or stored by Sealingo. Credits are loaded to the balance after it is verified that, for wire transfer or EFT, the payment has reached Sealingo's account or, for card payments, the payment has been approved by iyzico. Invoices are issued using the Customer's registered billing details (clause 5.5). For a Consumer Customer, clause 18.4 applies before every credit order.

6.6. Credits never expire. Purchased credits cannot be converted into cash, transferred to another account or refunded. There are three exceptions: Sealingo terminating the Agreement without just cause or permanently discontinuing the service; the Customer terminating the Agreement by not accepting a new version of it (clause 13); and the Customer terminating by objecting to a change of sub-processor. In these cases, the price of unused credits is refunded within 30 days, based on the price at which they were purchased. Amounts charged in error or charged twice are refunded regardless of this restriction. Refunds are made by the method used for payment: card payments to the same card, and wire transfer or EFT payments to a bank account registered in the Customer's name. Refunds arising from the cancellation of Sworn & Notarized Delivery and from the notary fee being finalized by receipt are made as credits to the balance (clauses 17.7 and 17.10); these refunds also cannot be converted into cash. A Consumer Customer's right of withdrawal (clauses 18.5 to 18.7) is independent of this clause.

6.7. Changes to credit prices and language coefficients are notified at least 30 days in advance and apply to jobs opened after they take effect. Sworn & Notarized Delivery page prices are shown on the Pricing page; the notary fee estimate and courier fee are shown on the order screen. Changes to these apply to orders placed after they are published; the page price and courier fee of an order already placed do not change. The page count is finalized after reading, and the notary fee by receipt (clause 17.7).

6.8. Character counts and credit calculations are based on platform records. The Customer may object to the credit calculation of a job, stating its reasons, within 14 days of delivery. Sealingo reviews the objection; if it finds the objection justified, it refunds the difference to the balance. Objections to the page calculation of Sworn & Notarized Delivery and to the Additional Fees may be made in the same way within 14 days of delivery or cancellation.

7. Intellectual property and content

7.1. Rights in Source Documents and Draft Translations belong to the Customer or the rights holders. Sealingo processes this content only to provide the service, to fulfill its legal obligations and within the limits set out in the Data Processing Agreement.

7.2. Sealingo does not use, or allow others to use, Source Documents and Draft Translations to train AI models.

7.3. All rights in the platform, software, agent system, workflows, knowledge base, design and the Sealingo brand belong to Sealingo. The Customer is granted a non-transferable, non-sublicensable right of use for the term of the Agreement and only for its own commercial or professional activity or, for a Consumer Customer, for their personal purposes.

7.4. The Customer's suggestions and feedback regarding the service may be used by Sealingo free of charge to improve the service.

8. Confidentiality

8.1. Sealingo keeps the content of Source Documents and Draft Translations confidential. Sealingo's employees and the persons it authorizes are bound by written confidentiality obligations. They access content only in the following cases and only to the extent necessary: to fix a technical fault, to respond to a support request from the Customer, or where required by law.

8.2. Lawful requests from competent authorities are an exception to this obligation. Unless legally prohibited, Sealingo informs the Customer of such requests.

8.3. The Customer does not disclose non-public information about the operation of the platform to third parties without Sealingo's written permission.

8.4. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, the Partner Agency, the courier making the delivery and their employees are bound by written confidentiality obligations. Sealingo uses the Recipient and Pickup Contact information it obtains for Sworn & Notarized Delivery only for delivery. It does not use this information to make offers to the Customer's clients or for marketing. Through the partner agreement, it prohibits the Partner Agency from making offers, bypassing the Customer, to persons it has come to know through this information or through Sworn & Notarized Delivery.

9. Service level and changes

9.1. The service is provided "as is" and "as available." Sealingo does not undertake that the service will operate without interruption or errors, or that a job will be completed within a particular time; times shown on the platform are estimates. Times stated for Sworn & Notarized Delivery are also estimates (clause 17.8).

