Chapter IV - Procedures for notarization of contracts and transactions

* This translated version is originated from Ministry of Justice and for reference only.

Section 1.

GENERAL PROCEDURES FOR NOTARIZATION OF CONTRACTS AND TRANSACTIONS

Article 35.Notarization of ready-made contracts, transactions

1. A person in request for notarization shall file a dossier set of request for notarization, comprising the following papers:

a/ A card of request for notarization of a contract or transaction, made according to the set form;

b/ The draft contract or transaction;

c/ A copy of the personal identity paper;

d/ A copy of the ownership certificate or use right certificate or its substitute paper as required by law for assets the ownership or use right of which must be registered, in case the contract or transaction relates to those assets;

e/ Copies of other papers related to the contract or transaction as required by law.

2. Copies defined in Clause 1 of this Article mean photocopied, printed or typewritten copies, which must have full and accurate contents as the originals and need no authentication.

When submitting copies, the person in request for notarization shall produce their originals for comparison.

3. A notary shall receive the dossier of request for notarization and check papers in it. When the dossier is complete and valid as prescribed by law, he/she shall accept it and record his/her acceptance in the notarial book.

4. When having grounds to believe that the dossier of request for notarization contains unclear matters, the contract or transaction was signed under threat or coercion, or having doubts about the civil act capacity of the person in request for notarization or the existence of the object of the contract or transaction, the notary may request the person in request for notarization to clarify the matters or, at the request of the person in request for notarization, conduct verification or ask for assessment; if the matters cannot be clarified, the notary may refuse to conduct notarization.

5. The notary shall check the draft contract or transaction; if the draft contains some provisions contrary to law or social ethics or the object of the contract or transaction is inconsistent with reality, the notary shall point them out for the person in request for notarization to modify. In case the person in request for notarization fails to make modification, the notary may refuse to conduct notarization.

6. The person in request for notarization shall him/herself read again the draft contract or transaction or the notary reads it to him/her. If the person in request for notarization agrees with the whole contents of the draft, he/she shall sign on every page of the draft. The notary shall write the affirmation and also sign on every page of the draft.

Article 36.Notarization of contracts or transactions drafted by notaries at the request of persons in request for notarization

1. A person in request for notarization shall file a dossier set as prescribed at Points a, c, d and e, Clause 1, Article 35 of this Law and state the contents of, and the intention of concluding, the contract or transaction.

2. A notary shall perform the jobs specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4, Article 35 of this Law.

When the contents of, and the intention of concluding, the contract or transaction are genuine, lawful and compliant with social ethics, the notary shall draft the contract or transaction.

3. The person in request for notarization shall himself/herself read the draft contract or transaction or the notary shall read it to him/her. If the person in request for notarization agrees with the whole contents of the draft, he/she shall sign on every page of the draft. The notary shall write his/her affirmation and sign on every page of the draft.

Article 37. Competence for notarization of real estate contracts or transactions

1. A notary of a notarization practice organization may notarize real estate contracts and transactions within the province or centrally run city where the organization is headquartered, except for the case specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Notaries of notarization practice organizations may notarize testaments or documents on disclaimer of estate being a real estate.

Article 38.Notarization time limit

1. The notarization time limit is counted from the date a notarization practice organization receives a full dossier of request for notarization till the time it gives the notarization results. The time of verification and assessment is not included in the notarization time limit.

2. The notarization time limit is two working days at most; for complicated contracts or transactions, this time limit may be longer but does not exceed 10 working days.

Article 39.Notarization places

1. Notarization must be conducted at the head office of a notarization practice organization, except for cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Notarization may be conducted outside the head office of a notarization practice organization if the person in request for notarization is old and weak and cannot move, is being kept in custody or in prison or has other plausible reasons that he/she cannot come to the head office of the notarization practice organization.

