1. The Escritura Pública (Title Deed)

The escritura is the core document. It’s the notarised deed of sale from the most recent transaction and defines the legal boundaries of the property, the parties involved, and the terms of the transfer. Your lawyer will obtain a certified copy from the Conservador de Bienes Raíces (Property Registry) in the commune where the land sits.

What to check: The parties named, the property description (rollos or cadastral reference), and that the seller on the current deed matches the registered owner.

2. Certificado de Dominio Vigente (Certificate of Current Ownership)

This is the authoritative current-ownership certificate issued by the Conservador. It confirms who legally owns the property at this moment and whether there are any recorded liens (hipotecas), easements (servidumbres), or encumbrances (gravámenes).

What to check: That the seller’s name matches exactly. Any hipoteca must be discharged before the sale completes — your notary will require this.

3. Certificado de Hipotecas y Gravámenes (Liens and Encumbrances)

A separate certificate from the Conservador listing all registered charges against the property going back 10 years. This is where mortgages, court orders, usufruct rights, and other claims will appear.

What to check: Any unexplained entry. A clean certificate should show nothing, or only an entry that the seller has committed to discharge at closing.

4. CONADI Clearance (Indigenous Land Status)

Under Chile’s Ley Indígena (Law 19,253), land that has been designated as indigenous territory cannot be sold to non-indigenous buyers. CONADI (the National Corporation for Indigenous Development) maintains the registry of protected parcels.

What to check: A CONADI clearance letter confirming the specific parcel is not subject to indigenous land protection. This is especially important in La Araucanía, Los Ríos, Los Lagos, and Aysén regions.

5. Plano de Subdivisión or Plano Regular (Survey Plan)

The cadastral survey map showing the legal boundaries of the parcel. For rural land, this is often held at the local SAG (Agricultural Service) or the municipality. It should match the area stated in the escritura.

What to check: That the boundaries shown correspond to the physical terrain you’ve visited. Discrepancies between the plan and the actual fences or access roads are common and should be resolved before signing.

A Note on Bringing Your Own Lawyer

We welcome independent legal review on every listing. When you request contact details for a Chilelands property, ask the seller to share all five of these documents with your lawyer. Our position is simple: a buyer who does thorough due diligence is a buyer who closes without problems. Full documentation is always available on request.

For more detail on each step, read our Due Diligence chapter in the Buyer’s Guide.

Who Needs a RUT?

Any foreigner who wants to:

• Sign a purchase deed (escritura pública)
• Open a Chilean bank account
• Pay Chilean taxes on the property
• Hire a Chilean lawyer or notary
• Register a company in Chile

In short: if you’re buying land in Chile, you need a RUT.

How to Get One

The process changed significantly in recent years. You no longer need to be physically present in Chile to apply, although in-person applications at the SII (Servicio de Impuestos Internos — Chile’s tax authority) are still the most reliable path.

Option 1: Apply at a Chilean consulate

Some Chilean consulates abroad process RUT applications. Availability varies by country — check with the consulate in your city. You’ll need your passport and proof of the purpose of the application (e.g. a letter from your Chilean lawyer describing the pending transaction).

Option 2: Apply in person at the SII in Chile

If you’re visiting Chile as part of your property search — which we strongly recommend — you can apply directly at any SII office. Bring your passport. The number is typically issued the same day. This is the fastest and most reliable method.

Option 3: Have your Chilean lawyer apply on your behalf

With a notarised power of attorney, a Chilean lawyer can apply for your RUT on your behalf while you remain in your home country. This is common for buyers who have already identified a property and want to proceed without a preliminary trip.

What the RUT Looks Like

A Chilean RUT for individuals takes the format XX.XXX.XXX-X — seven or eight digits followed by a verification digit. For foreign individuals, it usually starts with 4X or 5X. Keep it safe: you’ll use it for every formal step of your property purchase and for any subsequent tax filings.

What Comes Next

Once you have your RUT, you can open a Chilean bank account (useful for transferring purchase funds), engage a notary directly, and be named as buyer on the deed. Read our full Buying Process guide for the complete step-by-step from property search to registered title.

The Currency Effect

A 50-hectare parcel in the Los Lagos region that sold for USD 180,000 in 2019 can now be had for USD 120,000 — same land, same title, same spectacular views. The seller is setting prices in pesos, pegged to local cost expectations. You’re paying in a hard currency that buys far more pesos than it did four years ago.

Currency tailwinds don’t last forever. When the peso stabilises — and historical cycles suggest it will — those USD-denominated prices will adjust upward to reflect the real local value of the land.

Legal Stability

Unlike many Latin American markets, Chile permits 100% foreign ownership of rural land with no restrictions. The title system is based on a notarial public deed (escritura pública) recorded in the Conservador de Bienes Raíces — a centuries-old institution with a reliable chain of title. Foreigners and Chilean citizens have identical property rights under Chilean law.

The constitutional uncertainty of 2022 has resolved. The rejected draft would have restricted large-scale landholding; the approved legal framework did not. There is no pending legislation that would affect foreign land ownership.

What You’re Actually Buying

Chile runs 4,300 kilometres from the Atacama desert to the sub-Antarctic. That’s coastal Patagonian fjords, Andean foothills, Pacific-facing agricultural valleys, ancient araucaria forests, and some of the cleanest river systems on earth — all within a single country with reliable infrastructure, a functioning court system, and direct flights from North America and Europe.

Land in this geography, in this legal environment, at these prices, is not a common proposition. The window will not stay open indefinitely.

Getting Started

Browse our verified listings to see what’s available by region and budget. Every listing on Chilelands has been reviewed for title clarity before it’s published. When you find something interesting, register a free buyer account to access contact details and begin the due diligence conversation.