Land registry entry costs 2026: notary and Grundbuchamt
The costs of a land registry entry when you buy property are made up of notary fees and land registry fees. In Germany the Grundbuch is the land register that records who owns a property and what charges are secured on it. In total you should expect roughly 1.2 to 2% of the purchase price – the percentage falls as the price rises. For a property costing €350,000 with 80% financing, that is around €4,750 plus disbursements.
The fees are set out in the Gerichts- und Notarkostengesetz (GNotKG, the German Court and Notary Fees Act) and are the same nationwide – there is no room to negotiate. The notary and the land registry both charge according to Table B of section 34 GNotKG (€15 for a transaction value of up to €500, then graduated in steps); the 2025 reform of the fee legislation mainly raised Table A, which applies to court proceedings. The biggest items are the notarisation of the purchase contract and the registration of the land charge (Grundschuld, the security your bank takes over the property for your mortgage).
Land registry and notary costs by purchase price – 2026 table
| Purchase price | Notary (approx.) | Land registry (approx.) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| €100,000 | €1,240 | €630 | ~€1,860 |
| €200,000 | €2,010 | €1,030 | ~€3,040 |
| €300,000 | €2,900 | €1,490 | ~€4,390 |
| €400,000 | €3,560 | €1,810 | ~€5,370 |
| €500,000 | €4,270 | €2,190 | ~€6,460 |
| €750,000 | €6,070 | €3,100 | ~€9,170 |
| €1,000,000 | €7,880 | €4,020 | ~€11,900 |
Including a land charge (80% financing). Calculated using Table B, section 34 GNotKG (as of October 2026): notary fees include 19% VAT but exclude disbursements such as the document flat fee and land register look-ups; land registry fees carry no VAT.
Real estate transfer tax by federal state 2026
| Federal state | Tax rate | On €350,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Bavaria | 3.5% | €12,250 |
| Hamburg / Saxony / Bremen | 5.5% | €19,250 |
| Baden-Württemberg / Lower Saxony / Thuringia / Rhineland-Palatinate / Saxony-Anhalt | 5.0% | €17,500 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia / Schleswig-Holstein | 6.5% | €22,750 |
| Brandenburg / Saarland | 6.5% | €22,750 |
| Berlin / Hesse / Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 6.0% | €21,000 |
Land registry entry: what you need to know
What is a land registry entry?
The Grundbuch is a public register that records ownership and encumbrances (e.g. mortgages) on every plot of land. When you buy a property you only become the legal owner once you are entered in the land register. The notary applies for this entry on your behalf.
Which notary services are charged?
- Notarising the purchase contract: 2.0 times the standard fee under the GNotKG
- Completing the conveyance (Auflassung): 0.5 times the fee
- Supervisory work: e.g. notifying the buyer that payment is due (0.5 times the fee)
- Creating the land charge: if the purchase is financed (1.0 times the fee)
- Disbursements: document flat fee, land register look-ups, postage – plus 19% VAT on everything
What does the land registry charge?
- Transfer of ownership: 1.0 times the fee under the GNotKG
- Registering the land charge: 1.0 times the fee (based on the loan amount)
- Priority notice of conveyance (Auflassungsvormerkung): 0.5 times the fee
- Deleting old encumbrances: 0.25 times the fee per entry
Who pays the notary and the land registry?
As a rule the buyer pays all costs of the notary and the land registry. This is the usual arrangement in Germany and is often written into the purchase contract. The seller only pays for deleting their own land charges – if there are any.
Can you save on notary fees?
No – the fees are fixed by law (GNotKG) and are not negotiable. Every notary charges the same fees. You can only save money by:
- Avoiding a notary escrow account: only use one where it is really needed (e.g. with inherited property)
- Borrowing less: a smaller land charge means lower fees
- Avoiding an estate agent: saves 3–7% – but not on the notary fees
Worked example: €300,000 purchase price with a mortgage
An example shows how the calculator works. For a purchase price of €300,000 the full fee under Table B of the GNotKG is €635. The notary charges 2.0 times that for the purchase contract, 0.5 for completion work and a further 0.5 for post-signing handling – three times in all, or €1,905. If a land charge of €240,000 (80 per cent financing) is also created, a full fee on that amount is added – €535. That makes €2,440 net and around €2,904 with 19 per cent VAT. The land registry charges one full fee for the transfer of ownership (€635), half a fee for the priority notice (€317.50) and €535 for the land charge, about €1,488 without VAT.
