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Short answer
Allow about 7% to 8% of the price for an older property and about 2% to 3% for a new build. Most of what people call notaire fees is purchase tax: 5.81% of the price in a department charging 4.50%, or 6.32% in one charging 5%, which 88 of France’s 100 departments now do. The notaire’s own fee is a small regulated scale. If you borrow, add the cost of the lender’s security and the bank’s arrangement fee. Lenders expect these costs to come from your own funds on top of the deposit.
Sources: Notaires de France, July 2025; DGFiP table of departmental rates, 1 June 2026.
What are French notaire fees made of?
The frais de notaire is a bundle of four things that the notaire collects from you at completion. Only one of them is the notaire’s own pay.
- Purchase tax, the droits de mutation or DMTO, shared between the department, the commune and the state.
- The notaire’s scale fees, the émoluments, plus 20% VAT.
- The contribution de sécurité immobilière (CSI), a land registry charge.
- Disbursements, the débours, for formalities and documents the notaire pays for on your behalf.
On a €300,000 older house in a 5% department, €18,955.50 of the €23,808.60 total is tax. So the total depends far more on the price and the department than on which notaire you use.
How much is purchase tax in France?
On an older property the tax is the departmental rate, plus a communal tax of 1.20%, plus a state collection charge of 2.37% of the departmental tax. The 2025 finance law let departments raise their rate from 4.50% to a maximum of 5% for deeds signed from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028. The 2026 finance law kept that cap and window. The extra half point ends on 1 April 2028, and what counts is the date the final deed is signed.
| Departmental rate | Total tax on the price | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 5.00% | 6.3185% | 88 of 100 departments, including the Dordogne, Lot, Charente-Maritime, all four Brittany departments, Var, Haute-Savoie and Paris |
| 4.50% | 5.80665% | Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Charente, Drôme, Lozère, Oise, Hautes-Pyrénées, Saône-et-Loire, Guadeloupe and Mayotte |
| 3.80% | 5.09006% | Indre |
There is an exemption from the extra half point for first-time buyers, but it only applies to someone who has not owned their main home in the previous two years and is buying a main home they will live in for at least eight months a year. It does not help UK and international buyers of a second home.
Sources: Notaires de France, 18 November 2025; ANIL on the 2026 finance law; DGFiP, 1 June 2026; first-time buyer rule from the BOFiP of 17 June 2026 via Kohen Avocats.
How much does the notaire actually charge?
The notaire’s emoluments follow a sliding scale set by law. Each rate applies only to the slice of the price within its band, and VAT at 20% is added to the total.
| Slice of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €6,500 | 3.870% |
| €6,500 to €17,000 | 1.596% |
| €17,000 to €60,000 | 1.064% |
| Above €60,000 | 0.799% |
On a €200,000 sale that comes to €1,995.25 before VAT, or €2,394.30 with it. A notaire may give a discount, a remise, of up to 20% of the emoluments on the part of the price above €100,000, but must apply it equally to all clients. The current tariff runs from 1 March 2026 to 29 February 2028 under an arrêté of 25 February 2026.
Source: Service-public.fr on notaire fees, verified 5 August 2026. Discount rule: Code de commerce article A444-174.
What are the CSI and disbursements?
The CSI is 0.10% of the price with a minimum of €15. A smaller CSI of 0.05%, minimum €8, applies when a mortgage is registered. Disbursements have no official figure. Notaires typically quote about €800 to €1,500.
Sources: Être Propriétaire on the CSI, May 2026; Buresi notaires, April 2026.
How much are notaire fees on a typical purchase?
| Purchase | Tax | Scale fees with VAT | CSI | Disbursements | Total | Share of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €150,000 older, 5% department | €9,477.75 | €1,914.90 | €150 | €1,200 | €12,742.65 | 8.50% |
| €200,000 older, 4.50% department | €11,613.30 | €2,394.30 | €200 | €1,200 | €15,407.60 | 7.70% |
| €200,000 older, 5% department | €12,637.00 | €2,394.30 | €200 | €1,200 | €16,431.30 | 8.22% |
| €300,000 older, 5% department | €18,955.50 | €3,353.10 | €300 | €1,200 | €23,808.60 | 7.94% |
| €500,000 older, 4.50% department | €29,033.25 | €5,270.70 | €500 | €1,200 | €36,003.95 | 7.20% |
| €300,000 new build | €2,145.00 | €3,353.10 | €300 | €1,200 | €6,998.10 | 2.33% |
Disbursements are taken as €1,200 and no discount is assumed. The new build tax is worked out on the full price as a cautious estimate. None of the examples include mortgage costs, which are covered below. Cheaper properties pay a higher share because the fixed disbursements and the higher rates on the first slices of the scale weigh more. The notaire fees calculator works out your own figures.
Are notaire fees lower on a new build?
Yes, much lower. A home counts as new, neuf, if it was completed less than five years ago and has never been occupied or resold. The price already includes 20% VAT, so instead of the DMTO you pay a land registration tax, the taxe de publicité foncière, of 0.70% plus a 2.14% charge on that tax. That makes 0.715% of the price with no communal tax. Scale fees and the CSI work the same way as on an older home, and the total usually lands at 2% to 3%.
