Notarial Dictionary

The notarial dictionary is a section of the website that allows you to know in detail the definition of all the terms related to the activity that takes place in an entity of this type. The Notary Bosch-Bages of Barcelona wants with this page to facilitate the knowledge of the most important concepts related to Notary services.

Notary dictionary

-Everyone- Copy (3) Entities (1) Writing (3) Public instrument (5) Notary (15) Notary (13) Policy (4) testimony (1) policy (4) protocol (1)
Affidavit - Apostille - marriage settlement - Certifications - Notary appearance - Foral compilations - Deferred community - Public instrument concept - Organized concubinage - Legality control - Executive copy - Authentic copy - Copy of the policy - Simple copy: - Curator - Declaration of disability - Declaration of indignity - Correctable defects in the public instrument - Notary district - Private document - Public document - Mortis Causa Donations - donatum - Effectiveness of the public instrument - condominium deed - Public deed - Falsehood of the public instrument - Notary - Legal hermeneutics - Identification of appearing parties and proof of knowledge - Language of the public document - Notaries index - Unique computerized index - Harmlessness - Public instrument - Global Legitimate - Legitimate Individual - Notary Law - Policy record book - Notary - Partial nullity of the public instrument - Total nullity of the public instrument - Civil Pact of solidarity (Pacs) - Paris Valoris - Parties and appearing parties - Policy split - Mercantile policy - Original policy - Parental authority - Pre-dead - Protocol - Notarial protocol - Documentary evidence - Property registration - Notarial regulation - Drafting rules - Relictum - Overview of personal circumstances - Notarial responsibility - Open will - notarial testimony - Transmission Mortis Causa - Act unit - What is a notary? -

Affidavit See file

Public instrument that acts with the purpose of authenticating a fact, such as the state or situation of a thing, and that the form that collects it will not contain an operative part or grant, nor will it be necessary to give faith of knowledge of the people, nor affirm your capacity ... The notarial act will collect the legal facts that do not fit in the form of public deed.

Apostille See file

The apostille is a method of accreditation that certifies that a notarial Document granted in Spain and that is going to be used abroad, has been granted with the due formalities and solemnities, contemplated in this country. The apostille must be certified by the Dean of the Notary College, or by a Notary who has been delegated the competence to carry out said procedure, with the authorization of signature and pertinent stamp. Click here for more information

marriage settlement See file

It is a document that is granted in a public deed before a notary in which the spouses or future spouses, express their patrimonial and economic interests, thus specifying the matrimonial regime in which they want to be subsumed, subject to changes whenever the parties wish....
The marriage settlement they can be done before the marriage but in this case there is one year of time to celebrate the marriage. If this period is exceeded, they will lose their validity. It should be remembered that the matrimonial property regime (of joint property or separation of assets) depends on the autonomous community in which you live.

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Certifications See file

The certifications find their function when they act as executive title through the duly authorized copy or the testimony that accompanies the commercial contract policies signed by the parties, in order to accredit the compliance of the policy with the entries in its registry book. and the date of these.

Notary appearance See file

It is the first part into which the Scriptures are divided and three parts can be distinguished: a) The heading; b) the actual appearance of the persons involved and; c) qualifications, such as the Notary's verification of the parties' capabilities in relation to the nature of the business, and its name.

Foral compilations See file

The compilations supposed normative bodies in which it was intended to compile the institutions of certain regions that had a particular right, that is, with them it was intended to compile the different existing foral rights.

Deferred community See file

There is ipso jure, once the regime is terminated, a community of assets made up of the joint assets obtained by the spouses during the term of the regime, that is, all the assets acquired for consideration, which are distributed equally between both.