9.2. Sealingo may temporarily suspend the service for maintenance and security updates or due to outages at its service providers. It announces planned maintenance in advance wherever possible.

9.3. Sealingo may improve or change the features of the service. If a change materially restricts the way the Customer uses the service, it is notified at least 30 days in advance; in that case the Customer may terminate the Agreement.

9.4. Sealingo does not provide an archiving service. Documents are deleted under the retention rule (Data Processing Agreement, clause 8; for a Consumer Customer, clause 11.4); a longer retention period selected for a folder (90 days or 1 year) only postpones the time of deletion and does not place any obligation on Sealingo to retain or restore documents. The Customer keeps its own copies of the delivered files. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, the signed and certified translation is delivered only in print. Sealingo and the Partner Agency do not keep a copy of it; this does not apply to the notary's own records and the records the signing Sworn Translator is required by law to keep.

10. Limitation of liability

10.1. The limitations in this clause do not apply in the event of Sealingo's intent or gross negligence, or to liabilities that cannot be limited under mandatory provisions of law.

10.2. Sealingo is not liable for: damages arising from errors in translations the Customer has approved or used without review; loss of profit and revenue; loss of clients or reputation; business interruption; damages arising from data deleted at the end of the retention period; or other indirect damages.

10.3. Sealingo's total liability arising from this Agreement is limited to the total amount the Customer paid Sealingo in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the damage.

10.4. Sealingo's obligations are suspended for the duration of events beyond Sealingo's control (force majeure). Examples of such events include natural disasters, epidemics, war, terrorism, strikes, fire, outages in energy or communications infrastructure, cyberattacks, failure of service providers to provide service, and decisions of competent authorities.

10.5. Special liability provisions for Sworn & Notarized Delivery are set out in clauses 17.9 and 17.12. These provisions take precedence over clause 10.3.

10.6. The limitations in this clause apply to a Consumer Customer only to the extent they do not conflict with mandatory provisions protecting consumers (clause 18.9).

11. Personal data

11.1. With respect to personal data in the documents a Commercial Customer uploads, the Customer is the data controller and Sealingo is the data processor. This also applies to Individual Customers that choose professional use. The rights and obligations of the parties are set out in the Data Processing Agreement.

11.2. Sealingo is the data controller for the account, contact and billing information of Business Customer representatives, Individual Customers and Users. This data is processed in accordance with the Privacy Notice (KVKK).

11.3. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, the documents and the personal data they contain are transferred to the Partner Agency under the Data Processing Agreement (for a Consumer Customer, under clause 11.4) and, in notarized delivery, submitted to the notary. Sealingo is the data controller for the name, telephone number and address of the Recipient and Pickup Contact; this data is processed in accordance with the Privacy Notice (KVKK).

11.4. The Data Processing Agreement does not apply to Consumer Customers. Sealingo is the data controller for a Consumer Customer's account information and for the documents, translations, Seal conversations, account glossary and folder information they upload or create; this data is processed in accordance with the Privacy Notice (KVKK) (clause 8). Sealingo processes this data with the technical and organizational measures in the Data Processing Agreement, the same sub-processors and the same retention and deletion rules; it does not use the documents to train artificial intelligence models.

12. Term, suspension and termination

12.1. The Agreement is for an indefinite term.

12.2. The Customer may terminate the Agreement at any time. To do so, it requests the closure of the account by writing from the Account Admin's registered email address to hello@sealingo.co.

12.3. Sealingo may terminate the Agreement by giving 30 days' notice.

12.4. Sealingo may immediately suspend the account or immediately terminate the Agreement if: the Customer materially breaches the Agreement; uses the service unlawfully, or there are serious indications of this; there are serious indications that a Commercial Customer uses the service as a consumer and it does not correct the purpose of use (clause 1.5); fails to provide requested information and documents (clause 5.3); fails to fulfill its payment obligations; or a competent authority so requests.

