Notary office accounting: special regime, client funds and 2026 obligations

Quick answer. Notary office accounting is governed by the decree of 19 December 1945 and the decree of 8 March 1978. It requires a dedicated chart of accounts, deposit of client funds at the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC), and a strict separation between regulated fees, disbursements and negotiated fees. Offices undergo accounting inspections carried out by the notarial chamber.

The notary office is a regulated profession, organised by the French State. Unlike a chartered accountancy firm, which manages its accounting freely, a notary office applies a mandated nomenclature and submits to regular external checks. Its accounting rests on a cardinal principle: the absolute separation between the office's own funds and the funds entrusted by clients.

At Hayot Expertise, we support notary offices, law firms and real estate accounting operators. As a firm registered with the French Institute of Chartered Accountants and statutory auditors, we know how notarial accounting, often seen as opaque, in fact follows precise rules. This guide sets them out, for notaries and for the accountants who support them.

Notary office accounting is not ordinary commercial accounting. It follows a specific notarial chart of accounts, established in accordance with decree no. 45-0117 of 19 December 1945 (organisation of the notariat) and the decree of 8 March 1978 (notaries' accounting rules).

It rests on two fundamental principles:

1. Separation of funds: a clear distinction between the office's own funds (regulated fees, negotiated fees, costs) and third-party funds (sums entrusted by clients).
2. Regulated traceability: each movement of funds must be documented and justified, to allow accounting inspection.

This separation requirement echoes how other legal professions handle funds, such as the handling of funds through the lawyers' CARPA. In both cases, the professional is only the custodian of clients' sums.

Definition and mandatory deposit#

Third-party funds are sums received by the notary on behalf of clients, notably:

• The price of a property sale owed by the buyer.
• Estate or community-liquidation funds.
• Guarantee or deposit funds.
• Sums received in escrow, by analogy with escrow accounting in real estate agencies.

These funds are not the notary's property: the notary is their custodian. They must be held in dedicated accounts at the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC).

Cash holding limit#

The notary may keep in cash or on its own accounts only the lower of the two following limits:

• 3,000 euros for more than 2 business days, or
• 5% of the total funds managed.

This threshold prevents clients' sums from sitting too long outside the CDC.

Dormant balances and deposit#

A specific mechanism protects clients whose accounts stay idle: when a credit balance exceeds 762 euros and remains idle for more than 3 months, it must be transferred to a mandatory deposit account at the CDC. The notary communicates the beneficiary's identity to the CDC (decrees of 30 November 2000 and 28 June 2021). This rule ensures clients are not denied access to their funds for years.

Notarial accounting strictly distinguishes three flows, recorded in separate accounts.

1. Regulated fees#

Regulated fees remunerate acts under the regulated tariff: property sales, gifts, successions, marriage contracts. They are set by decree (decree no. 2016-230 of 26 February 2016 and the order of 28 February 2020). The tariff combines fixed fees, proportional fees (a degressive percentage of the base across brackets set by the order) and formality fees. In the notarial chart of accounts, they are recorded in account 706 and its subdivisions. For tax, they are subject to VAT at the standard 20% rate and form part of the office's non-commercial income (BNC).

2. Disbursements#

Disbursements are costs advanced by the notary on behalf of the client and rebilled at cost, without profit: registration duties, surveyor fees, land-registry publication, other parties' fees. They flow through third-party accounts (advances on the client's behalf) and do not enrich the notary. Rebilled at cost, they are outside the scope of VAT: no VAT is added, since the notary provides no service, it reimburses an advance. When a notary pays fees to outside parties, it may be required to file the DAS2 return of fees paid to third parties.

3. Negotiated fees#

Negotiated fees (honoraires libres) remunerate services outside the tariff: estate-planning advice, negotiation, drafting of complex contracts. They are not set by decree, must be agreed in writing with the client before the service, and are subject to VAT at the standard 20% rate. They form part of the BNC. On this point, the logic matches that of architects' fees and VAT, another fee-based profession.

Summary table#

Before drawing up a deed, the notary must require a sufficient deposit to cover costs, duties, disbursements, fees and negotiated fees (decree of 8 March 1978, article 6). The cycle then runs as follows:

1. Receipt of the deposit: the client pays the funds.
2. Blocking: third-party funds (sale price, inheritance) stay at the CDC or are transferred there.
3. Deduction: at signing, the notary draws its duties, fees and negotiated fees.
4. Remittance: the balance is paid to the final beneficiary (seller, co-heir) or returned to the client.
5. Dormant balances: any residue above 762 euros idle for 3 months is transferred to the CDC.

Accounting inspections are external checks carried out by the notarial chamber, under the authority of the Superior Council of Notaries (CSN). Regular in nature, they cover:

• The representation of client funds: are all third-party funds deposited at the CDC documented and justified?
• Compliance with the notarial chart of accounts.
• The regularity of transactions: a written record and supporting documents for each movement.
• Dormant balances not transferred and funds wrongly blocked.

To prepare, the office should have its accounts audited, reconcile them with CDC and bank statements, and document fees, disbursements and dormant balances. The role of the accountant supporting the notary office is decisive here.

• Multi-disciplinary offices. When an office also provides legal advice outside the tariff, separate accounting is required so as not to mix regimes.
• SCP or SEL offices. Each partner receives a share of the income; the office's accounting is centralised then allocated. Tax then follows the partnership regime, each partner reporting their share via the 2035 non-commercial income return. Third-party funds are never incorporated into corporate assets.
• Salaried notary. A salaried notary does not keep its own accounting: the office centralises and pays a salary taxed under personal income tax, not as BNC.

• Do not confuse third-party funds and income. Recording a deposit received as income (account 706) is an error: it is a liability to the client until the deed closes.
• Transfer dormant balances. Beyond 3 months of inactivity and 762 euros, transfer to the CDC is mandatory.
• Do not add VAT to disbursements. Disbursements rebilled at cost are outside the scope; adding VAT creates a fictitious tax.
• Formalise negotiated fees. They must be agreed in writing before the service.
• Anticipate inspections. An internal audit or statutory audit corrects anomalies before the chamber's check.

Recently, a Paris notary office, made up of three partners, asked us to prepare for an accounting inspection. Auditing the accounts, we found several anomalies: client accounts not broken down, mixing third-party funds and fee advances; three client balances totalling 4,500 euros left for over a year without transfer to the CDC; and surveyor and bailiff disbursements billed with fictitious VAT.

We restructured the accounting into three separate registers (third-party funds, regulated fees, negotiated fees), set up a monthly reconciliation between the accounts and the CDC statements, and corrected the VAT on disbursements. At inspection, the office had no major findings. This example illustrates a simple truth: strictly separating flows and keeping a clear audit trail turns a dreaded inspection into a controlled formality.

Hayot Expertise advice. Have your office audited before the inspection: restructuring of the funds/income accounting, updating of the notarial chart of accounts, reconciliation with the CDC, and a VAT and BNC compliance check. The Superior Council of Notaries expects impeccable transparency. Our firm helps you achieve it, both to satisfy the check and to make your accounts more reliable. Contact us for advisory support or a statutory audit.