notaires

Notaries are legal professionals in civil-law jurisdictions who exercise public authority to draft, certify and preserve legal acts, ensuring their authenticity and enforceability. They act as officers of the state in matters such as property transfers, wills, and family law, and oversee formalities that confer legal certainty.

Typical duties include drafting real estate deeds, creating and validating wills and guardianship arrangements, recording marriages or civil partnerships where required, facilitating corporate acts such as incorporations or mergers, witnessing signatures, certifying copies, and maintaining official archives. They also advise clients on the legal effects of acts and ensure compliance with formal requirements for enforceability domestically and, when needed, internationally.

Training and regulation generally require a law degree, completion of specialized notarial training, and a period of practical apprenticeship. Notaries are usually appointed or regulated by a state authority or professional body and may hold exclusive rights to perform certain acts or certify particular documents.

Geographically, the role and title vary. In France and much of continental Europe, notaries perform public duties and drafts constitutive acts; in Quebec, Canada, notaries public have a distinct, often more limited role compared with lawyers; in many other countries, the term notary corresponds to a "notary public" with narrower powers. The term ‘notario’ or ‘notario público’ in other civil-law jurisdictions denotes related functions but with local differences.

Historically, notaries emerged in medieval Europe to standardize legal acts and records. Over time their role became formalized as public officers whose authentic acts enjoy stronger evidentiary force, helping to reduce disputes in property, succession, and commercial transactions. Today, notaries operate in many jurisdictions as trusted guarantors of legality and formal truth.