French Notaires Fees are paid on every French property transaction. This article explains what they are and how to calculate them.
French Notaires Fees What Are They
When a Notaire completes a property transaction deed Notaires fees, including property tax, may become payable.
French Notaires fees cover
- Fees: Emoluments d’Acte and Emoluments de Formalités
- Disbursments
- Taxes
French Notaires fees, which are regulated by the Decree dated 8 March 1978, will be shown on a document similar to an invoice, called taxe de l’acte.
Fees
Emoluments d’Acte
For each transaction the Notaire will be entitled to either a fixed fee, which is set out in a Notaires fees table of charges, or a percentage of the value of the transaction.
This fee is called emolument d’acte and is based on the value of the property for a purchase, the value of the estate for a deceased person’s estate and the amount of rent if it is a lease or specific charging units if the fee is for some specific types of deeds.
There are two different émoluments that will depend on the nature of the deed to be completed.
The emolument fixe is calculated by unit called unité de valeur. Each unité de valeur is worth €3.65. A Notaire will not be entitled to charge more than the units corresponding to a deed that he is requested to sign and will have to apply the fee corresponding to the deed. For instance the preparation of a contract to set up a right of way will be charged at 50 unités de valeur = €182.50 exc VAT.
The second fee is the émolument proportionnel. This is the most common fee charged by the Notaire and corresponds to a percentage of the transaction. The average percentage for most of the transactions is 0.825%+€328.75 for transactions above €30,000. The figure will be the remuneration of the Notaire for the preparation of the contract, meeting with clients and any liaison regarding the file.
Emoluments de Formalités
The emolument de formalités corresponds to the disbursements paid by a Notaire for obtaining documents and carrying out the formalities to complete a transaction. These typically include a request for a birth certificate, the urbanism note, notifying a property management company, banks, insurance company and photocopying title-deeds for the different parties involved in the transaction. Each formality will have different unités de valeur, at €3.65 each. For example, the request for a birth certificate is three unités de valeur = €10.95, the urbanism note is 15 unités de valeur = €54.75. The émoluments de formalités will also include photocopying the deed of sale for the clients, the Land Registry and the Notaire’s own database.
Honoraire de l’Article 4
Notaires have the right to charge a fee called the honoraire de l’article 4. This additional fee is regulated by the Decree but can be fixed between the Notaire and his client for additional work, such as a legal consultation.
Disbursements
In the French system disbursements are called débours.
These are the disbursements that a Notaire has to pay on behalf of a client. They can relate to international postage (if agreed with the client), property management company’s charges, various taxes or fees owed to third-party.
Until completion takes place the Notaire may not be in a position to provide you with an accurate figure but can give an estimate.
Taxes
The purchase of a property will attract payment of stamp duty, which is included in the estimate of fees given by the Notaire.
In addition there will be a fee for the Land Registry corresponding to a percentage of the price.
There will also be a charge covering the registration of a French mortgage.
Current Scale Of Fees
The current scale of French Notarial charges is available on the Notaires de France website.
Notaires Fees Calculator
To estimate the Notaires fees for your French property purchase you can use this calculator Go To French Notaires Fees Calculator