Chamber obliges notaries to offer unified online service by the end of 2023

The Chamber of Deputies approved this Thursday (5) a provisional measure that obliges notaries to create a unified platform to offer the population digital services by the end of 2023, when the deadline for implementing the Serp (Electronic Public Records System) ends. ).

The provisional measure also determines that notaries must accept credit and debit cards as a means of payment.

The basic text was approved by 259 to 64. The deputies rejected suggestions for modifying the MP, which now goes to the Senate. The text needs to be voted on by June 1st so it doesn’t lose its validity.

According to the Secretariat of Economic Policy, the purpose of the provisional measure is to speed up the lives of people and companies that, today, are required to be present or to be represented in person in the more than 13 thousand registry offices in the country.

The MP creates Serp, which aims to digitize the acts and procedures of notary services so the population can access them on the internet. There is no deadline for this to happen.

Through the system it will also be possible to send and receive documents and titles, issue certificates and provide information electronically. The text creates a national central of records of titles and public documents, which will keep the data of acts practiced throughout the country.

The MP provides that the system will be operated nationally by a non-profit legal entity — a foundation or association, for example. It will be funded by a fund fed by contributions paid by notaries.

In addition, it establishes maximum deadlines, calculated in working days, for notaries to provide their services. It also regulates the possibility of digital signatures and does not require the recognition of a signature for the registration of titles and documents.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the measure can facilitate the registration of real estate, in addition to birth or marriage certificates, among other acts that today depend on face-to-face service.

The text also updates the law dealing with real estate incorporation, reducing the cost of the process. Currently, a worker who buys a property needs to go to the notary’s office to draw up a deed and then go to the property registry office to formalize the document. If the property is financed, the route must be repeated when the debt is paid off.

With the new system, citizens will be able to do everything without leaving home, according to the government. Access will be allowed through electronic signatures or by registrations already made on the gov.br platform.

Serp will also allow parents of a newborn to register the child directly from the hospital or from their home, without having to go to the civil registry office.

Although the MP sets the maximum period for implementing the electronic system, the work schedule and the details of each stage will still be regulated by the CNJ (National Council of Justice).

Notaries that do not want to join Serp will need to adopt their own infrastructure that communicates with the system and, consequently, with other notaries. Interconnection will be mandatory.

The determination for notaries to carry out their acts electronically already existed in law, but, due to the absence of detailed criteria and regulation, it was not applied, according to the government.

The Chamber also extended the term of the special customs regime for the export of drawback for one year, with exemption, reduction to 0% or suspension of taxes. The MP goes to the Senate.

In addition, it approved a project that creates a career plan and positions for public defenders of the Union. The text creates 410 DPU analyst positions and 401 public defender technical positions. The bill was approved by 294 votes to 10 and was sent to the Senate.