Notary fees in Morocco: who pays what when buying property?

The deed writer advances and forwards most of these costs on your behalf. Their own fee is only one line among several.

1. « Notary fees »: a misleading shorthand

The first thing to understand is that notary fees are not, for the most part, the notary's money. The person drafting the deed — a notary or an adoul — collects and forwards, on your behalf, several duties and charges owed to the State and to the land registry. On your final statement, their own fee represents only a fraction of the total.

Concretely, the statement mixes items of very different natures: duties set by regulation, registry costs, stamp duty, disbursements advanced on your behalf, and the drafter's fee. Going through them one by one is the only way to understand who pays what — and where any room for manoeuvre sits.

2. Registration duties: the main item

By far the heaviest line. Registration duties are collected when the sale deed is registered, and in practice they fall on the buyer. The applicable rate depends on the nature of the property: a built residential property is not treated the same way as commercial premises or undeveloped land, and specific regimes exist in some cases, notably for social housing.

Because rates and minimum charges change with the finance legislation in force, confirm the exact rate for your transaction with your notary or a tax adviser rather than relying on a figure read online — including this one.

3. Land registry entry with ANCFCC

Once the deed is signed, the transfer has to be entered with ANCFCC, the national agency for land registry, cadastre and cartography. Until that entry is made, the title is not updated in your name — which makes this a step you cannot treat as administrative housekeeping. It is what turns a signed deed into recorded ownership.

Alongside the entry itself, you will normally want the property ownership certificate: the document that evidences your updated title, obtained from ANCFCC.

4. Stamp duty and disbursements

Stamp duty applies to the deeds and official documents of the transaction. Its amount follows the regulations in force and is generally folded into the statement your notary or adoul presents. It is a second-order item next to registration and registry costs, but it is part of the total.

Next to stamp duty, the statement also carries disbursements: sums the drafter advances on your behalf — obtaining certificates, official extracts, administrative formalities. These are pass-through costs, not remuneration, and they should appear as such.

5. The drafter's own fee

Finally, the fee proper — the remuneration of the notary or adoul for drafting the deed, checking the title situation, handling the formalities and carrying the responsibility that goes with them. It is the smallest of the major lines, and the only one where a conversation is genuinely possible, particularly on larger transactions.

Ask for a written statement before signing, item by item. A drafter who sets out the breakdown without hesitation is telling you something useful about how they work.

6. What all of it is calculated on — and why under-declaring backfires

Nearly every line is calculated on the declared price, which is meant to reflect the property's market value. This is why an under-declared price is a false economy on two counts.

First, it exposes the buyer. Second, and this is the part people forget, it lowers the acquisition value on record — the reference figure that will be used when you sell the property on. What is saved at the entrance is often paid back, with interest, at the exit.

Establishing the property's real value before you declare a price is therefore not just about negotiating well. It is about entering the transaction on a figure you can stand behind.

7. Budgeting the purchase properly

When you build your budget, count the price of the property and then a distinct envelope for the costs above. Buyers who plan only for the price and the deposit are the ones caught short a week before signing.

Our valuations are produced by RICS-certified experts: a visit, an analysis of the comparables in the sector, quantified adjustments and a written report you can put on the table. Fees start at 3,500 MAD excl. tax.