Sunarp archived title vs. registry entry: what each one is and how to get a copy

Three pieces: partida, asiento and título

In Sunarp, everything registered about a property, a company or a vehicle is organized in three pieces. It helps to keep them apart, because each one is ordered differently.

The partida (registry file). The Reglamento General de los Registros Públicos says, under its principle of specialty, that «por cada bien o persona jurídica se abrirá una partida registral independiente» (each asset or legal entity gets its own file). Article 6 defines it:

“La partida registral es la unidad de registro, conformada por los asientos de inscripción organizados sobre la base de la determinación del bien o de la persona susceptible de inscripción; y, excepcionalmente, en función de otro elemento previsto en disposiciones especiales.”

(The partida is the registry unit, made up of the entries organized around the asset or person being registered.)

Today every partida exists in electronic form, including the old ones kept in ledgers and cards, which were digitized (article 48, as worded since 2025).

The asiento (entry). Each registration inside the partida: the purchase, the mortgage, the attachment, the new general manager. It does not copy the whole document. Article 50 says:

“Todo asiento de inscripción contendrá un resumen del acto o derecho materia de inscripción, en el que se consignará los datos relevantes para el conocimiento de terceros, siempre que aparezcan del título; así como, la indicación precisa del documento en el que conste el referido acto o derecho; la fecha, hora, minuto y segundo, el número de presentación del título que da lugar al asiento […]”

(Each entry contains a summary of the transaction with the data relevant to third parties, a precise reference to the supporting document, and the date, time and filing number of the title behind it.)

The título (title). The document filed to register something: the public deed, the court order, the administrative resolution. Article 7 (current wording) defines it as «el documento o documentos en que se fundamenta inmediata y directamente el derecho o acto inscribible» (the document or documents that directly support the registrable act). Once registered, the title is stored. That is the título archivado (archived title). The Reglamento del Servicio de Publicidad Registral defines it in article 2:

“Es el conjunto de documentos que dieron mérito a la extensión de un asiento registral. El título archivado forma parte del archivo registral y está ordenado cronológicamente en función a la fecha de presentación al registro.”

(It is the set of documents that justified an entry. It is part of the registry archive, filed in order of filing date.)

Put simply: the partida is the folder, the asiento is the summary sheet, and the archived title is the case file with the actual papers behind that sheet.

What the registry archive keeps

Article 108 of the Reglamento General lists what the archive contains. Besides the partidas, it includes:

“b) Los títulos que han dado mérito a las inscripciones conforme a lo establecido en el artículo 7, acompañados de la anotación de inscripción y de los documentos en los que consten las decisiones del registrador o del tribunal registral emitidos en el procedimiento registral, los informes técnicos y demás documentos expedidos en éste; c) Las solicitudes de inscripción de los títulos cuya inscripción fue denegada, con las respectivas esquelas de observación y tacha;”

(The titles that led to registrations, together with the registrar’s or registry tribunal’s decisions and the technical reports; and the applications that were refused, with their objection and rejection notices.)

So the archived title holds more than the deed: it also holds what the registrar decided and the technical reports. Refused applications are archived too, with their objections (observaciones) and rejections (tachas).

Those documents never leave Sunarp. Article 111 says they «permanecerán siempre en las Oficinas Regístrales respectivas» (always stay at the registry office), unless a judge requires them or the office’s management orders it for justified reasons. What you get is always a copy.

Why the archived title matters to you

Article 46 of the Reglamento General explains how entry and title relate: the entry «expresará necesariamente el acto jurídico de donde emana directa o inmediatamente el derecho inscrito, el mismo que deberá constar en el correspondiente título» (must state the legal act the right comes from, which must appear in the title). The entry is a summary. If you need the detail (the terms of the sale, the exact boundaries, the plan, what the judge ordered) it is in the title.

