Where and to whom to complain about a notary

A notary is a person authorized to perform notarial acts provided for by regulations. If a citizen who contacts a notary notices any violations in his actions, he has every right to appeal them. However, the citizen hardly understands how this is done and where to file a complaint against the notary.

In what cases should you file a complaint against a notary?

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Notaries are specialists who provide services in private practice. There are also state notaries, the list of their powers is a little wider. Responsibilities usually include:

1. Certification of various types of transactions, signatures on documents and photocopies of documents, extracts, translations into a foreign language.
2. Confirmation of the fact that a person is alive and lives in some established place.
3. Transfer of applications from one person to another.
4. Public notaries have, among other things, the right to deal with inheritance matters.

If the notary office is state-owned, it means that it is located in the department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and acts on its instructions. Accordingly, all actions of such an office are accountable to this department.

Private notaries are members of the Chamber of Notaries located in a particular subject of the Russian Federation. As soon as a private notary begins his activity, he automatically becomes a member of it and all his actions are controlled by the FNP - the Federal Notary Chamber. It is obliged to control its participants. Also, the right to control notaries is vested in the tax authorities.

The grounds for complaints are:

1. Delaying the deadlines for performing certain notarial actions. It is known that each legal procedure has its own deadlines, so a citizen should find out how soon it will be completed immediately when contacting a notary. An employee can delay deadlines, but only intentionally when there is a possibility for him to receive some benefit.
2. The notary requires you to draw up some additional documents, while making a profit. As a rule, these are documents that are not particularly needed, it’s just a matter of profiting from the client.
3. Imposing services from a notary that require additional payment.
4. Disclosure of client secrets. Non-disclosure is a principle that a notary must adhere to in his work. No one knows what consequences the disclosure of the client’s actions may entail, so all this must be kept secret.
5. Unreasonable refusal to carry out any notarial actions.
6. Concealing the fact of fraud, as well as assistance.
7. If the transaction was carried out by a notary who was intoxicated or in a state of mental disorder.
8. The client was charged a fee that exceeded the state duty.
9. The client himself did most of the work that the notary had to do (for example, collected documents and information).
10. The specialist allowed disclosure of the circumstances of the client’s case.
11. The notary disclosed the secret of the will or untimely opened it.
12. The paperwork was completed ahead of time.
13. The notary lost, damaged, or destroyed some of the client’s documents.
14. There was no information from the specialist that the client had the right to any benefits when paying the fee.

In all of the above cases, a citizen has every right to file a complaint against the notary. However, if a specialist refuses to perform this or that work, he may have good reasons for this. A notary may refuse a client in the following cases:

1. If fulfilling the client's requirements implies committing an illegal act.
2. This notary does not have the right to provide such a service (for example, if a private specialist is approached with an inheritance case).
3. If the client is an incompetent citizen officially recognized as such. The same applies to cooperation with a representative of such a citizen.
4. A transaction that must be confirmed by a notary, concluded by a legal entity, is contrary to the internal charter of the company.
5. Documentation that must be certified contains errors, amendments, clerical errors, is unreliable or contrary to the law.
6. The circumstances required by the applicant cannot be established and confirmed.

Notary misconduct is not only the commission of something illegal, but also the failure to act. Inaction is precisely an unreasonable refusal to fulfill duties.

In any case, the refusal must be sent to the client in writing, it must contain an explanation of the reasons. In addition, in this document the notary must describe the procedure for appealing his decision.

Where to complain about a notary

If a citizen has a firm intention to write a complaint, then he needs to contact the following authorities.

Notary Chamber

Since private notaries are subordinate to this organization, you need to try to resolve the conflict here. Such an organization is present in every subject of the Russian Federation, so finding it will not be difficult. The chamber considers the citizen's appeal and makes a decision on the punishment of the notary. Such measures include a reprimand, reprimand or severe reprimand.

Important! When a citizen is not satisfied with the decision of the Notary Chamber or his complaint has not been considered at all, he can appeal to higher authorities.

The complaint should not be drawn up in any form; there is an established template for this.

If deadlines are violated, the client must be notified of the reasons for this and a deadline for when everything will be done. During the investigation, the Chamber of Notaries must carefully check all the circumstances of the controversial case.

Prosecutor's office

It is advisable to contact the prosecutor's office if the client has doubts about the legality of the notary's actions. Such a complaint is filed with the territorial prosecutor's office located in the same region where the notary office operates.

As soon as the application has been accepted, the prosecutor must begin checking all the circumstances of the case for compliance with regulations and laws. The complaint is sent by letter by mail or brought in person. If desired, the client can file a complaint on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation.