Article 40.Scripts in notarized documents

1. Scripts in notarized documents must be clear and legible, must use no abbreviations and symbols, must not be written between two lines or overwritten, must not be erased or left blank, unless otherwise provided for by law.

2. The time of notarization must be expressed in date, month and year; the hour and minute may also be indicated if requested by a person in request for notarization or deemed necessary by the notary. Numbers must be written in both figures and words, unless otherwise provided for by law.

Article 41.Signatures and fingerprints on notarized documents

1. Persons in request for notarization and witnesses shall sign notarized documents before notaries.

When a person competent to enter into contracts of a credit institution or another enterprise has registered his/her specimen signature at the notarization practice organization, he/she may sign the contract beforehand; a notary shall compare that signature with the specimen signature before conducting notarization.

2. When a person in request for notarization or a witness cannot sign notarized documents because he/she is physically disabled or does not know how to sign, his/her fingerprint may be used instead of signature. For his/her fingerprint, the person in request for notarization or the witness shall use his/her right forefinger; if he/she cannot use the right forefinger, he/she may use the left forefinger; if he/she cannot use both forefingers, he/she may use another finger and which finger of which hand is used must be stated in the documents.

3. Both fingerprint and signature may be used in the following cases:

a/ Notarization of testaments;

b/ At the request of the person in request for notarization;

c/ The notary finds it necessary to protect the interests of the person in request for notarization.

Article 42.Pagination of notarized documents

A notarized document with two or more pages must be paginated. For a notarized document with two or more sheets, every two adjoining sheets must be affixed with a seal on their inner edges.

Article 43.Correction of technical errors in notarized documents

1. Technical errors means recording, typing or printing mistakes in notarized documents the correction of which does not affect the rights and obligations of parties to contracts or transactions.

2. The corrector of technical errors in notarized documents must be a notary of a notarization practice organization that has notarized the documents. If the notarization practice organization which conducted the notarization has terminated its operation or has been dissolved, a notary of the notarization practice organization that is keeping the notarial records shall correct errors.

3. In correcting technical errors in notarized documents, a notary shall match each error with papers in the notarial records, underline the errors to be corrected, write the correct words or numbers on the page margin, then sign and append the seal of the notarization practice organization thereon. The notary is responsible for notifying the parties to the contract or transaction of the correction of technical errors.

Article 44.Notarization of the modification, supplementation or cancellation of contracts or transactions

1. The modification, supplementation or cancellation of a notarized contract or transaction may be effected only with the written agreements or commitments of all parties to that contract or transaction, and must be notarized.

2. The person who notarizes the modification, supplementation or cancellation of a contract or transaction must be a notary of a notarization practice organization that has notarized the contract or transaction. In case the notarization practice organization which conducted the notarization has terminated operation or been dissolved, a notary of the notarization practice organization that is keeping the notarial records shall effect the modification, supplementation or cancellation of the contract or transaction.

3. Notarization of a modified, supplemented or cancelled contract or transaction shall be conducted according to the procedures for notarization of contracts and transactions provided for in Chapter IV of this Law.

Article 45.Persons entitled to request courts to declare notarized documents invalid

Notaries, persons in request for notarization, witnesses, persons with related rights and interests and competent state agencies may request courts to declare notarized documents invalid when having grounds to believe that the notarization is in violation of law.

Section 2.

PROCEDURES FOR NOTARIZATION OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE CONTRACTS, TESTAMENTS, WRITTEN AGREEMENTS ON DIVISION OF ESTATE, WRITTEN DECLARATIONS FOR ACCEPTANCE, WRITTEN DISCLAIMERS OF ESTATE AND CUSTODY OF TESTAMENTS

Article 46.Scope of application

Procedures for notarization of real estate mortgage contracts, testaments, written agreements on division of estate, written declarations for acceptance or written disclaimers of estate shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Section and other provisions of Section 1 of this Chapter which are not contrary to the provisions of this Section.

