Practical guides
Understand the process before your appointment
Plain-language overviews of the most common notarial matters in Mauritius,
with the documents normally required. Not sure which applies to you?
Use the guided assistant.
Selling or buying immovable property
A sale of immovable property in Mauritius is completed by a notarial deed of sale, registered and
transcribed with the Registrar-General. The notary verifies the parties' identity and capacity, the
vendor's title and the origin of ownership, existing charges, and the description of the land —
usually supported by a sworn land surveyor's report — before drawing the deed.
Documents commonly required: national identity cards or passports of all parties
(and BRN for a company); the title deed and its transcription references; the surveyor's report and
site plan; evidence of any mortgage or fixed charge and how it will be released; the bank's loan
offer where financing applies; and civil-status documents where the matrimonial regime affects the
sale. Costs typically include registration duty (buyer), land transfer tax (seller),
notarial fees, and search and registration charges — see the
cost estimator.
Succession and inheritance
When a person dies, their heirs are established and the estate's assets are identified before any
property can be transferred or sold. Where there is no will, the law determines the heirs; an
affidavit of succession, sworn by persons who knew the deceased, records the death, the heirs and
their shares. The notary then handles the searches, declarations and transfer steps that follow.
Documents commonly required: the death certificate; birth and marriage certificates
establishing the family links; identity documents of the heirs; the will, if any; title deeds of
immovable property; and, where heirs or documents are abroad, legalised or apostilled foreign
civil-status documents with translations.
Power of attorney
A power of attorney (procuration) lets a person you trust act in your name — generally for all your
affairs, or specially for one defined act such as signing a deed of sale. It is particularly useful
when a party lives outside Mauritius or cannot attend the signature. Discuss with your notary the
scope, the duration, the safeguards, and how and when it can be revoked.
Documents commonly required: identity documents of the principal and the attorney,
and the details of the act to be performed. A power signed abroad usually needs legalisation or an
apostille to be used in Mauritius.
Donation and family transfers
Property can be transferred between family members by donation or other family arrangements. These
deeds interact with reserved-heirship rules and with duty exemptions or reductions that may apply
between close relatives, so the structure should be discussed with the notary before any commitment.
Documents commonly required: identity and civil-status documents establishing the
family relationship, the title deed of the property, and the surveyor's report where required.
Company and secured transactions
Companies buy, sell and charge property through notarial instruments too: deeds of sale with a
company as vendor or purchaser, fixed charges securing bank facilities, and the erasure of charges
once repaid. Corporate authority — board resolutions, the signatory's power, and beneficial-ownership
declarations — is verified alongside the usual title checks.
Documents commonly required: certificate of incorporation and BRN, board resolution
authorising the transaction and the signatory, identity documents of the signatory and beneficial
owners, the title deed, and the facility or loan documents for charge-related instruments.
