Investing in Côte d'Ivoire

Buying land in Côte d’Ivoire from abroad: where do you start?

To buy land in Côte d’Ivoire from abroad, first identify what kind of land it is: in towns, ownership goes through the arrêté de concession définitive (ACD, final concession order); in the countryside, through the land certificate and then the land title. The rules, the offices and even who is allowed to become an owner are not the same.

Urban land falls under the ministry responsible for Urban Planning and its Guichet unique du foncier (GUF, one-stop land office) in Abidjan. Rural land falls under the Agence foncière rurale (AFOR, rural land agency) and the sub-prefecture where the plot is located. The rights registered on a land title can be consulted at the Land Registry and Mortgages services, which are part of the Directorate General of Taxes.

A relative, a friend or an intermediary can help you on the ground. They never replace these official checks, which you can request yourself or have requested by someone holding a power of attorney.

What is the ACD and how do you get one?

The arrêté de concession définitive (ACD) is the administrative act that transfers ownership of an urban plot from State land to an individual or a legal entity. The Code of Urban Planning and Urban Land (Law No. 2020-624 of 14 August 2020) states that it confers full ownership and that it is issued for lots in an approved subdivision.

The application is lodged at the Guichet unique du foncier, in the annex of Tower A of the Cité administrative, in Plateau, Abidjan. Elsewhere in the country, the ministry refers applicants to its departmental directorate; the law allows prefects to issue the ACD by delegation. The ministry gives a time of about three months.

Under the code, the cost comprises the price of the land and a land title tax calculated on its market value. For an ACD requested on the basis of an allocation letter, the public service portal gives fees of 80,000 FCFA for an individual and 240,000 FCFA for a company; that page dates from 2016, so ask the GUF for the current rate.

• Copies of your identity document: the national identity card, identity certificate, consular card or passport are accepted, together with a birth certificate.
• The document on which your right is based: attestation de droit d’usage coutumier (ADU, certificate of customary land-use right), allocation letter or provisional concession order, depending on your situation.
• The plan of the plot stamped by a surveyor, when required.
• The ACD application form and a land status report, for files that require them.

ADU, the certificate of customary land-use right: what has changed since 2025

Since 1 January 2025, the attestation de droit d’usage coutumier (ADU) is the only document accepted to start an ACD application for a plot in a village subdivision. It replaces the former village certificate, which the government has announced it will no longer accept in the acquisition procedure.

The ADU is printed by the administration on secure paper, with a QR code and a unique plot identifier, based on the lot allocation schedule lodged with the ministry. It is then handed to the village chief, the only compulsory signatory. The ministry states that it is supplied free of charge to traditional chiefdoms and that one is produced per lot, and no more: this is what is meant to prevent the same lot being allocated twice.

So demand the ADU from the seller before any payment for village land, and check it. If you hold a former village certificate without an ACD, make enquiries at the GUF without delay: in December 2024, the government invited holders of a lot in an approved subdivision to start the ACD procedure.

How do you check a plot of land before buying it?

Before buying, check three things: that the subdivision is approved, that the seller really holds the right they are transferring to you, and that the plot is free of encumbrances. Selling the same land to several buyers remains the most common trap; only official checks protect you from it.

The ministry responsible for Urban Planning advises checking the land’s status with the State before any purchase. It also lets you check whether a subdivision is approved, cancelled or suspended, on sigfu.gouv.ci, under “parcelles” (plots). For land that already has a title, the land status report shows the rights registered on the title on the day of the request; the history report traces every transfer.

• Ask the seller for a copy of their title (ACD, land title, land certificate or ADU) and of their identity document.
• Check the status of the subdivision with the ministry or on sigfu.gouv.ci.
• Request a land status report from the Land Registry: 3,000 FCFA, two days, on written request with a copy of your identity document.
• If needed, request the history report: 1,000 FCFA per entry, 3,000 FCFA minimum.
• Have the boundaries checked on site by a chartered surveyor, with the neighbours present.
• Visit the land, or have someone you trust visit it, and ask the neighbours about any disputes.
• Pay nothing until you have these answers in writing.

Buying land that already has an ACD: notary and certificate of transfer

When the land already has an ACD, you buy it from its owner, and the law requires a notarial deed for this transfer: go to a notary. Every property transaction remains subject to a compulsory State land or land registry procedure.

The sale results in a certificat de mutation de propriété foncière (CMPF, certificate of transfer of land ownership), issued by the Land Registrar: it is the proof that ownership has passed to you. The Directorate General of Taxes gives a time of fifteen days and a cost of 15,000 FCFA for this certificate, excluding duties on the sale.

Pay by bank transfer, to the notary or into an account in your name, never in cash to an intermediary. If you use an agency, check that it appears on the list of approved estate agents published by the ministry and updated regularly.

Rural land: land certificate and land title

In rural areas, only the State, public authorities and Ivorian individuals can own land (Article 1 of Law No. 98-750 of 23 December 1998). A company, even an Ivorian one, or a person of foreign nationality therefore cannot become an owner, subject to rights acquired before that law.

