Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Cash limits and AML rules in property deals

Cash limits and AML rules in property deals

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

Paying more than RD$1,500,000 in cash for real estate has been banned since the September 2025 update. Notaries must see proof of payment, and acts must state how each payment was made. Real estate agents, and builders who actually sell or promote property, are obliged subjects of the anti money laundering law and owe due diligence on clients.

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

Cash ceiling on real estate	1500000 DOPResolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01; Ley 155-17 art. 64, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Paying or accepting cash, or precious metals, for creating or transferring rights in real estate above the threshold is banned.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos, art. 64 literal a, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. The real estate threshold is RD$1,500,000 under Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01.
Example: RD$1,500,000 / US$24,630.26DGII Aviso 27-25 on Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, Threshold table, 2025-09-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Raised from RD$1,000,000 on 1 September 2025.

3. Parties and notaries must observe the thresholds, and notaries must ask for proof of payment under Norma General 07-2022.DGII Aviso 27-25 on Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, Notice, 2025-09-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Acts must detail payments made and pending for DGII to issue tax payment authorizations.DGII Aviso 27-25 on Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, Notice, citing Aviso 07-2025, 2025-09-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Agents are obliged subjects when involved in sales for clients.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos, art. 33 literal c, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Notaries and registrars must refrain from acting on a banned cash operation unless given reliable proof of the means of payment. A notary who acts without it faces six months to one year in prison and loss of office.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos, art. 64 paragraph II; art. 4 numeral 11, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. The same ban covers creating use rights, such as a lease, on real estate, with a threshold now of RD$400,000.Ley 155-17 contra el Lavado de Activos, art. 64 literal g; DGII Aviso 27-25, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Builders are obliged subjects only if they take part in buying, selling and promoting real estate or link buyers and sellers for a commission. Others should update their RNC to be excluded.DGII Aviso 12-26, Notice, 2026 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Acts of transfer from 1 May 2025 above RD$1,000,000 had to state the means of payment, per the June 2025 guide.DGII Guide 18 on transfer and discharge of real estate, June 2025, Important notes, 2025-06 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A RD$9,000,000 (about US$147,781.55) house can be paid with at most RD$1,500,000 (about US$24,630.26) in cash; the rest must go by bank transfer or check, and the deed lists each payment. A notary without proof should not proceed.

Step by step

Pay through a bank from a named account.
Keep source of funds papers.
Have the deed list dates and methods.
Expect agents and banks to ask for identity and source of funds.

Common traps

Guide 18 still prints RD$1,000,000 because it predates the update.
Art. 64 sets the limit by the amount of the act, so splitting a price into smaller cash payments does not obviously help.
A foreign buyer's bank will also ask about the source of funds.

Sources

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