main content

Federal Chamber of Notaries

The Federal Chamber of Notaries (Bundesnotarkammer) is a self-governing public sector entity with sovereign rights and responsibilities. It is the professional representation of all notaries at the federal level. This body has also been entrusted with sovereign tasks. For more information on the Federal Chamber of Notaries please refer to https://www.bnotk.de/ 

Central Register of Wills

The Central Register of Wills is managed by the Federal Chamber of Notaries. As a nation-wide central office it contains the custody details of all succession-relevant documents that are established by the notaries or that come into judicial custody. The Central Register of Wills is referred to in the event of any person’s death ex officio to check if any will or any other succession-relevant documents have been registered. The Federal Chamber of Notaries then informs the competent probate court whether and which disposition of property upon death is to be observed. It also informs the document depository office of its obligation to deliver the documents to the competent probate court. The last will of the testator is thus safeguarded and probate proceedings can be carried out more speedily and efficiently. For more information on the Central Register of Wills please refer to https://www.testamentsregister.de/.

Information from the register is disclosed only to courts and notaries. Here you can access the protected Justice Information.

Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney

The Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney is the official registration authority for advance directives in Germany. This register is maintained by the Federal Chamber of Notaries based on a legal mandate with regard to private and notarial advance directives and health care proxies, in each case in conjunction with living wills if applicable.

A registration helps to find the advance directive document when needed. If a person is not able to take care of his or her own matters any more, the guardianship court will appoint a guardian. This only does not apply if the person concerned has appointed a health care proxy who can take care of his or her affairs just as well as a guardian would. Therefore, the advance directive and its registration in the Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney create security in the event of illness or old age that care will be provided by trusted persons in helpless situations. For further information on the Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney please refer to https://www.vorsorgeregister.de/

Information from the register is disclosed only to the guardianship court (and the regional court as appellate court). You can access the protected Justice Information here: Justice Information.