Public instrument concept See file

A public instrument is understood to be the groups included in article 17 of the Law of Notaries, which classifies them as: -Public deeds -Polizas -Notarial Acts. ...
  • Public deeds: Public document granted by a Notary who has certified its content, and that establishes or accredits declarations of will of the parties, legal acts that include consent, and contracts and legal businesses of all kinds. 
  • Policies: Type of contract or acts, which can be granted unilaterally or bilaterally, which exclusively include commercial or financial content. 
  • Notarial records: Certificate of presence of the Notary that leaves record and accredits facts or the perception of them, which are not susceptible to being acts or contracts classified as public deed. 

click here for more information.

Organized concubinage See file

it is a contract, which implies the positive will to submit to it, a deliberate attitude to commit oneself in a legal context organized by law and by a contract: the Civil Solidarity Pact.

Legality control See file

The notary, because he is considered a public official of the state, is obliged and it is his duty, as established in article 24 of the Notary Law, to supervise and inform the parties about the formal and material regularity of the legal acts and businesses. that are carried out by the parties and that the notary authorizes or intervenes in them....
The notary is subject to a special duty of collaboration with the Public Administration and the Judiciary, in addition to being subject to the obligations that are incumbent upon him as a Notary authority figure. 


Executive copy See file

Copy that has been expressly requested by the interested party as an executive title. The granting of said title implies the registration of the application in the parent Deed, stating the date and the interested party who requested it, as provided in article 517.2 4th of Law 1/2000, of January 7. Consult BOE

Authentic copy See file

Article 17 of the Notary Public Law understands as an authentic copy the first copy extracted from the Master Deed and that each grantor has the right to receive.

Copy of the policy See file

The circulation of the policy will be made according to the transfer of the original policy filed, by authorization of a copy of the original policy.

Simple copy: See file

Copy extracted from the authentic copy, without value of the original.

Curator See file

The curator is a person designated to complement the capacity to act of another, who has certain limitations, in certain legal acts. The conservator is in charge of representing a person who has been subjected to conservatorship.

Declaration of disability See file

Disability occurs when the person cannot relate to those around him and cannot say what he wants or what he does not want through any means of communication. To arrive at the declaration of incapacity, it is also necessary that the support system does not work.

Declaration of indignity See file

It is a form of disinheritance on the part of the heirs, NOT the deceased, that is, it can be claimed by the other heirs without the need for a disposition of the testator in this sense and therefore can occur both in the succession with a will and in the intestate.

Correctable defects in the public instrument See file

Defects produced in the public instrument that do not lead to a radical or partial nullity, but rather allow a correction of the legal facts....
It is a remedy for the rectification of the error, omission caused or defect of form, which avoids the granting of defective deeds.   The rectification case can be presented after the signature and authorization of the parties, since if the error occurs prior to these facts in the draft instrument, it would be a mere rectification.  The authorizing notary himself, his substitute or successor in the Notary's Office, will have active legitimacy to request the correction of the flawed instrument. The party that originated or suffered the defect, omission or error will also have legitimacy. 


Notary district See file

The notarial district comprises the areas and territories (normally different municipalities are grouped together) in which the notary has competence to act, except for those that are legally entitled to have authority beyond its notary district, so that the notarial district is the maximum limit of notary power of action. The delimitation of the District coincides with that of the judicial district by imperative of the notarial law. ...
Within the notarial district are the notarial zones, which are the set of immediate municipal terms that make up the District, and which are assigned by act of authority, for the exclusive performance of the Notary or Notaries.  The denomination of the district in zones,  the request of the District Notaries is required, issuance of an opinion  of the interested notaries, favorable agreement of the Board of Directors of the Notarial Association, and the tacit or express approval of the DGRN.  

Click to consult the map of Notary Districts in Catalonia

Private document See file

The Civil Code in its article 1.225 tends to equate the private document with the value of a public deed, but that this value is constituted by limitations. ...
Only the private document will have public value when: 
  1. Has been judicially recognized, therefore excluding that the notary recognizes  may be made by each  private document as public document. 
  2. The private document will be granted the rank of public in the context of understanding that it refers to the probative value and the executive of the deed, but the substantive or civil effects that the public document guarantees will not be released. 
  3. The private document does not accredit the proof of the date or the content or main object  of the contract between the parties, which in the case of a party denying the content and harming him, will have to be accredited by other means of proof. 