12.5. When the Agreement ends, ongoing jobs are stopped and Source Documents and Draft Translations are deleted within 30 days. Account and billing records are kept for the statutory retention periods. Unused credits are handled under clause 6.6 and, for a Consumer Customer's orders whose withdrawal period has not ended, under clauses 18.5 to 18.7. Ongoing Sworn & Notarized Deliveries are completed or cancelled under clause 17.10. The Original Document is returned to the Customer in all cases.

13. Changes to the agreement

13.1. Sealingo may update this Agreement and, for Commercial Customers, the Data Processing Agreement. Before it takes effect, the new version is notified to the Account Admin by email or on the platform, and acceptance on the platform is requested.

13.2. The platform cannot be used until the new version is accepted. The Customer may terminate the Agreement by not accepting the new version; in that case it benefits from the refund right in clause 6.6.

13.3. Only changes arising from a legal requirement and corrections that are not to the Customer's detriment may take effect without requesting acceptance again; these are also notified to the Customer.

13.4. For Consumer Customers, clause 18.9 is reserved. A change does not alter the price of orders a Consumer Customer has paid or the right of withdrawal for those orders.

14. Notices

14.1. Sealingo's notices to the Customer are sent to the Account Admin's registered email address or through the platform and are deemed given at the time they are sent.

14.2. The Customer's notices are sent to hello@sealingo.co. For notices with legal effect, such as termination and formal notice, the parties may also use registered electronic mail (KEP), a notary or registered mail with return receipt.

15. Governing law and disputes

15.1. The Agreement is governed by Turkish law.

15.2. The Istanbul (Çağlayan) Courts and Enforcement Offices have jurisdiction over disputes with Commercial Customers. Provisions on mandatory mediation as a precondition to litigation are reserved.

15.3. This jurisdiction clause does not apply to Consumer Customers; clause 18.10 applies to disputes with Consumer Customers.

16. Miscellaneous

16.1. If a provision of the Agreement is held invalid, this does not affect the validity of the other provisions.

16.2. The Customer may not assign its rights and obligations under the Agreement without Sealingo's written consent. Sealingo may, subject to notifying the Customer, assign the Agreement, including the Data Processing Agreement and unused credits, to a company that takes over the service; this includes a company Sealingo establishes or becomes a shareholder of. The Customer consents to such assignment in advance; if it does not accept the assignment, it may terminate the Agreement and benefit from the refund right in clause 6.6.

16.3. Failure to exercise, or delay in exercising, a right does not constitute a waiver of that right.

16.4. This Agreement, together with the Data Processing Agreement for Commercial Customers, the orders' pre-contractual information forms and distance sales contracts for Consumer Customers, the Pricing page and the fees shown on the order screen (clause 1.4), constitutes the entire agreement between the parties.

17. Sworn and notarized delivery (Sworn & Notarized Delivery)

17.1. Scope. When opening a job, the Customer may select Sworn & Notarized Delivery instead of digital delivery. There are two types:

• Sworn delivery: The Partner Agency's Sworn Translator reviews the approved translation, corrects it where necessary, signs it and stamps it. The signed translation is delivered by one-way courier.
• Notarized delivery: After sworn certification, the Partner Agency has the translation notarized. For document types the notary notarizes from a printout, delivery is made by one-way courier. For document types for which the notary requires the original document, a two-way courier is used: the courier collects the Original Document from the Customer and brings it back together with the translation after notarization.

Contracts (employment, lease, sale, service, distribution, confidentiality, partnership and similar contracts) are delivered by two-way courier if notarization is requested, by one-way courier if sworn certification is requested, and digitally if neither is requested. Sworn & Notarized Delivery is available only in the languages offered on the order screen and to addresses within the provincial boundaries of Istanbul.

