The escritura signing is the only Spanish property meeting most foreign buyers will ever attend in person. It runs 60 to 90 minutes. The notary reads the document aloud in Spanish, the price is reconciled in real time, the keys move across the table, and somewhere in minute 45 a notarial withholding for AJD or ITP transfer tax is calculated. Buyers who treat it as a formality miss the three or four moments where the deal can still collapse.
The escritura pública de compraventa is the notarial public deed signed at a Spanish notaría that legally transfers ownership of the property. Meeting duration: 60–90 minutes (longer for off-plan, branded residences, or mortgage drawdowns). All parties must be present in person or via valid Spanish power of attorney — there is no remote-Zoom alternative in Spanish property law. The notary reads the entire deed aloud in Spanish; sworn-translator interpretation is mandatory if the buyer does not certify Spanish fluency. Notarial fees are calculated by the Arancel Notarial (Real Decreto 1426/1989, updated) and range €600–2,500 depending on property value. The notary withholds AJD or ITP at signing for new-build versus resale, and the deed is submitted to the Registro de la Propiedad de Marbella for inscription within 4–12 weeks. See our closing checklist for the parallel completion workflow.
The notary is a neutral legal officer — they represent neither buyer nor seller. They certify that all parties consent freely and that the document complies with Spanish law. Buyers from common-law jurisdictions sometimes mistake the notary for a lawyer; they are not. Bring your own lawyer.
The notary's office will request these documents 5–7 days before signing for pre-vetting. Missing items cause same-day rescheduling.
The notary's oficial cross-checks each document against the deed draft. Discrepancies between the deed and the nota simple — a different surface area, a missed charge, a wrong cadastral reference — trigger an on-the-spot redraft, which can extend the meeting by 30–60 minutes.
The minute-45 "tax withholding moment" is the point at which the deal becomes irreversible. Once the notary stamps the withholding, the funds have legally transferred. Anything you wanted to renegotiate had to be raised before that stamp.
Spanish notarial law (Reglamento Notarial, Art 150) requires that any party who does not understand Spanish must be assisted by a sworn translator (intérprete jurado) approved by the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores. The buyer may not self-certify fluency casually — if the notary suspects insufficient Spanish, they will refuse to proceed without a translator.
Sworn translators are booked 2–4 weeks ahead in Marbella's high season. Your lawyer typically handles booking. Bringing your own translator (a friend, a relative, the agent) is not legally sufficient — the translator must be Ministerio-jurado.