Deeds and notarial acts
The notary is appointed to perform acts to which the parties are obliged or wish to give notarial form (notarial acts).
Within the scope of their powers, the notary acts as a person of public trust, enjoying the protection afforded to public officials.
Notarial acts, performed by a notary in accordance with the law, have the character of an official document.
Notarial acts are performed in Polish. At the request of a party, the notary may additionally perform the activity in a foreign language, using his/her own knowledge of the foreign language as demonstrated in the manner prescribed for certified translators or with the assistance of a sworn translator.
The notarial activity is performed by the notary in a notary’s office. The notarial activity may also be performed in another place, if the nature of the activity or special circumstances warrant it.
A notary is entitled to remuneration for notarial acts on the basis of an agreement with the parties to the act, not higher than the maximum notarial fee rates applicable to the act. The remuneration does not include travel costs and other necessary expenses incurred by the notary in connection with the act execution.
If a party to the notarial activity is not able to bear the remuneration demanded by the notary without detriment to his or her livelihood and family, he or she may apply to the district court appropriate for his or her place of residence for exemption from bearing the remuneration in whole or in part.
The notary as a payer pursuant to separate regulations collects taxes. If the application for entry in the land and mortgage register is subject to a court fee, the notary collects the fee from the applicant and indicates in the application for entry in the land and mortgage register the amount of the collected court fee. The notary makes the drafting of the notarial deed and including in the application for entry in the land and mortgage register also the request to make another entry in the land and mortgage register related to the notarial action conditional upon the petitioner paying the due court fee. The notary transfers the collected court fee to the competent district court.
The notary uses an official seal with an image of an eagle.
The register of notary offices is kept by the Minister of Justice. Every year, the Minister of Justice publishes a list of registered notary offices in the form of a notice in the Official Journal of the Republic of Poland ‘Monitor Polski’.