Step 1

What is a notification act?

It is the notarial document that has the purpose of informing another person of a certain information or decision, thus leaving a record of that communication in a reliable manner through the intervention of the notary in it.

Step 3

How much does it cost to notarize a notification deed?

This is a merely informative and non-binding estimate. This estimate is calculated based on two criteria: 1) our knowledge of the Notarial Tariff and 2) our daily experience in the preparation of this type of notarial document. (Royal Decree 1426/1989, November 17, 1989). and 2) our daily experience in the preparation of this type of notarial document. However, any variation (upward or downward) will be duly justified at the time of issuing the final invoice for the notarial service rendered.

Step 4

More frequently asked questions

What does a notification act consist of?

As indicated in the definition of this type of notarial intervention, the acts of notification are an instrument that allows a Notary to be requested to go to a certain place, for the purpose of delivering to a specific person, a document containing information or decisions relevant to that person, all for the purpose of ensuring that such information or decision reaches the recipient, as well as to record that the person has received the document and is aware of the information or decision that has been transferred to him/her.

<ejemplo>Así pues, por ejemplo, si Juan, en el pasado, otorgó un poder a favor de su amiga Cristina, para que ésta, en su nombre y representación, pudiera realizar gestiones en su nombre, si ahora, por el motivo que sea, ha perdido la confianza en Cristina, y desea revocar dicho poder, además de proceder a la revocación del mismo, para asegurar que Cristina es conocedora de dicha situación y dejar constancia fehaciente de que el poder dado en el pasado ha quedado sin efecto, Juan puede optar por recurrir al instrumento del acta de requerimiento, a los efectos de que un Notario acuda al domicilio de Cristina y le entregue una copia de la escritura de revocación del poder, consiguiendo así dejar constancia fehaciente de que Cristina es conocedora de dicha revocación.<ejemplo>

<ejemplo>Con ello, Juan se asegurará de que, si Cristina hace uso del poder a posteriori, podrá demostrar que Cristina utilizó el poder a sabiendas de que el mismo estaba revocado, con lo cual, dicho acto podrá ser fácilmente dejado sin efecto.<ejemplo>

From a legal point of view, the notification acts are, according to Article 202 of the Notarial Regulations, the instrument that has the purpose of "transmitting to a person information or a decision of the person requesting the notarial intervention".

Can the notification minutes also contain an injunction?

Indeed, from a legal point of view, the acts of notification are actually called "acts of notification and requirement", since in them, in addition to transmitting information or a decision, it is also possible to transmit to the addressee a "requirement", that is, to request that person to perform (or, as the case may be, to stop performing) a certain act.

<ejemplo>Así pues, siguiendo el anterior ejemplo propuesto, en el acta de notificación a entregar a Cristina, se le puede requerir para que devuelva al poderdante la copia auténtica de su poder, a los efectos de asegurar que ya no puede hacer uso de la misma.<ejemplo>

Legally, the possibility of including requirements in the minutes of notification is also provided for in Article 202 of the Notarial Regulations, which establishes that, in addition to containing notifications, this type of minutes may have the purpose of "intimidating the requested party to adopt a certain conduct".

What is the purpose of a notice and summons?

As indicated above, the purpose of the notification and requirement acts is to transfer a certain decision or information to an addressee, but all this through a Notary Public, that is, an official invested by the Notarial public faith, who will attest that he has delivered such information or decision to the indicated addressee or, as the case may be, the appropriate requirement.

Thus, we will achieve two major effects:

  • First of all, of course, this decision or information (or requirement) must be communicated to the person to whom it is addressed, in case he/she is not aware of it.
  • And also, as a fundamental aspect, it must be recorded that such decision, information or requirement has been reliably known by the addressee, so that, in the future, no one can doubt that this is so.

Thus, following the example proposed above, if Juan wishes to revoke the power of attorney granted in the past to Cristina, he can telephone her and inform her that he has revoked this power of attorney, also asking her not to use it any more, but as anyone can appreciate, this procedure offers few guarantees, since we will not have any proof that we have passed this information to Cristina, so that, if she subsequently uses the power of attorney, the difficulties to prove that it has been used fraudulently and, therefore, that the act carried out should be void, will be much greater.

On the contrary, if Juan resorts to the act of notification and requirement, since a Notary Public will deliver a copy of the revocation to Cristina, we will be able to leave a reliable record that she knows that this power of attorney is already revoked and that therefore she can no longer use it, so that, if she does so, we can easily prove the impropriety of the act performed under a revoked power of attorney, since a Notary Public has attested that this person is already aware of the revocation of the power of attorney.

