For clients from Common Law jurisdictions, the Italian Civil Law Notary (CLN) represents a fundamentally different legal concept than the Notary Public you may be familiar with. Allow us to introduce this profession.

Biennially, thousands gather in Rome for a rigorous three-day examination. These candidates—all holding advanced law degrees, many already admitted to the bar, and some serving as tenured judges—compete for the prestigious title of Civil Law Notary. Only a select few hundred succeed.

The pursuit of this credential is understandable: Italian CLNs typically earn five times more than the average attorney. They frequently serve as esteemed law professors at prestigious universities, and the title “notaio” or “notaro” carries significant professional and social distinction. CLNs are subject to rigorous inspections conducted by Ministry officials. An ethics committee, chaired by a senior professional judge, oversees professional conduct and holds the authority to revoke a CLN’s appointment if necessary.

In recent decades, women have come to represent approximately half of all new Italian CLNs.

What This Means for Clients

The role of a CLN extends far beyond signature verification. These professionals bear comprehensive responsibility for ensuring your transaction achieves its intended legal outcome. If a property has an undisclosed mortgage, the CLN is liable. Should provisions in your deed prove legally void, they assume responsibility. If they fail to inform you of an applicable tax benefit, they must provide compensation. And so forth.

This level of accountability explains why title insurance is unnecessary in Italy—the CLN’s professional insurance protects you. Despite covering potential liabilities up to €15 million, our annual insurance premiums remain modest at just a few thousand euros. The explanation is simple: problematic deeds are exceedingly rare, with only about 0.003% ever reaching litigation.

While you are certainly welcome to bring your own legal counsel to a notarial office, most Italians find this unnecessary. The CLN’s position as both a State Officer and an independent third party inspires widespread confidence that the resulting deed will be prepared to protect all parties’ interests.

Multilingual Legal Services

While Italian Civil Law Notaries are not obligated to provide services in languages other than Italian, our firm proudly offers comprehensive multilingual support. For our international clients, we typically prepare deeds in both Italian and English (or French), ensuring clear understanding and confidence throughout the legal process.

Your Deed

As CLNs serves as a public officer, upon retirement, all original deeds are transferred to the Notarial Archives, overseen by legal professionals; after a century, these documents find their permanent home in the State Archive,  curated by historians. You will never get the original of your deed: just certified copies, that you can obtain whenever you choose to.

We embrace this aspect of our profession with the utmost attention. Indeed, the notarial collections of Genoa proudly house a deed bearing Christopher Columbus, our local hero, as a party. Just as with the ancient deeds we handle today, your signed documents will remain easily accessible to you and your heirs and descendants for centuries to come.