Notaries Will Check if the Principal is Aalive: The Ministry of Justice Changed the Procedure for Certifying Transactions

By order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, dated 5 June 2026, No. 1483/5, 'Amendments to certain regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine' were approved. The document, in particular, introduced changes to the 'Procedure for performing notarial acts by notaries of Ukraine', which was approved by the Ministry of Justice order dated 22 February 2012, No. 296/5.

The main purpose of these changes is to improve the procedure for performing notarial acts involving a representative and to ensure verification of the validity of the powers on the basis of which these acts are performed.

The issue of verifying a representative's powers is of significant practical importance. According to Article 248 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, representation by power of attorney terminates, in particular, upon the death of the person who issued the power of attorney. In this regard, the Ministry of Justice order introduced an obligation for notaries to verify the absence of such an event, using data from the State Register of Civil Status Acts of Citizens, before performing notarial acts that involve a representative.

Essence of the changes

One of the key innovations of the order was the addition of new obligations for notaries to paragraph 4 of chapter 4 of section I of the 'Procedure for performing notarial acts' when performing acts that involve a representative.

As before, the notary must establish the representative's identity, verify their legal capacity, and confirm the scope of the powers granted. However, it is now mandatory to ascertain whether the power of attorney has ceased due to the death of the natural person principal or the termination of the legal entity that issued it.

For this purpose, the notary conducts the verification by direct access to the relevant state registers. If the principal is a natural person, the check is carried out using information from the State Register of Civil Status Acts of Citizens. If the principal is a legal entity, the notary verifies the information in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Formations.

Thus, verifying the absence of the principal's death or the termination of the legal entity principal becomes a mandatory stage in certifying transactions and other notarial acts involving a representative.

Key provisions of the document

The order stipulates that when certifying transactions and performing other notarial acts involving an authorised representative, the notary must:

— establish their identity in accordance with the requirements of Article 43 of the Law, as well as verify their legal capacity and the scope of powers granted to them;

— verify the absence of the death of the principal — a natural person — by directly accessing information from the State Register of Civil Status Acts of Citizens;

— verify the absence of the termination of the principal — a legal entity registered in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine — by directly accessing information from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Formations.

Therefore, the order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine clarifies the procedure for verifying a representative's powers when performing notarial acts. Notaries are now obliged to verify the death of a natural person principal and the termination of a legal entity principal using data from the relevant state registers.

This innovation changes the procedure for certifying transactions and other notarial acts by power of attorney and aims to ensure that they are performed only when valid representative powers exist.

Read additionally why selling a house will become easier: The Ministry of Justice excluded a controversial provision from the 'Procedure for performing notarial acts'.

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