Online notarial activity in Russia exceeded 730,000 actions during January–August 2024, according to Federal Notary Chamber figures reported by Interfax on 8 September. The total was 47% higher than in the corresponding period of 2023. Online requests for property-register information increased seventeenfold.
A growing channel, not a replacement for every appointment
The figures measure completed actions rather than unique customers. They cover eight months, not a full year, and do not establish how much time or money individual applicants saved. A large increase in one service also should not be read as the growth rate of the entire notarial market.
Earlier reporting by the Notary Chamber of the Republic of Mari El, dated 24 April, put first-quarter remote actions above 250,000, or 1.7 times the previous year's comparable figure. It distinguished fully remote services from transactions involving separate notaries: in the latter arrangement, each party still visits a notary, although the parties need not meet each other.
What the digital channel covered
At the September reporting date, the chamber described a menu of 13 online actions. Its April account included the following examples:
- Preserving evidence found on the internet.
- Certifying the accuracy of a translation.
- Storing electronic documents or transmitting them to another recipient.
The reported scope excluded actions requiring an assessment of the applicant's actual intent. Thus, growth in online usage did not mean that every procedure could be completed without attending an office.
The recipient matters as well as the sender
In a separate 2 May report by Expert, the chamber identified acceptance of electronic documents by public bodies as a development priority. Creating a valid digital document is only one part of the process; the intended recipient must also be able to receive it electronically.
That distinction explains why transaction counts alone are an incomplete measure of a digital service. A useful assessment would separately examine access to the service, completion of the notarial action and acceptance of the resulting document. The September figures demonstrate rising use of the channel, without measuring all three stages.
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