How useful is the use of the notification record?

In practice, as can be seen, the usefulness of this instrument is very varied and very interesting, as it can be applied to multiple areas of social and economic reality, such as, for example:

  • To notify the revocation of powers of attorney.
  • For the extrajudicial claim of debts prior to the filing of legal actions.
  • Notifications of contractual terminations, so that the contracting parties are aware that the other party has terminated the contractual relationship.
  • Injunctions for the cessation of conduct that may cause harm to persons(such as an uncivic neighbor who generates noise and disturbances to the other owners of the staircase).
  • Injunctions for the cessation of conduct which, in the corporate or business sphere, may constitute intellectual property, industrial property, or unfair competition infringements(such as a company that is marketing a product with a trademark already registered by another competing company, so that the latter wishes to notify the other company of its desire to cease such behavior or, otherwise, it will take legal action).
  • Notifying minority shareholders of capital companies of the call of a shareholders' meeting, for the purpose of accrediting that they have been made aware of said call and that, therefore, the resolutions adopted at said meeting will be valid as regards the requirements of the call and quorum of attendance. 

How will delivery to the addressee of the notice or demand be made?

In accordance with the provisions of the notarial regulations, the delivery of the notice or summons may be carried out:

  • Or by sending a letter, copy or letter by certified mail with return receipt requested.
  • Or by the appearance of the Notary at the address or place designated for the notification or summons.

Thus, the parties, depending on the specific circumstances and needs, should agree on one or the other modality, and proceed accordingly.

See more frequently asked questions

What will be reflected in the minutes when the Notary manages to deliver the notification or request to the addressee?

In the event that the Notary Public travels to the designated place, and manages to find the addressee, and he/she accepts to receive the notification or request, the Notary Public shall deliver the document or writing containing the notification or request to the addressee.

After that, the delivery will be recorded in a certificate, which will be signed by the Notary and the addressee, and in which it will be stated:

  • The literal text that has been notified or required.
  • The right of the requested person to answer within the time limit granted by the regulations (which will be discussed in a later question).

Can the notary deliver the notice or summons to a different person?

In fact, the regulations governing notification acts allow that, in the event that the Notary Public appears at the designated place and the requested person is not there, but a different person is, the notification or request may also be delivered, leaving a record of the person who has collected the notification.

Likewise, in the event that the building where the delivery is to be made has a doorman, the notice or summons may be delivered to the doorman.

<ejemplo>Así pues, por ejemplo, si Laura desea notificar a Tomás una reclamación para que éste le devuelva 2.000€ que le prestó en el pasado, si el Notario, al personarse en el domicilio de Tomás, este no se hallare en el domicilio, pero si la mujer de éste, llamada Estefanía, el Notario podrá entregar el requerimiento a Estefanía, aunque el destinatario final del mismo sea Tomás.<ejemplo>

In these cases, however, in order to safeguard the confidentiality of the information notified or requested, the letter must be delivered by the Notary in a sealed envelope, in which the identity of the Notary and the address of the Notary's office must be stated, with the Notary warning that the recipient is obliged to deliver this document to the addressee.

What happens if the Notary finds the addressee but the addressee refuses to receive the letter of notification or summons?

In such a case, the situation does not present any major difficulty, since the applicable rule for these cases (Article 203 of the Notarial Regulations) determines that, in the event that the interested party or his representative refuses to pick up the writ or actively or passively resists its receipt, it shall be so recorded, and the notification shall be deemed to have been made.

Therefore, if the Notary finds the addressee but the latter does not want to receive the request, this fact will be irrelevant, since for legal purposes, the rule considers that in such case the information, decision or request has also been notified, and therefore, it will have the same effects as if the addressee had effectively accepted the receipt.

What happens if the Notary finds neither the addressee nor any other person at the designated place?

In such a case, the applicable regulations (Article 202 of the Notarial Regulations) determine that, in these cases, the Notary must send the notification and summons by certified mail with acknowledgement of receipt, or by any other procedure that provides a reliable record of the delivery.

Can delivery be made to a location other than the designated location?

Indeed, there is no problem in this being the case, since the applicable regulations expressly recognize this, provided, of course, that the addressee agrees and is duly identified by the Notary.

