Digitization is advancing and for the first time in history notaries can provide online services if requested by individuals or businesses. This outcome follows the ratification of a law that transposes EU directives on digitizing data and notary performances.
Many transactions and contracts can be executed online with the same legal certainty as in person before a notary, within six months following the Regulation’s Official Gazette publication. Online authorization and signing occur in the notary electronic center through video conferencing and a qualified electronic signature.
More than 3.2 million notary documents
The General Council of Notaries estimates that more than 3.2 million notarial documents can be authorized and signed online each year. This includes corporate and commercial policies, various powers of attorney, payment letters, guarantee cancellations, and declarations of signature legitimacy, among others.
According to the president of the Notaries General Assembly, Jose Angel Martinez Sanchiz, legal security through notary involvement remains essential. Remote authorization does not remove or lessen the controls required by the notarial function. The rule makes certain public documents available online for those who need or prefer it. It provides an alternative path. For now, remote authorization will mostly cover unilateral actions, while transactions that can replace physical presence in a notary office will remain largely unilateral in the electronic environment.
More than 17 million copies
Notaries can also issue authorized electronic copies of notarial documents, saving citizens and companies time and travel and reducing paper use. It is expected that authorized electronic copies issued may exceed 17 million annually.
Before this law, notaries could only perform online tasks such as sending authorized electronic copies to public administrations, cadastre or registries, electronic reconciliations, or data transfers. Another innovation is the notary electronic protocol, an electronic title file that speeds up communication with public administrations and with individuals and companies.
This notary electronic protocol, like the paper protocols kept at the Notaries General Assembly, will be accessible to notaries. The new regulations also enable the online creation of a limited liability company in the presence of a notary.
This law transposes Directive 2019/1151, which allows establishment of a limited liability company in another member state without physical presence. It emphasizes maintaining each country’s legal framework while promoting safe, swift, and compliant processes for company establishment in member states where notaries facilitate presence in countries such as Germany, Belgium, Italy, or Spain. It also aims to prevent laundering and tax evasion.