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Court May Exempt Notary Fees for Individuals and Companies in Poland
🇵🇱 Poland /Crime & Justice

Court May Exempt Notary Fees for Individuals and Companies in Poland

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Polish law allows individuals and companies to apply to a district court for exemption from notary fees if they cannot afford them without compromising their essential needs.
  • Notaries report that this provision is rarely used, with many clients unaware of the option or hesitant to pursue it.
  • Despite low usage, legal professionals believe the exemption is a necessary measure for significant life transactions like inheritance or property division, especially when assets are tied up in property.

Polish law offers a pathway for individuals and legal entities to seek relief from notary fees through court application, provided they can demonstrate financial hardship. Article 6 of the Notary Law permits a district court to grant full or partial exemption from these costs if a party cannot pay without jeopardizing their or their family's essential needs. Applicants must justify their situation, detailing their financial status and providing supporting documents.

However, this legal recourse appears to be significantly underutilized. Notaries across Poland report that clients seldom invoke this provision. Some suggest clients may be unaware of the possibility, while others speculate that the application process itself might be a deterrent. Statistics on the number of applications and their success rates are not readily available, further indicating the obscurity of this legal mechanism.

It hasn't happened in my practice that a party wishing to perform a notarial act has used this exemption.

— Piotr MarquardtA notary from Katowice and a member of the National Chamber of Notaries, commenting on the rarity of using the fee exemption.

Despite its infrequent use, legal experts emphasize the importance of the notary fee exemption. They point to critical life events, such as inheritance divisions or the division of marital property during divorce, where significant assets might be tied up in real estate, leaving parties without liquid funds to cover substantial notary fees. In such scenarios, the exemption could provide much-needed financial relief, even if the costs typically run into thousands of zlotys depending on the transaction's value.

This disconnect between the law's existence and its practical application raises questions about accessibility and awareness. While the provision serves a crucial purpose in ensuring access to essential legal services, its low uptake suggests a need for better public information or a streamlined process to make it a more effective tool for those in genuine financial distress.

Based on the experiences of my fellow notaries, these are rare cases, for example, when the party to the act is a minor.

— Magdalena ArendtVice-president of the National Chamber of Notaries, discussing the infrequent use of the exemption.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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