Click to learn more about Private Documents

Public document See file

The public document will be that document that the notary attests and makes public. It is a means of real and pre-constituted proof that public documents form by authorization of the notary or competent public employee, in accordance with the solemnities established by Law. Consult the Official WEB of the General Council of the Notary

Mortis Causa Donations See file

It is one in which the donor does not transmit the donated thing to the donee at the time of the donation, but the latter will acquire it upon the donor's death

donatum See file

Set of donations made in life by the deceased, to be computed for the calculation of the legitimate ones.

Effectiveness of the public instrument See file

The public instrument allows verifying and proving the existence of a legal business, which may already exist previously or be newly created, collect the consent of the parties and certify the benefits that the parties have agreed to.

condominium deed See file

The deed of a condominium belongs to the field of real estate law, which is a branch of civil law. Real estate law deals with matters related to real estate, including ownership, use, transmission and administration thereof. A condominium deed is a legal document that sets forth the terms and conditions of shared ownership and use. This deed must comply with the local laws and regulations regarding condominiums, as well as with the agreements and statutes of the community of owners. In addition, the condominium deed defines the obligations and responsibilities of each owner, as well as the mechanisms to resolve conflicts and make decisions related to ownership.

Public deed See file

Notary granting of a public deed, which states in a public document the facts and legal acts that include benefits of consents, declarations of will and contracts of all kinds, which the Notary certifies and certifies their validity.

Falsehood of the public instrument See file

Any alteration of the truth of the public document that has been caused with intent on the part of the causal party is understood as falsehood. The falsehood can be Civil and Criminal. A false document is considered null by law, as it is a non-legal document. ...
For the crime of criminal misrepresentation of the public instrument to occur, a series of requirements must be met: 
    1. In fact: alteration of the truth in a notorious way of the public instrument, provided that the falsified can pass as true. 
    2. In form: The alteration of the content is carried out by a form assessed in article 308 of the Penal Code, which includes ideological falsehood and material falsehood. 
    3. Subjective: The public official must act with fraud and wanting to cause harm by abusing his position or office. 
    4. Objective: It is a transcendent action. The act or omission of a criminal activity shall be a crime, even without causing harm to the third party, since, as the Supreme Court indicates, the act or omission itself, already "consists of a serious breach of the public interest and of the security and protection guarantees that the services  and official acts offer citizens in their relationship life". 


Notary See file

Notary is a person who attests to a fact or a declaration of will....
Colloquially, notaries are called notaries. Also in Latin America, notaries public, which is one of the old names by which notaries were known in Spain.


Legal hermeneutics See file

Legal hermeneutics refers to the interpretation of law, traditionally of the legal norm, and is commonly located within the central themes of the philosophy of law.

Identification of appearing parties and proof of knowledge See file

As provided in article 23 of the Law of Notaries, the Notaries will attest to the knowledge of the parties or the identification of their identity, stating their identification in Public Deed or Minutes that require it due to their special nature. ...
If the Notary who gives evidence of knowledge of any of the grantors, is misled due to their malicious behavior, he will not incur criminal responsibility by not having acted with fraud, although he will be liable for damages caused to third parties. .


Language of the public document See file

It is required that the language to be used in public instruments is Spanish, since this is the official language of Spain and will not give rise to doubts of significance and being easily understood by its citizens. ...
In the event that the grantor is a foreign person who do not know the official language, the law contemplates the use of the following procedures: 
  1. Traducción verbal of the content by the Notary, stating the fact of translation. 
  2. Traducción writing in the same document or public instrument, resulting in a bilingual text (writing the text in a double column, one for each language). 
  3. Assistance may be required from an official interpreter, responsible for making the appropriate translations. 
Cases of regional dialects: In the event that the grantor wishes the language of the public document in a language or dialect other than Spanish, only the second option in the previous section will be possible, provided that the following requirements are met:
                  • The instrument is granted in the territory in which the language or dialect required by the grantor is spoken. 
                  • That all or some of the grantors are natives of said territory. 
                  • That the bilingual written translation is requested by one of the grantors. 
                  • That the Notary public clearly understands the language or dialect in question. 


