Key points
- Land is either titled, in the process of registration (registration application), or unregistered and held under a melkia or another deed.
- The land title is described as final and unassailable by Article 62 of the dahir of 12 August 1913: it is the safest situation.
- The melkia proves possession through witness testimony; it can be challenged and does not protect the buyer as a title does.
- Collective, habous and State land cannot be acquired through possession and cannot be bought like private land.
- Recent certificate, plan, registered encumbrances, boundaries checked on site and planning rules: these checks are made before signing.
- The deed of sale must comply with the form required by Article 4 of the Real Rights Code, including for a power of attorney.
The three legal situations of a plot of land
In Morocco, two land tenure systems coexist: land registration, governed by the dahir of 12 August 1913 on land registration as amended by Law No. 14-07, and unregistered land, governed by Law No. 39-08 (Real Rights Code) and the rules of Maliki Islamic law to which that code refers.
In practice, the land you are offered is in one of these three situations:
- Titled land: it has a land title (الرسم العقاري), with a number, a name, an attached plan and the list of registered rights, kept by the land registry (conservation foncière).
- Land under a registration application: an application for registration (مطلب التحفيظ), known as a registration application (réquisition d'immatriculation), has been filed, but the procedure is not complete. The land does not yet have a title.
- Unregistered land: ownership rests on deeds, most often a melkia (الملكية), a customary ownership deed, drawn up by adouls (notaries under Islamic law), sometimes successive purchase deeds or a deed of inheritance.
The seller must be able to tell you which situation the land is in and show you the corresponding documents: title number, registration application number or copies of the deeds. If they cannot, that in itself is information.
What the land title guarantees
Article 62 of the dahir of 12 August 1913 is clear: “The land title is final and unassailable; it constitutes the sole starting point of the real rights and land charges existing on the property at the time of registration, to the exclusion of all other unregistered rights.” Under Article 1, registration extinguishes all prior rights not mentioned in it.
Two other rules protect the registered owner. Prescription does not allow anyone to acquire any right over titled land against them (Article 63). And a person harmed by a registration has no remedy against the land itself: they can only claim damages, and only in the event of fraud (Article 64).
For a buyer, this means that a right exists with regard to third parties only if it is entered on the title (Article 66). What the title says, on the date you consult it, is therefore what counts: owner, undivided shares, mortgage, easement, attachment or prénotation (a provisional entry that reserves the rank of a disputed right, Article 85).
“Unassailable” does not mean “risk-free”. Article 2 of the Real Rights Code allows an owner who is the victim of fraud or forgery to take action within four years of the disputed entry. This is one more reason to have the deed drawn up by an authorised professional and to verify the seller's identity.
The melkia: a deed of proof, not a title
The melkia is an adoul deed (رسم عدلي) in which witnesses declare that a given person possesses the land as an owner, peacefully and continuously. When it rests on the testimony of a group of people, it is called lafif (اللفيف). It is often supplemented by purchase or inheritance deeds that trace the origin of ownership.
The Real Rights Code governs this proof. Possession gives entitlement to ownership of unregistered land “until proven otherwise” (Article 3). It is valid only if several conditions are met, including the absence of dispute and a sufficient duration (Article 240): ten years in principle against a third party, forty years between relatives who are not in conflict (Articles 250 and 251).
Above all, Article 3 specifies that deeds transferring unregistered land do not establish ownership on their own: they must be supported by proof of the origin of ownership, and the buyer's possession must meet the legal conditions. Buying on a melkia therefore means buying a right that remains open to dispute.
- Another person may produce a contrary deed; the judge then applies rules on the precedence of evidence (stated origin, earlier date, integrity of the witnesses…).
- Boundaries are described by reference to neighbours (“to the north, so-and-so's land”), rarely by measurements: the actual area may be very different.
- The same land, or part of it, may have been sold twice, or be claimed by co-heirs.
- No public register records mortgages or previous sales as the land title does.
