Recording Inherited Property in the Registry and CRIM

When a person dies, their house or farm does not change owners on paper by itself. The Registro de la Propiedad (Property Registry), the public office that shows who owns each piece of real estate in Puerto Rico, will keep showing the deceased's name until someone submits the inheritance documents. Until that happens, selling, mortgaging or dividing the property becomes much more complicated.

This guide explains, step by step, how the property is put in the heirs' names and what you must do, separately, with the CRIM (Municipal Revenue Collection Center), which collects property tax.

Why the inheritance has to be recorded

Order matters. The Registry Act requires what is called tracto sucesivo (chain of title): each owner must be recorded before the next one. First the title of the causante (the deceased person whose estate it is) must appear, and then the right of their heirs. Only after that can a partition or a sale be recorded (Ley 210-2015, Art. 134).

The estate is not a person. The sucesión is the group of heirs (the estate). Until the inheritance is divided, they all own everything in common, each with an abstract share, without any one of them owning a particular room or the house itself.

Instancia or deed: two different paths

There are two ways to take the inheritance to the Registry, and many families use both at different times.

The Instancia: recording all the heirs in common

The inheritance right is recorded in favor of all the heirs by submitting the will or the declaration of heirs (declaratoria de herederos). If those documents do not describe the property, they are accompanied by an Instancia, which is a written request to the Registry with the description of the property, prepared according to the regulations under Ley 210 (Art. 126).

With the Instancia, each heir is recorded with an abstract, undivided interest (Arts. 130–131). It serves to put the property in the estate's name, but it does not say who keeps what.

If the house was community property, only the abstract share of the spouse who died is recorded (Art. 126). The other half belongs to the surviving spouse in their own right, not by inheritance. See community property and inheritance.

The deed of partition and award: each property to its owner

For an heir to be recorded as the sole owner of a specific property, you need a public deed of partition and award (escritura de partición y adjudicación) in which all the heirs and legatees appear, or a final court resolution (Art. 131). The partición is the division of the estate and the adjudicación is the assignment of each property to a person. We explain this in detail in dividing the estate (partition).

If there is only one heir, the inheritance document serves as the award (Art. 131). If all the heirs sell the entire inheritance right to a third party, there is also no need to make the award first.

Bequests (a specific asset the will leaves to a person) are recorded with a deed of payment of the bequest, accompanied by the will, the certificate from ODIN (Office of Notarial Inspection, which keeps the wills registry), the death certificate and Hacienda's relevo (Art. 132).

Documents you will usually be asked for

The exact list depends on the case and the notary, but these documents show up in almost every inheritance:

• The deceased's death certificate.
• Declaration of heirs (if there was no will) or the will with the certificate from the wills registry.
• Hacienda's relevo (the lien release from the Departamento de Hacienda, Puerto Rico's Treasury, formally the Certificación de Cancelación de Gravamen). The Código de Rentas Internas (Internal Revenue Code) prohibits registrars from recording partitions, awards, sales or mortgages of estate property without that certificate (Section 2054.05(a)(1)). See Hacienda's lien release.
• CRIM certification showing no debt. The Código Municipal (Municipal Code) prohibits recording an award or partition of the deceased's property while property taxes remain unpaid (Art. 7.063(a)). That certification is also required for Hacienda's information return.
• The deed by which the deceased acquired the property, or its recording details, to verify the chain of title.
• The Instancia or the deed, depending on the path you choose.

If any heir lives outside Puerto Rico, they can sign through a power of attorney. A notarial document executed elsewhere must be protocolized here (incorporated into a Puerto Rico notary's official record) to have effect (Ley Notarial, the Notarial Act, Art. 38). See heirs living outside Puerto Rico.

Karibe and digital filing

Since March 2016, the Registry has operated with an electronic system called Karibe, created under Ley 210-2015, which allows deeds to be submitted digitally. In practice, when there is a deed, the notario (in Puerto Rico a notary is an attorney) is the one who submits it. If you have to submit an Instancia, ask at the Registry how to file it and how to follow up on its review.

Registry fees

Fees (aranceles) are the charges the Registry collects. Under Ley 91-1970, in its 2024 compiled version:

• $15 for each document submitted.
• $2 for the recording if the value is $1,000 or less.
• $2 for each $1,000 of value up to $25,000.
• $50 plus $4 for each additional $1,000 above $25,000.
• $15 for each certification.

A caution about value. Ley 91-1970 says that, for transfers by inheritance, the value is the one accepted by Hacienda in the lien cancellation certificate. But for deaths since 2018, the information return does not include market values, so it is not clear what value the Registry uses today. Ask the notary for an estimate before filing.

The steps, in order

1. Obtain the declaration of heirs or the certificate and a copy of the will.
2. File the estate information return (Modelo SC 2800 C) and obtain Hacienda's relevo.
3. Ask the CRIM for the certification that the property has no debt and pay whatever is owed.
4. Decide with the other heirs whether you will first record in common (Instancia) or whether you are ready for the deed of partition and award.
5. Submit the documents to the Registry, usually through the notary, and pay the fees.
6. Notify the CRIM of the change of owner.

The CRIM: notice of change of owner within 30 days

This notice is separate from the Registry. The Código Municipal requires anyone who acquires a property, including by inheritance, to notify the CRIM on its form within 30 days, even if nothing has yet been submitted to the Registry (Art. 7.052). If they do not, the new owner is liable for the bills issued in the previous owner's name, with interest, surcharges and penalties.

The MI CRIM portal lets you complete the "Cambio de dueño" (change of owner) and request the exemption online; the portal is in Spanish. Because the inheritance opens at death, the prudent approach is to count the 30 days from the date of death.

Old debts weigh on the house. The tax for the current year and the five previous fiscal years is a first lien on the property (Art. 7.057), and the Government also has a preferred lien on all estate property for taxes owed (CRI, Section 2054.01).

The primary residence exemption

The homestead exemption (exoneración residencial) covers the tax on the first $15,000 of assessed value of the home (1957 value, which is much lower than market value), one home per owner (Art. 7.035).

• Surviving spouse. Keeps the exemption without applying again if they were an original owner and continue living in the house.
• Heirs. Property owned by an estate counts as a single home. The right is indivisible and is granted to the co-heir who lives there and does not have an exemption on another property.
• Key date. The property is considered residential if the owner or their family (relatives up to the fourth degree by blood or the second degree by marriage) lived there on January 1.

CaudalRelicto.com is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the courts or any government agency. This page is general information, not legal advice from an attorney who knows your case. Names and figures in examples are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.