What are escribano (notary) fees in Argentina?

Last verified: 27 Oct 2026 · Status: Changing

Short answer. No official tariff of notary fees was found in force. In Buenos Aires City (CABA) the fee is agreed with the escribano and VAT of 21% is added on top. A property deed also carries stamp tax of 2.7% or 3.5%, which the notary collects, and a registry fee of 1 per mil of the price plus fixed charges.

As of 26 Oct 2026. Rules in force at that date.

Key rules

What the escribano does. Deeds (escrituras públicas) and notarial certificates are public instruments (CCyC art. 289), drawn up in the notary's protocol (art. 299). Contracts over real rights in land require a deed (art. 1017(a)). A power must take the form of the act it authorises (art. 363), so a power to sign a property deed is itself a deed. For companies, notaries certify signatures and copies (Law 404 arts. 96 to 103).

How fees are set. This point is contested.

CABA Law 404 art. 25 says notarial fees "shall be determined by law". The Colegio de Escribanos proposes the fee scales (art. 124(f)) and must provide minimum fees for low value acts of pensioners and people of scarce means (art. 124(aa)). No CABA fee law was found in SAIJ or Infoleg searches on 26 Oct 2026 (unconfirmed).
Federal DNU 2284/1991 art. 8 removed the public order status of all professional fee scales. Art. 11 bars any public or private body from preventing parties from agreeing fees that depart from a scale. Law 404 was passed in 2000, after the decree. Whether a City law can bring back a binding notarial scale is an open question (unconfirmed).
In practice the fee is negotiated. Get a written quote first.
VAT of 21% applies to independent services (VAT Law arts. 3(e)(21), 28).

Who chooses, and who pays. In a cash sale, or one where no more than 20% of the price is deferred, the buyer chooses the notary (Law 404 art. 27(b)). For acts not listed in art. 27, the right to choose goes to "whoever pays the fees" (art. 27(g)). No source says the buyer pays the notary. That is market custom (unconfirmed).

What is bundled into a CABA purchase deed.

Stamp tax. The base is the highest of the price, the fiscal value (VFH) and AGIP's reference value (VIR) (CABA Tax Code T.O. 2026 art. 325). The rate is 3.5%, or 2.7% if that highest value is ARS 226,100,000 or less (Law 6.927 Annex art. 34). All parties are jointly liable (Code art. 357). The notary collects the tax (art. 362). The 50/50 split is custom, not law (unconfirmed).
Registry fee. The national Property Registry for CABA charges 1 per mil of the price (Decree 1487/1986 art. 2, as replaced by Decree 902/2024). Law 17.050 contributions are added on top. From 3 Aug 2026 they are priced in modules of ARS 300: 50 for the registration form, 40 for a title certificate and 10 for an inhibition certificate (Disposición DGRPICF 6/2026 arts. 1, 8 and Annex I).
Apostille. For a notarial document going abroad, the Foreign Ministry apostilles digitally signed documents on TAD for ARS 4,500. The average is 30 business days (service page). The CABA Colegio can also apostille (Law 404 art. 124(h)).

What changes the answer

Price near the threshold. At US$144,574.46 or less (ARS 226,100,000), the stamp rate falls to 2.7% on the whole base.
Buyer's only home. A single, family, permanent home that is each buyer's only property is exempt up to ARS 226,100,000. Above that, tax is due on the excess (Code art. 365(1); Annex art. 37). Here that leaves 8,485,000 × 3.5% = ARS 296,975 (US$189.89), if the excess is taxed at 3.5% (unconfirmed). The exemption may cover only the buyer's share (art. 358) (unconfirmed).
Province. These rules are for CABA only. Buenos Aires Province has its own notarial law, stamp tax and registry fees.
Urgent registry service. This costs 100 extra modules (ARS 30,000) per form (Annex I).

Worked examples

A non resident buys a CABA flat for US$150,000, cash. The price is assumed to be the highest of price, VFH and VIR. Before flying home, the buyer gives a local agent a power by deed to sign. Pesos are converted at dólar MEP ARS 1,563.90 per US$ on 23 Oct 2026, the rate given in some secondary summaries for this guide (unconfirmed) (/data/mep/).

Item	Time	Cost ARS	Cost USD
Power of attorney by deed, notary fee (assumption) + 21% VAT	Same day (unconfirmed)	181,500.00	116.06
Registry certificates: title (40 modules), inhibition for 2 persons (10 each, assumed count)	Before the deed (unconfirmed)	18,000.00	11.51
Notary fee on the deed (assumed 1% of price, not sourced)	At signing	2,345,850.00	1,500.00
VAT on notary fee, 21%	At signing	492,628.50	315.00
Stamp tax, buyer's customary half of 3.5%	Notary pays by the 10th of next month (unconfirmed)	4,105,237.50	2,625.00
Registry fee 1 per mil + registration form (50 modules)	At filing	249,585.00	159.59
Buyer total		7,392,801.00	4,727.16

Price: 150,000 × 1,563.90 = ARS 234,585,000.
Stamp tax: the base exceeds ARS 226,100,000, so 3.5% applies to all of it: ARS 8,210,475 (US$5,250). Buyer's half: ARS 4,105,237.50.
Registry fee: 234,585,000 / 1,000 = ARS 234,585. Form: 50 × 300 = 15,000. Certificates: (40 + 10 + 10) × 300 = 18,000.
Notary: 1% × 234,585,000 = 2,345,850, plus VAT of 492,628.50. The power is assumed at ARS 150,000 plus VAT of 31,500.

Cost to do it: about ARS 7.39 million (US$4,727, about 3.2% of price) for the buyer, on top of the price. No capital requirement. Allow weeks, not months, from instruction to deed (unconfirmed). Only the stamp tax, registry, VAT and module figures come from sources.

Practical traps

Quotes without VAT. Ask whether 21% VAT and certificates are included.
A power that is too weak. A private letter with a certified signature does not authorise signing a deed (CCyC art. 363). A power signed abroad also needs an apostille or consular legalisation and a sworn translation (unconfirmed).
The VIR, not the price, may set the tax. Stamp tax follows the highest of price, VFH and VIR (art. 325).

FAQ

Is there an official notary fee schedule in Buenos Aires? None was found in force in official sources. Law 404 says fees are set by law, but federal DNU 2284/1991 freed professional fees from binding scales. Fees are agreed in practice.

Does a power of attorney pay stamp tax? CABA stamp tax applies to onerous acts (Code art. 300). A free power is outside it on that reading (unconfirmed).

Can I use any notary in Argentina for a CABA deed? The parties may choose freely (Law 404 art. 26), but a CABA registry notary has competence within the City (art. 24).

Published 27 Oct 2026 from our research draft. Points marked (unconfirmed) have not yet been checked against the official text; rely on the primary sources linked below.