Paraguay merges its property registry and cadastre into one system

On January 14, 2026, Paraguay switched on one of the largest changes to its property system in decades. The Registro Unificado Nacional, or RUN, began operating nationwide, and from that day people registering, buying or checking real estate deal with one institution instead of three.

The RUN was created by Law 7424, promulgated by President Santiago Peña on January 9, 2025. The law gave the state a year to prepare before it took effect.

Three offices become one

Until now, the legal and physical records of a property in Paraguay lived in different places:

• The public registry, the Dirección General de los Registros Públicos, part of the judiciary, recorded who owns a property and any mortgages, liens or court orders against it.
• The cadastre, the official record of where each parcel of land is, its size and its boundaries, was kept by the National Cadastre Service under the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
• The survey and geodesy department of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) handled official measurement and mapping work.

Law 7424 merges all three into the RUN, a technical and administrative body of the judiciary that reports to the Supreme Court of Justice. Inside it, a new General Directorate of Cadastre and Property Registry supervises registry and cadastral procedures across the country.

What is new

The centrepiece is a mandatory single code for every property, the Código Único de Identificación Catastral Registral. According to the law firm Ferrere, the code becomes the only way to identify a property, both physically and legally, and must be used in all administrative and court proceedings involving real estate. The idea is simple: the land on the map and the title in the registry carry the same reference.

The Supreme Court has also approved a technical rulebook for the new system, Acordada 1823 of December 2025. It has 231 articles, applies provisionally for one year from January 14 and replaces the old technical rules of the public registry.

Officials have been clear about the goals. At the launch, Supreme Court vice president Carolina Llanes said the law brings legal certainty through unified technical criteria, full traceability of registry processes, simpler procedures and transparent access to information through an online platform. When the law was promulgated, the court said one aim was to combat overlapping land claims, where the same land appears in more than one title. Justice Alberto Martínez Simón, who is responsible for putting the RUN into practice, said registration should give security to foreign and local investors alike.

What it means for title and boundary checks

For buyers, the promise is simpler and more reliable checks. When ownership and boundaries sit in one system under one code, a mismatch between the title and the land on the ground should be easier to spot, and the history of a property easier to follow.

It is still worth being realistic. A merger of this size takes time to settle, and the new system inherits records built up over many decades, including any old errors. In the early months it is sensible to allow extra time for registry certificates and to keep doing the checks that have always mattered:

• A current certificate of ownership status (certificado de condición de dominio) showing the registered owner and any mortgages, liens or court orders.
• Cadastral records that match the parcel you are actually buying, ideally confirmed on site by an independent surveyor, especially for rural land.
• Proof that municipal property taxes and utility bills are paid up.
• For apartments and new buildings, the building permits and the seller's or developer's right to sell the unit.

What it means if you are considering Paraguay

Paraguay's residency does not require buying property. If you later decide to buy a home, an apartment to rent out or a piece of land, the RUN should make the paperwork clearer over time, but it does not replace independent checks before you pay.

Our real estate due diligence service in Paraguay covers title and ownership history, cadastral records that match the land on the ground, unpaid municipal taxes, utilities and liens, and permits, survey and access for rural land, with our local team and a written report. If you are planning the move itself, our Paraguay residency program covers the application from start to finish, with a fixed fee quoted in writing.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.