Photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching is a promising technology for fabricating GaN devices with low damage. In the simple contactless PEC (CL–PEC) etching process that includes K₂S₂O₈ in the electrolyte as an oxidizing agent, a sample is dipped into the electrolyte under UV irradiation. In this study, we applied CL–PEC to the gate-recess process of GaN HEMTs on an SiC substrate. The etching depth of the recess showed considerable reproducibility by the self-termination feature, and the residual AlGaN layer thickness was approximately 5 nm. The Schottky gate HEMTs with a recessed structure showed the normally off characteristics, and the V_th value was +0.4 V with a standard deviation of ±3.8 mV.