If a notary makes a mistake, can I claim damages from them?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes. A notary is liable for damage caused through wilful misconduct, through fault or through not knowing what a notary ought to know. If the mistake can be put right with a new deed, the notary must draw it up at their own expense. If you signed the deed, you have five years to claim against the notary, in Catalonia too, because in 2026 the “Tribunal Supremo”, Spain's Supreme Court, held that the Spanish Civil Code (“Código Civil”) applies, not the ten years of the “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code. Notaries have compulsory liability insurance and you can claim directly against the insurer. When the notary is liable For mistakes in drafting the deed, for example in the description of the property. For failing to check what they should have checked, such as the identity or capacity of the person signing. For failing to warn you of a risk they should have known about, such as charges or debts on a flat. What the parties declare before the notary is their own responsibility. In principle the notary is not liable, unless they should have checked it or warned you of the risk. This is a matter for debate in each case. The time limit, in Catalonia too Supreme Court judgment 506/2026 of 7 April decided the case of a buyer who, in Tortosa in 2006, signed the purchase of a home with a mortgage she was taking over. The developer selling it declared in the deed a mortgage debt of 44.000 euros which in fact amounted to 82.250 euros. Her heirs claimed against the notary for not checking it. The court of first instance and the “Audiencia Provincial”, the provincial appeal court, held that the claim was time-barred, because they applied the ten years of the Catalan Civil Code counted from the date of the deed. The Supreme Court corrected that approach. A notary's liability is linked to the regulation of deeds and other public documents, which falls within the exclusive powers of the State. That is why the time limit for claiming against a notary must be the same throughout Spain and is governed by the Spanish Civil Code, not the Catalan one, which continues to apply to contracts in general. The time limit under the Spanish Civil Code is five years from when the claim can be brought. In that case, because of the date of the deed, the transitional rules of the 2015 reform had to be applied and the Supreme Court rejected the argument that the claim was time-barred. It did not go as far as deciding whether the notary had acted wrongly and sent the case back for that question to be decided. The prudent course is to count the five years from the signing of the deed and, if the mistake is discovered later, to claim as soon as it comes to light. If you are the injured party and you did not sign the document, for example because the notary made a mistake in a will that benefited you, the time limit may be shorter, so make a written claim within the first year. Heirs claiming for the harm suffered by the person who signed, as in the Supreme Court case, in principle have the same five years. How to claim Ask for a copy of the deed and gather the documents showing the mistake and what it has cost you. Make a written claim against the notary and their insurer. Notaries' insurance is compulsory and is taken out collectively by the “Consejo General del Notariado”, the General Council of Spanish Notaries. A written claim interrupts the time limit. You can also write to the “Junta Directiva del Colegio Notarial”, the governing board of the regional notaries' association, which can propose an amount by way of compensation. Going to it is voluntary and you are not obliged to accept the proposal. If you do so, send your claim to the notary anyway. Before suing, you must try to negotiate, as the law has required since 2025.