Closing a property purchase in Chile: the notary, the Registrar and how the price is paid

If you have bought a home in the United States or in Europe, you expect a closing: one day on which you sign, pay and get the keys. In Chile a purchase closes in two different offices at two different moments. The deed is signed at the notary's office, but you only become the owner when the Real Estate Registrar (Conservador de Bienes Raíces) registers it, days or weeks later. This guide explains what each one does, how the price is paid so you are not exposed between those two moments, and what it costs.

Short answer: the sale is signed as a public deed before a notary, in person or through an attorney in fact. Ownership only passes when the Real Estate Registrar for the district registers that deed in the Property Register. That is why the safe way to pay is to leave the price, usually as a bank draft (vale vista), in the notary's custody under instructions signed by both parties, so the notary releases it to the seller only once the property is registered in the buyer's name. If the money comes from abroad and the transaction is USD 10,000 or more, it must come in through the formal exchange market and be reported to the Central Bank.

Two offices and two moments

The sale of real estate is not complete until it is executed as a public deed (escritura pública). But the deed does not make you the owner: the Civil Code provides that ownership of real estate is transferred by registering the title with the Registrar. Time passes between signing and registration, and things can happen in that window: a court attachment against the seller can be registered, the Registrar can raise an objection to the deed, or a debt can surface that holds up the registration.

That window is what you need to protect. Everything that follows, from the form of the deed to the way you pay, is designed so that your money does not reach the seller before the property is in your name.

What the notary does, and what the notary does not do

A Chilean notary is a public officer (ministro de fe) charged with drawing up and authorizing the instruments executed before them, keeping them and issuing copies. A public deed is the instrument executed with the legal formalities before the competent notary and entered in the notary's protocol. Unlike a notary public in the United States, who generally just certifies signatures, a Chilean notary authorizes the document the law requires for the sale to exist, and keeps it on record.

What the notary does not do is check whether the seller really owns the property, whether there are title problems or whether the price is reasonable. That review is the title study, carried out by a lawyer before signing, and the list of what to request is in our guide to the checks before you wire the money.

The deed is signed in person before the notary. Law 21,772, in force since April 2026, allowed digital copies and ordered the archive to be digitized, but it did not create remote signing for a sale. If you will not be in Chile, an attorney in fact signs for you, under a power of attorney that expressly authorizes the purchase. That power can be granted abroad, by public deed before a Chilean consul or before a local notary with an apostille, and it is protocolized at a Chilean notary before the deed, as we explain in our guide to signing a power of attorney abroad for use in Chile. You will also need a Chilean RUT before the deed: it is requested online by an attorney in fact domiciled or resident in Chile, under a power of attorney you sign in Chile, or in your home country with an apostille or at a Chilean consulate followed by legalization at the Foreign Ministry in Chile; once the application is filed, it takes 3 to 5 business days. We explain the procedure in our guide to getting a Chilean RUT without traveling, and it is the same one a tourist follows, for example, to buy a car in Chile.

What the Real Estate Registrar does

The Registrar is the public officer in charge of the property register. There is one for each district (a comuna or a group of comunas), and registration is requested from the one where the property is located. The Registrar keeps three registers: the Property Register, where transfers of ownership are recorded; the Register of Mortgages and Encumbrances, for mortgages, usufructs and easements; and the Register of Interdictions and Prohibitions on Sale, where court attachments and prohibitions are entered.

When a deed is presented, the Registrar enters it in a book called the Repertorio, with the hour, day and month of presentation. That entry is what gives priority: once it becomes a registration, the registration takes effect from the date of the entry. If the Registrar finds a problem, the entry lapses after two months unless it is converted into a registration, so the problem has to be fixed and the deed presented again within that period.

The Registrar may not refuse or delay registrations, but must refuse when a registration is legally inadmissible: for example, if the copy is not authentic, if the property is outside the Registrar's territory, or if the title shows a visible defect that voids it. The reasons must be written on the title itself and handed to the applicant in writing. Since the 2025 reform, if the refusal is due to an oversight by the notary, the notary bears the cost of correcting it. What to do when the Registrar refuses a registration is covered in our guide to a rejected registration.

What changed with the notarial and registry reform

Law 21,772, published on 1 October 2025 and in force since 2 April 2026, changed several rules you will notice in a purchase:

• The notary must send the deed of sale electronically to the Registrar for registration, without the parties having to take it there, unless they object or do not cover the cost of registration.
• Copies of deeds can be issued in digital form, signed by the notary with an advanced electronic signature.
• Custody of payment documents under instructions, previously a matter of practice, is now expressly regulated in the Organic Code of Courts.
• Notaries must report their fees every quarter to the Ministry of Justice, which publishes them, and the law provides for a decree setting maximum prices that has not yet been issued. In the meantime, the 1998 fee schedules remain in force.

Some of the Registrars' electronic obligations, such as receiving all documents online, take effect six months after the publication of a regulation the law entrusted to the Ministry of Justice.

