Two Sunarp records for one property, a lost testimonio, or a notary who no longer practices: what do you do in Peru?

Three different problems, three different fixes

This page covers three situations that tend to surface when you go to sell, inherit or mortgage property in Peru:

1. Your property appears in two registry records (partidas) at Sunarp.
2. You lost the testimonio of your deed.
3. The notary who drew up the deed no longer practices, because they died, resigned or stopped for another reason.

If you need to understand what a testimonio and a parte are, see testimonio vs. parte notarial. If you want copies of documents already filed with Sunarp, that is the archived title, not the notary’s files.

Two records for the same property: what a duplicate is

Article 56 of the Reglamento General de los Registros Públicos defines it:

“Existe duplicidad de partidas cuando se ha abierto más de una partida registral para el mismo bien mueble o inmueble, la misma persona jurídica o natural, o para el mismo elemento que determine la apertura de una partida registral […]. Se considera también como duplicidad de partidas la existencia de superposición total o parcial de áreas inscritas en partidas registrales correspondientes a distintos predios.”

(A duplicate exists when more than one registry record has been opened for the same property, person or item. It also counts as a duplicate when the registered areas of different properties overlap, fully or partly.)

So it is not only two identical records. It also covers your plot’s registered area sitting, wholly or partly, on top of another property’s registered area.

The regulation treats cases differently depending on what the two records say. Articles 58 and 60 were amended by Resolution 00142-2025-SUNARP/SN; we quote that wording.

When the entries conflict: your window to object

Article 60, as worded in 2025, says the procedure “se inicia de oficio por la Jefatura de la Unidad Registral” (is started by the registry unit on its own). Then:

“La resolución que emita la Unidad Registral se notifica a los titulares de las partidas, así como a aquellos cuyos derechos inscritos se puedan ver afectados por el eventual cierre […] a fin de que se formule oposición al cierre dentro de los sesenta (60) días siguientes a esta notificación.”

(The registry unit’s resolution is served on the record holders and on anyone whose recorded rights may be affected, so they can object within sixty days of being notified.)

What happens next depends on you and the other people affected:

• If no one objects, “la Unidad Registral dispone el cierre de la partida registral menos antigua” (the registry unit closes the newer record).
• If anyone objects, the closure procedure “se da por concluido” (is ended) and a note is placed on both records. The objection is filed with the registry unit or through Sunarp’s digital channels.
• After that, the court route is open: interested parties can sue for “la declaración de cierre, cancelación, invalidez o cualquier otra pretensión destinada a rectificar la duplicidad existente” (closure, cancellation, invalidity or any other claim to fix the duplicate).

Two practical points. First, if your record is the newer one and you do not object in time, yours is the one that gets closed. Second, Sunarp does not decide who has the better right when entries conflict. If there is an objection, a judge decides.

What closing a record means

Article 62 explains it:

“En tanto no se efectúe el cierre respectivo, no existe impedimento para la inscripción de actos referidos a las partidas duplicadas; sin perjuicio que el eventual cierre de partidas que se realice afectará a todos los asientos registrales de la partida de menor antigüedad. Una vez extendida la anotación de cierre, no podrán extenderse nuevos asientos de inscripción en la partida cerrada. Sin embargo, dicho cierre no implica en modo alguno declaración de invalidez de los asientos registrados, correspondiendo al órgano jurisdiccional declarar el derecho que corresponde en caso de inscripciones incompatibles.”

(Until the closure happens, acts can still be recorded on the duplicate records, but a later closure affects every entry on the newer record. Once closed, nothing new can be recorded on it. The closure does not make the recorded entries invalid; when entries conflict, the courts decide the right.)

What matters for you:

• Before closure, both records can keep receiving entries. If you buy a property that carries a duplicate notice, that risk is yours: if the newer record is later closed, the closure reaches all its entries.
• Once closed, nothing new is recorded on that record.
• Closing is not voiding. The closure does not declare any entry invalid. Only a judge can do that.

