In order to ensure the health and safety of our clients and staff VPVA Notarissen complies with the guidelines issued by the government and the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM) regarding the preventive measures with respect to the Corona virus (Covid-19). At the same time we feel it is our responsibility to assist you, to the best of our ability, with your legal matters. This is why we continue to provide our services, albeit in a slightly different form.
As a result of the changes to the policy VPVA Notarissen has carefully considered the consequences with respect to meetings, appointments for signing documents, visitors to our office, and our own staff. The results are outlined below.
1. Meetings and signing documents
Whenever possible, meetings and consultations will take place by means of conference/video calls. Deeds will be executed (signed) with the use of authorisations, provided this is permitted by law. We will send you a power of attorney for the signing of the deed. This applies specifically but not exclusively to deeds of transfer of title, deeds of division etc.
With respect to appointments at clients’ homes, offices or other locations we will determine, in mutual consultation and on a case-by-case basis, what the options are.
On 24 April 2020 an emergency law came into effect which - subject to stringent conditions - makes it possible for deeds to be executed by means of a video call. We have the electronic resources to do this. The emergency law applies to documents that clients need to sign in person before the civil-law notary, for example a will or mortgage deed. However, we can only do this if there is really no other option. If you are unable to come to our office for this type of signing, please contact the person who deals with your file.
External signature authentications are no longer possible.
2. Visitors to our office
To combat the further spread of the Corona virus we expect visitors to our office to comply with the RIVM guidelines as well. If you have nasal congestion, a cough, a sore throat or a fever we ask that you don't come to our office but contact us instead to find a solution.
When you attend our office we ask you to continue following these guidelines. We will not shake hands. Upon arrival we ask that you disinfect your hands at the reception desk. We also ask you not to hang up your coat but take it in with you. There are water bottles on the table that you can either take with you after use, or dispose of in the designated bins. In order to maintain the required social distance of 1.5 m we can unfortunately only receive a limited number of people in our office. We also ask you not to bring along anyone whose attendance is not required to sign the deed; in other words, no children, parents and/or other interested parties. In the offices of the civil-law notaries and in the meeting rooms there will be screens between you and the notary or his substitute. And of course in our office the rule also applies that everyone, both visitors and staff, must maintains the appropriate distance.
We no longer accept cash. However, you will be able to use your debit card in our office.
All staff members at VPVA Notarissen comply with the latest RIVM guidelines. In view of the scope of this virus we cannot accept responsibility for any negative health consequences arising from your visit to our office, but we are certainly trying to limit the risks as much as possible.
3. Staff
In accordance with the RIVM guidelines all our employees are expected to stay home if they or their family members exhibit flu or cold symptoms. Since Monday 16 March the staff numbers in our offices in Ede, Lunteren and Wageningen have been reduced by 50% as well. There will also be minimal switching of colleagues between the different offices. This way we hope to guarantee the continuity and progress of the appointments as much as possible in the coming period. Employees who work from home should be available for you to contact as normal. When you call our office and are connected to one of these staff members you may occasionally notice a slight delay. These employees can also be contacted via their office e-mail address.
If any new guidelines become available we will update this information on our website, so please consult this page on a regular basis if you have an appointment with us in the coming weeks.
On the KNB site (Dutch only) you can also find information about the way in which the notarial profession is dealing with the Corona crisis.
This information was last updated on Monday 15 January 2021.