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Having a property purchase recorded

Notary · Purchase agreement and the Grundbuch

In personNotarial recording required

There is no way around the notary when buying a property. § 311b Abs. 1 BGB requires notarial recording for every contract by which someone undertakes to transfer or acquire a plot of land. Without it, the contract is void for lack of form.

The law does provide for a cure: the contract “becomes valid in its entire content if the conveyance and the entry in the Grundbuch take place”. In practice this helps nobody, because the Auflassung (conveyance) must itself, under § 925 BGB, be declared before the notary. The detour therefore leads back to the notary again.

A rule of thumb circulates about the costs that is misleading: “one to one and a half percent of the purchase price”. The notary fee is not a percentage. It results, under § 34 GNotKG, from the value of the subject matter via Table B and is degressive: the higher the purchase price, the smaller the percentage share. At €300,000, the pure recording fee is around 0.42%; at one million, around 0.35%.

Notary fees are fixed by law and the same throughout Germany: under § 17 BNotO, the notary is required to charge the prescribed fees; discounts are not permitted. Comparing prices between notaries is therefore pointless.

Last updated27 August 2026
Legal basis§ 311b BGB · § 925 · § 34 GNotKG · § 17 BNotO
VerificationChecked against gesetze-im-internet.de and notar.de
Written and reviewed byAndrés Sánchez Botta
Independent information page: We are not the notary's office, not an authority and not a paid advice service — we do not submit applications on your behalf. All information comes from official sources and is explained here in simple terms; the competent body is always authoritative. This is not legal advice. The costs depend on the value of the subject matter and the services instructed. All information is provided without guarantee. We are neither lawyers nor tax consultants: we document administrative procedures and check the information against the official source — this is information, not legal or tax advice.
Notarial recording2.0 feeKV 21100, min. €120
At €300,000€1,270The recording alone
Share of the purchase priceDegressive0.9% to 0.35%
Price comparisonPointlessFee fixed by law
Required documents

What you need

Valid identity documents of all parties involved

Identity card or passport of the buyer and the seller. The notary must establish identity; without a valid document, the appointment cannot take place. In case of representation: the power of attorney, for property transactions in certified or recorded form.

Current land register extract

The notary generally obtains it themselves. It shows the owner, encumbrances in Abteilung II (Section II of the land register) (such as rights of way and rights of residence) and real-property security rights in Abteilung III (Section III of the land register). Read it: old rights of third parties survive the sale if they are not deleted.

Financing commitment from the bank

The purchase agreement should be recorded only once the financing is in place. Recording it without secured financing binds you to a contract whose purchase price you may not be able to pay – with liability for damages as a consequence.

Information on inventory and fittings

Kitchen, awnings, oil tank. Movable inventory sold together with the property is shown separately and reduces the basis of assessment for the real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) – which is lawful, but the items must be valued realistically.

For apartments: declaration of division and minutes

Declaration of division, community rules, the most recent owners' meeting minutes and the state of the maintenance reserve. These show resolved special levies that may affect you as the new owner.

Information on existing land charges

If land charges of the seller's bank are still registered, their deletion or assumption must be settled in the contract. The notary handles this; without a clear arrangement, you pay a purchase price for an encumbered property.

Step by step

How to proceed

  1. 1

    Request the draft and actually read it

    The notary sends the draft in advance. Where a consumer is involved, it should be available to the consumer two weeks before the recording, so that time remains to check it. Use this period – it exists precisely for the case that something catches your attention when reading it.

  2. 2

    Clarify questions before the appointment

    The notary is obliged to be neutral: they advise both sides and represent neither. Questions on wording, exclusions of liability for defects and rights to rescind the contract belong before the appointment, not inside the recording.

  3. 3

    Attend the recording appointment

    The notary reads out the entire contract. This seems lengthy and is the core of consumer protection: you are meant to hear the content before you sign. Interrupt as soon as something is unclear – after that, the contract is binding.

