How is the notarization procedure for pre-drafted transactions carried out?
According to Article 42 of the Law on Notarization 2024, the notarization procedure for pre-drafted transactions is carried out as follows:
The person requesting notarization shall submit one set of notarization request documents online, directly, or by post to the notarial practice organization. The notarization request dossier includes the following documents:
a) The draft transaction;
b) A copy of the requester’s identity documents, including: citizen identity card, passport, or other papers used to verify the identity of the notarization requester in accordance with the law;
c) A copy of the certificate of ownership, land use rights, or a judgment/decision of the Court, or another decision of a competent state authority regarding the handling of the asset, or substitute papers as prescribed by law for assets that must be registered for ownership or use rights in cases where the transaction relates to such assets;
d) A copy of other documents related to the transaction as required by law.
If the notarial practice organization can obtain the information prescribed in Points b, c, and d of this Clause from the National Population Database or other databases as prescribed by law, the requester shall not be required to submit such documents but must pay a data extraction fee in accordance with the law for the notarial practice organization to extract the data.
The notary shall examine the documents in the notarization dossier. If the dossier is complete and in compliance with the law, it shall be accepted for processing; if the dossier is refused, the notary must directly explain the reasons or provide a written response stating the reasons for refusal.
The notary shall guide and explain to the requester their lawful rights, obligations, and interests, as well as the meaning and legal consequences of participating in the transaction.
In cases where there are grounds to believe that the notarization dossier contains unclear matters, the participation in the transaction shows signs of being threatened or coerced, there is doubt about the requester’s civil act capacity, or the subject matter of the transaction is not clearly described, the notary shall request the requester to clarify or conduct verification, or request an expert assessment at the requester’s request. If the requester fails to clarify, refuses verification or assessment, or even after verification or assessment the issues remain unclear, the notary shall refuse notarization.
The notary shall review the draft transaction. If any provisions in the draft transaction violate the law, contravene social ethics, or the subject matter of the transaction is inconsistent with legal regulations, the notary must clearly point them out to the requester for correction; if the requester refuses to make corrections, the notary shall refuse notarization.
The requester shall read the draft transaction themselves or have the notary read it aloud to them upon request.
If the requester agrees with the entire content of the draft transaction, they shall sign each page of the transaction and sign and write their full name (and affix the organization’s seal, if applicable) on the last page of the transaction; in cases of fingerprinting, the procedure shall follow Article 50 of this Law. Before signing the notarial statement and each page of the transaction, the notary shall request the requester to present the originals of the documents specified in Points b, c, and d of Clause 1 of this Article for comparison. For the documents specified in Point d, Clause 1 of this Article, if the requester does not have the originals at the time the notary signs the notarial statement, a certified copy or copy extracted from the original register may be presented instead.
The notarial practice organization shall assign a notarization registration number, affix the seal, deliver the original notarized document to the requester, enter it into the notarization register, and store the notarization dossier in accordance with Article 68 of this Law and other relevant legal provisions.
