Notary Bali: Notary vs PPAT, Fees and How to Choose One

Last reviewed: September 2026

If you are searching for a notary in Bali, you probably already have a document in front of you and no idea whether the person offering to stamp it is the right one. That confusion is the norm here, not the exception.

A notary bali client needs depends on what the document does. If it moves land title, a mortgage, or an HGB or Hak Pakai grant, you need a PPAT (Pejabat Pembuat Akta Tanah), not a general notary. For company formation, powers of attorney, leases, wills or prenuptial agreements, you need a Notaris. Fees for both are fixed by regulation, not negotiable per office, and the notary in your deal works for the transaction, not for you personally.

Table of Contents

• Notary vs PPAT in Bali: they are not interchangeable
• Notary fees Bali: what the caps actually are
• PPAT Bali: what the role does and does not cover
• Notary in Canggu, Seminyak, Ubud and the rest of Bali
• Finding an English speaking notary in Bali
• Which documents actually need a notary
• The most expensive mistake buyers make
• FAQ

Notary vs PPAT in Bali: they are not interchangeable

This is where almost every foreign buyer trips up, and it is not a minor technicality. A Notaris in Indonesia is appointed under UU No. 2/2014 and handles general notarial deeds: company deeds, shareholder agreements, powers of attorney, leases, wills. A PPAT is appointed under land regulations issued by ATR/BPN and is the only official who can execute a land sale deed (AJB), a mortgage, or the grant of an HGB or Hak Pakai title.

Plenty of practitioners in Bali hold both appointments at once, which is exactly why the two roles get blurred in conversation. Someone tells you "the notary handled my land purchase" and technically they mean the same person acted as PPAT for that part. But a notarial deed alone does not transfer land title. Only a PPAT deed does that. If your Badung or Gianyar land office receives a deed that was drawn by a notary acting outside their PPAT appointment, it gets rejected.

Before you sign anything on a villa in Canggu or a plot in Tabanan, ask directly: is this person acting as my PPAT for this deed, and are they registered with the Badung or Gianyar land office where the certificate sits. See our full breakdown of what a notary and PPAT actually do in a Bali property deal.

Notary fees Bali: what the caps actually are

Notary fees in Bali are not a flat percentage, and anyone quoting a single round number is simplifying. Both PPAT and notary fees are capped by regulation, and the cap is a descending scale tied to transaction value.

The PPAT cap includes witness fees, so a separate "witness charge" on top is not standard. On an Rp 8 billion villa transaction, the lawful PPAT cap works out well below a quoted flat 1%, a difference that can run to tens of millions of rupiah. It is a reasonable question to ask before you sign an engagement letter, and it should be answered without hesitation. Overcharging by a PPAT can carry suspension of up to six months, which tells you the regulator treats this seriously even if enforcement in practice varies.

On top of the deed fee, expect stamp duty (materai) of Rp 10,000 per document, including copies and extracts, plus regency-level transfer tax (BPHTB) and, on the seller side, income tax, both calculated separately from the notary or PPAT fee itself. Ask for these itemised, not bundled into one number.

PPAT Bali: what the role does and does not cover

A PPAT in Bali is the official who executes the AJB (sale deed), processes mortgage encumbrances, and handles the grant or extension of HGB and Hak Pakai titles, the two title types available to foreign-owned PT PMA companies and to foreign individuals respectively. Once the PPAT deed is signed, it still has to be registered at the relevant land office, Badung BPN for most of Canggu, Seminyak, Kerobokan, Umalas, Berawa, Kuta and the Bukit peninsula, or Gianyar BPN for Ubud and surrounding villages. Registration is what actually updates the certificate. A signed deed sitting in a drawer unregistered protects nobody.

What a PPAT does not do: check whether the land has a clean chain of title, confirm there is no unresolved family inheritance claim, or tell you whether the price is fair. That is due diligence, and it is a separate job done before you get anywhere near the PPAT's desk. We cover this in detail on our property due diligence page for Bali, and it is the single step most foreign buyers skip or rush.

Notary in Canggu, Seminyak, Ubud and the rest of Bali

Notaries and PPAT officials in Bali are appointed to work within a specific jurisdiction, usually a regency or a defined sub-area, so the notary who handled your friend's villa in Sanur may not be authorised to act on a plot in Ubud. In practice:

• Canggu, Pererenan, Berawa, Umalas, Kerobokan: Badung regency, land matters go through Badung BPN, building permits through Badung DPMPTSP.
• Seminyak, Kuta, Legian, Denpasar: also Badung regency (Kuta district) or Denpasar municipality depending on exact location, worth confirming which applies to your certificate.
• Uluwatu, Jimbaran, the Bukit, Nusa Dua: south Badung, same BPN office as Canggu but a different sub-district desk in practice.
• Ubud and surrounding villages: Gianyar regency, a separate BPN office and a separate DPMPTSP from Badung.
• Sanur: Denpasar municipality.

An office based in Kerobokan, like ours, routinely handles Badung deeds directly and coordinates with Gianyar counterparts for Ubud transactions, but always confirm which regency your land sits in before assuming any notary or PPAT can act on it. This is not paperwork trivia, it decides whether your deed is registrable at all.