Notaries index See file

Pursuant to article 17.2 of the Notary Law, the Notary is obliged to keep the computerized indices and, where appropriate, in paper form of the notarized and audited documents. ...
As provided by the Law: “the notary must ensure the strictest veracity of said indices, as well as for his correspondence with the authorized and intervened public documents, and will be responsible for any discrepancy that exists between them and these, as well as the breach of your referral deadlines.


Unique computerized index See file

Formed by the General Council of Notaries, it forms a single computerized index with the aggregation of the computerized indexes that notaries must send to the Notary Associations. Notaries, within the established regulatory period, will send the indices electronically through their corporate network and with the corresponding confidentiality guarantees to the Notarial Associations.

Harmlessness See file

It is an act of last will, a dowry or a donation: That violates the rights of forced inheritance.

Public instrument See file

Public deed and set of authentic documents authorized by the competent notary, made with the legal solemnities, and that contain, reveal or externalize a fact, act or legal business proving its validity, being able to be verified as evidence together with their notarial copies and reproductions. Notarial instruments will be all those public documents that: -Must be authorized at the request of part e; -Include yourself in the protocol. For more information click to consult the BOE

Global Legitimate See file

It is the result of calculating, depending on the class of concurrent heirs, the total amount thereof. For this, and once the net assets of the inheritance have been obtained, purging it of the liabilities that take precedence over the legitimate ones, the legally foreseen quota for the heirs is applied according to each case.

Legitimate Individual See file

When the Global Legitimate is divided by the number of heirs. Thus the so-called individual legitimate is obtained.

Notary Law See file

Law of May 28, 1862 of the notary has been divided into 6 titles, with a total of 46 articles, two general provisions (articles 47 and 48) and ten transitory provisions. ...
The Law of the notary is the regulator of the obligations and duties of the notary. This defines the characterizing notes of the notaries, their powers, the requirements to obtain and exercise public faith, the protocol, and the copies thereof that constitute a public instrument, the regulation of ownership and custody of the protocols and inspection of the Notaries, and the rights and awards of notaries, among others.  Faced with the previous regime, the law has established the following bases: 
  1. Appointment of notaries exclusively by the Public Power. 
  2. Entry into the Notary Public exclusively by opposition.
  3. Exclusive territorial jurisdiction.
  4. Attribution of the extrajudicial public Faith exclusively to the Notary Public.
  5. Compulsory association of Notaries. 

For more information, click to consult the Law in the BOE

Policy record book See file

Article 17 of the Notary Law obliges the Notary Public to keep the original policy document in the Registry Book, the order of which will be chronological by days of all the policies and other operations carried out, with sequential and separate numbering. The Notary also has the option of keeping the original policies in the Protocol, thus discarding the option of keeping the Policy Record Book.

Notary See file

Public official and legal professional who draws up and authorizes legal documents with his public faith and attests to the signatures stamped on documents and, in general, attests to documents with legal effectiveness.

Partial nullity of the public instrument See file

Nullity that invalidates only a part of the content of the public instrument. Additions, apostilles, interspersed, scratches and testes, abbreviations and figures that due to their formal lack do not produce the expected lawful purpose will be partially void.

