ON NOTARY PUBLIC FEES

According to the Law on Notaries of the Republic of Lithuania, a notary public is a state-authorized specialist who must charge a state-set fee for performing notarial acts. The amount of the fee depends on the act performed and is strictly regulated by the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “On the approval of fees /rates for public notaries for performing notarial acts, preparing draft transactions, consulting, and technical services, and the list of cases of exemption from the payment of these fees”. The latest edition of this Resolution and the approved rates are available to clients at all public notary offices and online on the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries website under the heading “Legal Acts.” The remuneration for notarial acts applies equally to clients, whether they are natural persons or legal entities. 
The same notary service fees apply in all notary offices without exception. Any agreements between clients and notaries regarding the amount of remuneration are not possible and are invalid. Notary clients, regardless of the number of actions performed, cannot request any discounts not provided for in the Government’s Resolution because applying such discounts would be illegal. Notary clients, especially business representatives, have no right to request discounts from notaries in exchange for a large volume of transactions. A public notary may fully or partially exempt clients from paying notary fees only in cases specified in the Government’s Resolution, after clients submit documents supporting their right to partial exemption from paying notary fees before the notary performs notarial acts. The amount of the notary’s fee is specified in the notarial register, in which all notarial acts are recorded. The notary also issues a document confirming the client’s payment, such as an invoice or a cash receipt. 
Pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, when preparing and performing notarial acts, a public notary must verify data from state-managed registers and information systems. These include the Population Register, the Register of Legally Incapable Persons and Persons with Limited Legal Capacity, the Register of Property Seizure Acts, the Register of Powers of Attorney, the Real Property Register, the Register of Legal Entities, the Register of Marriage Settlements, etc. Data from these registers is obtained for a fee, which the notary collects from the client and then, transfers to the State Enterprise Center of Registers and other data controllers. These costs incurred by the client are not the notary’s income. The notary transfers the funds collected from clients for register checks to the State Enterprise Center of Registers. When a notary certifies a transaction involving the transfer of real estate, buyers of the property do not need to contact the Real Property Register administrator, the State Enterprise Center of Registers, to register the agreement or ownership rights with the register; the notary who certified the transaction handles such matters. As with checking data with the state registers, the notary acts as an intermediary between clients and the state register administrator. The notary collects a fee from clients for the services provided by the state register administrator and transfers the fee to the State Enterprise Centre of Registers. Often, the fee paid to the State Enterprise Centre of Registers for registering property rights and related legal facts exceeds the fee paid to the notary for performing the notarial act. In some offices, clients can pay for notary services by card or, in all cases, by bank transfer.