Notarial Services

Persons who need to sign official documents in Belgium do not necessarily have to travel to Belgium to do so. A notarial deed can be signed at the Consulate General of Belgium in Pretoria or Cape Town.

The most common notarial deeds are for the sale or purchase of property in Belgium, the settlement of an estate, or general power of attorney.

Procedure

In order for a notarial deed to be established by a Belgian consulate general outside the European Union, a draft notarial deed from a Belgian civil-law notary is always required. Ask your Belgian notary to prepare a draft and send it to the following email address: notaribox@diplobel.fed.be. Once the deed is ready for signing, a member of staff at the Consulate General will contact you.

Conditions

The person signing the deed must understand its contents (if necessary, the deed must be drawn up in two languages). The interest must be located in Belgium (sale/purchase of a house in Belgium, settlement of an estate in Belgium).

An authentic digital power of attorney

Thanks to the authentic digital power of attorney, you no longer need to visit your civil-law notary in Belgium to sign a notarial deed.

All you need is: an internet connexion, an activated electronic identity card (eID) with a PIN code and an eID card reader.

You only have to grant digital power of attorney either to a member of the notary’s staff, to a trusted person who will physically go to the notary’s office, or via a video conference initiated by the notary.

Further information is available here.