Lost testimonio: you can ask for another

The public deed (escritura pública) is not the paper you keep at home. The deed stays in the notary’s register; what you receive is a copy (traslado). Article 83 of Legislative Decree 1049 says the testimonio “contiene la transcripción íntegra del instrumento público notarial con la fe que da el notario de su identidad con la matriz” (is a full transcription of the deed, with the notary certifying it matches the original).

Because the original stays in the notary’s register, the testimonio can be issued again. Article 82 says:

“El notario expedirá, bajo responsabilidad, testimonio, boleta y partes, a quien lo solicite, de los instrumentos públicos notariales que hubiera autorizado en el ejercicio de su función. Asimismo, expedirá copias certificadas de las minutas que se encuentren en su archivo notarial.”

(The notary must issue testimonios, boletas and partes of the deeds they authorized to whoever requests them, and certified copies of the minutas in their files.)

The law does not use the word “duplicate” and sets no limit on how many testimonios can be issued. Our reading is that if you lost yours, you can ask the notary for a new one. Article 83 requires each testimonio to show “la fecha en que lo expide” (the date it is issued), so the new one will carry its own date.

If you want to record something at Sunarp, the registry does not accept just any copy. Article 9.1 of the Reglamento General, amended in 2025, says entries “solo podrán fundarse en traslados o copias certificadas expedidas por el Notario o funcionario autorizado de la institución que conserve en su poder la matriz, salvo disposición en contrario” (can only rest on copies or certified copies issued by the notary or an authorized official of the institution that holds the original). A plain photocopy of your testimonio will not do.

If the notary says your deed does not exist

Article 87 gives you a way out:

“Si es solicitado el traslado de un instrumento público notarial y el notario niega su existencia en el registro, el interesado podrá recurrir al Colegio de Notarios respectivo, para que éste ordene el examen del índice y registro y comprobada su existencia, ordene la expedición del traslado correspondiente.”

(If the notary denies the deed is in the register, you can go to the Colegio de Notarios, which orders a check of the index and register and, if the deed exists, orders the copy issued.)

The notary is gone: who holds the files

Article 21 of Legislative Decree 1049 lists the grounds on which a notary stops practicing. The first two are: “El notario cesa por: a) Muerte. b) Renuncia.” (death and resignation). The law lists other grounds this page does not cover.

When a notary stops practicing, the files do not vanish. Article 21-A, added by Legislative Decree 1232, says:

“En caso de cese de un notario en ejercicio, el Colegio de Notarios en el plazo de treinta (30) días, se encargará del cierre de sus registros, de solicitar la cancelación del título, de nombrar al notario administrador del acervo y de comunicar al Consejo del Notariado. […] Asimismo, luego de transcurridos dos (02) años del cese, el colegio de notarios entregará al Archivo General de la Nación el acervo documentario del notario cesado”

(Within thirty days, the Colegio de Notarios closes the notary’s registers, asks for the title to be cancelled, appoints a notary to manage the files and informs the Consejo del Notariado. Two years after the notary stops practicing, the Colegio hands the files to the Archivo General de la Nación, the national archive.)

Article 89 says who signs copies while the Colegio holds the files: “Cuando el colegio de notarios esté encargado del archivo designará a un notario autorice los traslados a que se refieren los artículos que preceden.” (When the Colegio is in charge of the files, it designates a notary to authorize the copies.)

In practice:

For Sunarp, article 9.1 of the Reglamento General accepts copies issued by the notary “o funcionario autorizado de la institución que conserve en su poder la matriz” (or an authorized official of the institution that holds the original). Our reading is that this covers copies issued by the Archivo General de la Nación when the original is there. We did not review the Archivo General de la Nación’s own rules or fees.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover the court case that follows an objection, the rebuilding of lost records or archived titles at Sunarp, the special procedure for partly overlapping properties, or Sunarp’s technical guidelines for closures in the property registry. Nor do we cover fees charged by the notary, the Colegio de Notarios or the Archivo General de la Nación, or what happens if the original deed was destroyed or lost. To keep an eye on your record so you hear about any new notice in time, see protecting your property from registry fraud; to order the copia literal that shows whether there is a duplicate, see Sunarp copia literal and registry certificates.