Necatigil Poetry Award which is given every year after Necatigil's death on the 13th of December 1979, is founded by his family with the support of the jury.
The first jury consisted of Necatigil's close friends who are Doğan Hızlan, Rauf Mutluay, Fethi Naci, Edip Cansever, Hilmi Yavuz, Oktay Akbal and Kâmuran Şipal. Today, the members of the jury are Cevat Çapan, Refik Durbaş, Turgay Fişekçi, Doğan Hızlan, Mehmet Taner, Tahsin Yücel and a representative of Necatigil family.
The Poetry Award which was given at the death anniversary of the poet between the years 1980 and 1992, is given on the 16th of April which is the birth anniversary of the poet since 1993. The award is given every year since 1980. The requirements of submission and the result is announced by the help of the media.
Necatigil family explains the aim in the creation of Necatigil Poetry Award as follows:
“Poetry filled a big part in Necatigil's life and perhaps was the most important entity for him. The main philosphy behind the creation of Necatigil Poetry Award was the wish to sustain the value he give to the poetry on his behalf after his death. Also we wanted the name of Necatigil to be remembered by this Award as well as all the work he left behind.“