<ejemplo>Así pues, si el Notario conoce a la persona a notificar o requerir, y volviendo a su despacho notarial, tras no hallarla en su domicilio, la localiza por ejemplo en un restaurante, puede realizar la entrega de la cédula en dicho establecimiento sin problema alguno. <ejemplo>

How will the Notary identify the requested person?

The identification will be made by means of the exhibition, on the part of the addressee, of his Identity Document, that is to say, his DNI or, if applicable, for foreign persons, by means of his Passport or NIE.

Does the notified or requested person have the right to answer what has been notified or requested?

In fact, the notarial regulations (Article 204 of the Notarial Regulations) provide for the form in which, if applicable, the response that the notified or requested person wishes to make must be reflected.

Thus, the requested or notified party shall have the right to answer before the Notary and within the same record, but with the proviso that he may not include in his answer other requests or notifications, which, in such case, must be the object of a separate record.

This reply must be made at once, under the signature of the person replying, and within the two working days following the date of delivery or receipt of the mailing.

In this case, the notary fees and expenses of the reply shall be borne by the requesting party, but if the extension exceeds twice the amount of the notice or summons served, the excess shall be borne by the person replying.

Finally, it is necessary to know that, in the event that this answer or reply is produced, the copy or copies of the minutes issued must state this reply.

What kind of notices or summons may not be served?

In accordance with the regulations in force, as is evident, no requirements or notifications may be made that are contrary to the law, morality or public order(for example, a notification between persons who are committing an unlawful act to perform some kind of act or behavior contrary to the legal system).

Likewise, Article 206 of the Notarial Regulations establishes that, except in the cases specifically provided by law, the Notary may not accept a request addressed to Public, Judicial, Administrative Authorities and civil servants(thus, for example, a person who has filed a lawsuit in a Court, may not request a Notary to request the competent Judge to resolve his case in a prompt manner).

Can the notary go to any place to carry out a notification and summons act?

In relation to this question, the interested parties should know that the notary's jurisdiction does not extend to the entire national territory, but is territorially limited to the locality in which the notary has his or her notary's office.

Consequently, a notary may only accept a request to carry out an act of notification and summons in a place that is within the locality or municipality in which his or her notarial office is located and in which he or she therefore has jurisdiction.

Therefore, those interested in requesting a Notary Public to perform an act of presence should contact a notary public of the locality in which the place where the presence of the Notary Public is necessary to verify the reality or truth that is needed.

Does the notification and summons act prove the veracity of the information transmitted?

Of course, as has been indicated, the Notary, being a public officer vested with the notarial public faith, will attest to the content of the act of notification and summons, so that, before any person, the fact that the Notary has gone to a certain address and has notified a text to a specific person on a certain date will be deemed to be true.

However, as is logical, this will not attest to the veracity of the information, notification or requirement that is transmitted, which, if applicable, must be accredited through valid and legally admitted means of proof, and before the corresponding instance.

Can a document referral record be made by mail?

Indeed, interested parties should bear in mind that, in addition to the notification and summons documents described above, the Notarial Regulations (Article 201 of the aforementioned body of rules) provide for another type of document of a similar nature, known as a "document forwarding document by mail".

In this modality, the request consists of the Notary Public drawing up an official record to certify that a certain document has been sent by mail, either by ordinary mail, or by a telematic procedure, by telefax, or by any other suitable means.

In this case, the record shall reflect the literal content of the document, the means used for its delivery and, if applicable, the proof of receipt (in the case of delivery by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt).

In this case, this modality is necessary to know that:

  • The forwarding of the document does not confer the right to the addressee to reply in the same document at the cost of the applicant.
  • The Notary Public cannot accept requests of this type when the document is delivered in a sealed envelope whose contents cannot be reproduced literally in the record.

How is a notification or summons granted?

To grant an act of notification and summons is a very simple act. The interested party must contact the notary's office and arrange the day and time that best suits him/her to go to the notary's office.

On that day, you must go to the notary's office with your ID card and the document with the text containing the information or requirement to be notified, after which, if it meets all legal requirements, the Notary will accept the requirement.

Subsequently, having accepted this request, the Notary will go to the designated place in order to deliver the cédula to the requested person, in the terms set forth in the preceding questions or, if applicable, to send it directly by certified mail.

Finally, in view of the result, the Notary will prepare an authentic copy for the client, so that he/she can take a copy of the document with him/her, reflecting all the actions carried out, so that he/she can make the appropriate use of said document.

Step 5

Where can I consult the applicable regulations?

Step 6

Make an appointment