The path to becoming a notary in France has changed recently, and many online guides still describe the old system, with its university route and its professional route. Since the reform introduced by decree no. 2022-1298 of 7 October 2022, these two routes have merged into a single diploma: the higher diploma in notarial studies, or DESN.
This article goes through the path in order: the profession itself, the master’s degree, the training at the Institut national des formations notariales (INFN), the traineeship in a notarial office, then career options after the diploma. It ends with the CV of a future notary, which follows different conventions from those of law firms.
The notary’s job in a few words
A French notary is a public and ministerial officer. Appointed by the Minister of Justice, they give authenticity to the deeds they receive: a notarial deed has a certain date, enhanced evidential value and enforceability, which means it can be enforced without going to court. This delegation of public authority explains the profession’s specific rules: regulated fees for most deeds, a duty to advise, anti-money-laundering obligations, supervised accounts.
The work divides into three main areas, which are reflected in the training:
- family and estate law: marriage contracts, gifts, wills, successions, liquidation of matrimonial property regimes;
- real estate law: sales, loans, co-ownership, property development deeds;
- business law: sales of businesses, non-trading companies, business transfers.
The Onisep notary job profile 🔗 gives an overview of the profession and its working conditions.
The university route: bachelor’s and master’s
The path starts with a bachelor’s degree in law (licence), then a master’s in law. It is the master’s that determines what comes next.
- A master’s in notarial law approved by the INFN gives automatic access to the training that prepares for the DESN. It is the most direct route.
- Another master’s in law (or a degree considered equivalent) also allows you to apply, but admission then depends on selection by a national committee.
Master’s programmes in notarial law combine courses in family estate law, real estate law and taxation, talks by practitioners and a compulsory placement in a notarial office. For example, the master’s track in notarial law at Université Côte d’Azur 🔗 requires, outside work-study, a placement of at least two months exclusively in a notarial office, followed by a professional dissertation defended by the student.
If you are still unsure about your master’s, the article which master 2 in law to choose for the career you want compares the tracks, including notarial law.
The other routes and the INFN
The DESN, now the common route
According to the INFN’s presentation of the DESN 🔗, the training lasts twenty-four months, carried out as work-study, during which the student holds the title of trainee notary (notaire stagiaire) in a notarial office. It is provided by the INFN and by the universities that have signed an agreement with it.
The programme, set by an order of 5 July 2023, is organised as follows:
- a preparatory module for those who need it, covering the essentials of the law of obligations, family law, real estate law and business law;
- a first period devoted to the notary as public and ministerial officer: the authentic deed, professional ethics, liability, notarial accounting, anti-money laundering;
- a second period, the longest, devoted to the notary as legal expert, with deed-drafting modules in family law, real estate and rural law, and business law;
- a third period devoted to the notary as entrepreneur: appointment and setting up, office strategy, management, and a foreign language module.
An optional gap period is possible between the second and third periods. The diploma is awarded after passing all periods, completing the full traineeship and defending an internship report or a dissertation.
The former routes
The INFN states that the former notary diploma via the professional route and the former higher notarial diploma via the university route are no longer open to new students. Students already enrolled are completing their course. If you read a guide that still distinguishes between these two routes, it predates the reform.
Notarial staff careers
The INFN also trains notarial office staff: a BTS for notarial legal assistants, a professional bachelor’s in notarial professions, a diploma in notarial professions. These programmes lead to roles as notarial clerk, deed drafter or formalities officer, not to the functions of notary. They form a real career, presented in the pre-filled notarial clerk CV.
The traineeship in a notarial office: what you learn
The traineeship is not an add-on: it is a condition for obtaining the DESN. The INFN stresses a practical point that is often underestimated: the traineeship cannot start before the training, it begins at the same time, in November or January depending on the teaching site. You therefore need to have found your office before the start of the course, and to start looking early.
According to the INFN, two types of employment are possible: a professionalisation contract, in principle reserved for people under 26, or an ordinary employment contract (fixed-term or permanent) with a three-party training agreement.
Day to day, a trainee notary learns to:
- prepare and draft deeds under the supervision of a notary: preliminary sale agreements and deeds of sale, estate declarations, gifts, company deeds;
- handle a file from start to finish: collecting documents, mortgage searches, planning checks, calculating duties, post-signature formalities;
- meet clients and explain the consequences of a deed to them, which is the heart of the duty to advise;
- work with other parties: estate agents, banks, surveyors, lawyers, the tax authorities.
The choice of office matters. A rural or medium-sized office gives exposure to everything; a large urban office often organises work by department (family, real estate, business). The pre-filled real estate lawyer CV shows skills close to those of a notarial real estate department.
After the diploma: career options
According to the INFN, the holder of the DESN can become an assistant notary, salaried notary, partner notary or holder of their own office.
- Assistant notary: the graduate works in an office without having been appointed. They prepare and draft deeds, but a notary in office signs them.
- Salaried notary: appointed by order of the Minister of Justice, they are a public officer and sign deeds, while remaining an employee of the office.
- Partner notary: they acquire shares in a professional company that holds an office.
- Office holder: by buying an existing office or by applying for a newly created office in a free-establishment zone, under the procedure set by the public authorities.
Other graduates choose to use their training elsewhere: legal departments of real estate groups, private banks, wealth management, tax administration.
The CV of a future notary
Recruitment as a trainee notary is often done through speculative applications and networking, with a notary who will host you for two years. Your CV must reassure them on three points.
Your orientation is genuine. Highlight the master’s in notarial law, its INFN approval, and above all the placements already completed in notarial offices. A line such as “two-month placement in a rural notarial office, preparation of estate declarations and preliminary sale agreements” is worth more than a list of courses.
You know the three areas. Group your skills by area (family and estate, real estate, business) and cite the deeds you have already prepared, even in a supporting role.
You master the tools. Deed-drafting software, duty calculation tools, legal databases: cite the ones you used during placements.
Compare:
- Before: “Good knowledge of succession law.”
- After: “Preparation of estate declarations and notoriety deeds in support of a notary, calculation of duties and follow-up of formalities with the tax offices.”
The pre-filled notary CV shows the expected presentation once in post, and the article first CV for a law student helps you build one during your bachelor’s or M1. To format it, the AvocatCV builder takes care of presentation and produces a clean PDF that screening software can read: all you have left to do is choose the deeds and placements that matter.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to become a notary?
Count a bachelor’s and a master’s in law, then the twenty-four months of DESN work-study training, plus the preparation and defence of an internship report or dissertation. An optional gap period can lengthen the path.
Can I become a notary with a master’s in business law?
Yes, the INFN accepts holders of another master’s in law, but admission is then subject to selection by a national committee, whereas it is automatic with an approved master’s in notarial law.
Is a trainee notary paid?
Yes, they are an employee of the office for the whole traineeship, under a professionalisation contract or an ordinary employment contract. The amount depends on the contract and on the notarial collective agreement.
Do you have to buy an office to practise?
No. A graduate can practise as a salaried or assistant notary without acquiring an office. Becoming a partner or setting up are possible steps, not obligations.