ADU, ACD, titre foncier: which document proves what?

The attestation villageoise: the old system

This is the paper the diaspora receives most often: an attestation villageoise (village certificate) signed by village authorities. It does not amount to ownership. In urban areas, customary rights are personal and cannot be transferred: “nul ne peut se porter cessionnaire desdits droits” (no one may acquire those rights by transfer)³.

It now belongs to the past. The ministry in charge of Urban Planning froze the list of beneficiaries on 30 September 2024 and announced that later customary transactions would be rejected⁴. Holders had to file their ACD application before 31 December 2024⁴, a deadline extended to 31 March 2025 for certificates already recorded in the state land database⁹.

Amounts to ownership

No

Accepted for an ACD

No, since 01/01/2025⁵

The ADU: proof that customary rights have been cleared

The ADU, attestation de droit d'usage coutumier (certificate of customary use rights), replaces the attestation villageoise. It proves that the customary rights over a compensation plot have been purged, that is, cleared⁶. It is not a title to property.

It has a single secure template, one copy per plot, the unique identifier of the plot (IDUFCI) and a QR code that can be checked online. It is signed by the village chief, the chair of the village land management committee and the developer of the subdivision, and produced in SIGFU, the state land information system⁶.

To apply for an ACD, you need the ADU and an identity document⁶.

Created on

1 July 2024⁴

Sole document accepted since

1 January 2025⁵

Can be checked

QR code online⁶

The attestation domaniale: a step, not a title

The attestation domaniale (state land certificate) is issued by the Direction du Domaine urbain (urban state land department) while an ACD application is being processed¹. It is a procedural milestone.

It says your file is moving forward. It does not say you are the owner, and a procedure can stop before the ACD.

Amounts to ownership

No

The lettre d'attribution and the ACP: what we don't know

The lettre d'attribution (allocation letter) and the arrêté de concession provisoire (ACP, provisional concession order) are still in circulation: in 2026 the simulator on the SIGFU portal lists them among the possible bases for an ACD application⁷.

We found no recent legal definition of their value in the texts in force. So we do not state one. If someone shows you one of these papers, this is exactly the case where you do not guess.

Value today

Not established by our sources

The ACD: the transfer of ownership

The ACD, arrêté de concession définitive (final concession order), is the administrative act by which the minister (or, outside the District of Abidjan, the prefect, for residential plots of less than one hectare in approved subdivisions) transfers ownership of a plot from the State's private domain²¹.

It can only cover a plot that comes from an approved lotissement (approved subdivision), registered in the name of the State and holding an IDUFCI; it must be published in the Livre foncier (the land register)¹. A property held under an ACD is sold by authentic instrument, before a notary¹.

Since 2024, a holder of customary rights can no longer ask for an ACD to be cancelled: they can only claim the purge of their rights. And cancelling the subdivision order does not cancel an ACD obtained in good faith⁸.

Amounts to ownership

Yes

Published in

Livre foncier¹

Can be mortgaged

Yes²

The certificat de mutation de propriété foncière

When a property already under an ACD changes hands, or is split or merged, the land registrar (conservateur) issues a certificat de mutation de propriété foncière (certificate of transfer of land ownership)¹. It is what proves the transfer (mutation).

Since the 2024 reform, the law describes it as “définitif et inattaquable” (final and unchallengeable)⁸. It is the document you must obtain in your name when you buy a property that already has an ACD.

Since 2024

“Final and unchallengeable”⁸

The titre foncier

The titre foncier (land title) results from registration in the Livre foncier. It is the strongest form of full ownership.

Since 2024, it can no longer be challenged by an action for annulment⁸. On a titled property you can request an état foncier (land status report) to see the rights in rem that encumber it, a mortgage (hypothèque) for example.

Action for annulment

Not possible since 2024⁸

The certificat foncier: outside towns

In rural areas, the rules are different. The certificat foncier (land certificate) records customary rights over land in the rural land domain; it must be registered within a period set by decree¹⁰.

Be careful about who can buy: “seuls l'État, les collectivités publiques et les personnes physiques ivoiriennes sont admis” (only the State, public authorities and Ivorian individuals are allowed) to own land in the rural land domain¹⁰.

Area

Rural only