New changes to the Law on Notaries will allow various notarial procedures to be carried out by videoconference, a beneficial development for those who do not normally reside in Spain.
In compliance with European regulations (Law 11/2023, of May 8th, on the transposition of European Union Directives on the accessibility of certain products and services, migration of highly qualified persons, taxation, and digitalisation of notarial and registry proceedings), the reform of the Mortgage Law and the Law on Notaries will enable notarial and registry services to be provided electronically.
The amendment of these laws will allow different procedures to be conducted via videoconference or by electronic appearance, without the need to go in person to a notary, which will be of particular interest to those who do not habitually reside in Spain.
Specified cases for videoconferencing, which may be expanded upon by regulation, are as follows:
– Commercial policies.
– The incorporation of companies, appointments, and powers of attorney, as well as other corporate acts, provided that, should contributions be made, these are monetary.
– Powers of attorney for procedural representation or before the Public Administration, electoral powers, and powers of attorney for specific acts. General or preventive powers of attorney do not apply.
–Revocation of powers of attorney, except for “general preventive powers of attorney”.
-Payment letters and liability waivers.
-General meeting records and minutes, strictly speaking.
-Testimonies of legitimisation of signatures.
– Wills, as long as there is an outbreak of an epidemic.
-Declarations of new developments without the termination of condominium or adjudication of ownership, and the division of horizontal property.
– Conciliation, unless the notary considers physical presence advisable.
– Other legal acts and transactions permitted by regulation.
Proceedings:
The party granting the deed accesses the application available in the notary’s electronic office by identifying themselves by means of an electronic signature. During the act, the notary will have to show the document to the person appearing through the digital platform, so that they can exercise their right to read it, without detriment to the alternative reading by the notary and the assessment that they must provide on its content. Finally, the notary can authorise the deed with their qualified electronic signature, thus fully completing the procedure electronically.
The amendments to the Notaries Act will come into force on the 9th of November of 2023, although, given the regulatory need to implement some of the required changes, it will take some time before they can be fully enforced.