What do French notaires do?

If you have bought property in France you will have dealt with a notaire.

However, notaires offer in-depth expertise on many other issues, and also sell property.

The role is often misunderstood because no other country has a precise equivalent. Notaires are legal experts appointed by the Minister of Justice, and as such they are public officers. 

A notaire is the most qualified solicitor lawyer in the French legal system. They have to complete a law degree followed by a master’s, plus an additional two years’ training. 

This means that every practising notaire has studied for at least seven years to obtain their qualification. 

Rather than using monsieur or madame, all notaires should be addressed with the formal title of maître, whether they are male or female.

Independent and impartial

As a public officer, a notaire follows strict rules and a professional code of conduct. 

They must be absolutely impartial when drawing up acts or contracts and when negotiating agreements, but also have an obligation to advise their clients, providing complete information on the significance, potential consequences or risks of the act in question.

For example, if you are buying a house in an area where natural disasters have occurred, the notaire will discover this when doing their research and must inform you of the risks. 

They are also obliged to advise on the most appropriate means to achieve your desired result, whether that is continuing the sale or withdrawing.

Notaires are bound by professional secrecy. Anything said to them in confidence in the course of their duties must not be disclosed to a third party. If they break this rule they can be punished by criminal and disciplinary sanctions, and may also be liable for damages.

Notaire services

Notaires generally work on family law and property, so they are the legal expert with whom you are mostly to come into contact during your life in France. 

They handle buying or selling property, wills and inheritance issues, power of attorney and proxies, and the legal side of marriages or the civil partnerships, known as Pacs.

They can also draw up paternity papers and can advise on which kind of legal structure is best when setting up a business.

After a death, the notaire issues an acte de notoriété as proof that a person is an inheritor, allowing the holder to access the deceased’s bank account, change the ownership of their car, etc.

Notaires can also, for a fee, provide a copy of a missing document, including deeds of property ownership.

They do not deal with private legal action, such as suing another person or defending someone accused of a crime.

Fees

As public servants, most of their fees are fixed but some services are free, especially for long-standing clients.

What we call ‘notaire fees’ in property transactions are actually 80% taxes and duties to the authorities, 10% disbursements, and only the remaining 10% goes to the notaire. 

Inheritance cases tend to involve a proportional fee, standard processes have a fixed fee, and property purchases are based on percentages.

For example, drawing up a will starts at €135.83, while buying a €200,000 apartment incurs notaire fees of €1,995.25 HT. 

Be clear about costs by asking for a detailed written quote upfront, and know that the amount you pay for a regulated service will be the same whichever notaire you choose.

Notaires offer free and anonymous consultations via the Conseil Départemental de l’Accès du Droit (CDAD). Look on your department’s CDAD website for permanences gratuites to make an appointment.