Aim <p>To conduct the cultural adaptation of the Performance Appraisal Motivation Scale (PAMS) for use in the Turkish context and to evaluate its validity and reliability.</p> Methods <p>The study was conducted across various healthcare institutions in Türkiye. The sample consisted of 563 nurse managers. Data were collected using a Participant Information Form, Turkish version of the Performance Appraisal Motivation Scale (PAMS-T), and the Satisfaction with Performance Appraisal Scale. The psychometric evaluation of the PAMS-T included comprehensive analyses of content validity, construct validity, criterion validity, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and item-total correlation.</p> Findings <p>The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test and Bartlett’s test of sphericity indicated that the data were suitable for factor analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a five-factor structure, accounting for 81.37% of the total variance. Item-total correlation coefficients exceeded the acceptable threshold (<i>r</i> &gt; 0.30, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.01), ranging from 0.594 to 0.833, indicating strong item discrimination. Construct validity was supported by a strong, positive, and statistically significant correlation between the PAMS-T and the Satisfaction with Performance Appraisal Scale (<i>r</i> = 0.729, <i>p</i> = 0.001). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the overall scale was 0.932.</p> Conclusions <p>The findings demonstrate that the PAMS-T is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing performance appraisal motivation among nurse managers in Türkiye. Future research should apply the PAMS-T in diverse socio-cultural settings and incorporate longitudinal designs to explore the dynamics of performance appraisal motivation over time. Routine administration of the scale can facilitate the monitoring of evaluator motivation and inform the development of targeted interventions aimed at improving the effectiveness of performance appraisal processes.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>