Notary fees
The notary fees are the sum of the activities of the notary incurred notary fees, the costs of the notary and the sales tax . These are stipulated by law (Section 17, Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 of the Federal Notary Code ). It is precisely regulated which values the notary has to base a deed on and which fee results from this. The notary cannot determine his fee himself or negotiate his remuneration with the parties involved. The statutory fee system ensures that every citizen can afford advice and drafting contracts from a notary.
The Court and Notary Fees Act ( GNotKG ) applies to all notaries working in Germany regardless of their official seat. The notarial cost law does not differentiate according to the effort and degree of difficulty of the individual case, but is based on the values that are to be used as a basis for the respective notarial activity. For example, in the case of a purchase agreement for a property, this is the purchase price, and in the case of a property gift, the market value of the property.
A notary cost calculation is the calculation made by a notary of the costs incurred by him for an official act carried out by him ( cost note ).
According to Section 19 (1) GNotKG , costs that accrue to the notary himself and are to be levied by him may only be claimed on the basis of a calculation of the fees and expenses that has been communicated to the debtor and signed by the notary.
The calculation must include:
- a name of the procedure or transaction,
- the numbers used in the schedule of costs,
- the business value in the case of fees calculated on the business value, and
- the amounts of the individual fees and expenses.
If the debtor is sent an enforceable copy of the cost calculation, interest is charged on the costs claimed pursuant to Section 88 sentence 1 GNotKG .
