Check a plot before you pay

Search for the plot on the SIGFU portal

Go to sigfu.gouv.ci, section “Parcelles” (plots). It is free and instant, and most of the information can be viewed without creating an account¹.

You can search in two ways: by lotissement (locality, name, number, date and year of the approval order) or by plot (locality, lotissement, block, plot number, or IDUFCI, the plot’s unique land identifier)¹.

The portal itself displays the notice: “Les résultats affichés ne concernent que les lotissements approuvés” (the results shown only cover approved subdivisions)¹.

Where

sigfu.gouv.ci › Parcelles

Cost

Free, no account needed¹

Time

Instant

Compare the result with the seller’s papers

The name of the lotissement, the block and the plot number must match exactly what appears on the documents the seller has sent you. One digit out means it is a different plot.

Also look at the status shown: a plot’s record says whether or not it is “mis en sursis” (placed on hold), along with its locality, lotissement, block, number, type and land registry district¹.

Note

Whether it is “mis en sursis” (on hold) or not¹

Check the order approving the subdivision

The order (arrêté) approving a lotissement (approved subdivision) is not a secret document. It is published in the Journal officiel (official gazette) and in a legal notices newspaper, and posted at the prefecture, the sub-prefecture, the town hall, the planning department and in the villages concerned².

While a subdivision is being laid out, the references of the order must be displayed on site³. So someone on the ground can note them down for you.

Where

Official gazette, legal notices, prefecture, town hall²

Request an état foncier, if the property already has a title

If the plot already has a published ACD or a titre foncier (land title), have a notary request an état foncier (land register statement) from the Conservation de la propriété foncière et des hypothèques (the land and mortgage registry). It is the only official way we have found to see the rights registered against a titled property, a mortgage for example⁵.

The état historique (historical statement) lists every transfer already registered⁵. The request is made in person at the counter, not online, and anyone, individual or company, can make it⁵.

Cost

3,000 FCFA⁵

Time

2 days⁵

État historique

1,000 FCFA per entry, minimum 3,000⁶

Have the plot checked on the ground

From abroad, you cannot see the plot. A chartered surveyor (géomètre-expert) registered with the professional Order goes on site and checks that the plot you are being shown is the one on the plan, and that its boundaries match.

This is a protected profession: alongside the planning departments, only chartered surveyors on the Order’s register are authorised to set out subdivision plans on the ground⁷.

Who does it

A chartered surveyor registered with the Order

Good to know

Moving a boundary marker is a criminal offence⁸

Check the QR code, if the seller shows you an ADU

If the seller produces an ADU (attestation de droit d’usage coutumier, certificate of customary land use rights), it carries a QR code. According to the ministry, “grâce au QR Code […] il sera possible de procéder à sa vérification en ligne afin de confirmer l’authenticité des informations” (thanks to the QR code, it will be possible to verify it online to confirm the information is genuine)⁹. The ACD, for its part, is signed electronically within SIGFU⁹.

We have not been able to test this check: we do not have a real ADU to hand. Scan it yourself, and have your notary confirm the result.

Format

QR code on the ADU⁹

What these checks will not tell you

To put it plainly: the SIGFU portal only tells you that a plot exists within an approved lotissement¹. It does not say who owns it, whether there is a dispute, or whether it has already been sold.

A way of freezing an identifier because of forgery or a legal dispute does exist (the “révocation” of an IDUFCI), but the IDUFCI portal is restricted to land administrations and professionals, and is still in a pilot phase¹⁰. The electronic land register (Livre foncier électronique) requires an account, and we have not found the conditions for getting one⁶.

In other words: nobody can get a public, free, online answer to the question “is this plot in dispute or already sold?”. LNA-CI does not give a verdict on any plot of land. We verify professionals; they are the ones who carry out these checks.