Notarial offices are increasingly confronted with clients at a distance. How do you send draft deeds securely, how do you verify identity, and how do you archive everything in a GDPR-compliant way?
Trends: more clients at a distance
The pandemic has permanently changed the notarial profession. In 2026 clients expect both the preliminary process and the follow-up to take place largely digitally. Draft deeds are no longer sent by post, intake forms are filled in online, and for simpler deeds clients are heard via video link. The obligation to appear in person before the notary (article 17 of the Dutch Notaries Act (Wna)) was relaxed by law in 2024 for a number of deeds in family and personal law, provided strict identity and authentication requirements are met.
KNB guidelines summarised
The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) published new guidelines on digital services in 2024 and 2025. Three key points are relevant for transfer practice.
- Identification and verification. When deeds and documents for signing are sent digitally, identification at the "substantial" or "high" level under eIDAS is required. Simple email confirmation is not sufficient for documents with the character of a deed or power of attorney.
- Professional secrecy and confidentiality. Article 22 Wna imposes strict professional secrecy. The chosen transfer service must use client-side encryption with verification-gated decryption. The provider must not have routine plaintext access to file contents.
- Archiving obligation. Deeds and associated correspondence must be retained for 100 years (article 38 Wna). Audit reports of digital transfers fall under the same retention period in so far as they form an integral part of the deed archive.
Identity verification: how do you arrange this?
For transfers from or to clients at a distance there are in practice three levels of identity verification. The choice depends on the type of document and the legal certainty required.
- Low level. Email magic link or SMS-OTP. Suitable for general correspondence and the exchange of drafts.
- Substantial level. Two-factor with confirmation via a second channel (for example bank iDIN). For sending draft deeds and intake forms in family and personal law.
- High level. Scan of a passport or ID card with biometric facial match (selfie or liveness). Required for sending deeds with financial or legal impact and for exchanging powers of attorney.
Practical example: transfer of registered property
In the transfer of registered property where both parties are at a distance, the office usually goes through the following steps. The draft deed is sent at least 48 hours before execution via TransferGuard Verified Identity, with biometric ID verification (passport or ID card plus a live selfie) of both parties. The audit report, including the verification result, an independent verified timestamp and the SHA-256 hash of the draft deed, is added to the deed archive.
Secure transfer of the draft deed
The draft deed is usually the most sensitive document in the process. The points below are the minimum that is called for.
- EU-only storage and processing.
- End-to-end encryption with key management under the office's control.
- SHA-256 hash of the draft deed at the time of sending.
- Independent verified timestamp from an external timestamp authority, recording the moment independently.
- Biometric identity verification of the recipient.
- Retention period configurable to at least 100 years (deed archiving).
- Unambiguous link between the transfer and the deed file in the notarial office system.
Signing: a separate flow
Fully digital signing of notarial deeds falls outside the scope of this guide. This takes place via qualified electronic signatures (QES) under eIDAS and the accompanying physical or certified representation as prescribed in the Wna. What is relevant for the transfer service: sending the signed deed (certified copy) to the client after execution follows the same requirements as sending the draft deed.
Archiving and linking with the deed archive
The audit report of a digital transfer becomes part of the file. In practice it is wise to link this to the protocol (repertorium) number of the deed, so that a later request or check by the Financial Supervision Office immediately yields all relevant evidence. The verifiable PDF audit report with a SHA-256 integrity check and an independent verified timestamp remains valid even after the subscription with the transfer service is cancelled.
Conclusion
For the notarial profession, working digitally with clients at a distance is no longer a choice in 2026 but a requirement of modern service. TransferGuard combines EU-only encryption, biometric identity verification and long-retainable certificates in a single platform, enabling notarial offices to work fully in line with the KNB guidelines and the Wna.
See how TransferGuard designs biometric identity verification in the Verified Identity demo, or read our article on GDPR requirements for file transfer.