In modern legal systems the institute of notary public (lat. Notary public, Span. Notario publico, fr. Notaire, m. Notario, series. Notaris, German. Notary) appears in two basic models (Latin and Anglo-Saxon model) that can be divided by the scope of powers and organizational mode. When we talk about the Latin Notary, theory and practice point out that the experience in its application, in comparative legal systems, indicated a significant relief on judiciary, a faster flow of legal transactions, and thereby quick and safe protections of the rights and interests of companies and consumers. However, notaries from the Anglo-Saxon world, who do not enjoy a monopoly and state aid, have launched a series of initiatives towards the European Commission to liberalize the notary public service, considering that the existing Latin model is contrary to the postulates of competition. Thus, in the European legal environment, as well as in the neighboring countries, there are attempts to reform the existing regulations on public notaries in the preference to their harmonization with the vision of a unified judicial area of the European Union. However, a commitment to one or the other is not easy, because if that were the case, their coexistence would not be possible and one model would have pushed out the other long time ago. From this perspective, the discourse of the public (and academic) debate about the optimal goals of harmonization of the Institute of notary public is not unique. Moreover, many authors with opposing views and empirical data of certain findings indicate that it is necessary to be cautious. The article has three conceptual parts. The first part of the paper focuses on the Croatian applicable notarial law. In addition to the discussion of legal aspects, which give a substantive and procedural framework, emphasis is also placed on the role of the state in the process of harmonization of notary law. The second part explains the economic and market reasons for the reform of notarial services. The third part is based on the general experience of (post) transition, European, and Anglo-Saxon countries. Attention will be paid to the use of legal solutions, experience and good practice in the countries from the region and beyond. Moreover, the result that the author of this paper is trying to achieve is to make another contribution to a fuller and more complete analysis of questions that could be asked in relation to the institute and the role of the notary in future legal reforms.