The same applies when you buy off plan, known as a VEFA purchase. One difference for borrowers: the cheaper form of mortgage security described below cannot be used for a VEFA, so the lender takes another form.
Source: Fourez notaires, 12 January 2026.
What does a mortgage add to the costs?
A French lender takes security over the property, registered by the notaire, and charges an arrangement fee. There are three forms of security and the costs differ.
| Security | Typical cost | Points to know |
|---|---|---|
| HLSPD, the lender’s special legal charge | About 0.5% to 1% of the loan | Only for buying an existing property or land, not building, works or VEFA. No land registration tax. Lapses free one year after the last instalment. |
| Hypothèque conventionnelle | About 1.5% to 2% of the loan | One example gives €3,458 on a €270,000 loan. Hypothèques now secure under 30% of French home loans. |
| Caution, a guarantee company such as Crédit Logement | About 1.5% | About 70% of the guarantee fund contribution is refunded at the end. No release fee. |
For non-residents the choice is usually made for you. Brokers report that guarantee companies generally decline non-resident files, so lenders usually take a hypothèque or an HLSPD instead. If you repay early or sell before the loan ends, releasing the charge needs a mainlevée, which costs about 0.3% to 0.6% of the original loan, for example about €645 on €200,000.
The bank’s arrangement fee, the frais de dossier, usually runs from 0.5% to 1.4% of the loan and is often capped at around €2,000 to €2,500. The average on a €200,000 loan was €1,899.68 in March 2026. The fee for our mortgage service is a success-only 1.9% of the loan, which you agree in writing before any work starts.
Sources: Service-public.fr on the HLSPD, verified 20 March 2026; Meilleurtaux on security costs, 23 January 2026; Qoridor, September 2026; Notaires de France, 10 August 2026; Meilleurtaux on arrangement fees, March 2026.
Do estate agent fees add to what I pay?
They can. French adverts show the price with the agent’s fee included, marked FAI. When the buyer pays the fee, the advert also shows the fee as a percentage of the price without it. It is commonly reported that where the buyer pays, purchase tax is charged on the price without the fee, which lowers the tax slightly. Ask the notaire to confirm this on your purchase. Industry estimates put agent fees at 3% to 10% of the price, but we have not confirmed these from an official source. Our buying guide covers the rules agents follow.
Source: DGCCRF on estate agents.
How do I pay the costs from abroad?
The notaire asks for the balance of the price and the costs a few days to a week before completion. Any payment over €3,000 must go by bank transfer to the notaire’s account at the Caisse des Dépôts, and an international transfer can take up to five working days. Because the costs are paid in euros from savings in pounds or another currency, a move in the exchange rate changes what they cost you. Many buyers fix a rate in advance with a specialist currency transfer provider.
Source: Notaires de France on payments.
Which figures does the calculator use?
Our notaire fees calculator uses the figures below. Each one is held with its date and source.
| Item | Figure | As at | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase tax at the 4.50% departmental rate 4.50% departmental, 1.20% communal and 2.37% collection charge on the departmental part | 5.80665% | 1 June 2026 | DGFiP departmental rates table, June 2026 |
| Purchase tax at the 5.00% departmental rate 88 of 100 departments at 5.00% for deeds signed 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2028 | 6.3185% | 1 June 2026 | DGFiP departmental rates table, June 2026 |
| Reduced purchase tax on new build under 5 years Taxe de publicite fonciere 0.70% plus 2.14% collection charge | 0.715% | 12 January 2026 | Fourez notaires, new build acquisition costs |
| Notaire scale fee on the first 6,500 euros Before VAT | 3.87% | 5 August 2026 | Service-public.fr, frais de notaire |
| Notaire scale fee from 6,500 to 17,000 euros Before VAT | 1.596% | 5 August 2026 | Service-public.fr, frais de notaire |
| Notaire scale fee from 17,000 to 60,000 euros Before VAT | 1.064% | 5 August 2026 | Service-public.fr, frais de notaire |
| Notaire scale fee above 60,000 euros Before VAT | 0.799% | 5 August 2026 | Service-public.fr, frais de notaire |
| VAT on notaire scale fees | 20% | 5 August 2026 | Service-public.fr, frais de notaire |
| Land registry contribution (CSI) Minimum 15 euros | 0.1% (minimum €15) | 23 May 2026 | Etreproprietaire.fr, CSI |
| Disbursements and formalities, estimate Typically 800 to 1,500 euros | €1,200 | 1 April 2026 | Buresi notaires, frais de notaire |
| Lender security on an existing property (HLSPD), estimate Typically 0.5 to 1% of the loan | 0.75% | 23 September 2026 | Qoridor, cost of a mortgage charge |
| Lender security by conventional hypotheque, estimate Typically 1.5 to 2% of the loan | 1.75% | 23 January 2026 | Meilleurtaux, caution or hypotheque |
| Bank arrangement fee (frais de dossier), estimate Usually 0.5 to 1.4% of the loan, often capped around 2,000 to 2,500 euros | 1% (cap €2,500) | 18 August 2026 | Meilleurtaux, frais de dossier |