Article 47.Notarization of real estate mortgage contracts

1. Notaries of a notarization practice organization shall notarize real estate mortgage contracts within the province or centrally run city where exists the real estate, except for the case specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. If many real estates existing in different provinces or centrally run cities are mortgaged to secure the performance of one obligation, the notarization of that real estate mortgage contract may be conducted by a notary of a notarization practice organization based in the province or centrally run city where exists one of the real estates.

3. If a real estate has been mortgaged to secure the performance of one obligation and the mortgage contract has been notarized but that real estate is then furthered mortgaged to secure another obligation as permitted by law, a subsequent mortgage contract must be notarized by the notary who has notarized the first contract. In case the notary who has notarized the first mortgage contract has moved to work for another notarization practice organization, no longer practices notarization or cannot perform notarial jobs, a notary of the notarization practice organization that is keeping the mortgage contract shall notarize that subsequent contract.

Article 48.Notarization of testaments

1. A testator must personally request notarization of his/her testament; must not authorize another person to request the notarization.

2. In case the notary doubts that a testator suffers from a mental disease or another disease that he/she is unable to perceive and control his/her acts or that the testament has been made deceitfully or under threat or coercion, the notary may refuse to notarize that testament or, at the testator's request, conduct verification or ask for assessment.

In case the life of a testator is under threat, the person in request for notarization needs not show all the papers defined in Clause 1 of Article 35 of this Law but must state this fact in the notarized document.

3. If the testator wishes to amend, supplement, replace, cancel a part or the whole of a notarized testament, he/she may request any notary to effect that amendment, supplementation, replacement or cancellation. In case the testament is being kept at a notarization practice organization, the testator must notify that organization of the amendment, supplementation, replacement or cancellation of the testament.

Article 49.Notarization of written agreements on division of estate

1. The heirs at law or under a testament which does not specify the portion of estate which each heir is entitled to may request notarization of their written agreement on division of estate.

In the written agreement on division of estate, an heir may donate the whole or part of his/her right to the estate to another heir.

2. In case the estate is land use rights or an asset of which the ownership right must be registered under law, the person in request for notarization shall produce papers proving the estate leaver's land use rights or ownership right to that estate.

In case of inheritance by law, the person in request for notarization shall additionally produce papers proving the relationship between the estate leaver and the estate beneficiary under the provisions of the inheritance law.

In case of testamentary inheritance, the person in request for notarization shall also produce the testament.

3. A notary shall verify whether an estate leaver is the person having land use rights or asset ownership right and the person in request for notarizations are estate beneficiaries; if suspecting or having grounds to believe that the leaving of, and entitlement to, the estate is unlawful, the notary may reject the notarization request or conduct verification at the person in request for notarizations' request.

4. A notarized written agreement on division of estate serves as a basis for competent state agencies to register the transfer of land use rights or asset ownership right to estate beneficiaries.

Article 50.Notarization of written declarations on acceptance of estate

1. A sole estate beneficiary at law who agrees or co-beneficiaries at law who agree not to divide an estate may request notarization of his/her/their written declaration on acceptance of estate.

2. Notarization of a written disclaimer of estate shall be conducted under the provisions of Clauses 2, 3 and 4, Article 49 of this Law.

Article 51.Notarization of written disclaimers of estate

An heir may request notarization of a written disclaimer of estate. In making such a request, the person in request for notarization shall produce his/her personal identity papers.

Article 52.Custody of testaments

1. A testator may request a notarization practice organization to keep his/her testament in custody. When agreeing to keep the testament in custody, a notary shall seal off that testament before the testator, make out a receipt of custody and hand it to the testator.

2. If a notarization practice organization agrees to keep a testament in custody but then is dissolved or terminates its operation, it shall reach agreement with the testator on the transfer of the testament to another notarization practice organization for custody. When they cannot reach an agreement, the testament and custody charges shall be returned to the testator.

3. The announcement of a testament kept at a notarization practice organization shall be conducted in accordance with civil law.