eNoVA live 1 Oct 2026: Troubleshooting rejected electronic Veräußerungsanzeigen (§§18,20 GrEStG)

What changed on 1 October 2026 — the rule in brief

From 1 October 2026 the electronic Notary‑to‑authority exchange project (eNoVA) moved the notarial Veräußerungsanzeige under mandatory digital transmission rules. The implementing regulation GrESteAV requires the notary to submit the Veräußerungsanzeige (the statutory notification under §§18 and 20 GrEStG) via the officially prescribed structured data set and to attach a machine‑readable, searchable PDF copy of the notarial instrument. ([gesetze-im-internet.de](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gresteav/BJNR1190A0026.html?utm_source=openai))

Operationally, XNotar’s eNoVA module integrates ELSTER so notaries send the dataset through the ELSTER channel from their office. The Bundesnotarkammer and NotarNet documentation explain that an ELSTER organisational certificate (Organisationszertifikat) must be present and registered in the XNotar settings in order to transmit. If the certificate is missing the e‑submission cannot be initiated. ([onlinehilfe.bnotk.de](https://onlinehilfe.bnotk.de/einrichtungen/notarnet/xnotar/wichtige-versionsinformationen/versionsinformationen-modul-enova.html?utm_source=openai))

The Bundesnotarkammer has published guidance and a rollout notice: the law and the technical rollout make the “Hinweg” (notification from notary to Finanzamt) electronic as of 1 Oct 2026; the reverse path (electronic Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung from Finanzamt back) is tied to the administration’s readiness under the same project. Notar organisations ran pilots (notably in Nordrhein‑Westfalen and Hessen) before the national go‑live. ([bnotk.de](https://www.bnotk.de/aufgaben-und-taetigkeiten/rundschreiben/details/elektronischer-notar-verwaltungs-austausch-enova-erste-verpflichtungen-ab-dem-1-oktober-2026?utm_source=openai))

Which Finanzämter accept e‑filing now (how to check)

There is no single public list embedded in XNotar that you can read in English; the official mechanism used by software is the ERiC release package distributed by the tax administration. The ERiC documentation contains a file named Finanzamtsdaten.xlsx which lists which Finanzämter are enabled for specific ELSTER services — software vendors and notaries use that to determine routability. If you need to know whether a specific Finanzamt is accepting electronic Veräußerungsanzeigen, ask your notary to check the current ERiC/Finanzamtsdaten file inside their XNotar/ELSTER environment. ([download.elster.de](https://download.elster.de/download/schnittstellen/Pruefung_der_Steuer_und_Steueridentifikatsnummer.pdf?utm_source=openai))

Practical note: during the pilot phase and the staged rollout some Länder (for example NRW and Hessen) were already receiving filings; availability may therefore vary by Finanzamt and be updated in the ERiC feed. Your notary must confirm the target Finanzamt is enabled before relying on electronic transmission. ([bnotk.de](https://www.bnotk.de/fileadmin/user_upload_bnotk/Pressemitteilungen/2026/pm_bnotk_260225.pdf?utm_source=openai))

Common rejection reasons and what the ELSTER/XNotar protocol shows

When a submission fails, XNotar marks the Vollzugsschritt with a Versandfehler and produces an ELSTER protocol with the validation messages. NotarNet/Bundesnotarkammer support guidance lists the typical, actionable causes that appear in the protocol: missing or incorrect ELSTER organisational certificate, absent or invalid Steuer‑ID for a party, the attached PDF not being machine‑readable/OCR searchable, or the dataset failing structural validation (wrong fields or format). For errors flagged as "not self‑fixable" the protocol instructs the notary to contact XNotar support. ([onlinehilfe.bnotk.de](https://onlinehilfe.bnotk.de/einrichtungen/notarnet/xnotar/modul-enova/versenden-einen-vollzugsschritt-versenden.html?utm_source=openai))

ELSTER’s validation can take time: the Bundesnotarkammer notes the ELSTER check may take up to three days. The software will move the step back to "Versandbereit" and report details if the error is resolvable by the notary (for example, by uploading the correct certificate or adding a missing Steuer‑ID). Where a required data element truly cannot be provided at the time of submission (for instance a Steuer‑ID obtained only after closing), the notary can use the eNoVA Ergänzungsmitteilung action to supply the missing Steuer‑ID afterwards. ([onlinehilfe.bnotk.de](https://onlinehilfe.bnotk.de/einrichtungen/notarnet/xnotar/modul-enova/rechtswirksamkeit-mitteilen.html?utm_source=openai))

What your notary must check and fix before closing

Ask your notary to confirm these concrete steps (these are procedural checks, not tax or legal advice):

1) ELSTER organisational certificate: the notary must hold and upload a valid Organisationszertifikat in XNotar’s ELSTER settings — without it the e‑submission cannot start. ([onlinehilfe.bnotk.de](https://onlinehilfe.bnotk.de/einrichtungen/notarnet/xnotar/modul-enova/elektronische-veraeusserungsanzeige-voraussetzungen-fuer-den-versand.html?utm_source=openai))

2) Correct recipient Finanzamt: confirm the Finanzamt is enabled in the ERiC/Finanzamtsdaten file. If the target Finanzamt is not enabled, the file will not route. Ask for written confirmation that the notary checked ERiC. ([download.elster.de](https://download.elster.de/download/schnittstellen/Pruefung_der_Steuer_und_Steueridentifikatsnummer.pdf?utm_source=openai))

3) Complete party identifiers: collect and verify Steuer‑ID numbers for all parties before sending. If a Steuer‑ID is missing, the notary can send an Ergänzungsmitteilung later — but that may delay issuance of a Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung. ([onlinehilfe.bnotk.de](https://onlinehilfe.bnotk.de/einrichtungen/notarnet/xnotar/modul-enova/neuen-vorgang-anlegen/vollzugsschritte-erfassen/veraeusserungsanzeigen-grestg/ergaenzen-veraeusserungsanzeige-ergaenzen.html?utm_source=openai))

4) PDF quality: attach the required machine‑readable/searchable PDF of the notarised instrument (OCR text layer). GrESteAV explicitly requires the PDF be machine‑readable. ([gesetze-im-internet.de](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gresteav/BJNR1190A0026.html?utm_source=openai))

5) Monitor ELSTER protocol: after sending the notary must download/save the ELSTER protocol and act on any validation messages; for non‑fixable errors promptly open a ticket with XNotar support. ([onlinehilfe.bnotk.de](https://onlinehilfe.bnotk.de/einrichtungen/notarnet/xnotar/wichtige-versionsinformationen/faq.html?utm_source=openai))

If the Finanzamt temporarily cannot receive structured data, the parties should ask the notary about fallback procedures (the Bundesnotarkammer has requested a clear paper fallback for transient technical outages). If you are unsure whether to release funds pending an Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung, consult your tax advisor or notary — this guide explains procedure, not personalised tax advice. ([bnotk.de](https://www.bnotk.de/stellungnahmen/details/regierungsentwurf-eines-gesetzes-zur-digitalisierung-des-vollzugs-von-immobilienvertraegen-der-gerichtlichen-genehmigungen-von-notariellen-rechtsgeschaeften-und-der-steuerlichen-anzeigen-der-notare?utm_source=openai))