The electronic notarial deed as a milestone in the digitalization of the notary's office
Since December 29, 2025, it has been possible to draw up notarial deeds in an electronic face-to-face procedure. The parties to the deed are present in person at the notary's office, but the deed itself is originally drawn up electronically and signed electronically by the parties.
„The introduction of electronic notarization is a key step towards the digitalization of the notary's office. An electronically drawn up deed enables further processing without media discontinuity and speeds up the procedure. This can relieve the burden on notary's offices, courts and other document offices,“ says Constantin Kemper, Managing Director of the Bavarian Chamber of Notaries.
Electronic transcript as part of the attendance certification
The introduction of online notarial procedures in 2022 made it possible for the first time to draw up electronic - not paper-based - minutes. The positive experience with the creation of electronic transcripts is now being extended to face-to-face notarizations. Until now, it has been mandatory in face-to-face proceedings for a deed to be printed out after electronic preparation of the draft deed and signed by all parties in paper form as part of the notarization process before it is scanned in again for safekeeping and further execution of the deed. „Avoiding media disruptions is another milestone in the digitalization of the notary's office. If a notary draws up an electronic deed, it can be sent to the registry courts or land registry offices for further execution without any intermediate analog steps. This speeds up processes and makes a lasting contribution to the digitalization of the notary's office and the justice system,“ says Kemper, highlighting the key advantages of electronic notarization. While the scope of application of notarial online procedures is currently limited to corporate law matters, electronic notarization is possible for almost all notarial deeds. Only dispositions of property upon death, such as wills or inheritance contracts, still have to be drawn up in the traditional paper-based manner, as custody by the probate courts currently requires paper-based deeds.
The handwritten electronic signature
„The parties involved don't need to worry about electronic notarization; no prior technical knowledge is required in this respect,“ emphasizes Kemper. „Personal contact with the notary is also not lost through electronic notarization. The notarization itself does not differ from the conventional procedure; in particular, questions and requests for changes can be discussed in person with the notary as usual.“ Only the process of signing by the parties and the notary changes in that the parties sign the document in person on a signature pad in the presence of the notary and the notary then signs the electronic record with a qualified electronic signature. In this way, a so-called original electronic deed is created.
Development of the signature system by the Federal Chamber of Notaries
The Federal Chamber of Notaries is providing technical support for the introduction of the electronic certificate of authentication and is providing the necessary signature application, which was specially developed for electronic authentication. „The involvement of the Federal Chamber of Notaries ensures that the high standards of confidentiality, integrity and neutrality are maintained. In particular, it is ensured that private third parties have no access to the sensitive content of the procedures,“ confirms Kemper.
The path to the digital notary's office
In addition to the introduction of electronic notarial deeds, the Federal Chamber of Notaries is also striving for the comprehensive digitalization of the notarial profession with further projects. With the electronic notary administration exchange (eNoVA), communication between notaries and public authorities in the processing of real estate contracts will be fully digitized in the future. Notifications to the expert committee and the electronic notification of sale to participating tax offices can already be transmitted electronically. In the future, eNoVA will also be available for further execution steps (in particular further tax notification obligations, pre-emption right requests and applications for approval from courts and authorities). „Thanks to electronic notarization, procedures can be accelerated and at the same time designed in a sustainable and resource-saving manner. Everyone involved benefits from this,“ says Kemper.
More information and images on this and other topics can be found on the website of the media association of the chambers of notaries at: