French Notaire Fees Explained in English
- 23 mai
- 7 min de lecture
Dernière mise à jour : 24 juil.
French notaire fees (frais de notaire) are often misunderstood by foreign buyers, heirs and families signing a French deed. The phrase sounds as if the notaire keeps the whole amount. In reality, the total usually includes taxes collected for the State and local authorities, regulated notarial remuneration, disbursements paid to third parties, and sometimes non-regulated professional fees.
This guide explains the main fee categories in English, with practical examples for property purchases, donations, successions, marriage contracts, powers of attorney and business matters. It also explains when the notaire can give you a quote, what is fixed by law, and what may vary by deed, department or tax situation.
If you need a bilingual notaire to explain a fee schedule before signing, FrenchNotaires can match you with a vetted notaire, free of charge, usually within about 48 hours, in person or by video.
What French notaire fees include
Service-public.fr defines frais de notaire as all sums requested by the notaire for the service performed. That broad phrase covers very different amounts. Some go to the notaire office. Many are collected by the notaire and paid onwards to the tax authorities, land registry, registry offices or other third parties.
For a property purchase, Notaires de France stresses that acquisition costs are “improperly” called notaire fees because they are mostly taxes. The notaire acts as public officer, deed drafter, authenticator and collector of public charges.
For a succession or donation, the same logic applies. Part of the bill is notarial remuneration. Part may be tax. Part may be reimbursement of documents, formalities or third-party costs. You should therefore ask for a breakdown, not just a percentage.
The four main buckets: taxes, emoluments, disbursements and fees
Category | French term | What it means |
Taxes and duties | Droits et taxes | Amounts collected by the notaire and paid to the State or local authorities, such as registration duties, land registration tax or VAT. |
Regulated remuneration | Émoluments | The notaire's legally regulated remuneration for tariffed acts such as sales, donations, marriage contracts or successions. |
Disbursements | Débours | Sums advanced by the notaire for documents or third-party services, such as land registry searches, cadastral extracts or administrative documents. |
Non-regulated professional fees | Honoraires | Fees for services whose price is not fixed by tariff, usually agreed in advance with the client. |
The VAT point is also important. Service-public.fr indicates that the VAT rate on notarial emoluments is 20%. VAT is collected by the notaire but not kept as profit.
Property purchase fees
When people talk about French notaire fees, they usually mean property acquisition costs. In a resale property, the largest component is normally tax, not the notaire's remuneration.
Impots.gouv.fr explains that the buyer's payment can include the taxe de publicité foncière (land registration tax), the contribution de sécurité immobilière, disbursements and the notaire's emoluments. For old property, the tax includes departmental, municipal and State collection elements. For new property or VEFA, the reduced rate can apply.
As of the impots.gouv.fr page updated on 1 April 2026, the normal land registration tax framework includes a departmental rate of 3.80%, or on departmental decision a rate between 1.20% and a maximum of 5% for the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028. The commune rate is 1.20%. The global maximum is stated as 6.32% for that period. The reduced rate for new property uses a departmental rate of 0.70% plus collection charges. The contribution de sécurité immobilière is 0.10%, with a minimum of 15 euros.
In practical terms, resale property acquisition costs are often several percentage points higher than new-build costs because the tax component is much heavier. Your notaire will calculate the exact amount based on the property, department, price, mortgage, tax regime and deed.
The notaire's regulated emoluments
For a real-estate sale, Notaires de France cites Article A444-91 of the French Commercial Code and gives the following proportional emolument scale for the notaire's deed remuneration:
Price slice | Rate excluding VAT | Rate including VAT |
0 to 6,500 euros | 3.870% | 4.644% |
6,500 to 17,000 euros | 1.596% | 1.9152% |
17,000 to 60,000 euros | 1.064% | 1.2768% |
Over 60,000 euros | 0.799% | 0.9588% |
The calculation is by slices, not by applying one rate to the whole price. Notaires de France gives the example of a 200,000-euro sale: proportional emoluments are 1,995.25 euros excluding VAT, or 2,394.30 euros including VAT.
Notaires de France also notes that for low-value sales, notarial sale emoluments are subject to a minimum of 90 euros and a maximum of 10% of the value of the asset or right, but this ceiling does not apply to the taxes generated by the transaction.
Succession and inheritance fees
In a French succession, the notaire's invoice can include fixed or proportional emoluments, disbursements, taxes and duties. Service-public.fr explains that succession notarial tariffs include regulated emoluments and non-regulated elements such as disbursements, rights and taxes, including VAT.
Some succession acts have fixed emoluments, such as an acte de notoriété (deed identifying heirs). Others can be proportional, for example a declaration of succession or partition deed, depending on the gross estate assets and the act performed.
Foreign heirs should distinguish notaire fees from inheritance tax. The notaire may calculate and collect inheritance tax, but that tax is not the notaire's remuneration. Cross-border estates can also involve translation, apostille, legalisation, foreign probate documents and extra coordination costs.