Total nullity of the public instrument See file

A radical nullity will occur when there is an infringement of the legal precepts and formalities that are required in the legal process for the granting of a public instrument. ...
The causes that constitute radical nullity are: 
    1. The omission of the name and surname of the Notary Public or of the grantors. 
    2. The total omission of the date, the lack of which does not allow the date to be ascertained in any other way. 
    3. The incompetence or insanity of the Notary Public or the omission by him of his sign, signature and signature. 
    4. The lack of proof of knowledge (the Notarial Regulation allows to correct this defect if the public instrument has been practiced inter alive). 
    5. The lack or inappropriateness of the witnesses. 
    6. Lack of signatures of witnesses and parties. 
    7. The use of a language other than Spanish. 
    8. The lack of reading of the instrument. 
Source: Notarial Law Studies Editorial Montecorvo SA


Civil Pact of solidarity (Pacs) See file

It is a contract entered into between two individuals of legal age, of different sex or of the same sex, to organize their life together. The Civil Pact of Solidarity (abbreviated as PACS) is, together with civil marriage, one of the two forms of civil union allowed under French law.

Paris Valoris See file

This or legitimate is spoken of as a portion of value, when the heir is entitled to an aliquot part of the liquid assets of the inheritance. The legitima pars bonorum or legitimate as a portion of assets, attributes to the heir the condition of joint owner of the assets of the hereditary asset.

Parties and appearing parties See file

The party is the personal element that forms and acts in the legal business that contains the public instrument....
The party is the personal element that forms and acts in the legal business that contains the public instrument.  The appearing party refers to the formal part of the law, being the one who promotes the Notarial action. Both concepts may coincide in the legal act or they may not. The person of legal age, with the necessary capacity to carry out a legal business, will appear before a Notary to initiate the Notarial procedure. "While the husband or father who assists his spouse will be appearing  or emancipated child, in the business held by them, or the legal or voluntary representative, are appearing without being parties”*. *Source:  Notarial Law Studies Editorial Montecorvo SA


Policy split See file

As a general rule, there is only one example of an original policy, with the exception of the performance of two or more notaries who are involved in the same legal business. All participating Notaries will have the right to obtain a copy of the complete policy.

Mercantile policy See file

Consult our Policy services

Original policy See file

Public notarial instrument that contains acts and contracts of a commercial and financial nature, which include the usual traffic of at least one grantor party.

Parental authority See file

Parental Power (in Spain Patria Potestad) is a set of duties, rather than rights, of parents over their non-emancipated minor children. Parental responsibilities arise from the legally established filiation, be it marital or adoptive or not.

Pre-dead See file

Dying a person before another that is taken as a reference.

Protocol See file

Set of bound books that contain all the deeds that a notary signs in a year. Date: 31-03-2023

Notarial protocol See file

Set of books made up of numbered and sealed pages, which contain the original documents signed by the parties, in which the Notary has the obligation to safeguard and preserve to avoid any type of alteration.

Documentary evidence See file

Public document with a privileged probative value, which allows to prove certain facts as true and without giving rise to doubts, which are issued by public employees or qualified persons who act within their competence and legality. Click to know more

Property registration See file

It is the public body that maintains a registry of all real estate and its owners in a certain geographical area of ​​the country. Its main function is to provide legal certainty and protection of property rights in real estate transactions....
The registry is made up of a series of property registries distributed throughout Spain. Each registry covers a specific geographic area and is responsible for maintaining up-to-date and accurate information on properties located in its area. The land registry contains detailed information on each property, including details of the property, its location, size, physical characteristics, rights and charges on the property, and details of the current owner. The registry also includes information about any mortgages or finance charges that may affect the property. In Spain, property registration is essential when buying or selling real estate. Before buying a property, it is important to check if it is registered and if the seller has the legal capacity to sell it. In this way, any legal problems or property claims in the future can be avoided.


