Notaries in Germany: public office and fees by law

What a notary does in a German purchase

§ 311b paragraph 1 BGB says a contract by which one party undertakes to transfer or acquire ownership of land “bedarf der notariellen Beurkundung”. The notary:

• clarifies the facts, explains the legal effect of the deal and records the parties’ declarations “klar und unzweideutig” (§ 17 paragraph 1 BeurkG);
• for consumer contracts under § 311b, should see that the consumer has the draft text in good time: § 17 paragraph 2a BeurkG says it should as a rule reach the consumer two weeks before the signing, and if the period is shorter the reasons should be recorded;
• if foreign law applies or may apply, should point this out and record it, but “Zur Belehrung über den Inhalt ausländischer Rechtsordnungen ist er nicht verpflichtet” (paragraph 3).

The schedule of fees (below) also lists follow-up work, called completion (Vollzug) and supervision (Betreuung) of the payment conditions. See the notary’s role in a purchase and the priority notice.

How the office is regulated

§ 1 BNotO says notaries are appointed in the states “als unabhängige Träger eines öffentlichen Amtes” for the certification of legal acts and other tasks of preventive justice. § 14 paragraph 1 adds: “Er hat nicht eine Partei zu vertreten, sondern die Beteiligten unabhängig und unparteiisch zu betreuen.” Three limits protect that role:

• A notary may not broker property or loans: paragraph 4 forbids “Darlehen sowie Grundstücksgeschäfte zu vermitteln”, apart from intermediary tasks given by law, and to take part in any brokering of deals.
• A notary may not hold a controlling interest in a company active as an estate agent or similar under § 34c GewO (paragraph 5). See estate agents.
• A notary must avoid any appearance of dependence or partiality (paragraph 3).

The notary does not act “for the buyer” or “for the seller”. For who pays what, see notary and land registry fees.

How to check a notary yourself

The register exists in law. § 78l paragraph 1 BNotO has the Federal Chamber of Notaries (Bundesnotarkammer) keep an electronic directory of notaries and notarial administrators, and paragraph 2 says it serves to inform authorities, courts, “der Rechtsuchenden und der anderen am Rechtsverkehr Beteiligten über die bestellten Notare und Notariatsverwalter sowie über die Zuständigkeit für die Verwahrung notarieller Akten und Verzeichnisse”.

1. Go to the directory at https://www.notar.de/notarsuche/notarsuche.
2. Search by name or place. Paragraph 3 lists what it holds: the facts reported by the state justice authority, the official seat and the address of any branch offices, the chamber, the electronic mailbox, the telecommunication data the notary gave, and languages spoken if the notary reports them.
3. Compare the official seat and the name with the documents you receive.

The directory shows that the person holds the office and where. It does not say how good the person is.

Terms of use of the directory

The law gives access: “Die Einsicht in das Verzeichnis steht jedem unentgeltlich zu. Die Suche in dem Verzeichnis wird durch ein elektronisches Suchsystem ermöglicht.” (§ 78l paragraph 2 BNotO).

The legal notice (Impressum) of notar.de, published by the Federal Chamber of Notaries, says, word for word: “Urheberrechte: Jede urheberrechtliche Nutzung ist grundsätzlich untersagt, insbesondere mit, für oder in KI-Systemen oder KI-Modellen. Die Nutzung zum Text-und-Data-Mining nach § 44b Abs. 3 UrhG wird vorbehalten.”

For this reason Payotte does not copy, collect or republish the directory, and does not feed it into automated systems. It links to the directory and asks you to search yourself.

Which professional to consult

For the price and the viewing, an estate agent. For the loan, a mortgage broker. For the value, a property valuer. For tax and legal advice beyond the published rules, a lawyer or tax adviser. For a buyer who does not speak German, see the notary deed in a foreign language.