Together that is about €4,391, or 1.46 per cent of the purchase price. Without financing the costs fall to roughly €3,219, so the land charge accounts for just over €1,170. On top come real estate transfer tax, which the calculator assumes at an average of 5 per cent (€15,000), and an optional agent's commission of 3.57 per cent (€10,710). Total buying costs are then about €30,100, or just over 10 per cent of the purchase price. The difference between the federal states is larger than all notary and land registry fees combined: at 6.5 per cent in North Rhine-Westphalia the tax is €19,500, in Bavaria at 3.5 per cent only €10,500.
The route to the land register entry: process and legal basis
A property purchase contract must be notarised (section 311b of the Civil Code, BGB). For consumer contracts the notary should give you the draft contract at least two weeks before the signing appointment (section 17 of the Notarisation Act, BeurkG); use that time to read it calmly and clarify questions. On signing, a priority notice (Auflassungsvormerkung) is first entered in the land register, protecting you as buyer against a resale or encumbrance of the property. This notice is why the land registry charges it as a separate fee at 0.5 times.
The notary then obtains the necessary approvals and waivers, for example concerning the municipality's pre-emption right, and arranges for existing land charges to be deleted. Once the purchase price has been paid and the transfer tax settled, the tax office issues a clearance certificate. Only then may the land registry enter you as owner. The transfer of ownership (conveyance and registration, sections 873 and 925 BGB) completes the purchase. Depending on the workload of the land registry, allow a few weeks to a few months.
Saving on fees and avoiding typical mistakes
Notary and land registry fees are fixed by law in the GNotKG. Comparing notaries therefore brings nothing as far as fees are concerned, and you can neither negotiate nor expect a discount. You can save elsewhere: the land charge should be only as high as your loan requires; every unnecessary €10,000 of land charge generates fees. A notary escrow account, which the calculator shows as an optional surcharge, makes sense only in exceptional cases, because the purchase price is usually paid directly and secured through the notary's notice of maturity.
Typical mistakes are forgetting disbursements (document flat fee, look-ups and postage, which the calculator does not include), underestimating transfer tax, and overlooking bank costs for creating the land charge if your bank requires its own deed. As a rule of thumb, set aside about 1.5 to 2 per cent of the purchase price for notary and land registry and 10 to 15 per cent for all buying costs together. Anyone who budgets less has to top up their equity shortly before purchase.
Frequently asked questions about land registry costs
The total costs for the notary and the land registry are 1.2 to 2% of the purchase price. Roughly two thirds of this goes to the notary and about one third to the land registry. For a €350,000 property with 80% financing that comes to around €4,750 (notary approx. €3,140 incl. VAT, land registry approx. €1,610).
The Auflassungsvormerkung is a protective entry in the land register that safeguards the buyer between signing the contract and the final transfer of ownership. It stops the seller from selling or charging the property a second time. Cost: approx. 0.5 times the fee.
Both secure a loan, but: a Hypothek (mortgage) is tied to the specific loan and shrinks as you repay it. A Grundschuld (land charge) is independent of the loan and remains in place – even after the loan is repaid. Today banks almost exclusively prefer land charges because they are more flexible.
After the contract is notarised, the tax office sends you a Grunderwerbsteuerbescheid (transfer tax assessment). You then have 4 weeks to pay. Only once you have paid does the tax office issue the Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung (tax clearance certificate), which is needed for the transfer of ownership in the land register.
The Auflassungsvormerkung is usually entered within 1–2 weeks. The final transfer of ownership takes 3–8 weeks after the purchase price has been paid and all documents have been submitted (tax clearance certificate etc.). In some cities it can take longer.
A simple land register extract (printout) costs €10 at the land registry, an official printout €20 (items 17000/17001 of the GNotKG fee schedule). You can also order one through the notary – the fee is then included in the overall invoice.
In practice the buyer usually bears the costs of notarisation, completion and transfer of ownership, as set out in the purchase contract. The seller usually pays for deleting their existing land charges. What counts is what the contract says; ask the notary to explain the allocation of costs before the appointment.
Fees are fixed by law and are the same for every notary; you can only reduce the basis on which they are calculated. A lower land charge, skipping a notary escrow account and declining unnecessary extra services reduce costs. Showing movable items such as a fitted kitchen separately in the contract can help with transfer tax if the prices are plausible.
The priority notice is usually entered within a few weeks; the transfer of ownership follows once the purchase price is paid and the tax office's clearance certificate is available. Depending on the land registry, the final entry takes a few weeks to several months.
