Notary services

Minijust Services

1. CATEGORIES OF NOTARIES

Notaries shall be classified into the following categories:

Civil servant in charge of the office of notary in the Ministry;
The Ambassador or the First Secretary of Embassy in the absence of the Ambassador;
An officer in charge of the office of notary in the Government Service in charge of investment promotion;
A District officer in charge of legal affairs;
A District officer at the Sector level in charge of complaints from the Public;
The following officers in charge of land -related matters:
- Registrar of Land Titles;
- Deputy Registrar of Land Titles and an officer in charge of land registration and legal affairs within the land registration area in the absence of the Deputy Registrar;
- Head of the land office at the District level;
- Officer in charge of land at the Sector level;
Any other private person authorized by the Minister.

2. REQUIREMENTS FOR WHOEVER WISHES TO BE A PRIVATE NOTARY

Whoever wishes to practice as a private notary must satisfy the following requirements:

To be a Rwandan national;
To be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
To hold at least a bachelor’s degree in Law or its equivalent;
Not having been definitively sentenced to a term of imprisonment equal to or exceeding six months, unless such a conviction has been expunged as a result of amnesty or rehabilitation;
Not having been removed from office within the public service or private sector as a result of disciplinary breaches unless he or she has been rehabilitated;
To have at least three years of professional experience in the field of Law;
To be a person of integrity”.

3. INCOMPATIBILITIES WITH THE OFFICE OF NOTARY

The notary shall not be allowed to practice the following offices:

Judge;
Prosecutor;
Court bailiff;
Court registrar;
Any other public or private office unless he/she is empowered to do so by the Minister.

More details can be found in the law N^o 017/2023 of 30/03/2023 amending the law N^o 13bis/2014 of 21/05/2014 governing the Office of Notary and in Ministerial Order nº 002/MOJ/AG/23 of 22/06/2023 determining modalities to practice the office of notary by private persons and modalities to provide notarial services by electronic means

4. LIST OF PRIVATE NOTARIES