The electronic certificate of attendance – a major step toward fully digital notarial services

In May of this year, the government published a draft bill introducing electronic notarization. Since 2022, electronic records have been able to be created as part of online notarial procedures, and in the future, this option will also be available in face-to-face procedures—i.e., when the parties are present at the notary's office. This will close gaps in digitization, avoid media breaks, and relieve the burden on notaries, courts, and other document offices.

Elimination of media discontinuity

Notarial deeds have been digitized for electronic legal transactions since 2007 and have been stored digitally in the electronic document archive since 2022. „However, this means that the paper documents have to be scanned after the notarial certification hearing. This is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also involves complex media transfers,“ reports Clemens Neuschwender, managing director of the Palatinate Chamber of Notaries. Since electronic records have been able to be created in the scope of notarial online procedures since 2022, this option is also to be introduced in the proven face-to-face procedure in the future. „The documents created digitally in this way can then be added to the electronic document collection without any media discontinuity and sent to the registry courts or land registry offices for further execution,“ explains Neuschwender.

Practical implementation

In the course of the notarization process, the creation of the record in electronic form changes in particular the process of signing by the parties involved and the notary. „The notarization, however, continues to take place in person,“ emphasizes Neuschwender. The draft law provides that the parties involved can sign by hand in the presence of the notary on a device suitable for electronic recording, such as a signature pad. The notary then signs electronically in a qualified manner, thereby creating a so-called original electronic document. „This procedure transfers the proven act of signing by hand as an expression of approval of the transcript into the electronic world. Full protection of authenticity and integrity is also guaranteed by the qualified electronic signature of the certifying person, which is always required,“ says Neuschwender. The decision as to whether an original electronic document is created is to remain the prerogative of the notary. The only exception is dispositions of property upon death, which must continue to be created in paper form.

Provision of a signature system by the Federal Chamber of Notaries

Technically, the introduction of the electronic certificate of attendance is being supervised by the Federal Chamber of Notaries, which also provides notaries with the necessary signature application. „This ensures that the necessary software is available nationwide and is easy to use,“ Neuschwender emphasizes. The Federal Chamber of Notaries has already successfully developed a prototype for this purpose, which is being used to test the electronic notarization process in person.

Significance beyond the notarial field

With the introduction of electronic notarization, other document authorities, such as probate courts, will also be able to create digital documents. „The introduction of original electronic documents thus also contributes significantly to the digitization of the judiciary and is therefore of great importance beyond the notarial sector,“ Neuschwender is certain. This is because electronic documents also avoid media breaks in the courts and accelerate the further expansion of e-files.

Digitization of communication between notaries and authorities

In addition to introducing electronic attendance certificates, the Federal Chamber of Notaries is pursuing further projects aimed at the comprehensive digitization of the notarial profession. For example, the „electronic notary administration exchange“ project—eNoVA for short—aims to fully digitize communication between notary offices and public authorities in the course of processing real estate contracts. To implement electronic execution, eNoVA will offer the option of transmitting messages to the expert committees in its first expansion stage starting in spring 2024. In the future, further execution steps will be digitized and integrated into eNoVA in staggered stages, in particular tax notification obligations, including obtaining clearance certificates from the tax office, as well as obtaining official approvals and preemptive right inquiries. Notaries will then have the option of working completely paperless. „This is not only sustainable and resource-saving, but also significantly reduces the amount of work in notary offices,“ says Neuschwender happily.