Notarial regulation See file

The notarial regulation has undergone multiple changes and subsequent new regulations since the original one in 1862, through six modifications of new regulations in the years 1874, 1917, 1921, 1935 and 1944, reaching the present day with the introduction of the modification of RD 45 / 2007 of 19 January. ...
The notarial regulation informs of a series of areas and functions that the notary is in, being the following: 
  1. Setting the scope of the notarial function.
  2. Express attribution to the Notary of the character of professional legal technician of law. 
  3. Detailed and systematic regulation of the public instrument. 
  4. Introduction of the minutes to collect the performance of the Notary in the sphere of the facts. 
  5. Regulation of the acts of notoriety. 

For more information, click to consult the Regulation in the BOE

Drafting rules See file

The Notarial Regulations prescribe that the notary must express the will of the grantor in a manner faithful to its intended purpose, using language worthy of a professional legal technician. The drafting must be done "interpreting the will of the grantors, adapting it to the legal formalities necessary for its effectiveness." The Regulations recommend using a language of clear, pure, precise style, without any obscure or ambiguous phrases or terms ”.

Relictum See file

It is the value of the assets at the time of death, deducting the debts of the deceased and, only the expenses of the last illness, burial or cremation.

Overview of personal circumstances See file

The Notarial Regulations specify how to specify personal reviews. These regulations require the following personal circumstances to be fully specified and specified: -Name and surname -Age -Cital Status -Profession (or trade), neighborhood and address. -Nationality and regionality.

Notarial responsibility See file

The notary may incur: Disciplinary responsibility: incur for the violation of internal and external regulations and consequently the conduct of the Notary who, without violating any regulations, acts against prestige or against the spirit that the notarial institution should preside over. Administrative Responsibility: The notary will incur responsibility when there is a non-compliance of a fiscal nature, whether he has acted or omitted an action or activity that the Notary was obliged to do. Civil liability: the notary is liable for the damages caused to his clients, whether caused by the formal defects of the public instrument that have prevented the achievement of the lawful purpose desired by the parties, the substantive defects that determine the absolute or relative nullity, due to a deficient advice, due to an incorrect choice of legal means, due to an incorrect conduct of the notary in front of his agents or his duty as depositor Criminal liability: the Notary acts producing an action or omission classified as a crime and intolerable fact.

Open will See file

Notarial deed that collects the succession will of a person in Catalonia. The Will is granted by a competent Notary. The testator expresses his last wishes orally or in writing to the Notary, and the Notary will be in charge of drawing up the will. The notary is the one who authorizes the use or adequacy of public instruments, the will being a public deed, and therefore, a type of instrument. For more information, click here

notarial testimony See file


Transmission Mortis Causa See file

It is when, after the death of a person, their assets, obligations and rights are transferred to another or other people (whether natural or legal).

Act unit See file

Series of phases and procedure by which a public instrument is made. The Act Unit is limited to: 1) a preparatory period and 2) definitive period. ...
La Phase It includes the intervention of the wills to the Notary, which express his legal purposes, wishes and advice, and the period in which the Notary writes Public Deed, in accordance with the instructions of the interested parties and the legal provisions.  El second term, the definitive one, includes the reading of the public document to the parties, the manifestation of their conformity, the subscription and the authorization. 


What is a notary? See file

The notary is par excellence a great legal professional who intervenes in two legal fields, acting as an expert in law, and at the same time, exercising the functions of a public official. As indicated in article 1 of the Law of Notaries, it says “The notary is the public official authorized to attest, in accordance with the laws, contracts and other extrajudicial acts. ...
As legal professionals, their main duty is to inform the parties who claim their services, and advise the most suitable legal route to achieve the lawful purposes set out by the parties. As a public office he holds, the Notary attests to the authenticity of the facts that he sees, hears and perceives, acting as a public instrument that certifies the authenticity of the facts.  In this way, the notary function is exposed to the legal duties of:  a) Receive the will of the parties b) Inform the parties, exercising the role of a maximum legal technician.  c) Draft the document that will serve as a public instrument to prove legal facts.  d) Authorize the public instrument with which the businesses are given legal form.  e) Issue copies of it to prove content. 

For more information consult the Official WEB of the General Council of Notaries


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