A Notaranderkonto is a notary's special account for third parties' money, through which the purchase price can pass before it reaches the seller and its banks. The law allows it only where the parties have a legitimate need for security, and every payout carries its own fee, so direct payment after the notary's due-date notice remains the German norm.
What it is
A notary may hold money in safekeeping (§ 23 BNotO), but only on three conditions (§ 57(2), (4) BeurkG). The parties must have a legitimate need for security; the notary must have a written instruction naming the recipients and the conditions and dates of payout; and the notary must have accepted it. The law does not list when such a need exists — the notary assesses it deal by deal. The notary accepts no cash at all (§ 57(1) BeurkG).
The money goes without delay into a separate account at a bank operating in Germany: one account per deposit, since pooled accounts are prohibited. Only the notary or the notary's official deputy may operate it (§ 58(1)–(3) BeurkG). Payouts are made, as a rule, by bank transfer and without delay once the instruction's conditions are met (§ 58(3) BeurkG).
Why it matters to investors
Escrow costs money. The safekeeping fee is a full 1.0 rate for each payout, calculated on its amount (KV 25300, § 124 GNotKG), and it comes on top of the fee for supervising the transaction. By our calculation under Table B of the GNotKG, a €10 million price paid out in one sum costs €11,385 excluding VAT. Split into three payouts — €3 million to one bank, €2 million to another and €5 million to the seller — the same sum costs €16,405. The reason is a degressive scale: fees rise more slowly than amounts.
In return, the parties gain an extra layer of protection: the money is beyond the buyer's reach but not yet with the seller. The notary may pay it out only under a written instruction, which can itself be changed only in writing (§ 57(4) BeurkG). If the price is paid through the escrow account of the notary who files for registration, no separate proof of non-cash payment is needed (§ 16a(5) GwG).
In an ordinary deal, direct payment after the notary's due-date notice gives the same protection (see Part 8 of the series German Prime Retail). Escrow should therefore be chosen for a specific purpose, not by default.
What to check
• The specific need for security that the escrow is meant to serve.
• The written instruction: recipients, payout conditions and dates, and who receives interest on the balance.
• The number of payouts and the fee for each, compared with direct payment.
• When the buyer's payment obligation counts as discharged: on receipt into escrow or on payout to the seller.
• A separate account for this deal at a bank operating in Germany.
Sources: BNotO § 23; BeurkG §§ 57, 58; GwG § 16a; GNotKG §§ 34, 124, KV 25300 and Table B; Gordon Real Estate Group, "German Prime Retail", Part 8. Legal position as of 10 October 2026.
Photo: Annie Spratt / Unsplash
This entry is general information and not legal or tax advice.