Dominican Republic Real Estate Terms Glossary for Buyers

Short answer: Almost every Dominican property document uses Spanish terms that have no exact North American equivalent. The ones that matter most are the promesa de venta (binding pre-contract), the certificado de título (proof of registered ownership), the deslinde (official survey), and two taxes, ITI (3% at purchase) and IPI (annual, above a threshold). Know these six and you can follow a deal.

This glossary covers the words you will meet in a contract, at the registry or on a tax bill, and says what each one means in practice. It is general information; a Dominican attorney checks your individual case.

The terms at a glance

Term	Plain English	Where you meet it
Promesa de venta	Binding promise-of-sale contract, signed before a notary	Right after price is agreed
Contrato / Acto de venta	The deed of sale that transfers the property	At closing, before a notary
Notario público	Notary; in the DR must hold a law degree	Signing of both contracts
Registro de Títulos	Government title registry	Last step of the purchase
Certificado de Título	Blue certificate: ownership of a defined parcel	Seller's documents
Constancia Anotada	Pink certificate: square meters inside a larger undivided parcel	Seller's documents
Certificación de Estado Jurídico	Registry statement of the property's current legal status	Due diligence
Matrícula	Registration number of the property	Title and contract
Deslinde	Government-approved survey of the parcel	Due diligence, registration
Linderos	Boundary description (north, south, east, west)	Title certificate
ITI	Property transfer tax, 3%	Paid by the buyer after the deed
IPI	Annual property tax, 1% above a threshold	Every year, owners only
DGII	Tax authority	Appraisal, ITI, IPI
Fideicomiso	Trust that administers a project's funds and assets	Pre-construction projects
Condominio	Legal regime for units in a building	Apartments and some complexes
Servidumbre	Easement limiting or granting use of land	Land-use records
Zona marítima	60-meter coastal strip that cannot be owned	Beachfront listings
CONFOTUR	Tourism tax incentive tied to approved projects	New developments

What are the contracts called: promesa de venta and acto de venta?

The promesa de venta is the contract that matters most in practice. Dominican purchases usually skip the North American offer-and-acceptance exchange: once you and the seller agree on a price verbally, an attorney or notary drafts a binding promise of sale that both sign in front of a notary. The Dominican law firm Guzmán Ariza calls it more important, from a practical point of view, than the deed itself, because it describes the whole transaction up to full payment: parties, legal description, price and payment terms, default clause, delivery date, due diligence, seller representations (Guzmán Ariza). If the seller is married, the spouse must sign too.

The contrato de venta (also called acto de venta) is the deed that conveys the property. For a cash purchase the same firm notes it can be simpler and cheaper to go straight to the deed without a promise of sale. Our step-by-step guide to buying property in the Dominican Republic as a foreigner shows where each document sits in the sequence.

What does a notario do?

A notario público witnesses and authenticates signatures. It is not a clerk's job: Dominican notaries are required to have a law degree, and the buyer's own lawyer is often the notary as well. One CanaLaw article, written from a buyer-side attorney's perspective, cautions that notaries confirm that parties signed in their presence and do not verify that the underlying documents are genuine (CanaLaw). Treat that as a reason to have independent due diligence, not a reason to skip the notary.

Registro de Títulos, certificado de título and constancia anotada: which paper proves ownership?

The Registro de Títulos is the government registry where ownership is recorded. It works under the Jurisdicción Inmobiliaria and Property Registry Law 108-05, in force since April 4, 2007. The property belongs to the buyer from the moment the sale is recorded there, not from signing (Guzmán Ariza). The registry step can take anywhere from a few days to a few months, depending on the office.

The document it issues comes in two colors, and the difference is large.

• Certificado de Título (blue): individual ownership of a delimited parcel with defined boundaries.
• Constancia Anotada (pink): a right to a number of square meters inside a larger parcel, with the exact location not fixed. You own a share, not a bounded piece of land.

CanaLaw's guide to reading a title lists six fields worth checking: the matrícula (registration number, which must match across all documents), the propietario (owner of record), the designación catastral (cadastral reference), the superficie (area, which must match the contract), the ubicación (location) and the linderos (boundary description) (CanaLaw). A pink certificate does not make a purchase impossible. It does mean your attorney should explain in writing what you are actually buying.

What is a certificación de estado jurídico?

It is the registry's statement of what is true about the property today: liens, mortgages, court annotations, seizures. The title certificate is a snapshot from the past; this document is the current picture. Two sources recommend pulling it close to closing, around 30 days at most (CanaLaw, DRListings). Your attorney checks more than this one document, including boundaries, possession and permits.

What is a deslinde?

A deslinde is a government-approved survey that fixes the parcel's exact boundaries. Under the registry law, Guzmán Ariza explains, a sale of property without an approved plot generally cannot be recorded, with narrow exceptions for older sales and for a one-time sale of an entire property (Guzmán Ariza). The same firm advises an independent surveyor to check that the land you are shown is the land on the plan, even when the seller supplies an approved one, and reports cases where buyers ended up with title over a different piece of land than the one they thought they were buying. It matters most for land and beachfront. More in our guide to buying land on the north coast.

What are ITI and IPI, and how do they differ?

They are the two taxes buyers confuse most.

