Why is French notaire asking me to provide origin of funds for purchase?

Reader Question: I am buying a property in France. I do not have a French bank account so will transfer the funds for the purchase directly to the notaire from an overseas account. As the transfer is not coming from France the notaire is requesting an attestation de provenance de fonds. What is this?

This is a standard document notaires often ask for when a large financial transaction is being undertaken.

It is not strictly used just for overseas payments – although most larger overseas payments are subject to such – but for any significant payments, to check the origin of the money in an attempt to combat laundering.

It is also often used if a large payment is made into a bank account which exceeds a certain threshold.

Read more: French bank accounts: what foreigners need to know

In the majority of cases, the attestation is a simple formality, and only requires your bank to confirm they have paid the funds when you requested the transfer, or have received funds from you.

Many notaire offices provide a simple template of the document, such as the one here.  

You should ask your notaire if they have a template of their own they want you to use, or to direct you to one they would prefer you to use.

As you are sending this template to an overseas bank it is probable that it will need to be translated. Speak to the notaire about this.

Some can be more complicated 

Some notaires may ask for more detailed information, including the origins of the funds (if they were inherited, from savings, a gift etc). 

However, if your notaire asks you to provide such detailed information, you are within your rights to query why it is necessary.

French laws require notaires who have a genuine concern about the origin of funds to report this. However, this is only required if their suspicion is strong.