Court

It will be possible to appeal the actions of the notary in court. This is stated in Art. 37 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. If a notary refuses to perform some work or his actions seem unlawful to the client, then he files a claim in court. This must be done no later than ten days after detection of violations on the part of the official (notary).

According to the law, the court hearing must be held with the participation of both parties. However, if someone does not arrive at the appointed time, the case will be considered in his absence. In cases where the citizen’s claim is satisfied, the notary will either be required to perform a notarial act, which he previously refused, or his notarial act will be cancelled.

The court is a last resort; it is used when all previous authorities have failed to satisfy the citizen’s claims.

Important! The statement of claim requires that you specify the notary's details as accurately as possible, as well as all the circumstances of the refusal to perform notarial acts, or the observed violations. The statement of claim is accompanied by evidence confirming this fact.

How to properly file a complaint

The complaint, no matter which body it is sent to, must be drawn up correctly and fully state the essence of the problem. The following points must be specified:

1. Full name and address of the authority to which the complaint is sent.
2. Full name, residential address, occupation of the citizen filing the complaint.
3. It is important to indicate that this is a complaint.
4. What follows is a statement of the essence of the case: whether it is a refusal to perform duties or an offense by an official. The situation should be presented in detail, in business language, without emotional overtones, profanity or threats.
5. There are separate requirements put forward by the applicant.
6. Supporting documents are attached to the complaint - only they indicate the fact of an offense.
7. At the bottom is the date of application and the signature of the applicant with a transcript.

Also, the application must be accompanied by a copy of the applicant’s passport, a power of attorney (if his interests are represented by another person), a copy of the answer given by the notary (or evidence of the absence of one).

There are different options for sending:

1. Bring your application to the authority in person. It is necessary to draw up two copies of the application at once: the first will remain for consideration, the second will be registered and returned to the applicant. It is also recommended to ask for a receipt of receipt of the complaint.
2. Registered letter with notification by mail. An inventory of all attached documents is required.
3. A complaint in electronic form, as a rule, is provided with such an opportunity on the official websites of various departments.
4. By fax.

A complaint must be registered with any regulatory authority within three days. The verification does not take more than 30 days, but in particularly difficult situations it can take up to 60 days.

Conclusion

If any violations of their rights are detected, a citizen has the opportunity to complain; it is important to do this competently. Illegal actions of officials should not go unpunished.

How to file a complaint against a notary for inheritance

Most often, the registration of inheritance is carried out by a notary. In rare cases, inheritance is accepted through the court if there are appropriate grounds. However, the vast majority of such cases are the competence of a notary.

Sometimes controversial and even conflict situations arise between the notary and the heir who applied for registration of property. If the heir believes that the actions of the authorized person are unlawful, he can file a complaint against him.

Notary for inheritance matters

In Russia there is a certain practice of registering an inheritance. Following it, a notary assigned to a certain hereditary matter conducts it independently and individually.

How does this distribution and consolidation occur:

• by area. If the place where the deceased testator lived belongs to the area of ​​work of a certain notary, then it is he who conducts the inheritance business after the death of this person;
• by last name. In addition to division by territory, due to the heavy workload, the area of ​​activity of a lawyer is divided according to the principle of the first letter of the surname of the deceased testator;
• at the location of most of the property passed on by inheritance;
• any notary of the city (district, region), if the locality is included in the “Inheritance Without Borders” program.

Thus, the notary, with a few exceptions, will conduct the inheritance case regardless of the wishes of the persons involved in this case.

When and on what grounds can you complain against a notary?

So, the notary began considering the inheritance case. A situation may arise when the applied heir is dissatisfied with his actions or simply cannot find a common language with him. This most often arises due to the specialist’s demands to collect a huge number of documents, each of which costs the heir a certain amount of money. However, the collection of documents is not always unreasonable. In addition, if you achieve the transfer of the case to another notary, this will not exempt you from collecting and submitting the necessary papers for conducting the inheritance case.

If, however, there are grounds to suspect that the notary is performing notarial acts incorrectly or refuses to perform them, in accordance with Articles 33, 48 and 49 of the “Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries,” you can appeal his actions or inaction in court.

In addition to the complaint itself, it is imperative to prove the illegality of the specialist’s actions. To do this, you will have to attach documents confirming the validity of the complaint. If a notary refuses to perform notarial acts, it is not enough to simply declare this. The refusal must be in writing.

The notary knows that changing it to another is difficult, time consuming and costly. That is why, in the event of a conflict, he will direct the heir to prove the case in court. This is disadvantageous for the heir, as it promises additional expenses and nervous tension, so it is necessary to file a complaint with the court if there are compelling reasons.

To what authorities should I complain?

