Role and activities of Italian notaries

Question:  What is the role of an Italian Notary public (Notaio)?

Answer:  Italian notaries are legal professionals who provide legal advice and act as public officers in certain Italian transactions. 

Italian Notary vs Italian Lawyer

In Italy, a practicing lawyer is not entitled to practice as a notary nor can a notary practice within an Italian law firm. An Italian law firm cannot have an Italian notary as a partner or an associate member.

For some areas of the law, a person can choose whether to use the services of either a notary firm or a law firm (for example, to process the estate of a deceased person). For other areas of law, a person must use the services of a notary firm (for example, to certify a real estate title transfer by sale or to certify a company incorporation) and in other cases a person must use the services of a law firm (for example, for disputes or court cases).

Law firms and notary firms often collaborate when the respective roles and/or areas of expertise are needed to address a specific matter. A collaboration is often critically important to address cross-border cases more efficiently. Our law firm has strong collaborations with many notary firms throughout Italy.

One of our partners, Nick Metta, is an Italian lawyer (licensed to practice Italian law) and a U.S. notary public. Nick and our team of Italian lawyers draft notary documents that can be signed outside of Italy, anywhere in the world, and used in Italy as if they were certified by Italian notaries. Some of the common notary documents prepared by our law firm to be signed outside of Italy or in Italy are: powers of attorney, wills, inheritance right renunciation deeds and affidavits.

Our process of preparing notarized documents for use outside of Italy does not require the signee to travel to an Italian Consulate or Italian Embassy. Our clients can sign notary documents in their home town and we process them internationally so that they can be used as if our client had signed them in Italy.

Italian Notary role in real estate transactions

Property transfer contracts must be signed in front of a notary. As public officers, Italian notaries conduct formal document checks as well as confirm the identities of the buyer and the seller. Also, notaries check the parties’ respective powers and entitlement to be part of the transaction.

Notaries also have the duty to calculate the taxes applicable to the transaction, to collect them from the parties on completion (closing) and pay them on behalf of the parties.

After completion (closing) signing, the notary files the property title with the local Land Registry (Register of Deeds, or Conservatoria). After this filing, the transaction is officially public.

Once the taxes have been paid and the title deed has been filed with the Conservatoria, the notary keeps the original agreement of sale on their books and makes available to the parties certified copies as well as to any other subject who might have an interest.

Common practice holds that the notary is chosen and paid by the buyer. An important point to remember is that the notary acts as an Italian officer fulfilling an official role and does not work on behalf of the buyer or the seller, but serves as a neutral party.

Many times, especially in international transactions, because of language barriers and busy schedules, the parties meet the notary for the first time at the final signing where a one size fits-all agreement of sale is presented to the parties.

This often does not allow the buyer to complete the transaction in the most effective way, under an estate planning point of view, or might leave the seller exposed to liability for years after the sale.

It is strongly advisable that the parties discuss all legal aspects of the transaction in advance with the notary, or an independent lawyer, for proper advice, before signing the final sale agreement or, for even better results, before signing a purchase offer.

When buying a property, if you are not using a lawyer, your Italian real estate agent will likely suggest the name of a notary. Often the choice will go towards the notary that offers the lowest quotation. However, a choice based only on lowest cost is not always best, especially when you end up with a notary who does not have extensive experience of transactions with non-Italian buyers. Before you engage any notary, ask him/her a few questions to see if it is going to be a good fit for you and your deal.

Contact us to talk about your case, applicable circumstances, personal needs, and expectations. We will gladly advise you about the specific questions to ask a notary in your transaction.

Related information:

• Will by a notary or by a lawyer?