Federal Notary Chamber: the number of remote transactions increased by 4.5 times

In 2022, the number of remote transactions increased by almost 4.5 times, informs Federal Notarial Chamber (FNP). In 2021, there were less than 200 of them, and by the end of 2022 – more than 1 thousand.

We are talking about a situation where the participants in the transaction are located in different regions and at the same time come to local notary offices. Notaries on both sides confirm the identity of people, collect the necessary information from government databases, conduct a legal examination of the transaction and prepare a single draft contract. Then they establish video communication via secure channels: they read out the contract, explain its details and consequences; make sure that those present are acting voluntarily and understand what they are signing. “With a remote format, notaries necessarily keep a video recording of the entire process – you can return to it if disputes arise,” the chamber emphasizes.

With a remote format, the transaction ends with signatures on electronic tablets of notaries. The notaries themselves sign the digital document with their enhanced qualified electronic signatures. “Today, the procedure for remote transactions has been streamlined to such an extent that they practically do not differ in time from the “classic” ones, the difference can be 15–20 minutes,” the FNP says. “The only thing you need to take into account is the difference in time zones between the participants. A situation is unacceptable when one party signed a document on one date, and the other the next day.

Most remote transactions were concluded in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar and Krasnoyarsk regions, as well as in the Crimea. “The republic is actively developing and is interesting both for business representatives and ordinary citizens who invest in local real estate. At the same time, air communication between the peninsula and the mainland has been closed for a long time. And if earlier the road, for example, to the capital took two and a half hours, now it takes two days, ”the FNP explains the surge in remote transactions on the peninsula.

The most popular deals are with real estate (more than 70%). “Three or four owners can be involved in the sale of shared real estate, it happens that they all live in different settlements. The remote option is convenient not only when selling or donating, but also when renting a home. When the owner lives in one city, and the apartment he wants to rent, and, accordingly, the tenant, in another, ”they say in the ward.

In second place are marriage and family transactions, such as agreements on the division of property of spouses, marriage contracts and maintenance agreements. “Sometimes in such situations, people want to avoid not forced relocations or flights, but face-to-face meetings,” the FNP explains. In third place in terms of demand are remote transactions between legal entities. “So, an entrepreneur from Moscow had to conclude an agreement with a company from Yakutsk. And instead of a six-hour flight, the young man spent 40 minutes in a notary’s office in the center of his native city and went on with his own business, ”says the FNP.

The chamber adds that the issue of expanding the remote format of work in the corporate sphere is being discussed in the professional community: “For example, use it to certify the decisions of the LLC management bodies. This will increase the convenience of performing legally significant actions and will help company owners to further protect their interests and business.”

Ivan Tyazhlov