Bundesnotarkammer

The German Federal Chamber of Notaries is a corporation under public law. It is composed of all 21 chambers of notaries that exist on a state-wide basis.

Notaries who have been appointed in the districts of the higher regional courts in Germany are affiliated with the chambers of notaries. A total of almost 8,000 professionals are currently in office. For historical reasons, they exercise their function in two forms, either as a single-profession notary (Nurnotar), or as an attorney-notary (Anwaltsnotar).

The Bundesnotarkammer considers itself to be a self-governing public body with sovereign rights and obligations, but also as a professional representation for all notaries at national level.

The Bundesnotarkammer is based in Berlin and also has an office in Brussels.

The Bundesnotarkammer also includes the Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney, the Central Register of Wills, the Certification Authority of the Bundesnotarkammer, NotarNet GmbH based in Cologne as well as the German Notarial Institute based in Würzburg.

Berlin office

Mohrenstraße 34
10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 383866 0
Fax: +49 30 386666
bnotk[at]bnotk.de

Brussels office

Av. de Cortenbergh 172
1000 Brussels
Phone: +32 2 7379000
Fax: +32 2 7379009
buero.bruessel[at]bnotk.de

From 2022 onwards, notaries will always store their acts both electronically and physically. For this purpose, the Bundesnotarkammer will set up the Electronic Archive of Authentic Acts. This technical infrastructure will enable notaries to store their acts securely for 100 years.

urkundenarchiv.bnotk.de

The Certification Authority of the Bundesnotarkammer is a qualified trust service provider. It issues signature cards for electronic legal transactions – the digital equivalent of the seal and the signature.

zertifizierungsstelle.bnotk.de

The Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney is the registration authority for enduring powers of attorney, care directives and living wills from all over Germany. It was founded in 2003 on the initiative of the Bundesnotarkammer and in 2005 was given the legal mandate to register lasting powers of attorney of citizens upon their request.

vorsorgeregister.de

The Central Register of Wills is the registration authority for wills, inheritance contracts and other documents relating to succession, taken into official safe custody for the entire German Federal State. It plays a key role in the German notification system in succession matters.

testamentsregister.de

NotarNet GmbH is a subsidiary of the Bundesnotarkammer. It offers software products with a focus on secure communication in the notarial environment such as XNotar, a software for the processing of electronic legal transactions, and the notary network, which offers a safe communication infrastructure for notaries.

notarnet.de

The Bundesnotarkammer provides information on electronic legal transactions within the notariat at www.elrv.de. On this website, you can find, for example, answers to typical practical questions on electronic legal transactions and an overview of the progress of electronic legal transactions in the individual Federal States (Länder).

elrv.info

The German Notarial Institute in Würzburg (Deutsches Notarinstitut; DNotI) is a scientific institution founded by the Bundesnotarkammer in 1993 for advising German notaries in their daily practice. The DNotI’s task is to prepare legal opinions and other up-to-date information for the notarial practice.

dnoti.de

Notaries provide competent, independent and impartial legal advice throughout Germany. They contribute significantly to the functioning of the community through preventive administration of justice, while charging much less than you might expect.

notar.de

The Examination Office for the Professional Examination for Notaries at the Bundesnotarkammer has the task of conducting professional examinations for notaries. Its successful completion is a prerequisite for attorneys-at-law who would like to be appointed notaries.

pruefungsamt-bnotk.de