Blockchain-Based Validity Register for Notarial Documents
Sector: Tertiary sector · Industry: Legal services and law firms · Organisation: Bundesnotarkammer · Maturity level: Pilot
The German Federal Chamber of Notaries developed a pilot in cooperation with the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and the Fraunhofer Institute FIT, storing the validity status of notarial documents such as certificates of inheritance and powers of attorney on a blockchain. Independent parties can thus verify the current status of a document at any time in a tamper-proof manner without contacting the issuing authority. The proof of concept was successfully tested in Munich, Berlin and Bayreuth in 2019.
Documentation status
- Project status: Pilot
- Evidence: Evidence high
- Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 12 July 2026
Description
The blockchain-based validity register of the Federal Chamber of Notaries enables the decentralised and tamper-proof storage of the validity status of notarial documents such as certificates of inheritance or powers of attorney on a blockchain. Banks, authorities or other authorised bodies can retrieve the current status of a document at any time directly, without having to inquire with the responsible notary. This procedure protects against misuse of already revoked or expired documents and at the same time significantly simplifies administrative processes.
The Federal Chamber of Notaries, together with the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT, developed and successfully tested a proof of concept for a blockchain-based validity register between October and December 2019. During the pilot, over 500 transactions were carried out on four blockchain nodes located in Munich, Berlin and Bayreuth, confirming the technical feasibility of the approach. The system does not store the contents of the notarial documents themselves, but only their validity status on the blockchain, thus ensuring data protection requirements are met. A feasibility study by the Fraunhofer Institute FIT delivered positive results and formed the basis for further development of the project. From 2021, the Federal Chamber of Notaries advocated for the creation of legal foundations to enable the system to be transferred into live operation, including an amendment to § 47 BeurkG, as well as integration into future digital infrastructures such as the EUDI Wallet and the electronic document archive to be introduced by 2026.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
For companies and institutions such as banks, insurance companies or authorities, the validity register offers the possibility to check the status of notarial documents such as powers of attorney or certificates of inheritance in real time and without querying the issuing authority. This significantly reduces the administrative effort in document verification and minimises the risk of acting on the basis of revoked or forged documents.
B2C — consumers perspective
For private individuals, such as heirs or grantors of power of attorney, the system increases security that their documents cannot be misused once they have been revoked. The digital verifiability creates trust and can reduce bureaucratic hurdles in the handling of inheritances or the use of powers of attorney.
Employees perspective
Employees in notaries, authorities and companies who regularly work with notarial documents will benefit from simplified and automatable verification processes. Routine status queries can be carried out digitally and without manual effort, freeing up capacity for more demanding tasks.
Benefits
General
- Tamper-proof, always retrievable status information on notarial documents.
- Protection against misuse of revoked or expired powers of attorney and certificates of inheritance.
- Simplification and acceleration of document verification for all parties involved.
- Potential for fully digital management of notarial procedures.
B2B — organisations
- Reduction of manual effort in the verification of notarial documents in banks and authorities.
- Minimisation of legal risk through reliable real-time status information.
- Basis for automated compliance checks in digitised business processes.
B2C — consumers
- Protection against unauthorised use of revoked personal documents.
- Simpler and faster processing at authorities and banks.
Employees
- Less routine effort through automated status queries.
- Higher legal certainty in daily work with notarial documents.
Challenges
General
- Lack of legal foundations for live operation, especially the need to amend § 47 BeurkG regarding electronic issuances.
- Need for integration into existing notarial infrastructures such as PKI and electronic document archive.
- Coordination between various institutions and federal structures in Germany.
B2B — organisations
- Adaptation of existing verification processes and IT systems in banks and authorities to the new digital infrastructure.
- Dependence on legislative progress in creating legal frameworks.
Employees
- Required training of employees in handling DLT-based systems and new digital workflows.
Technology foundation
The project is based on a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) where the validity status of notarial documents is stored on multiple blockchain nodes. During the pilot, four blockchain nodes were operated, testing over 500 transactions. The decentralised structure of the blockchain is particularly suitable for this use case as it enables a tamper-proof, always accessible status database not controlled by any single party, without storing sensitive document contents themselves.
Implementation examples
Blockchain-based Validity Register of the Federal Chamber of Notaries (Proof of Concept)
Notarial documents such as powers of attorney or certificates of inheritance can be revoked or declared invalid after issuance without third parties like banks or authorities being immediately informed. This enables misuse and creates considerable verification effort for all parties involved. A decentralised, immutable validity register based on blockchain technology solves this problem by providing a status proof that is accessible at any time and tamper-proof.
The Federal Chamber of Notaries developed a proof of concept together with the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and the Fraunhofer Institute FIT, in which the validity status of notarial documents is stored on a blockchain and made accessible at any time to authorised parties. The pilot was successfully tested between October and December 2019 at three locations.
Within a three-month Blockchain-Reallabor (01.10.2019 to 31.12.2019), a functional prototype for a blockchain-based validity register was developed and tested at locations in Munich, Berlin and Bayreuth. Over 500 transactions were successfully conducted on four blockchain nodes, confirming the technical feasibility of the approach. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT scientifically accompanied the project and produced a feasibility study with positive results. The project was publicly presented at Digital Day 2021 and received an innovation award as the first blockchain cooperation in the German judiciary. The Federal Chamber of Notaries is pursuing further development of a comprehensive powers of attorney register based on the pilot and advocates for the necessary legal adjustments.
The system addresses the problem of delayed or missing information about the revocation of notarial documents as well as the high manual effort in status verification. Additionally, open legal questions were identified during the project, especially the necessary amendment of § 47 BeurkG to include electronic copies, which must be legally regulated for live operation.
Tags
Document status, Validity register, Notary's office, DLT, Legal documents, Forgery protection, Pilot
Sources
- Machbarkeitsstudie: Das Blockchain-basierte Gültigkeitsregister
- Bundesnotarkammer präsentiert Blockchain-basiertes Gültigkeitsregister beim Digitaltag 2021
- Innovationspreis für erste Blockchain-Kooperation in der Justiz
- Reallabor: Blockchain für notarielle Vollmachten und Erbscheine
- Vortrag Danninger: Blockchain-basiertes Gültigkeitsregister (Notarkammer Sachsen Forum 2021)
- Pressemitteilung Bundesnotarkammer Mai 2020