Four government offices, in a fixed order: the notary, the BIR, the Provincial Treasurer, the Registry of Deeds, and finally the Assessor. Here is the whole route, with the documents each office will ask for.
Before money changes hands, get a certified true copy of the title from the Registry of Deeds and read the annotations on the back page. Liens, mortgages, adverse claims, lis pendens, or agrarian restrictions all surface there. A title that "looks clean" in a photocopy can carry annotations that block or complicate a transfer. This pre-purchase check is exactly the title verification service we offer.
The transfer starts with a notarized document: a Deed of Absolute Sale for a sale, a Deed of Donation for a donation, or an Extrajudicial Settlement for inherited land. Drafting and notarizing the deed is legal work — have it prepared by a lawyer-notary, not copied from a template. Errors in the deed (wrong technical description, misspelled names, missing marital consent) are the single most common cause of stalled transfers later.
File the deed with the BIR Revenue District Office covering Guimaras and pay the national taxes:
Late filing triggers a 25% surcharge plus interest, counted from the deadline — penalties keep growing the longer a deed sits unprocessed. Once the taxes are paid and the documents check out, the BIR issues the Electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR). No eCAR, no transfer: the Registry of Deeds will not register a deed without it. This stage typically takes a few weeks and is where careful document preparation pays off.
Pay the local transfer tax at the Provincial Treasurer's Office (for property in Guimaras, in the provincial capitol in Jordan) within 60 days of notarization. You will need the deed, the eCAR, and a real property tax clearance showing no arrears. Bring official receipts for everything — the Registry of Deeds will ask for them.
Present to the Registry of Deeds for Guimaras: the owner's duplicate title, the notarized deed, the eCAR, the transfer tax receipt, the tax clearance, and the registration fees. The RD cancels the old title and issues a new Transfer Certificate of Title in the buyer's name. Release times vary; if a file sits longer than it should, see our guide on Registry of Deeds follow-up.
With the new title released, update the tax declaration at the Assessor's office so real property tax is billed to the new owner. This last step is often skipped — and skipping it causes headaches years later when the next transaction happens. Details in our tax declaration guide.
Send us a photo of your deed and title, and we'll tell you what stage you're at, what's missing, and what it will take to finish.