São Tomé and Príncipe

Registering Property in

São Tomé and Príncipe

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: STD 1,116,186,127.15
  • City: São Tomé

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
* 1 Obtain an updated ownership certificate at the Property Registry (Registro Predial)

The seller must obtain an updated ownership certificate at the Registro Predial (Property Registry). This document includes all useful information regarding the property.

Agency: Property Registry (Registro Predial) 		10 days (simultaneous with procedure 2) STD 50,000
* 2 Obtain a copy of the incorporation documents at the Commercial Registry Agency

A registered copy of the incorporation documents is obtained at the Registro commercial (Commercial Registry Agency) in order to prove the legitimacy of the buyer (a company).

Agency: Commercial Registry Agency (Registro Commercial) 		2 days (simultaneous with procedure 1) STD 10,000
3 Tax Authority prepares assessment of property transfer tax (Sisa)

The Conveyance (Sisa) Tax must be filed at the Direcçao das Finanças (Tax Authority). An assessment by official municipal employees is required to certify the property value settled by the parties. Based on this assessment the tax employees inform the investor by phone about the amount due in tax


Agency: Tax Authority (Direçao das Finanças) 		21 days (minimum 10 days to 1 month) included in next procedure
4 Pay Sisa at the Central Bank

The buyer pays the conveyance tax at the central bank (all taxes are paid at the central bank), who issues a receipt.

Agency: Central Bank 		included in previous procedure 8% of property value (SISA Lei 5 of 2007)
5 Obtain proof of payment from tax authority

The buyer submits the tax payment receipt to the tax authority and receives the proof of payment (certidão de Sisa) to be presented to the notary.

Agency: Tax Authority (Direçao das Finanças) 		included in procedure 3 included in previous procedure
6 A public notary prepares and notarizes the sale purchase agreement

The sale and purchase agreement must be notarized by a public notary before the payment of taxes at the tax authority.
10 days STD 200,000 + STD 1,500 (stamp duty)
7 Apply for registration at the Registro Predial

After obtaining confirmation of tax payments, the buyer applies for registration at the Registro Predial. A new property registration certificate is issued to the buyer. Internally, the Registry will inform the Cadastre of the transfer so they update their records.


Agency: Registry (Registo Predial) 		21 days 0.83% of property value (Registration fee)
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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