17.2. Roles of the parties. Sealingo undertakes and arranges Sworn & Notarized Delivery toward the Customer: it assigns the job to a Partner Agency, collects the fees, monitors the process and keeps the Customer informed. The job is assigned to the Partner Agency, among those working with the job's languages and delivery type, that is closest to the delivery address (for two-way delivery, to the pickup and delivery addresses); proximity is measured as the straight-line distance between district centers. The Partner Agency carries out the job on behalf of Sealingo. The Customer pays all fees only to Sealingo (clause 17.7). Notarization is the notary's statutory duty; Sealingo and the Partner Agency cannot determine the notary's decision. Sealingo is not a Sworn Translator or a notary; it does not sign, stamp or certify the translation.

17.3. Choice of document type. In a notarized delivery order, the Customer selects the type of each document. The platform shows the list of document types the notary notarizes from a printout. This list is based on information obtained from the notary office to which jobs are taken and is for information purposes. The notary decides in each transaction whether the original will be required. A document that is not on the list, or whose type is uncertain, is processed by two-way courier. Choosing the correct type is the Customer's responsibility. If Sealingo notices a discrepancy between the selection and the content of the document, it may warn the Customer; this warning does not remove the Customer's responsibility.

17.4. Incorrect selection. If the notary requires the original of a document processed one-way, the notary step stops and Sealingo notifies the Customer. The Customer chooses one of the following two options:

• (a) Switch to two-way courier: the courier fee for the trip needed to collect the Original Document is deducted from the balance with the Customer's consent.
• (b) Forgo the notary step: the notary fee estimate is refunded to the balance and the sworn translation is delivered by one-way courier.

If the Customer does not make a choice within 3 business days of the notification, (b) applies. Sealingo and the Partner Agency are not liable for any delay arising from this situation. If a printout is sufficient for a document processed two-way and the courier has not yet set out to collect the Original Document, the job is converted to one-way; the courier fee for the pickup trip is not deducted, or is refunded if already deducted. If the courier has set out, this fee is not refunded.

17.5. Process:

• (a) The translation is prepared under clauses 3 and 6 and delivered to the Customer. For two-way delivery, the courier may collect the Original Document from the pickup address at this stage.
• (b) When the translation is ready, the job is completed without waiting for the Customer's approval; the Additional Fees are deducted and the job passes to the Partner Agency.
• (c) The Partner Agency's Sworn Translator reviews the translation against the source document, corrects it where necessary, signs it and stamps it.
• (d) In notarized delivery, the Partner Agency has the translation notarized. For two-way delivery, the notary is not visited until the Original Document has reached the Partner Agency.
• (e) The courier brings the translation, together with the Original Document for two-way delivery, to the delivery address.

Each stage is shown on the job page on the platform.

17.6. Review, approval and responsibility of the signing translator. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, approval by the Customer's authorized person is not required: the Partner Agency's Sworn Translator reviews the translation against the source document, corrects it where necessary and approves it with their signature. The Customer is responsible for the accuracy of the information given in the order (document type, recipient and address, special requests). If a correction concerns a name, number or date, or a special request of the Customer, the Partner Agency obtains the Customer's view through Sealingo before signing. Professional responsibility arising from the content of the signed translation lies with the person who signs the translation in the capacity of a Sworn Translator; this responsibility does not pass to Sealingo. The Customer checks the translation it receives before using it and reports any error it notices within 7 days of delivery. If the error originates from the translation or the Partner Agency, correction, re-signing, re-notarization where necessary and courier are free of charge to the Customer. If the error originates from the Customer's information, its selection or the source document, it is charged as a new order.