  4. 4

    Register a priority notice of conveyance

    The notary arranges the Auflassungsvormerkung (priority notice of conveyance) in the Grundbuch. It secures your claim before you pay: after that, the seller can no longer effectively transfer the property to a third party or encumber it anew. Never pay the purchase price before it is entered.

  5. 5

    Wait for the notice of maturity and then pay

    Only once all the requirements are met – the priority notice, the creditors' documents for deleting their charges, where applicable the municipality's waiver of its right of first refusal – does the notary send the notice of maturity. Paying before that is the most expensive mistake in this procedure.

  6. 6

    Wait for the entry of the transfer of ownership

    After payment and submission of the Finanzamt's clearance certificate on the real estate transfer tax, the notary applies for the entry of the transfer of ownership. Only with this entry are you the owner – not with the recording and not with the payment.

Fee information

Costs and payment

What the notary really costsFixed by law, degressive, and more than just the recording
Recording of the purchase agreement2.0 fee (KV 21100)
At €160,000€762
At €300,000€1,270
At €500,000€1,870
Implementation and supervision0.5 fee each
GrundbuchamtAdded separately

The widespread statement “1 to 1.5% of the purchase price for the notary” is not accurate. The fee follows § 34 GNotKG: the value of the subject matter gives, via Table B, a full fee that is doubled for agreements under KV 21100 (at least €120). Because the table is built degressively, the percentage share falls as the value rises: at €25,000 it is 0.92%, at €300,000 0.42% and at one million 0.35%. But the pure recording is not everything. The Bundesnotarkammer gives an example for an apartment at €160,000: €762 recording (2.0), €190.50 implementation (0.5) and €190.50 supervision (0.5) – together around €1,143, so about 0.71%. The fees of the land registry (priority notice and entry of the transfer of ownership) are charged separately, as is the real estate transfer tax, whose rate differs by federal state. The often-quoted 1.5 to 2% describes this total sum – not the notary's fee. And because § 17 BNotO obliges the notary to charge the statutory fee, a price comparison is pointless: every notary in Germany charges the same amount for the same contract.

Good to know

Important notes

The notary fee is not a percentage. It results from the value of the subject matter via Table B of § 34 GNotKG and is degressive – the percentage share falls the more expensive the property is.

A price comparison between notaries achieves nothing. § 17 BNotO obliges the notary to charge the statutory fee and prohibits discounts. What differs is accessibility, punctuality on appointments and explanation – not the price.

Never pay before the notice of maturity. It comes only once the priority notice of conveyance is entered and the release from encumbrances is secured. Anyone who pays earlier pays without security.

The two-week draft period is there for you. Where a consumer is involved, the draft should be available two weeks before the appointment. Anyone who lets it pass by gives away the only phase in which changes are easy.

The notary is neutral, not your lawyer. They advise both sides and must not favour either. In the case of conflicting interests – for example, a far-reaching exclusion of liability for defects – you additionally need your own legal advice.

You only become the owner with the Grundbuch entry. Not with the recording, not with the payment, not with the handover of the keys.

Without the recording, the contract is void for lack of form. The cure under § 311b Abs. 1 Satz 2 BGB through conveyance and entry is theoretical, because the conveyance also has to be declared before the notary under § 925 BGB.

Inventory sold with the property belongs in the contract. Movable fittings shown separately reduce the basis of assessment for the real estate transfer tax – but only with realistic values.

Avoid these mistakes

Common mistakes

Calculating with “1 to 1.5% notary costs”. The figure mixes the notary, the land registry and incidental costs. The pure recording lies, depending on the value, between 0.9% and 0.35%.

Paying before the notice of maturity. The most expensive mistake of the whole procedure: without an entered priority notice of conveyance, you pay without any security.

Reading the draft only at the appointment. That is what the two-week period is for. At the appointment itself, changes are unpleasant, expensive and rarely well thought through.