How to pay the price without being exposed

If you pay on the day of signing and the registration then falls through, your money is already with the seller. The way to avoid this is notarial custody: the buyer hands the notary the payment document, usually a bank draft (vale vista) payable to the seller, together with written instructions stating when it must be released.

The law sets the rules for this custody. The instructions must be written in Spanish, clearly and precisely, signed by all the parties, and must identify the documents left with the notary. They operate as a contract between the parties and can only be changed by a declaration signed before a notary by the same parties. The notary will not accept instructions in a sealed envelope or signed by only one party, save in exceptional cases, and must keep a complete copy for at least a year after carrying them out. The liability is real: in 2026 Chile's Supreme Court upheld a judgment against notaries over the loss of a bank draft held in custody (Rol 60.214-2024).

Good instructions state, at a minimum:

• which document is handed over: the bank, number, amount and payee of the bank draft;
• that it will be released to the seller against a copy of the ownership registration in the buyer's name and a certificate of mortgages, encumbrances and prohibitions showing only what was agreed, for example the buyer's own mortgage;
• what happens with the seller's mortgages, if any, and how their cancellation is proved;
• a deadline, and that if the conditions are not met within it, the document is returned to the buyer.

If the purchase is financed with a mortgage, the bank pays its part to the seller after the registrations, and the deed of sale and the loan are usually signed together. If you already paid a deposit when you signed the promesa, it should also be held in custody, as we explain in our guide to the promesa de compraventa.

The full sequence, step by step

At the Santiago Registrar, a response to a registration request takes a maximum of 20 business days. At other Registrars the times vary, and it is worth asking before you fix the handover date.

If the money comes from abroad

Since 1 January 2026 a new Compendium of Foreign Exchange Regulations issued by the Central Bank of Chile has been in force. Under those rules, acquiring real estate with foreign currency from abroad is an investment, and transactions of USD 10,000 or more must go through the formal exchange market, meaning banks and authorized entities, and be reported to the Central Bank. In practice, the entity receiving the funds will ask you to state the type of transaction.

Arrange well in advance which bank in Chile will receive the funds and how the bank draft will be issued. An international transfer and its conversion can take days, and it is better to have the money available before the date of the deed. To convert the price, you can look up today's dollar and UF values.

Notaries and Registrars, like real estate brokers and developers, are required to report suspicious transactions to Chile's Financial Analysis Unit (UAF), and must keep a record of cash transactions above USD 10,000. That is why you should expect questions about the source of the funds or, if you buy through a company, about its beneficial owner. If you are considering buying through a company, read our guide to buying personally or through a company first and, if you live in the United States, our guide to forming a company in Chile as a U.S. citizen. Our property holding companies team forms and maintains the company.

How much closing costs

• Deed of sale. The current notarial fee schedule sets a maximum of CLP 2,500 plus a surcharge of one per thousand on the contract amount, calculated up to CLP 128,000,000. Copies and other formalities are added on top.
• Custody and instructions. The fee schedule leaves instructions to agreement with the notary, and custody too when the amount exceeds CLP 800,000, so ask for the price beforehand.
• Registration. The fee schedule sets a maximum of CLP 2,000 plus two per thousand of the price, calculated up to CLP 128,000,000, in Santiago, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar and San Miguel, and a surcharge 50% higher at other Registrars. At the Santiago Registrar, registering a simple sale costs 0.2% of the price, capped at CLP 264,200, including the copy.
• Certificates. For example, the certificate of mortgages, encumbrances and prohibitions costs CLP 6,600 at the Santiago Registrar.
• Stamp tax. The sale itself does not pay it. If there is a mortgage, the loan pays 0.066% for each month or fraction until maturity, up to a maximum of 0.8%.
• VAT. It only applies if the seller sells on a regular basis, such as a developer selling new homes. Buying a used home from a private individual does not attract it. We cover it in our guide to VAT on new homes in Chile.
• Professional fees for the title study and the drafting, as quoted.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sign the deed from abroad?

Not remotely. The deed is signed in person before a Chilean notary, and if you cannot be in Chile, an attorney in fact signs for you under a power of attorney that expressly authorizes the purchase.

When do I become the owner?

From registration in the Registrar's Property Register, not from signing or from payment. That is why the price should be released to the seller against the registration.

Does the notary check the title?

No. The notary attests to who signs and what they sign. Checking the title is the job of the title study, done before signing.

What if the Registrar refuses the registration?

The Registrar must state the reasons in writing. The entry in the Repertorio keeps its priority for two months, so the problem should be fixed and the deed presented again within that period. If the refusal is unjustified, it can be challenged before a judge.

How long does registration take?

At the Santiago Registrar, a maximum of 20 business days. At other Registrars the times vary.

How we can help

At Terreno en Regla we carry out the title study before signing, draft or review the deed and the notarial instructions, obtain your RUT and prepare your power of attorney if you are buying from abroad, and follow the registration until the property is in your name. Write to us with the property details and the date you have in mind for the deed. You can find every way to reach us on our contact page.