Nine percent fewer deeds in 2023

In 2023, all notaries in the Netherlands executed a total of 1,734,812 deeds. This is a decrease of 9 percent compared to 2022 and the lowest number in the past five years.

The decline in the total number of deeds (pdf) is largely due to mortgage deeds and real estate transfers. This trend was already visible in 2022 and continued in 2023. The number of mortgage deeds decreased by a whopping 33 percent last year; the number of transfer deeds fell by 16 percent.

Family law
More and more people are making wills. In 2023, there were 343,221, a 7 percent increase. Furthermore, 219,695 people signed a living will at a notary's office, a 15 percent increase.

Corporate law
In total, more than 201,000 deeds were passed in corporate law practice last year, 3 percent more than in 2022.

Final sprint
December (pdf) traditionally saw the highest number of deeds: over 205,000. That's 8 percent fewer than in the last month of 2022.