How much are notaire fees in France in 2026?
Quick answer: On a resale ("ancien") property, total notaire fees come to about 7% of the price in the Alpes-Maritimes (4.50% transfer tax kept). On a new-build (VEFA), they drop to roughly 2–3%. The percentage falls on expensive homes, because the notaire’s own scale is degressive. For a €1.5M villa in the Alpes-Maritimes, expect around 7.0%, or about €105,000.
"Notaire fees" (frais de notaire) is a misleading name. The notaire keeps only about a tenth of the money. The official body of French notaires breaks the total down as roughly eight-tenths taxes, one-tenth disbursements and one-tenth the notaire’s own regulated fee (notaires.fr, updated 19 March 2026). Most of what you pay is transfer tax, collected for the State and local authorities.
You pay these costs on top of the purchase price, and most non-resident mortgages do not cover them, so keep cash aside. Two reforms set the 2026 figures. The first is the April 2025 rise in transfer taxes, which most departments adopted (not all of them). The second is the regulated notaire scale, renewed by an order published on 28 February 2026. We go through each one below, with a worked example for a purchase in the hinterland.
Verify before you sign
This guide is general information for foreign buyers, not tax or legal advice. Rates change, and they depend on the property, the department and your own situation. Confirm the exact figure with the notaire handling your purchase before you commit. Figures verified 29 June 2026.
What do notaire fees include?
The total has four parts: transfer taxes (DMTO, by far the largest), the notaire’s regulated émoluments, disbursements (débours) for searches and documents, and the property-security contribution (CSI) of 0.10% of the price.
Only by splitting the total into its parts do you see where the money goes, and where there is a little room to reduce it:
| Component | What it is | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| Droits de mutation (DMTO) | Transfer tax: a departmental rate + a 1.20% communal rate + a small State assessment fee | Department, commune, State |
| Émoluments du notaire | The notaire’s regulated fee, set on a national degressive scale + 20% VAT | The notaire |
| Débours (disbursements) | Sums paid out for the land registry, surveyor, mortgage registrar and document fees | Third parties |
| Contribution de sécurité immobilière (CSI) | 0.10% of the price, for registering the deed at the land registry | State |
Tax makes up most of it. On a typical resale, the DMTO alone is around 5.8–6.3% of the price, so the headline percentage is mostly tax, not the notaire’s pay. According to impots.gouv.fr, the CSI is a flat 0.10% of the sale price.
What are the transfer taxes (DMTO) in 2026, and did the Alpes-Maritimes raise them?
The 2025 Finance Law allowed departments to raise the departmental DMTO rate from 4.50% to 5.00% between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028. Most departments did. The Alpes-Maritimes did not. It kept 4.50%, so total transfer tax there is about 5.81%, a little below the neighbouring Var and Bouches-du-Rhône.
Article 116 of Law no. 2025-127 of 14 February 2025 created CGI article 1594 F septies. It authorises each conseil départemental to raise the departmental transfer-tax rate by up to 0.5 point, for a limited period (service-public.gouv.fr, 2 April 2025). On the DGFiP table of 1 February 2026, about 83 departments apply the 5.00% rate and about 14, the Alpes-Maritimes among them, kept 4.50% (impots.gouv.fr).
The official rate table published by impots.gouv.fr (applicable 1 February 2026) gives these rates across the Riviera:
| Department | Departmental rate 2026 | Approx. total transfer tax* |
|---|---|---|
| Alpes-Maritimes (06) | 4.50% | ~5.81% |
| Var (83) | 5.00% | ~6.32% |
| Bouches-du-Rhône (13) | 5.00% | ~6.32% |
| Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04) | 5.00% | ~6.32% |
*Total transfer tax = departmental rate + 1.20% communal tax + a State assessment fee of 2.37% of the departmental tax. For the Alpes-Maritimes: 4.50% + 1.20% + (2.37% × 4.50%) ≈ 5.81%.
Valbonne, Mougins, Biot, Grasse, Opio, Le Rouret, Roquefort-les-Pins and Châteauneuf-de-Grasse are all in the Alpes-Maritimes. If you buy there, you save a small but real amount compared with a purchase a few kilometres away in the Var. For what the homes themselves cost, village by village, see house prices across the hinterland.
How is the notaire’s own fee (émoluments) calculated?
The notaire’s regulated fee follows a national scale with four degressive brackets, identical in every office, plus 20% VAT. On the slice above €60,000 the rate is only 0.814%, so on a high-value property the notaire’s share is a small part of the total.
