Legal & professional services
Notary office backup for deeds, drafts and client files
Mindtime keeps unalterable copies of your office's servers, mail and laptops in its own data centres in the Netherlands and Germany, plus an air-gapped copy. Drafts and correspondence survive a flood, a theft or a ransomware attack.
In Dutch, German or English.
- NL · DEStored only in our own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany
- ImmutableObject Lock storage plus an air-gapped copy; every backup job is checked
- ISO 27001 · NEN 7510Audited security, with a data processing agreement in every contract
- NL · DE · ENSupport from people, no offshore call centres or chatbots
In short
Notary offices need off-site, unalterable backups because the Wet op het notarisambt requires the protocol to be kept safe from fire and other hazards, and most deed work is now digital. Mindtime backs up office servers, mail and laptops to its own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany and checks every backup job.
What's at stake
The data notary offices can't afford to lose
Deed drafts and signing files
Before a deed is passed, the draft, the land registry checks and the client correspondence live on your systems. Losing them the day before a transfer delays buyers, sellers and lenders.
Wwft due diligence records
ID copies, UBO checks and risk assessments show that client due diligence was done. Without them you cannot prove it when the supervisor asks.
Wills and family files
Wills, prenuptial agreements and estate settlements hold some of the most private information a family has. Heirs may come back to them many years later.
Rules and obligations
What the rules ask of notary offices
Summarised from the sources listed at the bottom of this page. This is general information, not legal advice.
The protocol must be protected against fire and other hazards
Article 12 of the Wet op het notarisambt obliges the notary to keep the protocol in an orderly way, at a place protected against fire and other hazards. The protocol covers minutes of deeds, registers, copies and repertoria; the same article bars handing it over except where the law allows. [1]
Statutory confidentiality
Under Article 22(1) of the Wet op het notarisambt, a notary must keep confidential everything learned in that capacity, unless the law provides otherwise. Backups of client files fall under that duty too. [2]
Supervision by BFT
Bureau Financieel Toezicht (BFT) supervises notaries under the Wet op het notarisambt and supervises their compliance with the Wwft, the Dutch anti-money-laundering act. [3]
KNB information security code
The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB) rolled out its Gedragscode Informatiebeveiliging Notariaat in steps. Step 3, with measures on access to systems, equipment and encryption, ran from 1 March to 1 August 2024. [4]
Notaries are outside NIS2
The notarial profession does not appear in the sector list of the Cyberbeveiligingswet, the Dutch NIS2 law in force since 15 August 2026. The duties above come from notarial law and the GDPR, not from NIS2. [6]
When it goes wrong
Water in the server cupboard
Illustrative example: a burst pipe floods the ground floor of a two-notary office over a weekend and the server cupboard stands in water. The paper protocol in the fire-resistant room is unharmed, but that week's deed drafts, scans and Wwft files were on the server. Because Mindtime held immutable copies off-site, the office restores the data to replacement hardware, or runs it on standby infrastructure if it has disaster recovery. Signing appointments resume once the restored files have been checked.
How Mindtime protects it
Backup for notary offices, workload by workload
- Microsoft 365 backupMost client communication about a transaction runs through Outlook.
- VMware and Hyper-V backupMany offices still run their notary software and file shares on a local virtual server.
- NAS backupScanned deeds and ID copies often end up on one office NAS.
- Laptop and endpoint backupCandidate notaries and staff draft on laptops, often while working from home.
- Disaster RecoveryProperty transfers and mortgage deeds are booked weeks ahead and cannot easily move.
The software you use, and what we protect around it
| Notarisdossier | Cloud platform for notary offices with workflow, client portal and Wwft documentation. Check the supplier's export and retention terms; Mindtime protects the mail, file shares and laptops around it. |
|---|---|
| NEXTassyst (NEXTlegal) | Office software for notaries with links to central registers such as CTR and CDR. If it runs on your own server, Mindtime backs up that server; if hosted, ask NEXTlegal how backups and exports work. |
| Central registers (CTR, CDR) | These are registers your software exchanges data with, not data stored in your office. Mindtime protects your own drafts, copies and correspondence. |
| Microsoft 365 | Client mail, calendars and shared documents. Mindtime backs up Exchange Online, OneDrive and SharePoint to its own data centres. |
| Scans on a NAS or virtual server | Scanned identity documents and signed copies often sit on a Synology or QNAP NAS or a VMware or Hyper-V server. Mindtime backs those up off-site. |
Before you switch
What notary offices ask us first
Our deed archive is on paper in a fire-resistant room. Why do we need this?
That room protects paper. Drafts, scans, Wwft files and email are digital and usually sit on one server or in one Microsoft 365 tenant. Mindtime keeps immutable copies of those off-site, plus an air-gapped copy.
Our software supplier hosts everything for us.
Then ask what the supplier keeps, for how long, and how you would get an export. Mail, laptops and file shares are usually outside that contract, and those are what Mindtime protects.
We are a small office without an IT department.
Mindtime checks every backup job and watches the platform 24/7, so nobody on your staff has to read logs each morning. When you need help, you talk to Mindtime's own people in Dutch, German or English.
FAQ
Questions about backup for notary offices
Where is our office's data stored?
Only in Mindtime's own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany. Every contract includes a data processing agreement, and Mindtime is audited against ISO 27001 and NEN 7510. Data is encrypted in transit with AES-256, and every admin action requires multi-factor authentication as an extra check.
How does backup relate to the KNB information security code?
Backup is one part of the wider set of measures the KNB code describes. Mindtime gives you documented controls to point to: immutable and air-gapped copies, MFA on admin actions, encryption in transit and an ISO 27001 audit. Check the code itself for the exact measures that apply to your office.
What if our office building cannot be used for weeks?
Disaster recovery covers that case. Mindtime keeps standby infrastructure on which your servers can be started, so staff can keep working from elsewhere. A first test failover typically takes place within 10 days of starting, and recovery is tested every quarter after that.
Can we see a restore before we decide?
Yes. A free 15-minute demo shows how a folder or mailbox is brought back. For Microsoft 365 there is also a 7-day free trial, so you can test with your own mailboxes before signing anything. Questions during the trial are answered by Mindtime staff, not by a chatbot.
See it with your own data
Book a 15-minute demo
We show you a backup and a restore, and answer your questions in Dutch, German or English. No offshore call centres, no chatbots.