What Happens at the Notary When Buying a House: 90 Minutes

At the notary, the deed is read aloud in full, identities are verified, the funds are confirmed in the notary's account, both parties sign, and ownership transfers — typically in 60 to 120 minutes. The mechanics differ across Spain (escritura pública), France (acte authentique), Germany (Kaufvertrag), the Netherlands (akte van levering) and Portugal (escritura at Casa Pronta), but the four blocks — read → verify → pay → sign — are universal. The UK has no notary; the same job is done by a conveyancer over CHAPS on completion day. Most buyers walk in unprepared. This is what to do instead.

The short version:

• The deed must be read aloud. In Spain, France and Germany this is non-waivable. The whole text. If you don't understand a clause, this is the moment to stop and ask.
• Funds have to be in the notary's account before signing in France, the Netherlands and (effectively) Spain. Cash is not accepted anywhere — only traceable bank transfers.
• Keys don't always change hands at the appointment. In Spain, France, the Netherlands and Portugal, yes. In Germany, no — keys come 5 to 8 weeks later after the Auflassungsvormerkung is registered and the Kaufpreis is paid (Wüstenrot, Notartermin und Grundbucheintrag).
• Final land-registry entry takes 2 to 12 months. You're the legal owner from signing day, but the public register catches up later — France 2-3 months, Germany 5-12, Spain ~2.
• Bring more than your ID. NIE/NIF/BSN/Steuer-ID, proof-of-funds trail, mortgage offer letter, marriage certificate (if buying jointly under foreign law), and a copy of every diagnostic the seller had to provide. Missing one document delays everyone.

What's actually being signed

The notary appointment is the legal hinge of the entire purchase. Up to that minute, you have a binding obligation to buy (the compromis de vente / contrato de arras / Reservierungsvereinbarung / koopovereenkomst) but you don't yet own anything. After the deed is signed and (depending on the country) the funds clear, ownership transfers and you become the legal proprietor — even before the public registry catches up.

In civil-law countries (Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, plus most of continental Europe) the notary is a public officer — a private professional with state-delegated authority to authenticate the deed. They are paid by the buyer in most cases but are legally neutral and represent the deed itself, not either party. In England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland the notary system doesn't exist for property; the parallel job is done by your conveyancer or solicitor over CHAPS on completion day, with no joint appointment.

How long does the notary appointment take?

The notary appointment for a house purchase typically takes 60 to 120 minutes — closer to 60 in the Netherlands and Portugal, closer to 90 in Spain and France, often 90-120 in Germany where the Beurkundung (formal reading) of a longer Kaufvertrag is mandatory and cannot be waived (noerr, Notarisation of SPA). Add 15-30 minutes if a mortgage deed is signed in the same session — the bank's representative usually attends in Spain, the lender's lien is recorded inline in France, and a separate hypotheekakte is signed alongside the akte van levering in the Netherlands.

Block out a half-day. Arrive 15 minutes early. The notary's diary runs other transactions back-to-back, and a 60-minute slot can become 90 if you arrive without a document and have to phone someone for it.

The 90-minute sequence (what actually happens in the room)

The order is essentially the same in every civil-law country, even when the names change:

1. Identification (5-10 min). The notary verifies passports, national ID cards, NIE/NIF/BSN/Steuer-ID, powers of attorney where applicable, and confirms legal capacity of all parties. In Germany this includes an explicit anti-money-laundering check.
2. Confirmation of funds (5 min). The notary confirms the price has been transferred to their escrow account (France, Netherlands), or that the buyer's bank confirms a same-day transfer (Spain, Portugal). In Germany the price hasn't been paid yet — the Fälligkeitsmitteilung (due-date notice) goes out only after the Vormerkung is registered.
3. Reading of the deed (30-60 min). The notary reads the deed aloud in full. In Spain and France the whole text; in Germany the entire Kaufvertrag including all annexes; in the Netherlands and Portugal a summary of key clauses with the parties confirming they have read the full version. This is when you raise objections — anything you don't understand, anything that doesn't match the compromis or koopovereenkomst. After signing it's much harder to reverse.
4. Q&A and clarifications (10-15 min). The notary asks both parties directly: do you understand the terms, do you sign freely, are there outstanding questions. In Spain this question is mandatory and ritualised. In Germany the notary will explain any clause they think wasn't understood.
5. Signature (5-10 min). Both parties sign every page (or initial every page and sign the final one), then the notary signs and seals. The deed is now an acte authentique / escritura pública / notarielle Urkunde — public instrument with full evidentiary force.
6. Keys and copy (5 min). In Spain, France, the Netherlands and Portugal the seller hands over the keys and you receive a copia simple / expédition / afschrift of the deed. In Germany you get a copy but not the keys — the seller still legally owns the property until the Vormerkung clears and the price is paid.

What documents do I need at the notary?

Bring your ID, your tax number for the country you're buying in, proof that the funds are available, your mortgage offer letter, and any document the contract or law required the seller to provide. Missing one delays the appointment for everyone in the chain.