If one of the heirs is dissatisfied with the work of the notary who is handling the inheritance case, he can be replaced or his actions can be appealed. There are competent authorities on this issue for appeal.

Notary Chamber

The complaint may be submitted to the Chamber of Notaries to which a specific notary is assigned. It is this authority that exercises direct control over specialists in this field. The complaint should be made in the form of a statement in the prescribed form.

To write this application, you must personally appear at the Chamber of Notaries, which is responsible for the activities of the unscrupulous specialist. There you can write an application for transfer of the case.

However, this requires justification of the reason for the complaint and refusal to work.

This authority is the first on the path to appeal the actions of a notary. The Chamber of Notaries has 30 days from the date of receipt of the written complaint to make any decisions and respond to the complainant. If no result is achieved within this period, this body is obliged to provide the applicant with an explanation on his question and indicate the deadline within which a response to the complaint will be submitted.

Based on the results of the application received, the Chamber of Notaries conducts an unscheduled inspection of the activities of the specialist against whom the complaint was received.

Prosecutor's office

You can submit an application and complaint against the actions of a notary to the prosecutor's office if there are doubts about their legality. The prosecutor's office can arrange a check of the specialist's compliance with all laws of the Russian Federation and make an appropriate decision.

Court

If the previous stages did not satisfy the applicant, then he has a way out - going to court. Any action or inaction of a specialist can be appealed in court.

“Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries” in Article 33 established that an appeal to the court can be made to appeal against the actions or inaction of a notary, as well as his refusal to perform actions that are within his competence.

Thus, there are three authorities to which you can file a complaint against the actions or inaction of a notary. This requires strong evidence of the illegality of his activities. As such evidence, documents that can serve as confirmation should be attached to the application.

Without proper legal training, it is extremely difficult to evaluate the actions of a specialist. That is why a complaint against him must be filed in case of absolute certainty that the rights of the heir have been violated.

How to file a complaint?

To file a complaint, you must follow the appropriate form. The complaint is submitted in the form of an application.

Basic requirements for its content:

• at the top right is the name of the authority to which the complaint is filed (the full name of the court or the name of the president of the Chamber of Notaries);
• Full name is written below. the applicant;
• the title of the complaint should reflect the main idea (about the notary’s refusal to perform an action, etc.);
• Next comes the text that directly sets out the essence of the appeal. The text is written in a formal style. It is mandatory to indicate all dates, names, addresses and other data;
• list of applications. This list lists all the documents that are attached to prove the validity of the complaint;
• applicant's signature.

After writing a complaint, you need to make several copies of it. Firstly, you can submit it to several authorities at once. Secondly, even if you submit it only to the court, you must keep one copy, signed by the employee who accepted it.

Thus, a complaint against a notary can be submitted by the interested party to the Chamber of Notaries, the prosecutor's office or the court.

Based on the results of the appeal, the relevant authorities check the work of the notary and make a final decision. The heir must clearly understand that a complaint about the work of a notary will increase his costs and the time of registration of the inheritance.

Where can I complain about a notary and on what legal basis can I file a complaint?

Current legislation gives notaries not only certain powers, but also responsibilities towards citizens.

If notaries violate legal norms or work regulations, a person may file a complaint against him with the supervisory authority.

Reasons

According to the key document that regulates the work of notaries in Russia - the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation “On Notaries”, a person who considers the actions of a notary unlawful or is faced with the inaction of an official has the right to file a complaint against him.

The following may be grounds for appealing against a notary's actions:

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1. Inconsistency of a document that was certified or executed by a notary with the norms of the law.
2. Failure to comply with established deadlines for transferring documents by proxy.
3. Low professionalism of the notary , which resulted in infringement of interests.
4. Neglect of the law regarding the lack of proper registration , permitting documentation, work with illegitimate transactions, etc.
5. Unreasonable refusal to perform duties.
6. Bias (for example, in the process of document reconciliation).
7. Inaction.
8. Loss of important documents.
9. Illegal extortion of funds , demand to pay for unnecessary additional services.
10. Violation of notarial secrecy (for example, disclosure of the contents of a will).
11. Requirement to prepare additional documents that are not required by law.
12. Refusal to calculate the state duty based on the lowest market value , which is presented by the applicant when registering the inheritance.

A complaint can be filed either personally by a citizen whose rights have been violated, or by a lawyer acting on his behalf by proxy.

It is worth considering that if a notary refuses to provide a service, then sometimes his actions are legal. For example, if he was approached by an incapacitated person or a person in a state of intoxication.

Where to contact

According to Art. 33, 49 of the Law “On Notaries” and Art. 310 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a citizen has the right to appeal the actions of a notary in the local notary chamber or in court. Also, a complaint can be sent to the prosecutor’s office, which is a universal organization in terms of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.