The same article adds something many people miss: «La inscripción no convalida los actos que sean nulos o anulables con arreglo a las disposiciones vigentes» (registration does not validate void or voidable acts). Being registered does not make something valid.

And there is a legal reason to read the title before you buy. Article 2012 of the Civil Code presumes, with no proof to the contrary allowed, that everyone knows what is registered. Article 2014, as worded by Ley 30313, protects a good-faith buyer against later annulment or rescission, but only for causes «que no consten en los asientos registrales y los títulos archivados que lo sustentan» (that do not appear in the registry entries and the archived titles behind them). What does appear in the archived title counts, even if you never read it.

Copia literal of the partida vs. copy of the archived title

Article 131 of the Reglamento General (wording in force since 2021) confirms literal certificates can cover either one:

“a) Literales: Los que se otorgan mediante la copia o impresión de la totalidad o parte de la partida registral, o de los documentos que dieron mérito para extenderlos;”

(Literal certificates are copies of all or part of the partida, or of the documents that led to its entries.)

For the copia literal of the partida, the CRI and the vigencia de poder, see Sunarp copia literal and registry certificates.

Informational copy or certificate: two levels

The Reglamento del Servicio de Publicidad Registral separates two kinds of registry information (article 14):

“a) Publicidad formal simple: Es informativa y consiste en la obtención de información del archivo registral, sin la suscripción del servidor responsable en su expedición. b) Publicidad formal certificada: Es instrumento público y da fe de la información contenida en el registro.”

(Simple information is informational and unsigned. Certified information is a public instrument that attests to what the registry contains.)

Both exist for the archived title:

• Copia informativa (simple, article 15): «la reproducción total o parcial de documentos que conforman el título archivado» (a full or partial copy of the documents in the archived title). This is the one you order online.
• Certificado literal (certified, article 16): the same copy, stamped with the date and time of issue and authorized by the registrar or a certifying officer. It is a public instrument.

Article 15 also provides for exhibición: inspecting the archived titles in person at the registry office, in front of authorized staff.

If you only want to read the deed or see a plan, the copia informativa is enough. If a court or a procedure requires a document that attests to the record, ask about the certificado literal.

How to order the archived title online

Since 2021 the copia informativa is ordered through the Servicio de Publicidad Registral en Línea (SPRL), Sunarp’s online platform. Resolución 049-2021-SUNARP/SA says:

“Aprobar la expedición de la copia informativa de título archivado de los diferentes registros jurídicos, exceptuando el Registro Personal y el Registro de Testamentos, en formato electrónico, a través del Servicio de Publicidad Registral en Línea (SPRL).”

(It approves issuing the archived-title copy electronically through the SPRL for every registry except the Registro Personal and the Registro de Testamentos.)

What to know:

• Who can order it. Anyone. Article 7 of the Reglamento del Servicio de Publicidad Registral lets «toda persona debidamente identificada» (any properly identified person) request registry information «sin expresión de causa» (without giving a reason), unless a rule says otherwise, by paying the fee.
• Which registries are excluded from the SPRL. The Registro Personal and the Registro de Testamentos.
• From which year. The service started with titles archived from 2001 onward. Older ones were to be added progressively, with the additions announced on the platform. Check the SPRL to see whether yours is there.
• How long it takes. A 2021 Sunarp note gives an average of three business days. That is not a period set by any rule.
• How long you can download it. Article 4 of the resolution gives ninety calendar days from issue.
• What it costs. We did not find the current fee in an official source. The SPRL shows the amount before you pay.

To use the SPRL you need to create an account on the platform.

What this page does not cover

We did not verify the current fee for an informational copy or a certified literal copy of an archived title, or which channels currently issue the certified version. We do not cover how to obtain a title from the Registro Personal or the Registro de Testamentos: to find out whether someone left a will, see the Registro de Testamentos. Nor do we cover what to do if the archived title reveals a problem with the property; for that, see physical-legal title regularization and buying a home and how arras work.