ITI (Impuesto de Transferencia Inmobiliaria) is paid once, at purchase. It is 3% of the higher of the contract price or the DGII's assessed value, and the buyer normally pays it (DGII Help Community, CLIC Inmobiliaria). It is due within six months of the deed (1122 Real Estate); in practice it is paid early, because the registry will not issue the new title until it is settled.

IPI (Impuesto al Patrimonio Inmobiliario) is annual: 1% on the part of an individual's combined Dominican real estate value above an exempt threshold. For 2026 that threshold is RD$10,695,494 (CLIC Inmobiliaria), reset every year. Older articles quote lower figures. Companies do not pay IPI; they pay a separate asset tax. For example, a single property valued at RD$12,000,000 would owe 1% of the RD$1,304,506 above the threshold, which is RD$13,045 (illustration only; the DGII assesses the value).

The DGII (Dirección General de Impuestos Internos) is the tax authority behind both: it appraises the property after the deed and collects the taxes.

What is a fideicomiso?

A fideicomiso is a trust. In a real estate project, the developer (fideicomitente) places assets in the trust, an authorized trustee (fiduciaria) administers them under agreed rules, and buyers, lenders or the developer can be beneficiaries. The idea is to keep project money and land separate from the developer's own holdings and to supervise how funds are used. It is regulated by Law 189-11 (Alterestate). Evalua, a Dominican valuation firm, lists a bank guarantee or a fideicomiso among the protections to ask for when buying pre-construction (Evalua). Not every project has one; ask. See pre-construction property in the Dominican Republic.

What does condominio mean?

Condominio is the legal regime for owning units in a building, governed by Law 5038 of 1958. Owners hold their unit exclusively and share the structure and common areas. A registered declaration sets voting rights per owner and each owner's share of common expenses, an administrator carries out the owners' decisions, and structural changes need unanimous consent (Ley 5038, Guzmán Ariza). For a resale, the seller should supply the condominium declaration and regulations, approved plans, a certification that dues are paid, and the minutes of the last three meetings (Guzmán Ariza). Read the regulations before you count on short-term rentals.

Which other terms show up on beachfront and new-build listings?

• Zona marítima. The 60 meters inland from the high-tide line belong to the public; Law 305 of 1968 sets the strip, and building inside it needs a special permit from the executive branch (Guzmán Ariza). If you browse Instyle's listings for beachfront, ask where the private title line sits relative to this strip.
• Servidumbre. An easement: a third party's right to use part of the land, or a limit on what you may build. CanaLaw notes these can exist without appearing prominently on the certificate (CanaLaw).
• CONFOTUR. Law 158-01 incentives granted to individually approved tourism projects, not to a whole town. If a developer says a unit qualifies, ask for the certificate. Background in our CONFOTUR guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is a promesa de venta legally binding?

Yes. Guzmán Ariza describes it as a formal document, binding on both parties and signed before a notary. That is why a lawyer should review it before you pay any deposit.

What is the difference between a blue and a pink title?

Blue is a certificado de título for a defined parcel. Pink is a constancia anotada, a right to square meters within a larger undivided parcel. Ask your attorney to explain which one you are being offered.

Do I pay ITI and IPI in the same year?

You pay ITI once, at purchase. IPI is a yearly tax, but only if your combined Dominican property value is above the threshold (RD$10,695,494 for 2026).

Does a fideicomiso guarantee that my project will be finished?

No source supports that. It adds supervision of funds and separates project assets from the developer's own, which is a protection, not a promise of completion.

Who is the notary in a purchase?

A licensed lawyer, since Dominican notaries need a law degree. It is often the buyer's own attorney. The notary authenticates signatures; it does not replace due diligence.

Sources

1. Guzmán Ariza, "Buying Real Estate in the Dominican Republic": https://drlawyer.com/buying-real-estate-in-the-dominican-republic/
2. CanaLaw, "How to Read a Dominican Republic Title Certificate" (March 2026): https://cana.law/blog/how-to-read-dominican-republic-title-certificate/
3. CanaLaw, "Property Title Problems in DR Real Estate" (April 2026): https://cana.law/blog/property-title-problems-dominican-republic-foreign-buyers/
4. DRListings, "Dominican Republic Property Due Diligence": https://www.drlistings.com/blog/dominican-republic-property-due-diligence/
5. DGII Help Community, transfer tax: https://ayuda.dgii.gov.do/conversations/discusiones/exoneracin-de-3-por-transferencia-inmobiliaria-bajo-costo/68e9cd8d77d577111aae31e0
6. CLIC Inmobiliaria, "Impuestos inmobiliarios en República Dominicana 2026": https://clicinmobiliaria.com/articulos/guia-inmobiliaria/impuestos-inmobiliarios-rd-2026-ipi-transferencia-guia
7. 1122 Real Estate, transfer tax deadline: https://1122.com.do/en/blog/impuesto-transferencia-inmobiliaria-rd-calculo-documentos
8. Alterestate, "¿Qué es un fideicomiso inmobiliario?": https://alterestate.com/blog/que-es-un-fideicomiso-inmobiliario-republica-dominicana/
9. Evalua, "Pitfalls of Buying Property in the Dominican Republic": https://www.evalua.do/articles/pitfalls-buying-property-dominican-republic
10. Guzmán Ariza, Ley 5038 de 1958 sobre Condominios: https://drlawyer.com/espanol/leyes/ley-5038-de-1958-sobre-condominios/

Last reviewed: October 1, 2026