State notaries are subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and its regional divisions. Therefore, a complaint against a notary public should be filed here. The complaint is submitted to the regional division of the department; the full list can be found here.

Privately practicing notaries must have membership in the Notary Chamber of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation . This organization operates on the principles of self-government and self-regulation. Among its powers is monitoring the activities of participants.

You need to contact the regional chamber at the notary’s place of work.

According to Art. 34 “Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries”, control over violations of tax legislation is carried out by tax authorities . You should contact this if a notary works without registration, or there is information about his non-payment of taxes (for example, he did not issue a payment document to the client).

The initial conflict that arose with the notary should be resolved pre-trial. First of all, a citizen should contact the notary chamber. Each subject has its own notary chamber. Based on the results of a dissatisfied client's appeal to the notary chamber, the notary may be reprimanded, reprimanded or severely reprimanded.

If the person’s appeal was ignored, or the results of the consideration of the complaint did not satisfy the applicant, then he has the right to complain to the prosecutor’s office about the inaction of the notary chamber.

The final authority where the applicant should turn is the court. The application in court must be considered within 1-2 months.

How to file a complaint

There is no established form of complaint against a notary. When writing a complaint, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

1. It should not contain emotional statements and threats, value judgments and insults . The text of the document must be written in an official business style.
2. The complaint must clearly and concisely set out the circumstances of the incident.
3. The complaint indicates the factual side of what happened , signs of violations that can be proven.
4. It is advisable to provide references to specific legal norms that were violated, or provisions of contracts.

The complaint sequentially sets out the date and reason for contacting the notary (for example, for the purpose of certification or execution of documents, to ensure the safety of documents, when entering into inheritance rights, etc.), and then what norms were violated by the notary during the interaction.

A complaint against a notary must contain the following information:

1. Name of the authority to which it is submitted.
2. Full name of the person making the complaint.
3. Name of the document (for example, “Application for refusal to perform notarial acts”).
4. A description of the actions he committed that violated the applicant’s rights.
5. Full name of the notary who committed the offense.
6. The applicant's demand : for example, to conduct an investigation, bring to justice.
7. Complaint date.
8. Applicant's signature with transcript.

The following are attached to the application:

1. A copy of the applicant's passport .
2. Power of attorney to represent his interests.
3. A copy of the written response from the notary or evidence of failure to respond within the established time frame.
4. Evidence of an offense.

The legislation provides the following methods for submitting a complaint against a notary:

1. When applying in person to the supervisory authority or the court secretariat. In this case, you need to obtain a receipt of receipt of the complaint.
2. By sending a registered letter with a list of attachments or notification of delivery.
3. Using an electronic form , if such a possibility is implemented by the department (for example, the reception of electronic messages in the Ministry of Justice is implemented here).
4. By fax.

Applicants should note that the law sets very short deadlines for filing a complaint against a notary. They amount to only 10 days from the moment he committed an offense in the form of certain actions or inactions, or from the day the person learned of the violation of his rights.

The complaint is registered with the supervisory authority within 3 days.

Based on the results of the complaint received, a notary inspection should be initiated. It takes no more than 30 days, after which the applicant must be provided with an official response with the results of consideration of his complaint. In particularly complex cases, it may take two months to process a complaint.

Thus, if a person has doubts about the level of competence or professionalism of a notary, or the official has directly violated the law, then the citizen has the right to file an appropriate complaint against him.

How to write a collective complaint against neighbors?

In the vast majority of cases, acceptance of an inheritance occurs through a notary office. If during the procedure a conflict situation arises between the notary and the heir that cannot be resolved peacefully, you should file a complaint and submit it to one of the authorized authorities.

In this article we will answer the following questions: who is a notary and what are his professional responsibilities? What can become a basis for appealing against the actions of a notary? Where should I go for this? How to draw up such a document correctly? Read in this article.

Who is he, responsibilities

A notary is an official whose powers include conducting inheritance affairs, which means attesting to the accuracy of photocopies of documents and the authenticity of signatures, certifying documents, storing them and transferring them into the hands of the heirs.

The distribution of inheritance cases is carried out according to the following criteria:

• by area. If the property of the deceased testator belongs to the estate of a specific notary, then he is in charge of the inheritance business after the death of this person;
• by last name. In addition to division by sections, due to their congestion, the distribution of cases between notaries is carried out according to the principle of the first letter of the surname of the deceased testator;
• at the address where most of the inheritance is located;
• an independent notary who can handle any inheritance matters (provided that the city in which he works is part of the state program “Inheritance Without Borders.”

