Notion Integration¶

Certum Draft can optionally integrate with Notion to access your client and matter databases. This allows you to search for existing clients when creating new matters.

Read-Only Mode (January 2026)

Notion integration is currently in read-only mode. You can search and view clients and matters from Notion, but the app will not create, update, or delete any Notion records. This is a safety measure during the early release phase. Write operations will be enabled in a future update.

Setting Up Notion¶

1. Create a Notion Integration¶

Go to Notion Integrations
Click New integration
Give it a name (e.g., "Certum Draft")
Select your workspace
Click Submit
Copy the Internal Integration Token (starts with secret_)

In Notion, you need to share your Clients and Matters databases with the integration:

Open your Clients database in Notion
Click Share in the top right
Click Invite and search for your integration name
Select it to grant access
Repeat for your Matters database

3. Find Your Database IDs¶

Each Notion database has a unique ID in its URL:

https://www.notion.so/yourworkspace/abc123def456...?v=...
                                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                    This is the database ID

Copy the ID portion (32 characters, before the ?v= query string).

4. Configure in Certum Draft¶

Open Preferences (Cmd + ,)
Go to the Notion tab
Paste your Integration Token
Enter the Clients Database ID
Enter the Matters Database ID
Click Save

Connection Diagnostics¶

After configuring Notion, use the Test Connection button to verify your setup. The diagnostics check:

Check	What it Verifies
Authentication	Your integration token is valid
Clients Database	The database exists and is accessible
Matters Database	The database exists and is accessible
Schema Validation	Expected properties exist in each database

If any check fails, the diagnostic will show an error message to help troubleshoot.

Expected Database Schema¶

Clients Database¶

Your Clients database should include these properties:

Property	Type	Required
Name	Title	Yes
Surname	Text	Yes
Given Name	Text	Yes
Email	Email	No
Mobile	Phone	No
Address	Text	No
Type	Select	No
Notes	Text	No

Matters Database¶

Your Matters database should include these properties:

Property	Type	Required
Name	Title	Yes
Matter Number	Text	Yes
Client	Relation (to Clients)	Yes
Status	Select	No
Matter Type	Select	No
File Reference	Text	No
Open Date	Date	No
Close Date	Date	No
Notes	Text	No

Current Limitations¶

Read-Only Mode¶

The current release operates in read-only mode:

Works: Searching clients, viewing client details, searching matters
Disabled: Creating clients, updating clients, creating matters in Notion, updating matters in Notion

This means you can use Notion data to populate matter details, but the app won't modify your Notion databases.

Pagination¶

Client and matter searches support pagination, retrieving up to 1,000 results (10 pages of 100 records each).

Not Using Notion?¶

Notion integration is completely optional. If you don't configure it:

Client details are entered manually for each matter
Client information is stored locally in the matter workbook
All other features work exactly the same

This local-only mode is recommended for most users until Notion integration is officially released with write support.

Troubleshooting¶

"Not authenticated" Error¶

Check that your integration token is correct
Ensure the token starts with secret_
Try generating a new token

"Database not found" Error¶

Verify the database ID is correct (32 characters)
Ensure you've shared the database with your integration
Check that you haven't accidentally copied the view ID instead

"Missing properties" Warning¶

The schema validation found expected properties missing
Add the missing properties to your Notion database
Or ignore if you don't need those fields

Rate Limit Errors¶

Wait a few seconds and try again
Notion has a rate limit of approximately 3 requests per second
Certum Draft automatically throttles requests, but rapid operations may trigger limits