The minimum check-list:

• Identity: passport or national ID. EU citizens buying in another EU country need their NIE (Spain), NIF (Portugal), Steuer-ID (Germany), BSN (Netherlands) or French numéro fiscal. Non-residents apply for the local tax ID weeks before the appointment.
• Marital and ownership status: if buying jointly, both spouses' IDs. If your home country has a community-of-property regime (most of continental Europe by default), you may need a marriage certificate translated and apostilled.
• Proof of funds and source of funds: bank statements showing the deposit and the transfer for the balance, plus any gift letter if money came from family — required for AML compliance everywhere in the EU.
• Mortgage offer: the binding offer (oferta vinculante, offre de prêt, Darlehensvertrag, bindend hypotheekaanbod) signed by you and your lender. The notary will verify the figures match.
• Seller-provided documents: the EPC (mandatory in every EU country and the UK), planning certificates, condominium minutes, energy diagnostics, and — in France — the dossier de diagnostic technique in full. We covered the EPC in detail in our EPC-buying guide.

Who pays the notary fees?

The buyer pays the notary fees in every EU country except parts of Belgium and a handful of regional exceptions in Spain. The amount and what's bundled into the headline figure varies enormously:

The French "frais de notaire" headline figure is misleading: about 80% of it is government taxes (transfer tax, registration), not the notary's fee. The Spanish gastos de notaría is the smallest component of closing costs, but the full closing cost in Spain runs 10-12% of the purchase price once ITP, AJD and registry are added.

Country comparison at a glance

The German exception is the single biggest surprise for foreign buyers. Sources confirm the typical sequence: weeks 1-2 the Auflassungsvormerkung is filed; weeks 3-8 it's registered, the Grunderwerbsteuerbescheid is issued, permits arrive; weeks 4-10 the Fälligkeitsmitteilung triggers payment (davidundjacques.de, Notartermin Ablauf 2026). Final Grundbuch entry takes another 5-12 months — but you're already the beneficial owner.

The seven things buyers wish they'd verified in the room

These come up across every market, every transaction:

1. The price and breakdown. Match every figure against the compromis / contrato de arras / koopovereenkomst. Down payment paid, balance due, allocation between land and building.
2. The lien position. The deed should reference exactly the mortgages being released by the seller and exactly the new mortgage being recorded. One missing release reference = title cloud.
3. What's included and what isn't. Fitted kitchen, blinds, fireplace, garden shed. The Dutch lijst van zaken is a separate annex; in Spain it's listed inside the escritura. Confirm now or fight about it next week.
4. The cadastral reference. Referencia catastral (Spain), référence cadastrale (France), Flurstück (Germany), kadastraal nummer (Netherlands). Three numbers, easy to mistype, hard to fix.
5. Charges and easements. Right of way, party-wall agreements, condominium debts of the previous owner. Should match the registered title.
6. Suspensive conditions discharged. The financing condition, the survey condition, any planning condition. The notary should confirm each is met before reading the deed.
7. The handover protocol. When are keys handed over? When are utilities transferred? When does the seller vacate? In Spain and France the deed should contain a vacíos y libre de cargas / libre de toute occupation clause.

What happens after you walk out

You are the legal owner from the moment the deed is signed and (where applicable) the funds are confirmed received — even though the public land registry takes weeks or months to catch up. Concretely:

• Spain: The notary sends the escritura electronically to the Registro de la Propiedad the same day. ITP/AJD must be paid within 30 days. Plusvalía municipal within the same window in most municipalities.
• France: The notaire pays the droits d'enregistrement the same day and submits to the service de la publicité foncière — final registration takes 2-3 months. Your titre de propriété arrives in the post.
• Germany: The Vormerkung typically registers within 1-3 weeks. The Fälligkeitsmitteilung arrives, you transfer the price, the seller hands over the keys. Grundbuch final entry: 5-12 months.
• Netherlands: The notaris registers at the Kadaster the same day. You become legal owner the moment registration completes — usually within hours.
• Portugal: At Casa Pronta or with a notary, IMT and Imposto do Selo are paid before signing. Conservatória registration is automatic in the same session at Casa Pronta.

Building the closing into your overall cost ledger

Most buyers track the headline price and the deposit. They ignore that the closing day brings 5-12 separate payments — notary fee, transfer tax, registry, plusvalía, mortgage opening, valuation top-up, gestoría or conveyancer, AML certifications. By the time the dust settles, the real closing cost runs 8-15% of the purchase price depending on the country. Each line item arrives on its own schedule, in its own envelope.

This is the gap a shared closing-cost tracker like CasaTab was built for. You log every quote and every receipt as it arrives — notary, gestoría, the bank, the tax authority, the registry — and the dashboard tells you what was budgeted, what was spent, and which line is still open. The same household can see the running total. By the time you walk into the notary, the only number that's still uncertain is the one the notary tells you in the room.

The honest take

The notary appointment intimidates because it's formal, foreign-language for many buyers, and irreversible. It's also rehearsed — every notary does dozens of these a month and the structure is the same. The buyer who reads the draft deed beforehand, prepares the seven-point checklist above, and walks in knowing what's already paid and what's still due treats it as the procedural ceremony it is. The buyer who sees the deed for the first time in the room signs things they don't understand and finds out about the missing clause six weeks later, when the bank refuses to release the keys.