Grounds for appeal

The most common reasons for filing a complaint against a notary are the following:

• the notary officer requires the heirs to collect an impressive list of documents, for the receipt of which they will have to pay an impressive amount of money;
• the notary, for unknown reasons, delays the procedure for receiving an inheritance;
• by his actions, the notary demonstrates a disrespectful attitude towards the client (is rude, raises his voice, uses physical force);
• the notary does not comply with the procedure for transferring inheritance established at the legislative level;
• the notary completely refuses to conduct a specific inheritance case;
• an employee of a notary office commits other actions that contradict the current norms of domestic legislation.

Read about what nuances should be observed when appealing the actions of a notary in the next section.

Important nuances

• Before proceeding with drawing up a complaint against a notary, it is necessary to prepare a sufficient evidence base confirming the illegality of his actions.
• And only after all the facts and circumstances are documented, you can proceed to drawing up a complaint.
• Despite the absence of a legally approved form of complaint against a notary, years of practice in its preparation have developed a certain document template that should be followed when drawing it up.
• It is important to remember that when drawing up a deed of gift for an apartment, you will need a sample that will allow you to draw up a competent deed of gift that complies with all the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Institutions of appeal

If there are sufficiently compelling grounds for filing a complaint against an employee of a notary’s office, the heir may appeal to one of the following authorities:

• Notary Chamber;
• Prosecutor's Office;
• Court.

Let's consider the procedure for contacting each of the listed authorities separately.

Notary Chamber

1. Initially, it is recommended to contact the Chamber of Notaries where a specific notary is registered.
2. To contact this authority, you will need to file a claim in accordance with the established requirements.
3. A sample form, as well as a complaint template, can be found by contacting the Notary Chamber in person, or by downloading the document template below.

 

In addition, the heir may try to transfer the matter to another notary.

To do this, you will also need to draw up an application for the transfer of the inheritance case, and then send it to the notary chamber.

Based on the results of the inspection, the heir must receive a written response from the authority. Upon receiving a complaint against a specific notary, the Chamber of Notaries organizes an unscheduled inspection of his activities.

Prosecutor's office

Contacting this law enforcement agency is advisable in the case when the heir has suspicions regarding the legality (legality) of the actions carried out by the notary.

Just as when applying to the Chamber of Notaries, when applying to the prosecutor's office, you will need to draw up a complaint (in the prescribed form), as well as prepare a list of documentation confirming the facts presented in the application.

Court

It is the last resort for filing a complaint against a notary, which should be kept in mind if all previous ones refused or proposed a solution that does not satisfy the heir’s requirements.

In accordance with Article 33 of the “Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries,” you can go to court in the following cases:

• appealing illegal actions on the part of a law enforcement officer;
• manifestation of partial or complete inaction.

When going to court, the heir will need to draw up a statement of claim for the unlawful actions of the notary, as well as prepare an evidence base (in the form of a list of documents).

Compilation rules

When drawing up a complaint against a notary, you should adhere to the following structural and content features:

• In the “header” of the document (upper right corner) the following is written: the full name of the authority of appeal (or details of the authorized official), the applicant’s data (last name, first name, patronymic);
• The title of the document is “statement on refusal to perform notarial acts”;
• In the main part, the applicant sets out the essence of the application (in a business style). When describing, all information must be conveyed in chronological order, indicating all dates, addresses, participants and other important details;
• The following is a list of applications. In it, the applicant lists all documents confirming the applicant’s correctness and the illegality of the notary’s actions;
• At the very end, the applicant’s personal signature is affixed, as well as the date the document was drawn up.

The law allows filing a complaint against a notary in two instances at once.

Where to complain about a notary for inheritance?

Most often, notaries deal with issues related to the receipt/transfer of inheritance. Often, controversial issues arise between the client (heir) and the notary, which cannot be resolved without outside intervention.

How and where to complain about a notary, read this article.

Notaries and inheritance

Despite the fact that the field of activity of notaries is quite extensive (notarization of transactions, authentication of documents, storage of securities, etc.), the most frequently occupied issue is the registration of inheritance transactions (wills, gift agreements). How to understand which addresses (and inheritance issues) a particular notary is responsible for?

According to the Law, it is customary for notary specialists to assign responsibility for certain areas. Read on to see how this is done:

A section of addresses is determined that is attached to a specific notary;

In the event of the death of the testator on the assigned plot, the notary by default conducts the inheritance procedure between his heirs, even if during his lifetime the testator did not draw up a will or deed of gift.

If there is a state notary office on the site, then it is she who determines the management of the site. If there is no state-type notary office on the site, then a private notary office is in charge of the site.