17.7. Fees:

• Payment: The Customer pays all fees for Sworn & Notarized Delivery (translation credits and Additional Fees) to Sealingo in credits. It makes no separate payment to the Partner Agency, the notary or the courier. The Partner Agency pays the notary on behalf of Sealingo; Sealingo pays the Partner Agency and the courier. If the Partner Agency, the notary or the courier requests payment from the Customer, the Customer notifies Sealingo without making the payment.
• Page: A Sworn & Notarized Delivery Page is 1,000 characters, excluding spaces, in a document. The page count is rounded up document by document, and each document counts as at least 1 page; a document with no text to translate is not counted. Characters are counted on the platform after reading.
• Sworn price: The page price shown for the language on the Pricing page multiplied by the number of pages. The price is determined by the non-Turkish language of the language pair; for two foreign languages, by the one with the higher price. The sworn price also covers the job's translation credits.
• Sworn fee: Calculated by deducting the Turkish lira equivalent of the job's translation credits from the sworn price. It does not go below zero. If the translation credits exceed the sworn price, no separate sworn fee is charged.
• Notary fee: The total amount stated on the notary's receipt. Sealingo adds no service charge to this amount. The estimate shown by the platform is deducted at approval. The fee is finalized when the Partner Agency enters the receipt amount on the platform. Any amount deducted in excess is refunded to the balance. Any shortfall is deducted to the extent the balance allows; any part that cannot be deducted is borne by Sealingo and is not claimed separately from the Customer. The Customer may request a copy of the receipt.
• Courier fee: Charged per trip. The courier departs from the office of the Partner Agency to which the job is assigned. The fee for a trip is determined by the straight-line distance between the centers of the Partner Agency's district and the destination district; if the trip crosses to the other side of the Bosphorus or to the Princes' Islands, a Bosphorus crossing fee is added. The amount is shown on the order screen. A one-way courier is one trip: from the Partner Agency to the delivery address. A two-way courier is two trips: bringing the Original Document from the pickup address to the Partner Agency, and taking it to the delivery address after notarization.
• Conversion to credits: Additional Fees are calculated in Turkish lira and converted into credits at the credit price on the Pricing page; each item is rounded up to the nearest thousandth of a credit. Prices are shown excluding VAT to Commercial Customers and including VAT to Consumer Customers (clause 18.3).
• Deduction: Additional Fees are deducted when the translation is delivered and the job passes to the Partner Agency; until then they are reserved in the balance. If the balance is insufficient, Sworn & Notarized Delivery waits for credits. The Customer tops up credits and sends the job to the Partner Agency from the platform. If this is not done before the job's documents are deleted under the retention rule (at most 90 days from the completion of the job), Sworn & Notarized Delivery is cancelled and no Additional Fee is deducted. The translation remains a digital delivery.

17.8. Place and time of delivery. The delivery address and, for two-way delivery, the pickup address must be within the provincial boundaries of Istanbul. Times stated for Sworn & Notarized Delivery are estimates, not commitments. The workload of the Partner Agency, the notary and the courier, public holidays and weather conditions may affect the time. Sealingo does not undertake to meet the deadline of any application (clause 9.1). Delivery takes place when the document is handed over at the delivery address to the Recipient or to a person who appears authorized to receive it at the address (such as an employee or receptionist). If the courier cannot reach the Recipient, it tries once more. If the second attempt also fails, the document is kept securely at the Partner Agency and the Customer is notified; the courier fee for one trip is deducted for a new delivery. The Customer is responsible for the accuracy of the address and telephone details.

17.9. Original Document:

• The courier collects the Original Document from the pickup address in a sealed envelope. The collection of the Original Document and its arrival at the Partner Agency are recorded on the platform with their times; the Customer can see this on the job page.
• Before handing the Original Document to the courier, the Customer keeps a copy of it.
• Originals of identity cards, passports and driver's licenses are also carried under these rules. The Customer cannot use such a document while it is in transit.
• Sealingo is liable to the Customer, including for the Partner Agency and the courier, for loss of or damage to the Original Document from the moment it is collected by the courier until it is returned to the Customer. This does not apply to circumstances arising while the document is in the notary's hands or to the notary's acts.
• This liability is limited to the documented costs (such as charges, fees, notary and travel costs) needed to obtain a new document or a certified copy again from the issuing authority. This limit does not apply in the event of intent or gross negligence.
• On learning of a loss or damage, Sealingo immediately notifies the Customer and provides reasonable support for obtaining a replacement.
• Sealingo is not liable for items given to the courier in breach of clause 4.6.