Collective land, habous, State land, guich
Some land cannot be bought like private land, even if someone has occupied it for a long time and produces papers. Article 261 of the Real Rights Code excludes any acquisition through possession for property in the public and private domain of the State, habous property, land of ethnic communities, property of local authorities and titled land.
- Collective land (soulaliyates, أراضي الجماعات السلالية): it belongs to an ethnic community, under the administrative supervision of the State provided for by Law No. 62-17. Its transfer follows its own rules, which do not involve a simple sale between individuals.
- Habous (الأحباس): property dedicated to a religious or public-interest purpose, governed by the Habous Code. Its removal from habous holdings follows specific procedures.
- State domain: the public domain (shores, watercourses, roads…) and the private domain of the State cannot be acquired through possession, however long it lasts.
- Guich land (أراضي الجيش): land historically granted for use to tribes in return for military service, often around the former imperial cities such as Fez. The occupant does not hold freely transferable private ownership of it.
How can you recognise it? A registration application or a title in the name of the State, a community or the habous; land locally referred to as “bled jmaâ” or “guich”; a sale offered on the basis of a mere “right of use” or a certificate from the community. In these cases, make enquiries with the land registry, the local authority and, for habous, the regional delegation of the Ministry of Habous before making any payment.
Checks before buying
Whatever the situation of the land, these checks are made before paying a deposit and before signing a promise of sale.
- Request a recent certificate from the land registry for titled land (شهادة الملكية): it shows the registered owner and the encumbrances on the date of issue. Compare the name with the seller's identity document. See our guide ANCFCC services.
- Obtain the title plan (or the registration application plan) and note the area, the boundary markers and the neighbouring owners.
- Read the registered encumbrances: mortgage, attachment, prénotation, easement, right of an undivided co-owner. Land held in undivided ownership cannot be sold without the agreement of the other co-owners.
- Check the boundaries on the ground: boundary markers present or not, wall or fence consistent with the plan, neighbouring construction that encroaches, a path that crosses it. This is the role of a surveying engineer (ingénieur géomètre-topographe) registered with the ONIGT (buying land).
- Consult the planning rules: zoning, buildability, alignment, footprint of a future road. Cheap land may be unbuildable (see our urban planning guide).
- If you are buying part of a plot, check whether the division requires a plot division authorisation under Law No. 25-90 on subdivisions, housing groups and plot divisions, as amended by Law No. 34-21, and who will apply for it.
- Choose who drafts the deed: notary, adoul or lawyer accredited to the Court of Cassation (see below).
Article 4 of the Real Rights Code requires, on pain of nullity, that any deed transferring ownership be drawn up as an authentic deed or as a deed with a certain date drafted by a lawyer accredited to the Court of Cassation, unless a specific law provides otherwise. A sale on a mere signature-certified paper is therefore not valid. This article has been amended several times: ask the drafter to confirm the form required on the date of your deed.
For titled land, the deed must then be entered on the title. Article 65 bis sets a three-month time limit for applying for the entry, on pain of penalties. Until the entry is made, you are not the owner with regard to third parties.
Buying land under a registration application
Land under a registration application is on its way to a title, but nothing is guaranteed: the procedure may be blocked by objections, referred to the court or cancelled. Ask for the registration application number and find out its status: boundary marking done or not, closing notice published or not, objections recorded or not.
The dahir provides two tools for the buyer. They can lodge their documents with the land registry to secure their rank: this deposit is recorded in the register of objections and the right is entered on the title on the day of registration (Article 84). They can also apply for publication of their right in the Official Bulletin (Article 83): they then become an applicant to the extent of their right, and the procedure takes the sale into account.
Example: you buy a lot on a registration application filed by three heirs near Fez. Without lodging your deed with the land registry, the title could be established in the name of the heirs alone, and you would then have to obtain the entry of your purchase. With the deposit, your right is taken into account.
Buying on a melkia, then registering
This is the safest approach for unregistered land: buy with knowledge of the risks, then initiate land registration, which will extinguish rights not revealed during the procedure. Before buying, have the melkia and the deeds of origin read by the adoul, notary or lawyer who will draft the sale, and have the land surveyed to compare its area and boundaries with the deeds.