Distribution of inheritance transactions according to the initials of the deceased;

What does it mean? When notaries are too busy, the areas for which they are responsible are assigned to the letters of the initials of the deceased testator;

According to the location of most of the inherited property;

Example: the testator left behind three apartments, two of which are located in Leninsky, and one in the Zavodsky district. The management of the inheritance will be handled by the notary who is responsible for the Leninsky district, since most of the inheritance is located there.

• If the inheritance of the deceased testator is included in the state program “Inheritance without Borders”, then a notary from any district, region or subject of the Russian Federation can handle its distribution;

From the above it follows that the distribution of the inheritance should be handled by the notary specialist who is responsible for a specific area of ​​addresses. As a rule, this site is a separate area of ​​the city.

Complaint against a notary: in what cases should it be filed?

After the testator has died, the issue of distribution of the inheritance left by him passes to the share of a specific notary. At this stage, the following pitfalls may arise:

• The heir is not satisfied with the way the notary works or the notary himself;
• The heir and the notary cannot agree on key points of distribution of the inheritance;
• For example, a notary specialist requires the heir to provide a list of documents to confirm the right to inheritance, and this is fraught with serious financial investments.
• However, if you have suspicions that the notary’s actions are not entirely lawful, then in accordance with Articles 48, 49 and 33 of the “Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries,” you can complain against the specialist by contacting the court or other authority competent to resolve these issues (for example, the Federal Notary Chamber).
• When filing a complaint with one of the authorized authorities, the heir must collect additional documents that will confirm the illegality of the actions of the notary specialist.

Where to go?

If there is no opportunity to change a notary specialist whose work you are not satisfied with, you can file a complaint against the notary by contacting one of the following authorities:

1. FNP (Federal Chamber of Notaries), which monitors the activities of notarial workers;
2. According to the Law, in order to carry out legal activities, each notary specialist is required to register with the Federal Tax Service.

When contacting this authority, a citizen must fill out a written complaint in the prescribed form. You can download a sample complaint against a notary to the FNP below or receive a form to fill out when contacting the chamber.

The completed complaint must be delivered to the Chamber of Notaries exclusively during personal appearance.

In a complaint against a notary, you must indicate the reason why the complaint is being filed, as well as your requirements - changing the notary to another or checking the legality of the actions of the previous one.

After filing a complaint, it will be considered within thirty days, after which its employees will notify the applicant about the results of the inspection and the resulting decision. The final decision of the Chamber will depend on the stated requirements of the heir and the results of the unscheduled inspection.

1. If the heir believes that not all of the notary’s actions are legal, then he can submit an application to the specified law enforcement agency, which will conduct an audit of the activities of the declared notary specialist on the basis of Russian legislation and then report on its results.
2. If the heir is not satisfied with the results of the inspection carried out by the Chamber of Notaries or the prosecutor's office, then the next instance of appeal will be the court.
3. When applying to the court, the applicant, according to Article 33 of the “Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries,” can complain both about specific actions of the notary, which seem to him unlawful, and about the absence of any actions.
4. Bottom line: if the heir has any complaints about the work of the notary, he can complain to one of three authorities with a request to check the legality of his activities, change one specialist to another, or refuse to provide his services.
5. Read about how to properly file a complaint against a notary in the next section.

How to compose it correctly?

A complaint against a notary must be drawn up according to certain rules and in compliance with the established structure:

• In the “header” of the complaint, which is located in the upper right corner of the A4 page, you must indicate the details of the appeal authority (Federal Notary Chamber, prosecutor's office or court);

The exact details of the selected authority can be found by going to their official website or contacting them in person.

• After this, the details of the applicant (heir) are written down, namely his last name, first name and patronymic;
• Next is the title of the document. It depends on the reason for which the complainant is filing the complaint;

So, if an heir files a complaint due to dissatisfaction with the work of a notary due to its illegality, then the document will be called, for example, like this: “Refusal of the services of a notary due to the illegality of his work.”

• In the main part of the complaint, the applicant is required to provide a detailed, chronologically compiled, reasoned description of the essence of the complaint;
• The descriptive part of the document should not contain strongly expressive expressions, as well as obscene or abusive language.
• The description must contain exact numbers, time, location in which everything happened.
• Everything should be described factually, briefly and concisely.
• After the descriptive part, a list of attached additional materials confirming what is described in the complaint is prescribed;

Such materials may include testimony of witnesses, recordings of conversations from a voice recorder, video recordings, etc.

At the very end, a personal signature and the date of the complaint are affixed;

It is recommended to make several photocopies of the complaint against the notary and the attached materials. If you lose one of them, you will be able to provide a copy.