Only skimming the land register extract. Rights of third parties in Abteilung II – right of residence, usufruct, right of way – survive the change of owner if they are not expressly deleted.

Looking for notaries by price. There is no price difference. Anyone who instead pays attention to accessibility and clear explanation is looking for what actually differs.

Having it recorded without a firm financing commitment. The contract is binding from the recording. If the financing falls through afterwards, there is a risk of liability for damages and the costs of unwinding the deal.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

How much does the notary cost when buying a house?

That depends solely on the value of the subject matter and can be calculated exactly. For the purchase agreement, a 2.0 fee (at least €120) is charged under KV 21100, calculated from Table B of § 34 GNotKG. In concrete terms: around €762 at €160,000, €1,270 at €300,000 and €1,870 at €500,000. Added to this, as a rule, is a 0.5 fee each for implementation and supervision, as well as – separately from this – the fees of the land registry and the real estate transfer tax.

Is the rule of thumb of 1 to 1.5% correct?

For the notary alone, no. The fee is not a percentage, but follows a degressive table: at a value of the subject matter of €25,000, the 2.0 fee corresponds to 0.92%, at €300,000 only 0.42% and at one million 0.35%. The rule of thumb in truth describes the total of the notary, the land registry and incidental costs – and even then it sits at the upper end. It is better to calculate with the specific value of your purchase price.

Can I look for a cheaper notary?

No, and that saves you work. § 17 BNotO provides that the notary is obliged to charge the fees prescribed by law. Discounts or a waiver are permitted only if the law provides for it or charging the fee would be inequitable because of exceptional circumstances – and even then only with the consent of the chamber of notaries. Every notary in Germany charges the same amount for the same contract. Look instead for accessibility, availability of appointments and clear explanation.

What happens without notarial recording?

The contract is void for lack of form. § 311b Abs. 1 BGB requires the recording for every contract concerning the obligation to transfer or acquire a plot of land. The law does provide for a cure – the contract “becomes valid in its entire content if the conveyance and the entry in the Grundbuch take place” – but this is practically meaningless: the conveyance must itself, under § 925 BGB, be declared before the notary. There is therefore no way around the notary.

When am I allowed to transfer the purchase price?

Only after the notary's notice of maturity. It comes once the requirements are met: the priority notice of conveyance is entered in the Grundbuch, the documents from the seller's financing banks for deleting their charges are available and, where applicable, the municipality has waived its right of first refusal. Anyone who pays earlier transfers a six-figure sum without any security – the most expensive avoidable mistake in this procedure.

From when am I the owner?

Only with the entry in the Grundbuch. Neither the recording, the payment nor the handover of the keys makes you the owner. The sequence is deliberately staggered: recording, priority notice of conveyance, maturity and payment, the Finanzamt's clearance certificate on the real estate transfer tax and, last, the entry of the transfer of ownership. Between the recording and the entry, several weeks to months regularly pass, depending on the workload of the land registry.

Does the notary represent my interests?

No, they are obliged to be neutral and look after both sides equally. They must explain the legal implications and ensure that nobody is disadvantaged – but they do not negotiate on your behalf. If it comes to economically far-reaching points, for example a comprehensive exclusion of liability for defects or unusual provisions on rescission, you additionally need your own legal advice. This is not distrust of the notary, but a consequence of their role.

Why does the notary read out the whole contract?

Because the law requires it and because it is the core of consumer protection in the recording: you are meant to have heard the full content before you sign. For a purchase agreement this often takes an hour and seems formalistic – but it is the last opportunity to notice something. Interrupt as soon as something seems unclear or wrong to you. After signing, the contract is binding, and a change requires a fresh recording with fresh costs.

Related official procedures

Creating a land charge
The second appointment on a purchase
1.0 fee
Certification of a signature
At most €70
0.2 fee
Grundbuchamt
The fees are added separately
Under the GNotKG

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