Minuta or escritura pública? When a private contract is not enough in Peru

Two different documents

At a Peruvian notary’s office you will hear two words: minuta and escritura pública. They are not the same thing.

The minuta is the written contract the parties sign and a lawyer signs off. The Notaries Law (D.L. 1049) mentions it when it describes what a deed contains:

“El cuerpo de la escritura contendrá: a) La declaración de voluntad de los otorgantes, contenida en minuta autorizada por letrado, la que se insertará literalmente.”

(The body of the deed contains the parties’ declaration of intent, set out in a minuta authorized by a lawyer, copied in word for word.)

The escritura pública is what the notary makes of that minuta. Article 51 of the same decree defines it:

“Escritura pública es todo documento matriz incorporado al protocolo notarial, autorizado por el notario, que contiene uno o más actos jurídicos.”

(An escritura pública is any original document entered into the notary’s register, authorized by the notary, that contains one or more legal acts.)

The deed is a notarial public instrument: the notary draws it up “en ejercicio de su función” (in the exercise of their office, article 23) and keeps it in their register (article 25). A minuta, before it reaches the notary, is a private document. That last point follows from those articles; the law does not say it in those words.

The general rule: agreement is enough

The Civil Code starts from freedom of form. Article 1352 says:

“Los contratos se perfeccionan por el consentimiento de las partes, excepto aquellos que, además, deben observar la forma señalada por la ley bajo sanción de nulidad.”

(Contracts are formed by the parties’ consent, except those that must also follow a form set by law on pain of nullity.)

Article 143 adds that where the law sets no form, you may use whichever you like. That is why a house sale is valid with the minuta alone. Article 949 goes further: “la sola obligación de enajenar un inmueble determinado hace al acreedor propietario de él” (the mere obligation to transfer a specific property makes the buyer its owner). If you signed the purchase minuta, you are already the owner as against the seller.

One distinction is worth knowing. When the law requires a form but does not say that missing it causes nullity, the form only serves to prove the act (article 144):

“Cuando la ley impone una forma y no sanciona con nulidad su inobservancia, constituye sólo un medio de prueba de la existencia del acto.”

(When the law imposes a form without making its absence a ground of nullity, the form is only a means of proving the act.)

When the law does say “bajo sanción de nulidad” (on pain of nullity), the form is part of the act. Without it, the act does not exist in law. This is called a solemn form (forma solemne).

When the minuta is not enough

To register at Sunarp

Even if the minuta makes you the owner, the purchase does not show up in the registry. Article 2010 of the Civil Code says:

“La inscripción se hace en virtud de título que conste en instrumento público, salvo disposición contraria.”

(Registration is made on the basis of a title set out in a public instrument, unless the law provides otherwise.)

A minuta alone is not a public instrument. To register, you have to take it to a notary and turn it into an escritura pública. Without registration, your purchase is not visible to third parties. That is the protection you give up if you stop at the minuta.

Acts that are void without an escritura pública

For some acts the law requires an escritura pública “bajo sanción de nulidad”. Among those we read:

A gift of real estate is the case most people run into:

“La donación de bienes inmuebles, debe hacerse por escritura pública, con indicación individual del inmueble o inmuebles donados, de su valor real y el de las cargas que ha de satisfacer el donatario, bajo sanción de nulidad.”

(A gift of real estate must be made by public deed, identifying each property, its real value and any charges the recipient must meet, on pain of nullity.)

An advance on inheritance (anticipo de legítima) has no article of its own on form. Article 831 says that what a forced heir receives as a gift counts as an advance on inheritance. If what is advanced is a house, it is a gift of real estate, and in our reading article 1625 applies. More on this in leaving property to a minor child.

A mortgage (hipoteca) has its own rule. Article 1098 says it “se constituye por escritura pública, salvo disposición diferente de la ley” (is created by public deed, unless the law provides otherwise). That article does not mention nullity. But article 1099 makes it a condition of validity that the charge “se inscriba en el registro de la propiedad inmueble” (is recorded in the property register). Without registration, there is no valid mortgage.

This list is not complete. Other laws may require an escritura pública for other acts.

When you agreed on the form yourselves

If you and the other party agreed in writing that the contract would take a given form, article 1411 presumes that form is essential to its validity, on pain of nullity. And article 1413 says any change to the contract must be made in the same form.

If the seller will not sign the deed

It happens often: you signed the minuta, you paid, and the seller does not turn up at the notary. Article 1549 says it is the seller’s essential obligation to “perfeccionar la transferencia de la propiedad del bien” (complete the transfer of ownership). Article 1412 gives you the tool:

“Si por mandato de la ley o por convenio debe otorgarse escritura pública o cumplirse otro requisito que no revista la forma solemne prescrita legalmente o la convenida por las partes por escrito bajo sanción de nulidad, éstas pueden compelerse recíprocamente a llenar la formalidad requerida. La pretensión se tramita como proceso sumarísimo […]”

(If the law or an agreement requires a public deed, and it is not a solemn form required on pain of nullity, each party can compel the other to complete it. The claim goes through a summary procedure.)

This works when the deed is not a solemn form, as in a sale. If the act was void for lack of form, such as a gift of a house in a private document, there is nothing to “complete”.

Does the notary still require a minuta?

Under the text of D.L. 1049 we read (the SPIJ compilation as of 26 January 2017), yes, as a general rule. Article 58 lists the acts for which it is not required:

“No será exigible la minuta en los actos siguientes: a) Otorgamiento, aceptación, sustitución, revocación y renuncia del poder. […] f) Aceptación expresa o renuncia de herencia. […] j) Hipoteca unilateral; y, k) Otros que la ley señale.”

(No minuta is required for: granting, accepting, substituting, revoking or renouncing a power of attorney; expressly accepting or renouncing an inheritance; a unilateral mortgage; and others the law sets out.)

The full list also includes renouncing nationality, appointing a guardian, recognizing a child, parental consent for a minor’s marriage, sworn asset declarations, organ donation and setting up micro and small businesses. We did not confirm whether these articles changed after 2017. Before you go, ask the notary whether your act needs a minuta.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover notary or registry fees, taxes on a sale, or what happens if the seller sells the same property to two people. We did not read the current General Regulation of Public Registries or the regulation of the Notaries Law, or court rulings on nullity for lack of form.