The original complaint must be drawn up in two copies. In this case, one of them will remain in the hands of the applicant, and the second will be sent to one (or several) regulatory authorities.

Where to complain about a notary

Where to complain about a notary depends on what kind of practice - private or public - he conducts. In this article, the reader will find information about which authorities can appeal against the actions of an unscrupulous notary, how a complaint is drawn up and how it is submitted for consideration.

Grounds for appealing the actions of a notary

In Russia, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph. 3 tbsp. 2 Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries, approved. By Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated February 11, 1993 No. 4462-1, notarial acts can be performed by both public and private notaries.

To certify the authenticity of a copy of a document or to issue a power of attorney, you can contact any notary representative. When resolving issues related to entering into an inheritance, the citizen is not given the right to choose a notary - in this case, work is carried out with a certain specialist who is assigned the case of the deceased.

You can find out how much it costs to notarize a will in this article.

If conflicts and controversial situations arise, it will not be possible to change the specialist, so his actions will have to be appealed. Moreover, you can write a complaint when working with a private notary.

The list of offenses for which such a specialist may be subject to disciplinary liability is given in Chapter. 9 of the Code of Professional Ethics of Notaries in the Russian Federation, approved. Ministry of Justice of Russia 01/19/2016. In particular, the grounds for appeal may be:

• refusal to perform notarial acts;
• violation of confidentiality of information received from the client;
• non-compliance with the rules and procedures for performing notarial acts (for example, deliberately delaying the consideration of the received application);
• imposing additional paid services on the client;
• an increase in the tariff established by the legislator for a certain type of notarial acts;
• refusal to provide benefits provided for by law for notary services.

To whom should I complain about the actions of a notary?

If a notary performs his official duties improperly or refuses to perform them altogether, his actions (inaction) can be appealed by contacting the regulatory authority:

• Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation - if the notary is a state notary. You can file a complaint:
• in person by visiting the territorial department of the department (a full list of departments can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Justice by following the link);
• by sending the document by registered mail with a list of the contents and acknowledgment of delivery;
• via the Internet, using the form for sending requests located on the page.
• Notary Chamber - if the notary is engaged in private practice. The Commission on Professional Ethics of Notaries deals with cases of bringing unscrupulous notaries to disciplinary liability. If the chamber has less than 50 members, the powers of the commission are vested in the board of the notary chamber. Contacts of the desired association can be found on the official website of the Federal Notary Chamber by clicking on the link. A complaint about the actions of a notary to the notary chamber can also be submitted in person, by mail or via the Internet.

How to file a complaint to the notary chamber

In this case, a complaint against a notary is drawn up in free form, provided that it includes the following information:

• name of the authority to which the application is sent;
• applicant data;
• title of the document;
• descriptions of all important aspects of the current situation;
• descriptions of the applicant's requirements;
• list of attached documents.

The complaint ends with the date and signature of the applicant.

Where and how to complain about a notary

I never even thought that someday in my life I would be faced with the problem of finding options on how and where to complain about a notary. And I couldn’t do otherwise, because I think that a notary, as a person authorized by the state, cannot afford a boorish attitude towards his clients.

The determining role in the whole situation was played by the fact that I initially did not know that the notary cannot be changed. That is, if one notary, private or public, has taken up any issue, then in the end he must complete the matter. This applies mainly to such issues as inheritance.

Next, we will figure out where to complain about a notary, and what could be the basis for this.

Actions of unscrupulous notaries

In order to have the right to protect your rights, you need to know which actions of notaries are unlawful or limit the rights and freedoms of citizens. One of the most important points is the fact of what kind of practice the notary is engaged in. In accordance with the law of the Russian Federation, a notary can be a state notary or engage in private practice.

If you need to certify any document, you can contact any notary. No one limits you in this choice. But if we are talking about the process of entering into the right of inheritance, then this should be carried out by one representative of the law. It is the notary to whom the deceased’s case was initially assigned who must bring the matter to its logical conclusion and fulfill the will of the testator.

Understanding these facts, some notaries realize that the heirs will not be able to turn to anyone else except him, since the rest do not have the authority or grounds to carry out manipulations. A complaint can be filed against both a public notary and a private practice.

1. If the authorized person does not perform a notarial act unreasonably.
2. When disclosing information received from the client that is confidential.
3. In case of non-compliance with the procedure or rules of notarial actions.
4. When additional paid services are imposed on the client.
5. In case of unreasonable increases in prices for services.
6. If the notary refuses to provide the client with benefits for paying for notarial services, and the law provides for their availability.

If, when contacting a notary, your rights are violated, then you can always write a complaint to the unscrupulous employee. But not all citizens understand and know exactly who can find justice for him. Let’s figure out where exactly you can go with a complaint about the actions or inaction of a notary.

