Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › A title deed is not enough: Torrens and deslinde

A title deed is not enough: Torrens and deslinde

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Abroad a signed deed or title insurance often closes the matter; here the right exists once it is registered, and the State guarantees the certificate. Land held under a constancia anotada is a share in a parcel with no defined boundary, and needs deslinde or regularization. Cash above RD$1,500,000 is banned, and new constancias are banned too, except on condominium units.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Land registration system	Torrens style, State guaranteed title Ley 108-05 art. 90 and art. 91, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Cash limit for real estate	1500000 DOPLey 155-17 art. 64; Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Registration creates and validates the right, charge or lien. The register is presumed exact, save for review on material error or fraud. On registered land there are no hidden rights or charges except under the water and mining laws.Ley 108-05 de Registro Inmobiliario, as amended by Ley 51-07, art. 90 and paragraph II, 2005-03-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. The Certificado de Título is the official document issued and guaranteed by the State that proves a real right and who holds it. Charges go in a complementary register.Ley 108-05 de Registro Inmobiliario, as amended by Ley 51-07, art. 91 and paragraph III, 2005-03-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Every right registered under the law is imprescriptible and has the absolute protection and guarantee of the State.Ley 108-05 de Registro Inmobiliario, as amended by Ley 51-07, Principle IV, 2005-03-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Issuing constancias anotadas is banned, except on condominium units.Ley 108-05 de Registro Inmobiliario, as amended by Ley 51-07, art. 129, 2005-03-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Deslinde is the contradictory process that locates and individualizes rights under a constancia. A buyer under a transfer can start it.Resolución 790-2022, Reglamento para la Regularización Parcelaria y el Deslinde, art. 10 and paragraph I, 2022-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Regularización parcelaria is an administrative route created by that regulation, changed by the Supreme Court in 2025.Resolución 82-2025 de la Suprema Corte de Justicia, Recitals and art. 1, 2025-10-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Resolución 82-2025 changed the rules on regularization in October 2025.

7. Cash above RD$1,500,000 for real estate rights is banned.
Example: RD$1,500,000 limit. / US$24,630.26 limit.Ley 155-17 art. 64; Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01 as reported in DGII notice 27-25, Threshold table, 2025-09-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A buyer pays RD$5,000,000 (US$82,100.86) for a plot and signs a sale contract. Until the transfer is registered, the buyer does not hold the registered right. If the seller only holds a constancia anotada, the buyer takes a share, and needs deslinde or regularization for a defined plot.

Step by step

Get a certification of legal status with the seller's help.
Confirm if the title is a certificate or a constancia.
Have a surveyor compare the land to the plan.
Pay by bank and give the notary proof.
Pay the transfer tax and register.

Common traps

A contract of sale gives no registered right until filed.
Occupation is a fact to check on site, so visit the land before closing.
Water and mining law rights can exist without an entry.
Check the foreign ownership and border rules on the related page.

Sources

← Consumer guarantee and distance sale rights

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