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Title, deeds and the Public Property Registry: when a notarial deed is required, preventive notices, registration effects, adverse possession and a due diligence checklist

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

A sale binds the parties once price and property are agreed, but real estate above 365 UMA (about MXN 42,818 in 2026) must be sold by public deed, and only registration in the state Public Property Registry makes title good against third parties. Before signing, the notary requests a lien certificate that blocks the registry folio for 30 calendar days; after signing, a second notice protects the buyer for 90 days while the deed is recorded. Good faith possession as owner for 5 years, or 10 years in bad faith, can ripen into ownership, so possession and boundaries need checking as well as the registry.

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Key facts

Effect of registration in the Public Property Registry	Declaratory; unregistered deeds have no effect against third parties Código Civil Federal arts. 3007 and 3008, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Appraised value above which a real estate sale needs a public deed	365 UMACódigo Civil Federal arts. 2317 and 2320, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Public deed threshold in pesos with the 2026 UMA (MXN 117.31)	42818.15 MXNCCF art. 2320; UMA 2026, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Validity of the notary's first preventive notice (lien certificate request)	30 calendar daysCódigo Civil Federal art. 3016, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Validity of the notary's second preventive notice after signing	90 calendar daysCódigo Civil Federal art. 3016, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Adverse possession period for real estate in good faith	5 yearsCódigo Civil Federal art. 1152, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Adverse possession period for real estate in bad faith	10 yearsCódigo Civil Federal art. 1152, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Formation and form of the sale. A sale is perfect and binding between the parties once they agree on the thing and the price, even before delivery or payment. Real estate whose appraised value exceeds 365 times the daily minimum wage (now read as the UMA) must be sold in a public deed before a notary; below that, a private document signed before two witnesses whose signatures are ratified before a notary, judge or the registry suffices. These are Federal Civil Code rules; each state has its own civil code following the same model, and the code of the state where the property lies governs.
Cost to do it: 365 UMA is MXN 42,818.15 with the 2026 UMA of MXN 117.31. Notary fees and the local acquisition tax are set by each state.
Example: Almost every urban property exceeds MXN 42,818.15, so in practice sales are signed before a notary. / 365 UMA is about USD 2,294.Código Civil Federal, DOF 26 May 1928, arts. 2248, 2249, 2317 (reformed DOF 7 January 1988) and 2320; Constitution, deindexation decree DOF 27 January 2016, transitory Third (UMA replaces the minimum wage as a unit of measure), CCF arts. 2248, 2249, 2317 and 2320, 1988-01-07 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Preventive notices that protect the buyer. Before signing a deed that transfers or encumbers real estate, the notary must ask the registry for a certificate of liens; the request works as a first preventive notice, noted on the folio free of charge and valid for 30 calendar days. Within 48 hours after signing, the notary gives a second preventive notice, valid for 90 calendar days; if given within the 30 day window, its effects date back to the first request.
Cost to do it: No registry fee for the preventive notes (art. 3016); the lien certificate and the final registration are charged under state fee laws.
Example: A notary requests the lien certificate on 1 June, the deed is signed on 20 June and the second notice is filed on 21 June: a creditor's attachment registered on 15 June ranks after the buyer.Código Civil Federal art. 3016, CCF art. 3016, 1928-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. What registration does. Registrable documents that are not registered have no effect against third parties. Registration is declaratory, but third parties who acquire for value in good faith relying on the registry keep their rights even if the seller's title is later annulled, unless the defect appears clearly from the registry. A registered right is presumed to exist and belong to its holder, and the registered owner is presumed to possess. The registry records titles creating, transferring or encumbering ownership and real rights, family patrimony, leases longer than 6 years or with rent paid more than 3 years in advance, and claims, attachments and court orders affecting real estate are pre noted.
Cost to do it: State registry fees apply.Código Civil Federal arts. 3007, 3008, 3009, 3010, 3042 and 3043, CCF arts. 3007 to 3010, 3042 and 3043, 1928-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Adverse possession. Possession that may lead to ownership must be as owner, peaceful, continuous and public. Real estate is acquired by prescription in 5 years with good faith, in 5 years if a possession title was registered, and in 10 years in bad faith; the periods increase by one third if rural land was not cultivated or an urban property stood abandoned most of the time. The possessor can sue the registered owner to have the prescription declared.
Cost to do it: Litigation costs only.Código Civil Federal arts. 1151, 1152 and 1156, CCF arts. 1151, 1152 and 1156, 1928-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Urban planning checks in the deed. Notaries may authorize deeds on ownership, possession or real rights only after checking the planning certificates, authorizations, permits or licenses for the land, which must be cited or inserted in the deed, and must include a clause obliging the buyer to respect the urban plans and the permitted use. Acts that breach urban plans, lack those insertions or ignore the public preference right on reserve land are void, and registries may not record them.
Cost to do it: Municipal land use certificate fees are set locally.Ley General de Asentamientos Humanos, Ordenamiento Territorial y Desarrollo Urbano, DOF 28 November 2016, arts. 111 to 113, LGAHOTDU arts. 111 to 113, 2016-11-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Worked example

A buyer agrees to purchase an apartment in Mérida for MXN 3,000,000 (about USD 160,739). The notary requests the lien certificate (30 day first notice), receives a clean certificate, checks the land use certificate and property tax receipts, signs the deed within the window and files the second notice within 48 hours. The buyer's rights date back to the certificate request and rank ahead of any later attachment (CCF art. 3016).

Step by step

1. Obtain the registry folio history: chain of title, liens, annotations of claims and attachments (CCF arts. 3042 and 3043).
2. Check physical possession and boundaries on site: occupants as owners for 5 or 10 years can claim by prescription (CCF art. 1152).
3. Check land use certificates, building permits and condominium regime; the notary must insert them (LGAHOTDU art. 112).
4. Get receipts for property tax and water, and for former ejido land the full ownership title and Agrarian Registry cancellation.
5. Have the notary request the lien certificate and sign within its 30 day validity; confirm the 48 hour second notice.
6. Follow the deed until the registry returns it recorded; register long leases over 6 years too.

Common traps

Relying on a private contract for an expensive property: above 365 UMA a public deed is required (CCF art. 2320).
Not registering: an unregistered deed has no effect against third parties (CCF art. 3007).
Letting the 30 day window lapse: the second notice then only protects from its own filing date (CCF art. 3016).
Ignoring occupants: peaceful public possession as owner can ripen in 5 years (CCF art. 1152).
Unpermitted use: deeds that breach urban plans are void and cannot be registered (LGAHOTDU arts. 111 and 113).

Sources

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