Where to file a complaint against a notary?

A complaint against a notary should be submitted to regulatory authorities, which will be able to resolve this issue. It is important to know what type of practice the notary does.

State notary

If the notary is a state notary, then you need to file a complaint with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. You don’t even have to go anywhere; you can even submit an application via the Internet. Let's look at ways to file complaints against a public notary:

• Personal visit to a unit of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the address is on the Internet, information about the necessary documents is indicated there;
• With the help of Russian Post, you can send a registered letter with notification to the address of the representative office;
• A special form to be filled out on the Ministry of Justice website.

You can submit an appeal to the regulatory authority in any way convenient for you.

Private practitioner

If a notary is engaged in private practice, then the notary chamber will be his supervisory authority. This is where applications should be submitted. Your application will be considered by a special commission dealing with issues of professional ethics of notaries.

As for the methods of submitting applications, everything is also simple here - you can send a letter or apply through the website of the Federal Notary Chamber. If you don’t even know which department the notary belongs to, then finding him won’t be difficult. =

You can submit a complaint against a notary to the notary chamber by personally contacting them, where they can answer all your questions. You will learn how to write an application to change a notary, if this issue is relevant in this case. A complaint to the notary chamber is considered by a special commission, which must notify the applicant of the decision made.

If, after receiving the results of the verification of the complaint, the applicant is not satisfied with the punishment, then he can appeal to the court or the prosecutor's office. After checking the legality of certain notarial actions, the notary can be punished in accordance with the law and justice will be restored.

Sometimes, when the interests of the heir are infringed, going to court is the only right decision. When filing a complaint, you can simultaneously contact several regulatory authorities, then the result will be more objective.

Conclusion

Let's summarize the conclusions:

1. If the client believes that his rights are being deliberately violated and infringed, then he has the right to apply to the regulatory authorities for restoration of justice. To do this, it is necessary to fully state the essence of the appeal and provide supporting documents.
2. When filing a complaint with the Ministry of Justice, the applicant also has the right to simultaneously submit it to the prosecutor's office or court. In any case, you must keep one copy for yourself in order to have proof that the application was submitted.
3. If the notary is a private person, the main supervisory body for him is the Notary Office, if the representative is a government representative, then contact the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

Where to complain about a notary?

In everyday life you cannot do without turning to the services of a notary. This is certification of contracts, powers of attorney, certification of the authenticity of signatures, accuracy of copies, etc.

The activities of a notary are strictly regulated, therefore the notary is obliged to perform each notarial act in strict accordance with the norms of the law. Any deviations from the established procedure for performing notarial acts (increasing the time frame for performing notarial acts, requiring additional documents) are unacceptable.

Such a refusal is possible if: - the commission of an action is contrary to the law; - the action must be performed by another notary; - an incapacitated citizen or a representative who does not have the necessary powers has applied to perform a notarial act; — the transaction does not comply with the requirements of the law; — documents submitted to perform a notarial act do not comply with legal requirements (for example, they have erasures, unspecified corrections, etc.). In other cases, the notary has no right to refuse to perform notarial acts.

•  A notary, at the request of a person who has been refused to perform a notarial act, must state the reasons for the refusal in writing and explain the procedure for appealing it.
•  The possibility of appealing the actions of notaries is the most important guarantee of ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of citizens and legal entities.
•  Refusal to perform a notarial act or incorrect performance of a notarial act is appealed in court.
•  Appeals against the actions of a notary in court occur in the manner established by the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

To submit an application to the court, you must provide evidence of the commission or refusal to perform a notarial act. The complaint should be filed with the court at the location of the notary who performed or refused to perform the notarial act.

The application must be accompanied by the necessary documents indicating that the notary has committed actions that do not comply with the law, or a written refusal of the notary.

If the notary does not give the applicant a written refusal to make an oral appeal, then the applicant must contact the notary with a written statement.

By its decision, the court can cancel the notarial act performed if it is incorrect, oblige the notary to perform the notarial act, or refuse to satisfy the complaint against it. The court decision is binding on notaries.

In accordance with current legislation, control over the performance of professional duties by notaries engaged in private practice is carried out by notary chambers.

Therefore, an interested person has the right to appeal to the notary chamber of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation with a complaint about the actions of a notary. The territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation are not vested with the authority to consider complaints against the actions of notaries engaged in private practice.

In this regard, complaints about the actions of notaries received by the Main Directorate are sent for consideration to the Notary Chamber of the Stavropol Territory.

Based on the results of an inspection carried out by the notary chamber, a notary may be subject to disciplinary liability for violating the law when performing notarial acts or refusing to perform them.