17.10. Cancellation and refund. Before the Additional Fees are deducted, the Customer's authorized person may withdraw from Sworn & Notarized Delivery on the platform; if the courier has set out to collect the Original Document, withdrawal is requested by support email. After the Additional Fees are deducted, cancellation is requested by support email. Refunds are in all cases made as credits to the balance.

In sworn delivery, cancellation is not possible after signing. If the translation cannot be completed (all documents are rejected or the job is closed), Sworn & Notarized Delivery is cancelled, no Additional Fee is deducted and, if collected, the Original Document is brought back free of charge. If the Partner Agency cannot carry out the job or Sealingo cannot continue the job for just cause, the Additional Fees for the steps not performed are refunded and the Original Document is brought back free of charge. If the notary does not act:

• If the reason originates from the Customer, the choice of document type or the document itself, the notary fee estimate is refunded less the amount charged by the notary; the sworn translation is delivered; the courier fee is not refunded.
• If the reason originates from the Partner Agency or the translation, the deficiency is remedied free of charge and the job is taken to the notary again. If it cannot be remedied, the fees for the steps not performed are refunded.

17.11. Partner Agency. Sealingo selects the Partner Agency from among agencies that have a Sworn Translator, have signed a partner agreement and have assumed personal data protection obligations in writing. There may be more than one Partner Agency; Sealingo assigns the job to one of them and, where necessary, transfers it to another. There is no contractual relationship between the Partner Agency and the Customer; the Customer directs its requests regarding Sworn & Notarized Delivery to Sealingo. The name and stamp of the signing Sworn Translator appear on the signed translation. The trade names of the Partner Agencies are disclosed to the Customer on request. Under clause 5.5 of the Data Processing Agreement, the Customer may request not to be assigned to a particular Partner Agency.

17.12. Liability. In Sworn & Notarized Delivery, Sealingo is responsible for selecting the Partner Agency with care, assigning the job correctly and monitoring the process. Clause 10 also applies here. For damages other than to the Original Document, Sealingo's liability arising from a Sworn & Notarized Delivery order is limited, except in the event of intent or gross negligence, to the Additional Fees deducted for that order. The notary's acts and decisions, and whether an authority accepts the translation, are not Sealingo's responsibility (clause 3.5).

17.13. Order record. A Sworn & Notarized Delivery order is placed on the platform when the job is opened. An order placed by a User is deemed placed on behalf of the Customer (clause 4.7). Sealingo records the order with its time, together with the selected delivery type, document types, addresses and fee items (clause 1.6).

18. Consumer Customers

18.1. Scope. This clause applies to Consumer Customers; matters not covered by this clause are governed by the other provisions of the Agreement. A Consumer Customer opens an individual account; the account is opened on registration and has a single User (clauses 5.3 and 5.6). The subject matter of the service and the digital delivery and approval rules are the same for Consumer Customers (clauses 3 and 4): translations are prepared to sworn translator standards; Sealingo does not provide sworn translation, notarization, apostille or translators; the Consumer Customer reviews and approves the translation themselves. The credit rules (clause 6) apply with the differences in this clause.

18.2. Declaration of personal use. At registration, a Consumer Customer chooses personal use as the purpose of use and declares that they will use the service for personal purposes, outside their commercial or professional activity. At registration they accept the Agreement and read the Privacy Notice (KVKK); the Data Processing Agreement is not accepted (clause 11.4). The declaration and acceptance are recorded under clause 1.6. The purpose of use changes only in the way set out in clause 1.5.

18.3. VAT-inclusive prices. On the Pricing page, the Billing page and the order screen, all prices are shown to a Consumer Customer including VAT. The credit price is the same as for Commercial Customers: the VAT-inclusive price is the price excluding VAT plus VAT at the current rate. The order shows the amount excluding VAT, the VAT and the total amount payable separately. The VAT-inclusive amount is also used when the Additional Fees for Sworn & Notarized Delivery are shown.

