What is the role of Public Notaries (Notarios Publicos)?
Real estate transactions and the legal conveyance of any type of property in Mexico involve the participation of a notario publico. Don’t be misled by their title, which translates to ‘public notary’, because the notario publico’s responsibilities are much greater than simply the formalization of signatures. Notarios publicos are attorneys that forgo litigation and must pass two extensive examinations to receive their lifetime appointments and are appointed by the Governor of the State and the Executive Branch of the federal government. In standard transactions, the notarios prepare deeds of conveyance in accordance with the purchase-sale agreement. The buyer and seller get together with the notario to formalize the transfer of property and authorize the signatures upon execution of the escritura. Notario’s record the escritura with the public registry of property where the property is located after the property has been transferred. A notario’s duties before the closing include verifi
