Notaries in France

In France, the notary (notaire) is a self-employed legal specialist with a public authority mission who draws up authenticated contracts on behalf of his clients. 
The french notary is a public officer who operates in every area of law including:

• family
• property
• inheritance,
• asset,
• company law
• countryside law
• local authorities, etc

The "notaire" acts on behalf of the State and is appointed by the Minister of Justice, and an instrument drawn up by a notary is a guarantee of its legality and authenticity. All this means that the french notary is vested with prerogatives of official authority which they receive from the State. Under the terms of Article 1 of the Order dated 2 November 1945 regarding the status of Notaires, "Notaires are public officers authorised to record any instrument or contract the parties to which are obliged, or may wish, to invest with the type of authenticity associated with public authority instruments".

The notary is empowered to authenticate instruments by affixing his seal and signature. By doing so, he officially witnesses the wishes expressed by the signatories and gives hispersonal guarantee regarding the content and date of the instrument. Such instruments then have the legal status of a final judgment. As such, the notary is an amicable judge and dispensers of out-of-court justice.

As mentioned earlier, although he has a public authority, the french notary operates on a self-employed basis and is responsible for his own office, thereby providing a modern type of public service that costs nothing to the State. He is a self-employed professional who is paid by his clients (and not the taxpayers) on the basis of a rate fixed by the State for the services he provides.

In France, notaries are present throughout the country according to a zoning system worked out by the Minister of Justice to best serve the needs of the population. There are about 9298 notaries throughout 3107 cities. The Notaire is therefore able to provide a locally-accessible public service focused on legal matters. His office is not subject to "numerus clausus" restrictions which would limit the number of notaries operating at any one time. Instead they are subject to a zoning system which ensures in order to cater to the needs of the population in any given area.

The location of Civil Law Notary offices is reviewed on an ongoing basis under the supervision of the Central Administration of the Ministry of Justice, known as the chancellerie. 

This location review has three objectives:

• to maintain a locally-accessible public service focused on legal matters;
• to take account of geographical and population change;
• to oversee the financial conditions under which the profession is carried out with a view to ensuring quality of service. 

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