If you’ve started researching buying property in France, you’ll have come across the notaire quickly. They handle the final signing, they collect the fees, they seem to be in charge of the whole thing. What’s less obvious is who they actually work for.

The short answer: the transaction. Not you.

What a notaire is and how they differ from a lawyer

A notaire in France is a public official appointed by the state, not a private lawyer in private practice. They hold a government licence to authenticate legal documents, and their role is to make the transfer of property legally valid and properly recorded. There are around 16,000 notaires in France.

Because they’re appointed by the state, their fees are set by law. They don’t negotiate their rates and you can’t shop around for a cheaper one. What you can do is choose which notaire you use.

What a notaire does in a property transaction

Their job covers several things:

Title and legal checks. The notaire verifies that the seller actually owns the property and has the right to sell it. They check for outstanding mortgages, rights of way, planning restrictions, co-ownership rules, and anything else that could affect your ownership. This is more thorough than the checks you’d typically get from an estate agent.

Document preparation. They draft the compromis de vente (the preliminary contract) if it goes through them, and the acte authentique (the final deed of sale). These are legally binding documents. The acte authentique is read aloud in full at the signing.

Holding funds. Between the compromis and the final signing, the notaire holds your deposit in a regulated escrow account (the séquestre). The full purchase price passes through them at completion before going to the seller.

Collecting taxes. A significant portion of the “notaire fees” you pay at completion goes straight to the French state as transfer taxes (droits de mutation). The notaire collects these on behalf of the government. On a resale property, the total frais de notaire typically runs to 7 to 8% of the purchase price, most of it tax rather than the notaire’s own fee.

Departments set part of that tax themselves, and the rate is in flux. Since 1 April 2025 a department has been allowed to raise its share from 4.5% to 5% on sales completed up to 31 March 2028, and most of the 101 departments took the option. On a €700,000 purchase the difference between the two rates is around €3,500, so it’s worth knowing which applies rather than assuming. Departmental rates are published by the tax authority and change by council vote, so ask your notaire to confirm the current Alpes-Maritimes rate when you get your first cost estimate.

Registration. After completion, they register the change of ownership with the land registry (service de publicité foncière). Until this is done, you’re not officially the legal owner.

What a notaire doesn’t do

They don’t represent your interests. The notaire’s job is to make the transaction valid and legal for both parties. If there’s a dispute between buyer and seller, the notaire won’t take sides. If something in the contract isn’t in your favour, they won’t flag it as a problem unless it’s legally incorrect.

This surprises a lot of buyers from the UK and US, where solicitors and attorneys represent one side. In France, if you want someone specifically on your side, you need to hire a separate property lawyer (avocat) or work with a buyer’s agent who can review documents and advise you. You can find English-speaking lawyers and legal advisers on the Côte d’Azur in the Riviera Locals directory, and estate agents offering buyer support if you want representation on the property side rather than the legal one.

Can you have your own notaire?

Yes, and it’s worth knowing: both the buyer and seller can each appoint their own notaire. The fee doesn’t increase when this happens: it’s split between the two. The total frais de notaire stays the same.

If you’re not comfortable relying solely on the seller’s notaire, bringing your own is a reasonable thing to do, particularly for international buyers who may need more explanation of what they’re signing.

The two stages: compromis de vente and acte authentique

Compromis de vente. This is the preliminary contract, usually signed 2 to 3 months before the final sale. It sets out the price, conditions, and timeline. As a buyer, you have a 10-day cooling-off period after signing during which you can pull out without penalty. After that, withdrawing means losing your deposit (typically 10% of the purchase price). The compromis can be signed directly with an estate agent rather than at a notaire’s office, which is common.

Acte authentique. The final deed of sale. This must be signed before a notaire. Both parties (or their representatives) attend, the notaire reads the full document aloud, and ownership transfers at the moment of signing. The funds clear the same day.

What to expect at the signing

The acte authentique signing typically takes 1 to 2 hours. The notaire reads the entire document aloud, in French. If your French isn’t strong, you can bring a certified interpreter, or ask your notaire in advance whether they work with one. Some notaires in Nice and along the Côte d’Azur are used to international buyers and will slow down or summarise in English, but this isn’t guaranteed.

If you can’t be present in person, it’s possible to sign by power of attorney. See the guide to buying French property from abroad for how that works.

For a broader overview of the purchase process, see the guide to buying property on the Côte d’Azur.

Frequently asked questions

How much of the frais de notaire actually goes to the notaire?

A small fraction. Around 80% of what you hand over at completion is tax collected for the state and local authorities, and the notaire’s own émoluments are a regulated scale that works out to roughly 1% of the purchase price. On a €500,000 apartment the notaire personally earns something in the region of €5,000 out of the €35,000 or so you pay in total. The scale is fixed by decree, it’s identical at every practice in France, and it’s tiered so the percentage falls as the price rises.

Does the notaire check the condition of the property?

No, and this catches people out. The notaire’s checks are legal, not physical: who owns the property, whether there’s an outstanding mortgage on it, what planning rules and rights of way apply, what the co-ownership rules say. Nobody in the standard French process inspects the building for structural problems on your behalf. The seller’s diagnostic file covers specific regulated points such as asbestos, lead, and energy performance, but it isn’t a survey. If you want the structure assessed, you commission that yourself.

What is the droit de préemption and can the commune block my purchase?

It’s the right of a local authority to step into your shoes and buy the property instead of you, at the agreed price, in zones its planning rules cover. Once you’ve signed the compromis the notaire files a déclaration d’intention d’aliéner (notice of intent to sell) with the mairie, and the commune has two months to respond. Silence counts as a waiver, which is how most sales proceed. If it does pre-empt, you don’t get the property. It’s uncommon, but it’s the reason there’s a gap between the compromis and the final signing that can’t be compressed.

Do I need an interpreter if my French isn’t good enough for the signing?

The acte authentique is read aloud in full, in French, and the reading typically runs one to two hours. If you can’t follow that comfortably, arrange a certified interpreter in advance rather than hoping to manage. Notaires along the Côte d’Azur see international buyers constantly and many will slow down or summarise in English, but that’s a courtesy rather than something you can count on, and it’s not a substitute for understanding a document you’re about to be legally bound by.

Why does the notaire want to know where my money came from?

Because they’re legally obliged to ask. Notaires are subject to French anti-money-laundering rules and have to verify and document the origin of the funds in every transaction, reporting anything suspicious to TRACFIN, the financial intelligence unit. For an international buyer this means transfers need to be traceable and explainable: expect to show bank statements, a sale contract for a property you sold elsewhere, or similar. It isn’t personal and it isn’t optional, and having the paperwork ready avoids a delay at exactly the point when a delay is most expensive.

Official sources for notaire fees and process