Notaries increase prices after 15 years, citing inflation and rising costs: Fees increase by 20 to 157 percent

Citizens and companies that have previously paid 70 euros to notaries for the certification of contracts worth up to 5.000 euros have lost that benefit with the new tariffs, because in the future they will have to set aside 180 euros for the same services, or 157 percent more than before.

This is the most significant innovation in the notary fees that came into effect in April.

Notary services in Montenegro have become more expensive after the first comprehensive tariff revision since the introduction of the notary public almost 15 years ago, with some fees increasing from 20 to as much as 157 percent. The Chamber of Notaries justifies the price increase with inflation exceeding 50 percent, a 175 percent increase in office operating costs, new legal obligations and digitalization costs, while the Ministry of Finance stated in its opinion that higher tariffs will increase costs for citizens and businesses, especially in real estate transactions, inheritance procedures and company formation.

This stems from the documentation that "Vijesti" has access to.

In the new tariffs, there is no longer the previous item that a notary fee of 70 euros is paid for contracts with a value of zero to 5.000 euros, instead there is now an item for contracts with a value of zero to 19.999,99 euros where the fee is 180 euros. So those who have been paying 70 euros for the certification of contracts with a small value will now have to pay 110 euros more, which is a price increase of 157 percent.

The fee for drawing up a record of taking over for safekeeping and handing over a will that was not drawn up by the notary to whom the will is being handed over for safekeeping has increased by 150 percent, so it will cost 50 euros instead of 20 euros, while among the fees that have increased in price by the lowest 20 percent are the fees for notarizing a statement on the recognition of maternity or paternity and the mother's consent to the recognition of paternity, which will cost 30 instead of 25 euros. The fees for terminating contracts or annexing them have also increased by the same percentage of 20 percent.

Certain services have remained at their current level, so the fee for drawing up a notarized marriage contract, which is determined according to the value of the assets of both contracting parties, as well as the fee for disposition in the event of death, which is determined according to the estimated value of the decedent's assets, has not changed.

Children without parental care, children with special needs, beneficiaries of self-employment loans from the Employment Agency and other persons upon decision of the competent authorities in justified cases are exempt from the full fee paid to notaries.

As stated in the documentation, the current tariff was adopted in 2011 and has not been substantially adjusted to economic trends, legislative changes and the expansion of notaries' jurisdiction since then, while significant changes have occurred in the meantime that have affected the real value of fees and the cost structure of notary activities.

Costs increase from 12,6 to 34,8 thousand

As explained by official Monstat data, the annual inflation rate for the period from December 20 to 2025 was more than 50 percent, the costs of the notary office in 2012 amounted to 12,631 thousand euros, and in 2025 to 34,80 thousand, which is an increase of 175,5 percent.

"Cumulative inflation in the period from 2011 to 2026 has significantly reduced the real value of the amounts prescribed by the current tariff. The nominal amounts of fees today have many times less purchasing power than at the time of their determination. The change in the way of doing business and new obligations for notaries due to the implementation of new regulations (the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, the Law on Amendments to the Law on State Survey and Real Estate Cadastre, etc.), impose numerous new obligations on notaries that did not exist at the time when the previous tariffs were adopted," states the Notary Chamber, whose Assembly President is Darko Ćurić.

All of this, as indicated, has inevitably led to an increased volume of business for notary offices and, in connection with this, an indisputable increase in the need to hire additional workforce that must respond to new obligations related to reporting suspicious transactions, client checks, determining the origin of funds, and then digitally submitting requests for registration and change of real rights to real estate, digital certifications, etc.

"All of this has additionally required an increase in the number of employees, and consequently, an increase in labor costs. The modern regulatory framework and practice of legal transactions require the digitalization of business, including the introduction of specialized software systems, electronic registers and databases, digital signatures and certificates, electronic communication with state authorities, security IT systems and digital archives. These costs did not exist or were not significant at the time of the adoption of the previous tariff," the explanation states.

Expansion of notary obligations

The Chamber of Notaries stated that in the meantime, the scope of notaries' obligations has significantly expanded, especially in the areas of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, identifying parties and verifying legal status, electronically submitting data to registers and administrative authorities, preparing digital documents, acting in accordance with new regulations in the field of commercial law and real estate records.

"These obligations increase the time spent on a case, the complexity of the procedures and the need for additional administrative capacity. In the previous period, significant increases in fees were made in other legal professions (lawyers, public bailiffs, bankruptcy administrators), whereby the legislator recognized the growth of costs and changes in the economic environment. It is justified and necessary to apply the same principle to the notary service in order to preserve an equal position.

The Notary Chamber believes that the new tariffs will enable the alignment of fees with actual business costs, ensure the sustainability of the notary service and preserve the quality and legal certainty of notarial acts, while establishing a more transparent and uniform payment system, preventing unfair competition and uneven practices, as well as harmonizing the work of the notary office with modern technological standards.

Notaries expect that the new tariffs will contribute to a more stable functioning of the notary service, more efficient provision of legal services to citizens and businesses, a reduction in the number of disputes caused by formal deficiencies in documents, greater legal certainty in real estate transactions, commercial relations and inheritance procedures, as well as further improvement of the digitalization of the legal system.

"The tariff changes will positively affect the financial sustainability of notary offices, especially in the north of Montenegro, where due to the smaller volume of work there were no interested candidates for performing the notary function. This has affected the sustainability of notary offices, so in Biljelo Polje, out of four notary offices in 2011, there are now two," the Notary Chamber states.

More expensive rents also pushed up tariff growth

The Chamber of Notaries stated that the costs of renting space for notary offices have increased in the previous period, given that a large number of notaries use offices under a lease agreement.

"The rental prices of commercial premises, especially in Podgorica and coastal municipalities, have increased on average by 50% to 100% or even more compared to 2011. Based on data from Monstat, the average square meter of new real estate in 2011 in Podgorica was 1.118 euros, and the average square meter of real estate in December 2025 in Podgorica was 2.066 euros, which represents an increase of about 85%. In addition, the costs of electricity and other utility services necessary for the operation of offices have increased," the Notary Chamber states.