Notaries public are independent public office holders. Their tasks in particular include the authentication of contracts or other legal transactions and a number of other functions in respect of acts of legal significance. Especially in the field of real estate transactions and in certain matters governed by family law and by the law of succession, there is a statutory requirement to involve a notary public. In accordance with the Federal Law on Notaries Public (Bundesnotarordnung), they must provide independent, impartial and objective services and have a duty to observe secrecy. In the district of the Landgericht Bonn all appointed notaries public are "single-profession" notaries. Their representative body is the Rhenish Chamber of Notaries Public (Rheinische Notarkammer), which is headquartered in Cologne. The Chamber can be contacted for more detailed information about the activities of a notary public and about the notaries' offices in the district of the Landgericht Bonn.
Under the "Bundesnotarordnung" all notaries public practicing in a regional court district are subject to supervision by the President of the Landgericht. In this capacity, the President of the Landgericht regularly checks and inspects the notaries' performance of duties. Furthermore, the President of the Oberlandesgericht and the Minister of Justice of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia exercise supervision of the notaries public.
However, objections to notarial fees are not dealt with by the President of the Landgericht in his or her capacity as the supervisory authority. Such objections under section 156 of the Notary Fee Rules (Kostenordnung) must rather be filed with one of the civil divisions of the regional court.