After the purchase, you file a registration application, attaching your deeds, which serve as the origin of ownership (Articles 13 and 14 of the dahir). The procedure includes public notice, boundary marking carried out in the presence of the neighbouring owners, an objection period, then establishment of the title. The details are set out in our land registration guide.
Bear in mind that once the registration application is filed, it can no longer be withdrawn (Article 6), and that objections may arise: this is precisely the moment when competing rights come to light, before they are extinguished.
Buying from abroad: the power of attorney
A Moroccan living abroad can buy without travelling by giving a power of attorney to a trusted person. Since Law No. 69-16 (2017), Article 4 of the Real Rights Code also subjects powers of attorney relating to these transactions to the same form requirement as the deed itself, on pain of nullity. A private power of attorney with a certified signature is therefore not sufficient.
Before signing a power of attorney, ask the professional who will draft the sale what form they will accept for a document drawn up abroad (consulate, notary, adoul, translation), and have the power of attorney specify the land concerned (title or registration application number, or melkia references) and the exact powers: signing, paying, lodging with the land registry.
From a distance, the checks in the previous section are even more important: recent certificate, plan and on-site boundary verification by a professional independent of the seller.
Ellipsoide, surveying engineer in Fez, checks boundaries, surveys the land and prepares the technical file for a land registration; drafting the deed is the responsibility of the notary, adoul or authorised lawyer (contact us).
Frequently asked questions
Is an old melkia worth as much as a land title?
No. Even when old, a melkia remains proof of possession that can be countered by other proof. Only land registration results in a title that the law describes as final and unassailable (Article 62 of the dahir of 12 August 1913).
The seller shows me a copy of their land title. Is that enough?
No. A copy does not tell you what has been entered since. Request a recent certificate from the land registry: it shows the registered owner and the encumbrances on its date of issue.
Can I buy only part of a titled plot?
Yes, but the title will have to be divided: boundary marking of the lot, plan and new title (Article 54 of the dahir). Depending on the situation of the land, the division may require prior plot division authorisation. Have this point checked before signing.
Is land that has been under a registration application for years risky?
A long-standing registration application often hides an objection, a referral to the court or boundary marking that has not been carried out. Ask the land registry for the status of the file before committing, and protect your purchase with a deposit (Article 84).
I am offered “guich” or “collective” land with a signed paper. Can I buy it?
Not like private land. This land cannot be acquired through possession (Article 261 of the Real Rights Code) and its transfer follows specific rules. Make enquiries with the local authority and the land registry before making any payment.
Who checks that the boundaries match the plan?
A surveying engineer registered on the roll of the National Order of Surveying Engineers (ONIGT). They locate the boundary markers, measure the land and compare it with the title plan or the registration application plan (see our boundary marking guide).
Official sources
- Dahir of 12 August 1913 on land registration, amended and supplemented in particular by Law No. 14-07 (consolidated version) — Ministry of Justice (Adala)
- Collection of legal texts on the land registration system (amended 1913 dahir, Law No. 57-12) — ANCFCC, collection reproduced by FAOLEX (FAO)
- Law No. 39-08 on the Real Rights Code (Official Bulletin No. 7158, French translation) — Official Bulletin, reproduced by FAOLEX (FAO)
- Decree No. 2-13-18 of 14 July 2014 on land registration formalities — ANCFCC
- Dahir No. 1-19-115 promulgating Law No. 62-17 on the administrative supervision of ethnic communities and the management of their property — Ministry of Justice (Adala)
- Law No. 34-21 amending and supplementing Law No. 25-90 on subdivisions, housing groups and plot divisions, promulgated by Dahir No. 1-26-61 of 28 July 2026 (Official Bulletin No. 7533 of 10 August 2026, Arabic edition) — General Secretariat of the Government (Official Bulletin)
- Roll of registered surveying engineers — ONIGT
This guide provides general information, up to date as of the date shown. It does not replace the official texts or a professional review of your file. Ask us about your situation.