For a standard sale of real estate (act no. 54, article A444-91 of the Commercial Code), the scale renewed by the order published on 28 February 2026 and set out by notaires.fr is:
| Price bracket | Rate (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|
| €0–6,500 | 3.945% |
| €6,500–17,000 | 1.627% |
| €17,000–60,000 | 1.085% |
| Above €60,000 | 0.814% |
Each rate applies to its own slice of the price, not to the whole price, and 20% VAT is added on top. With the top bracket at 0.814%, the émoluments shrink as a percentage on expensive homes. The rules also allow a notaire to grant a discount of up to 20% on the émoluments calculated on the slices of the price at or above €100,000, and up to 40% on certain acts of €10 million or more (notaires.fr). The discount is optional. If the office offers it, it has to apply it to every client in the same situation.
Worked example: fees on a €1.5 million villa in Valbonne
On a €1,500,000 resale villa in the Alpes-Maritimes, total notaire fees come to roughly €105,000, about 7.0% of the price. Of that, transfer tax is €87,000 and the notaire’s own fee only about €15,000.
Here is the calculation with the verified 2026 figures above, for a €1,500,000 villa in Valbonne (Alpes-Maritimes, 4.50% departmental rate):
| Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax (DMTO) | ≈ 5.806% of €1,500,000 | €87,100 |
| Notaire émoluments (incl. 20% VAT) | Four-bracket scale, then ×1.20 | €15,140 |
| CSI | 0.10% of €1,500,000 | €1,500 |
| Disbursements (débours) | Searches, registry, documents | ~€1,200 |
| Total | ≈ 7.0% of price | ~€104,900 |
Run the same sums on a €2,000,000 villa and you get roughly €139,000, or about 6.97%. The percentage edges down again because the émoluments and fixed costs spread over a larger price. Disbursements vary from one file to another and are settled after completion. The notaire takes a provision up front and refunds whatever is left over. To test these sums against real prices, our budget guide sets out what a typical villa costs by village.
Why are notaire fees lower on a new-build (VEFA)?
A new-build (VEFA) carries "reduced" notaire fees of about 2–3% instead of about 7% on a resale in the Alpes-Maritimes. The high transfer tax gives way to a land-publicity tax of only 0.715%, and the 20% VAT is already in the price.
On a new property (usually a first sale within five years of completion, off-plan VEFA included), a reduced taxe de publicité foncière of 0.715% replaces the ordinary registration duties. The 0.10% CSI and the same regulated émoluments scale still apply (impots.gouv.fr). The 20% VAT on a new home is part of the developer’s price, not an extra.
Total notaire fees therefore come to roughly 2–3% rather than about 7%. New-builds are rare in the protected hinterland villages. Where you do find them, as contemporary villas or small developments, the lower purchase cost is worth factoring in.
Is there a way for foreign buyers to reduce notaire fees?
Yes, a little. There are three legitimate levers: take the value of the furniture out of the taxable price, ask the notaire for the optional discount on the slices above €100,000, and confirm who pays the agency fee. Your nationality and where you live make no difference to the regulated fees.
Notaire fees are the same whatever your passport and wherever you live. There is no surcharge for foreigners. In practice, you trim the bill in these ways:
- Deduct movable furniture. If the sale includes fitted kitchens, furniture or equipment, the rules allow their itemised value to come off the price used for transfer tax, provided that value is genuine and documented.
- Ask about the émolument discount. The optional discount reaches 20% of the émoluments on the slices above €100,000. On a purchase of several million euros, it is worth asking.
- Clarify the agency fee. A price quoted "FAI" (frais d’agence inclus) already includes the agency commission. If the mandate puts the fee on the buyer and the deed states the price "net vendeur", the fee stays out of the base for transfer tax. Your notaire will tell you what is permitted.
Since April 2025, first-time buyers (primo-accédants) are exempt from the 0.5-point rise. The relief covers only a main residence bought by someone who has not owned their main home in the previous two years. It rarely helps an international buyer purchasing a second home on the Riviera (service-public.gouv.fr).
Notaire fees are one line in the full cost of buying, which also covers currency transfer and the yearly property taxes.
When and how are notaire fees paid?
You pay notaire fees in full when you sign the final deed (acte authentique), by bank transfer to the notaire, on top of the price. The notaire takes a provision, pays the taxes and refunds any surplus afterwards.
The sale completes when both parties sign the acte de vente in front of the notaire, usually two to three months after the preliminary contract (compromis). On that day, you transfer the price plus all purchase costs to the notaire’s regulated account. The notaire then pays the transfer taxes to the State and registers the deed.
Most non-resident buyers pay these sums from their own cash, not the mortgage. Lenders usually finance part of the price only, not the fees, so put the 7% into your purchase budget from day one. Plan the currency transfer early: moving €100,000+ at the wrong moment sometimes costs more than the émoluments themselves. Our companion guides cover non-resident mortgages and currency for buying in France.
This is general guidance
Notaire fees depend on the property, the department and how the purchase is structured, and the rules change from time to time. Treat the figures here as a well-sourced estimate and confirm the exact total with your notaire before you sign. La Reserve will gladly introduce you to English-speaking notaires across the Alpes-Maritimes.
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