18.4. Pre-contractual information and distance sales contract. Before every credit order (package or custom amount; payment by bank transfer or EFT or by card), the order's pre-contractual information form and distance sales contract are shown; the order is not created until the Consumer Customer approves both. Sealingo records the approval with the text version, the time of approval and the order details, and sends both texts to the Consumer Customer's registered email address as a durable medium. The distance sales contract is formed on the day the payment reaches Sealingo and the credits are added to the balance.

18.5. Right of withdrawal. A Consumer Customer may withdraw from a credit order within 14 days, without giving reasons and without paying a penalty. The period starts on the day the order is paid, that is, the day the payment reaches Sealingo and the credits are added to the balance. The right of withdrawal covers the order's unused credits:

• The refundable credits are the smaller of the order's credits and the credits available in the balance when the withdrawal notice arrives (excluding credits reserved for jobs in progress).
• The refund amount is the VAT-inclusive amount paid for the order multiplied by the ratio of the refundable credits to the order's credits, rounded to the kuruş. Example: if 30 credits of a 100-credit order were used in a job and there are no other credits in the balance, 70 credits are refunded; the refund amount is 70% of the amount paid.

18.6. Loss of the right of withdrawal. Under Article 15(1)(ğ) of the Distance Contracts Regulation, the right of withdrawal cannot be exercised for services whose performance has begun with the consumer's approval before the withdrawal period ends. When starting a job, the Consumer Customer checks a box showing that they expressly agree that performance of the service begins immediately and that they know the right of withdrawal ends for the credits used in that job; the job does not start until the box is checked. With this approval, the right of withdrawal ends for the credits reserved for that job (clause 6.3). If the job is stopped, its documents are rejected or it cannot be completed, and the reserved credits return to the balance, these credits count as unused again; the same applies to the difference returned to the balance when the final calculation is lower than the binding quote (clause 6.4).

18.7. Withdrawal notice and refund. The withdrawal notice is given by a support request with the subject "Cayma" (withdrawal) from the Help section of the platform, or by email from the registered email address to hello@sealingo.co; any statement that clearly says the customer is withdrawing is sufficient. A sample text is in the pre-contractual information form and the distance sales contract. When Sealingo processes the notice, it confirms this to the Consumer Customer by email and deducts the credits to be refunded from the balance. The refund is made within 14 days from the day the notice reaches Sealingo, by the method used for payment: for card payments, to the same card through iyzico; for bank transfer or EFT payments, to the bank account in the Consumer Customer's own name that they provide. The Consumer Customer is not charged for the refund.

18.8. Sworn & Notarized Delivery. Sworn & Notarized Delivery (clause 17) is also open to Consumer Customers, and clause 17 applies to them. The rules on the right of withdrawal and VAT-inclusive display also apply to Sworn & Notarized Delivery. Since the Additional Fees are paid in credits, the approval given under clause 18.6 when starting the job also covers the Additional Fees; Additional Fees refunded to the balance under clause 17.10 count as unused again.

18.9. Mandatory provisions. For Consumer Customers, the mandatory provisions of Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection, the Distance Contracts Regulation and the Turkish Code of Obligations are reserved and take precedence over any conflicting provisions of this Agreement. Clause 4.8 (indemnity), clauses 10 and 17.12 (limitation of liability) and clause 13 (changes to the agreement) apply to a Consumer Customer only to the extent they do not conflict with these mandatory provisions.

18.10. Complaints and dispute resolution. A Consumer Customer may first send requests and complaints to hello@sealingo.co. In disputes, they may apply to the Consumer Arbitration Committee (Tüketici Hakem Heyeti) within the monetary limits announced each year by the Ministry of Trade, and to the consumer court for disputes above these limits. They may apply to the Consumer Arbitration Committee or consumer court of the Consumer Customer's place of residence or of the place where the consumer transaction was made. The jurisdiction clause in clause 15.2 does not apply; provisions on mandatory mediation as a precondition to litigation are reserved.