French notary fees look high at first sight. In one sense they are not, at least not in the way the name suggests. The French call them frais de notaire, but most of the money is tax that the notaire collects on behalf of the state and local authorities.
What the bill is made of
The French notaries' own guidance, updated in February 2026, divides the acquisition costs into three parts: transfer taxes, which are the largest share and go to the state and local authorities; the notaire's regulated fee, known as émoluments; and disbursements paid to third parties, such as land registry and planning searches. Taken together, they put the total at roughly 7% to 8% of the price for an older property and 2% to 3% for a new one.
The buyer pays these costs on top of the purchase price. None of the transfer tax goes to the seller, and only a modest part of the total goes to the notaire.
Transfer taxes on an older property
For an older property, the French Ministry of the Economy lists three elements: a communal tax of 1.20%; a departmental duty, set by each department and capped at 4.5% until 2025; and a collection charge of 2.37% calculated on the departmental duty. A security contribution of 0.10%, with a minimum of €15, is added for the land registry. On a 4.5% department, the main transfer taxes come to about 5.81% of the price.
The 2025 budget allowed departments to raise their rate to 5% for deeds signed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028. Where a department has done so, the total rises to about 6.32%. The increase does not apply to first-time buyers of a main residence, broadly people who have not owned their main home in the previous two years. A second home bought by a British owner will not qualify, so it is sensible to budget at the higher rate and let the notaire confirm the figure for the department concerned.
New homes
Newly built homes are taxed differently. The registration duty is at a reduced rate of about 0.71%, which is why total acquisition costs on a new home are closer to 2% to 3% of the price.
The notaire's fee and a worked example
The notaire's own fee is set by a national sliding scale, falling to well under 1% on the part of the price above €60,000, and the Ministry's guidance notes that a discount of up to 20% may be granted in some cases. If you and the seller each appoint a notaire, the regulated fee is shared between them rather than paid twice.
As an illustration, on an older property bought for €600,000, our own arithmetic on the published rates gives transfer taxes of about €34,840 in a department charging 4.5%, or about €37,900 in one charging 5%, plus a security contribution of €600. The notaire's fee and disbursements are added to that. Your notaire will provide a detailed estimate before you sign the compromis, and you should ask for one.
Paying it from the UK
The acquisition costs, like the balance of the price, are paid to the notaire's client account before completion, in euros. For a buyer with funds in sterling, the exchange rate on the day of transfer can move the cost by more than the difference between two departments' tax rates, so it is worth arranging the currency transfer in good time rather than at the last moment.
None of this is tax advice. The figures above are the rates published by the French authorities in 2025 and 2026, and the notaire's estimate is the figure to rely on for a particular purchase.
Dolce Vita sells and lets property across the UK from Berkeley Square House in Mayfair, and helps clients buy abroad through partner agencies in France and elsewhere. If you are looking in France, contact us and we will make the introduction. If a UK sale or letting will fund the purchase, Request a valuation; we acknowledge the same working day and return a written valuation within 24 to 48 hours.
Chris Dawson, Co-Founder
Sources: Notaires de France, Property purchase: acquisition costs (updated 11 February 2026). Ministère de l'Économie, Achat d'un bien immobilier : quels frais de notaire devez-vous payer ? (6 June 2025). Impots.gouv.fr, J'achète un bien immobilier : quels frais au notaire ? (updated 17 July 2026). Service-Public.fr, Frais de notaire : les droits de mutation augmentent dans certains départements (2 April 2025). Office notarial, Deux notaires pour une vente : qui paie les frais ? Worked example calculated by Dolce Vita from the published rates.