Property purchase contracts
You collect the information and documents for a purchase contract from buyer and seller through a checklist, instead of through separate inboxes.
For notaries and their teams
Prepare matters digitally. From the first document to the notarisation appointment.
5F is the platform for digital notarial services. You use it to request documents, exchange confidential files and resolve queries. The parties involved collaborate free of charge.
Data stored in Germany · Built for professionals bound by confidentiality · No charge for external parties · Developed in-house in Regensburg · Free trial after the demo
The status quo
Documents on paper, overview only in the file
For a notarisation appointment, information and documents have to come together from several sides: from the parties themselves and from banks, estate agents or property managers. They reach the notary's office as printouts by post, as scans in one person's inbox and occasionally by fax. What has already been received is therefore spread across the file and several inboxes, and missing information often only becomes apparent shortly before the appointment.
5F replaces this process with a shared data room for each matter, where all sides see the same overview.
Use cases
How you use 5F as a notary
Company formations
Formation documents and shareholder details come together in one data room, even when the parties are in different locations.
Wills and estate matters
You request evidence from several parties and see for each item what has already been received and what is still missing.
Nuptial agreements and divorce settlements
For particularly confidential documents, you decide for each party which data room they see and what it contains.
Powers of attorney and advance directives
You make the draft available to the parties in the data room for review and resolve queries as comments on the document.
Banks, estate agents and other bodies
Lending banks, estate agents or property managers receive their own access to the matter; you only pay for your internal licences.
Core features
What your notary's office uses every day
Checklists for the parties' documents
You define which information and evidence a matter requires and release the list to the parties. Each item has its own processing status, so the notary's office and the parties see the same picture before the appointment. You save a finished list as a template and reuse it for the next matter of the same type.
Data rooms for each matter
Every matter gets its own room, where drafts, evidence and the related correspondence sit together. You decide whom to invite to which room and what they can do there. You attach queries as comments to the document concerned, rather than handling them in an email thread.
Tasks
You assign each step to a team member as a task on the matter itself. The dashboard shows what has been done and what is still pending.
Secure links
You send or request individual documents via a link, without the other side needing an account. Password protection and an expiry date can be added if needed. This way you can also reach a body that contributes only a single document and does not need a place in the data room.
5F App
Parties photograph a piece of evidence with their phone and file it straight away under the right item, instead of scanning or sending it. Your team can also access the matter on the go. The app is part of every licence and incurs no additional costs.
How does 5F fit your notarial procedures?
In 45 minutes, we will show you the platform in action and discuss your requirements.
Benefits at a glance
What 5F does for you as a notary
- No licence costs for partiesBuyers, sellers, banks and estate agents all work on the same matter; you only pay for the licences of your own staff.
- Outstanding documents at a glanceBefore the appointment, both sides can see from the same list which information is still missing.
- Moving away from emailCoordination with all sides is handled through the platform, and every query sits on the document it relates to.
- Signing without switching to paperWith the 5F Sign module, documents are signed within the matter itself, using an advanced or qualified electronic signature.
- Built for professionals bound by confidentialityNotarial matters are subject to the duty of confidentiality; 5F is built for the requirements of professionals bound by confidentiality and stores data exclusively in Germany.
- Documented and traceableThe immutable audit log records who uploaded or changed a document, and the integrated DMS handles audit-proof archiving.
Available as add-on
Modules for notaries
Add-on modules are available for specific requirements. They run on the same platform as your matters, so no one needs a second tool.
5F · Module
5F Sign
Signatures are applied directly to the document in the data room, using an advanced or qualified electronic signature.
Learn more 5F · Module5F White Label
The platform runs at your office's own address and shows your name and logo, and notifications are sent in your name.
Learn more 5F · Module5F Labels
You colour-code documents and tasks internally; these labels remain invisible to outside parties.
Learn moreWhat are digital notarial services?
A digital notary's office is one that runs its processes electronically, from preparing a matter and communicating with the parties through to electronic submission to registers and authorities. Some of these processes are governed by law and run through dedicated systems provided for the profession, including the electronic deed archive (Elektronisches Urkundenarchiv). Alongside this is coordination with the parties and other bodies: the channel through which documents are requested, provided and discussed. For this, notaries use dedicated platforms, usually referred to in the market as a data room, client portal or customer portal. 5F belongs to this group, complementing the systems a notary's office already runs.
Paper or digital: the difference
| Merkmal | Paper and email | With 5F |
|---|---|---|
| Requesting documents | List in the covering letter, retyped for every matter | Checklist with individual items, reusable as a template |
| Access for parties | Copies go out, and onward sharing can no longer be controlled | Individual access for each person, with permissions per data room |
| Queries | Phone note or email next to the file | Comment on the document concerned |
| Status of the matter | Only the person responsible knows what has already arrived | Processing status for each item, visible to both sides |
| Sending a single document | Letter or email attachment, valid indefinitely and unprotected | Secure link, with password and expiry date if required |
| Signatures | Printout, signature, return by post | Advanced or qualified e-signature with 5F Sign |
| Traceability | Reconstructed later from the file and outgoing post | Audit log on the matter, audit-proof archiving in the DMS |
FAQ
Häufige Fragen
5F does not replace the electronic deed archive or the systems for electronic legal communication; it works alongside them. Legally regulated processes continue to run through the systems the profession has designated for them. 5F is where you prepare a matter with the parties involved, banks and other bodies. There, you request information and evidence, share drafts for review and resolve queries until the appointment is scheduled.
5F Sign offers advanced and qualified electronic signatures. It does not replace notarisation where the law requires it, which remains the responsibility of your notary's office. With 5F Sign, participants sign documents within the workflow wherever one of these two signature levels is sufficient, without printing and returning them.
Get started
See 5F in action for notaries
In a short online demo, we will show you the platform in action and discuss your requirements.
After the online demo, you can try 5F free of charge for 30 days.