Finding an English speaking notary in Bali

Language matters more than most foreign buyers expect. Under Article 31 of UU 24/2009, an agreement involving an Indonesian party must be in Bahasa Indonesia. Where a foreign party is involved, it should also be produced in their language or English. This is not a courtesy translation, it has been tested in court: an English-only loan agreement was declared void by a Jakarta court for failing this requirement.

An English speaking notary in Bali does not mean the deed itself is in English only. It means the notary or their office can explain the Indonesian document to you accurately, produce a proper bilingual or accompanying translated version, and answer questions in a language you actually understand before you sign. If a notary hands you an Indonesian-only document and expects a signature on trust, the right response is to ask for a translation, not to sign anyway.

Which documents actually need a notary

Company formation is the most common one we see. A PT or PT PMA deed of establishment must be notarial, full stop, and it is the first step in any PT PMA company setup in Bali. Beyond that:

• Leases: made by notarial deed. Since regulatory changes in 2021, a lease can also be recorded at the land office and annotated directly on the certificate, a step almost nobody takes and the single strongest protection available to a long-term leaseholder.
• Powers of attorney: notarised, with one hard limit. An irrevocable power of attorney to sell land is treated as an absolute power of attorney, and a PPAT is required to refuse to draw one.
• Prenuptial and separation-of-property agreements: required if an Indonesian citizen married to a foreigner is to hold land in their own name.
• Wills, inheritance documents, sworn statements for land applications: all notarial, and a false sworn statement carries criminal exposure, not just a civil risk.

All notarial and PPAT deeds carry stamp duty (materai) of Rp 10,000 per document, including copies. An unstamped document is still a valid agreement between the parties, it simply cannot be used as evidence in court until stamped, and stamping late costs the duty plus a penalty rather than voiding the agreement.

The costliest mistake: assuming the notary or PPAT in your property deal is looking out for you. They are legally required to be impartial to the transaction, not to advocate for either side. In Indonesian nominee arrangement cases that reached court, notaries have been named as defendants, and in at least one Supreme Court decision the notary was held to have committed an unlawful act simply for drawing the deeds involved. If you want someone checking the deal is sound before you sign, that is a separate engagement, arranged before you sit down at the notary's table, not during.

FAQ

What is the difference between a notary and a PPAT in Bali?

A notary draws general notarial deeds such as company formation documents, agreements, powers of attorney and wills. A PPAT is specifically authorised to execute land transactions, including sale deeds, mortgages and HGB or Hak Pakai grants. Many practitioners in Bali hold both appointments, but only a PPAT deed can transfer land title. A notarial deed alone cannot.

How much does a notary cost in Bali?

Notary honorariums are capped at 2.5% of deed value up to Rp 100 million, 1.5% up to Rp 1 billion, and 1% by agreement above that. PPAT fees run on a separate descending scale from 1% below Rp 500 million down to 0.25% above Rp 2.5 billion, inclusive of witness fees. Add Rp 10,000 stamp duty per document and separate transfer taxes.

Does the notary represent me in a property purchase?

No. The notary or PPAT is legally required to act impartially for the transaction itself, not for either party against the other. They are not responsible for judging whether the deal is sound for you or whether the seller has disclosed everything. Independent legal advice and due diligence are a separate engagement, arranged before the signing appointment.

Is there an English speaking notary in Bali?

Yes, several offices in Canggu, Seminyak, Kerobokan and Denpasar work regularly with foreign clients and can explain deeds in English. The underlying document involving an Indonesian party must still be in Bahasa Indonesia by law, with an accompanying version in the foreign party's language where relevant. If a notary offers only an Indonesian document with no explanation, ask for a translation before signing.

Can a notary register my lease on the land certificate in Bali?

There is a statutory basis for this since 2021 regulation, allowing an interested party to apply for a lease to be recorded at the land office, with the recording reflected in the public register and on the certificate itself. How consistently Badung and Gianyar BPN offices process this in practice varies, so confirm directly with your notary whether it is realistic for your specific lease before relying on it.

Do PPAT deeds and notarial deeds need a materai stamp in Bali?

Yes, Rp 10,000 per document, including copies and extracts. This applies to both notarial deeds and PPAT deeds. An unstamped deed remains a valid agreement between the parties, but it cannot be used as evidence in an Indonesian court until it has been properly stamped, with the missing duty paid alongside a penalty.

Which land office handles my property in Bali, Badung or Gianyar?

Canggu, Seminyak, Kerobokan, Umalas, Berawa, Kuta, Jimbaran, Uluwatu and the Bukit fall under Badung regency and its BPN land office. Ubud and surrounding villages fall under Gianyar regency, with a separate BPN office and a separate DPMPTSP for building permits. Sanur falls under Denpasar municipality. Confirm which regency applies before assuming a notary or PPAT can act on your certificate.

If you are not sure whether your document needs a notary or a PPAT, or you want the fee checked against the current cap before you sign anything, send the details on WhatsApp at +62 877-9626-0478 or through our contact page. The first consultation is free, and it is usually the fastest way to find out whether you are talking to the right person for the deed in front of you. You can also see the full range of what we handle on our services page.

General information as at September 2026, not legal advice. Fee caps and procedures are set by regulation and do change. Confirm current requirements before instructing anyone.