Notaries in Basel

Public deeds in Basel-Stadt are drawn up by freelance notaries who act on their own responsibility under the Justice and Security Department and the notarial supervisory commission. A deed on land in the canton for the Basel land registry has to be notarised by a Basel notary, while certifications can also be made at the canton's certification office or at the municipal offices of Riehen and Bettingen (Kanton Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026) (Kanton Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026).

A licence requires domicile in Switzerland, the professional examination, independence from property trading and liability insurance of at least CHF 1 million, and the cantonal government grants it on the commission's application. Trainees spend at least ten months in practice, four of them at registry offices, before the written and oral examination (Kanton Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Fees follow the notary tariff ordinance: a land transfer costs 0.25% of the value up to CHF 2 million, at least CHF 500, and 0.2% above that, a marital property contract or a will CHF 400 to 2,000, and no single fee exceeds CHF 50,000 (Kanton Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026). If a fee is disputed, the commission can check it against the tariff (Kanton Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026). Deeds of notaries who stop practising go to the notary archive, where a copy costs CHF 100 and use needs the department's permit (Kanton Basel-Stadt, checked 21 Oct 2026).

Newcomers register with the Einwohneramt of Bevölkerungsdienste und Migration at Spiegelgasse 6; from 2 November 2026 its counters work from a temporary building on Schwarzwaldallee, opposite Badischer Bahnhof. The deadline is 14 days (2026) (Einwohneramt BS, checked 21 Oct 2026): the date of the online booking counts, not the date of the appointment. Registration costs CHF 25 per person (Einwohneramt BS, checked 21 Oct 2026). The general steps are in registering at your commune.