The land registry contribution (CSI): the small line that funds France’s property register
It is only a thousandth of the price, but it is why a French sale is binding on everyone.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
The contribution de sécurité immobilière (CSI) is collected by the French State each time a deed of sale is registered at the land registry. Its rate is 0.10 % of the price, with a minimum of €15, according to the figures published by Notaires de France. It is due on resale and new builds alike, in every département, and does not depend on your situation or the local tax rate. On a €250,000 purchase it costs €250 out of €19,827 in total fees, barely more than 1% of the bill. It funds the keeping of the property register, the checking of deeds and the mortgage searches that guarantee a property is not burdened without your knowledge. It plays the role that title registration and searches play in many English-speaking countries.
Your land registry contribution
CSI
€250
| Rate | 0.10 % |
| Minimum | €15 |
| Minimum reached? | no |
The amount by price
| Price | CSI | Share of total fees (resale, 5%) |
|---|---|---|
| €5,000 | €15 | 1.02 % |
| €15,000 | €15 | 0.64 % |
| €100,000 | €100 | 1.14 % |
| €250,000 | €250 | 1.26 % |
| €500,000 | €500 | 1.31 % |
| €1,000,000 | €1,000 | 1.33 % |
What the land registry is for
In France, a property sale is binding on third parties only once it is registered in the property register (fichier immobilier), kept by the land registry services of the tax administration. This register lets a bank check that a property is not already mortgaged, lets a buyer make sure the seller really is the owner, and lets the notary clear any charges before the sale. The land registry contribution funds this service.
Before 2013, this payment took the form of a fee paid to the registrar of mortgages (conservateur des hypothèques), a public officer paid per deed. When the registries were folded into the State tax services, the contribution replaced that fee. It is calculated on the price in the deed, like transfer tax, but at a far lower rate that is the same everywhere.
The service you get in return
In practice the contribution funds three operations the notary triggers for you. Before the sale, a mortgage search lists the mortgages, liens, seizures and easements recorded against the property; that document guarantees the seller can sell free of charges, or allows the seller’s loan to be repaid from the price. After signing, the notary files a copy of the deed with the land registry, which checks it and enters it in the register. Finally, the registry keeps that entry, available to future buyers, lenders and notaries. Without this chain nothing would protect a buyer against a second sale of the same property or a hidden mortgage.
That is also why the contribution is due on new builds as on resale homes: whatever tax falls on the sale, registration in the property register is the same.
CSI and the minimum: very small sales
The €15 minimum only applies to sales below €15,000. It matters little, but it illustrates a general point: on a very small sale, fixed or minimum items weigh heavily. A €3,000 plot bears the minimum CSI, the minimum or capped emoluments, the flat formalities fee and disbursements that do not fall with the price. That is why fees on a small sale can exceed a quarter of the price.
The CSI on your notary’s statement
On the statement the notary sends after the sale, the land registry contribution usually appears among the taxes, next to the transfer tax, under its French name “contribution de sécurité immobilière”. It is paid by the notary to the land registry when the deed is filed, out of the deposit you transferred before signing. If you also took out a mortgage, a second contribution appears on the loan guarantee part of the statement, calculated on the amount secured. Neither is negotiable and neither depends on the notary you choose. Checking it is simple: multiply the price in the deed by one thousandth, and compare with the line on the statement.
What the CSI is not
It is not a local tax: neither the département nor the municipality receives it or sets its rate. It bears no VAT. And it does not depend on your personal situation: first-time buyer, first property or investor, everyone pays the same thousandth of the price.