How German Civil Law Notaries are organised

The Bundesnotarkammer is a body established and governed by federal law representing the German civil law notaries as a whole in the process of political decision-making at the national level.
The Bundesnotarkammer also coordinates the activities of the regional chambers. It is lead by a seven-men steering committee and officially represented by its president, elected for a term of four years. Members of the Bundesnotarkammer are the 21 regional chambers of civil law notaries usually operating on a state-wide basis. However, for historical reasons in some states there are two or three regional chambers covering only a part of the state’s territory. For each civil law notary, membership in the regional chamber is mandatory, i.e. each civil law notary becomes a member of his regional chamber upon his appointment.

The regional chambers represent their respective members and ensure the compliance with professional ethics. In addition, they advise their members on disciplinary matters and ensure continuing education. Furthermore, they cooperate closely with the respective state government (Department of Justice and competent courts as supervisory authorities) regarding the appointment and the supervision of notaries.

The Deutsches Notarinstitut (German Notaries’ Institute), based in Würzburg, is a highly recognized legal think tank founded by the Bundesnotarkammer in 1993. All German notaries can rely on its support in more complex cases.

Continuing education in all fields of notarial activity is the purpose of the Fachinstitut für Notare (Institute of Advanced Training for Notaries) organised as a branch of the Deutsches Anwaltsinstitut (German Advocates’ Institute of Advanced Training) based in Bochum.