Donation and family deed fees
For a French donation, Service-public.fr states that a donation is made by notarial deed and that, where a donation is made by notarial act, notaire fees are payable. If the donation includes real estate, land registration costs may also apply.
The notaire's emoluments for donations are usually based on the value in full ownership of the assets given, with different scales depending on the nature of the gift. Gift tax, if due after allowances, is a separate tax issue. For more on the tax side, see French Gift Tax: What Foreign Families Should Know.
A donation-partage, a gift with reservation of usufruct, or a gift of SCI shares can require more drafting and valuation work than a simple cash gift. The notaire should explain the expected cost before the deed is signed.
PACS, powers of attorney and legal documents
Some legal documents have fixed regulated fees. Service-public.fr gives the example of a notarial PACS agreement with fixed emoluments, a 125-euro registration duty and disbursements for copies.
For powers of attorney, certified copies, marital agreements, certificates or declarations, the cost depends on the act, whether the tariff is regulated, whether registration is needed and whether foreign documents require additional formalities.
If you are abroad, ask whether the notaire needs an original paper power of attorney, a remote notarisation, an apostille, legalisation or certified translation. Those extra costs are not always visible in a headline “notaire fee”.
Business and SCI fees
Business and SCI matters can mix regulated and non-regulated costs. A notaire may help create or amend SCI statutes, draft a deed transferring shares, handle a commercial property purchase, or act as escrow for a fonds de commerce sale.
Where real estate is transferred, notarial and land registration formalities are central. Where only company shares are sold, a private deed may be possible, but notarial support can be useful for foreign parties, real-estate holding companies or family transfers.
For related business topics, see Creating an SCI in France, SCI Share Transfer in France and Selling a Business in France.
Foreign-client costs
Foreign clients do not pay a higher notarial tariff simply because they are foreign. The extra cost usually comes from complexity: foreign documents, translations, tax residence questions, apostilles, powers of attorney, bank-transfer compliance, currency timing or cross-border tax advice.
Examples include:
certified translation of birth, marriage or company documents;
apostille or legalisation of foreign public documents;
drafting a bilingual explanation of a French deed;
extra work on a non-resident seller's capital gains tax position;
coordination with a foreign lawyer, accountant or probate practitioner.
These costs should be discussed early, especially if completion deadlines are tight.
How to read a notaire's quote
Ask the notaire for a breakdown rather than a single figure. For a property purchase, you should be able to see taxes, the notaire's emoluments, formalities, disbursements and any mortgage-related fees. For a succession or donation, ask which deeds are included and which taxes are estimated separately.
Use this checklist:
Which part is tax paid to the State or local authorities?
Which part is the notaire's regulated emolument?
Is VAT included?
Which amounts are estimated disbursements?
Are there any non-regulated fees requiring a fee agreement?
Will the notaire refund unused provisions after completion?
Does the quote include mortgage, company, translation or foreign-document costs?
Need a fee schedule explained in English?
FrenchNotaires can connect you with a bilingual notaire who can explain the breakdown before you sign. Speak to a Notaire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are French notaire fees all paid to the notaire?
No. A large part, especially in property purchases, is tax paid to the State or local authorities. The notaire collects it but does not keep it.
What are emoluments?
Émoluments are the notaire's regulated remuneration for tariffed services such as sales, donations, marriage contracts and succession acts. VAT at 20% applies to emoluments.
What are débours?
Débours are sums advanced by the notaire for the client, such as land registry documents, cadastral extracts, administrative searches or third-party costs.
Do foreign buyers pay more notaire fees?
No, not because of nationality. Extra costs may arise from translation, apostille, powers of attorney, cross-border tax checks or more complex documents.
Why are notaire fees lower on new-build property?
New-build and VEFA purchases can benefit from reduced land registration tax. The notaire's emoluments still apply, but the tax component is lower than on most resale properties.
Can notaire fees be negotiated?
Taxes and duties cannot be negotiated. Regulated emoluments follow the legal tariff, although strictly controlled remises may be possible in specific cases. Non-regulated fees should be agreed in advance.
When do I pay notaire fees?
For a property purchase, the buyer normally transfers the price and estimated acquisition costs to the notaire before completion. A final account may follow after all formalities are completed.
Can I get a precise quote before signing?
Yes, the notaire can usually provide a provisional statement based on the information available. It becomes more precise once the deed, tax status, mortgage and formalities are known.
Speak to a bilingual notaire about fees
Whether you are buying property, settling a succession, making a donation or signing a French legal deed, ask for the fee breakdown before you commit. FrenchNotaires can match you with a bilingual notaire within 48 hours. For local support, you can also start from Notaire Paris.
Related guides
Sources
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. For your specific case, speak to a French notaire; FrenchNotaires can match you with a bilingual notaire within 48 hours.