Lawyers & notaries
expat-services.ch lists 3 hand-checked English-speaking notaries in Zürich: Notariat Enge-Zürich, Notariat Riesbach-Zürich and Notariat Zürich (Altstadt).
Besides English, they also work in French, German and Italian. Every profile shows the services, languages and contact details, checked by hand before going live. See also Tax advisors in Zürich.
3 providers
State notary office for Zurich Enge. In canton Zurich only state offices notarise; certifications are also issued in English, French and Italian.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?State notary office for Zurich Riesbach. In canton Zurich only state offices notarise; certifications are also issued in English, French and Italian.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?State notary office for Zurich Altstadt. In canton Zurich only state offices notarise; certifications are also issued in English, French and Italian.
Checked by our editors · not yet confirmed by the business.
Is this your business?Local facts
In the Canton of Zurich the notary offices are run by the state: notaries and their staff are public employees, and the same offices keep the land register and handle bankruptcy matters (Zurich notary offices, checked ). The canton has 44 notary districts, eleven of them with a Zurich address (Altstadt, Altstetten, Aussersihl, Enge, Fluntern, Höngg, Hottingen, Oerlikon, Riesbach, Unterstrass and Wiedikon) (Zurich notary offices, checked ) (Zurich notary offices, checked ). For land deeds the district of the property decides, whereas wills, marital agreements, company deeds and certifications can be handled by any office, and those deeds are valid across Switzerland (Zurich notary offices, checked ).
Fees follow the cantonal tariff and go to the state treasury, with VAT added (NotGebV, checked ). A property transfer costs 1‰ of the market value for the deed, at least CHF 100, plus another 1‰ for the land register entry (NotGebV, checked ). A will draft with advice costs CHF 50 to 2,000, a public will CHF 200 to 4,000, a marital agreement CHF 200 to 4,000, and time-based work CHF 180 an hour; deeds after 18:30 or on weekends cost CHF 100 more (NotGebV, checked ). Certifying one person's signature is usually CHF 20 (Zurich notary offices, checked ). Needy persons can ask for a full or partial waiver within one year (NotGebV, checked ). Apostilles come from the State Chancellery, and fee decisions can be challenged at the Finance Directorate (Zurich notary offices, checked ) (Zurich notary offices, checked ).
Arrivals from abroad register in person at the Personenmeldeamt Zürich Süd in the Stadthaus, Stadthausquai 17, with a booked appointment, and only once they actually live in the city (City of Zurich, checked ). The deadline is 14 days (2026) (City of Zurich, checked ); the fee is CHF 40 per adult, plus the cantonal migration office’s permit fees for foreign nationals (City of Zurich, checked ). More in our guide to registering at your commune.
Read more How to find an English-speaking lawyer in Switzerland
Checked by the expat-services.ch editorial team