Customary rights are recorded by the land certificate, issued after an official inquiry. Since Law No. 2019-868 of 14 October 2019, customary land without a land certificate can no longer be sold. A seller offering you a rural plot without a land certificate is therefore offering you a transfer the law prohibits.

The land certificate is not the final step: the land must then be registered to obtain a land title, within a time limit the law leaves to a decree. The registration file is lodged with AFOR, with the land certificate, its publication in the Official Gazette and the technical file of an approved chartered surveyor. No sale or gift is possible while the procedure is under way.

• Application for an inquiry to the sub-prefect, on the land file form (10,000 FCFA according to AFOR).
• Appointment of an inquiry officer by AFOR; choice of an approved chartered surveyor by the applicant.
• Inquiry and recording of the boundaries on site, with the neighbours.
• Public notice of the results in the village for one month.
• Approval by the village committee, then validation by the sub-prefecture rural land management committee.
• Signature of the certificate by the departmental prefect and publication in the Official Gazette.

Farming land without buying it: the land contract

If you cannot or do not want to buy, a written land contract allows you to farm rural land. AFOR offers around ten model contracts: lease, plant-and-share, loan, sharecropping, use as security, as well as sale and gift contracts.

Sale, gift and plant-and-share with division of the land require the owner to hold a land certificate. The contract is declared to the village rural land management committee and then to the sub-prefecture, which provide the model. It bears five signatures: the two parties, two witnesses and the chair of the village committee. A copy is kept by each party, by the committee and by the sub-prefecture.

Power of attorney, dual nationals, foreign spouse: special cases

From abroad, you can have someone close to you act on your behalf through a power of attorney drawn up at the embassy or consulate of Côte d’Ivoire. The embassies in Canada and Italy, for example, require you to attend in person and sign before the consular officer. The embassy in Canada asks for a written request addressed to the ambassador, the power of attorney written without a letterhead, dated and signed, and copies of the identity documents of the person granting it and the person receiving it. Check your post’s list and fees.

Limit the power of attorney to one specific transaction and a short period. A general power of attorney allows its holder to sell or mortgage in your place. Keep a copy, and ask for the receipts and original documents at each step.

In towns, the Urban Planning Code opens ownership to any individual or legal entity: a spouse of foreign nationality can be an owner there. In rural areas, only Ivorian nationality allows you to be an owner. If you have dual nationality, the office will ask you for proof of your Ivorian nationality: have an up-to-date Ivorian identity document ready.

Building or letting: permits and the secure lease

To build, you need a building permit, including outside Abidjan, where the formalities are handled at the local one-stop office. The ministry states that you cannot apply online and that the plans must comply with the planning certificate, which you must obtain before drawing them.

The ministry gives ten days for the approvals and then thirteen days for the permit to be issued. The plans required are the site plan, floor plans, sections and elevations, and drainage. A rejected application must be paid for again. A red cross painted on a wall marks an unauthorised building.

To let a property, the State offers a secure lease contract, sold at 5,000 FCFA a copy in approved bookshops, post offices, town halls and at the GUF. It provides in particular that the rent can only be revised after three years and that the deposit is returned within thirty days.

Setting up a business in Côte d’Ivoire from France or elsewhere

To set up a business in Côte d’Ivoire, go to the one-stop business formalities office of the Centre de promotion des investissements en Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI, investment promotion centre). It is on the second and third floors of the Grand Siècle building, PISAM junction, in Cocody. CEPICI’s portal, 225invest.ci, publishes the forms and the list of documents for each legal form.

The forms available are the sole proprietorship, the SARL (private limited company), the SA (public limited company), the SAS (simplified joint-stock company), the société civile immobilière (SCI, property holding company), the groupement d’intérêt économique (GIE, economic interest group), the branch and the representative office. According to CEPICI, a file lodged between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. is collected the same day from 3 p.m. Fees vary with the legal form and the capital: see the scale published by CEPICI.

From abroad, an agent can lodge and collect the file on your behalf with a legalised power of attorney and a copy of their identity document. Any document in a foreign language must be translated into French by an approved translator.

The Investment Code (Ordinance No. 2018-646 of 1 August 2018) provides for an investment approval scheme, handled by CEPICI. It excludes, in particular, non-industrial buildings, trade, banking and financial services and the liberal professions.

Documents required to set up a SARL at CEPICI

For a SARL with capital below 10 million FCFA, the official list contains about ten documents, all compulsory: an incomplete file is rejected. Prepare them before your stay or before sending the power of attorney.

• Copy of the identity document of the manager and of each partner (ID card, passport, consular card or residence card).
• Four signed original copies of the articles of association, more if there are several partners.
• Two originals of the declaration of subscription and payment of capital.
• Lease for the premises or title deed, in two copies; the lease is registered at 2.5% of the rent for the period, plus a 500 FCFA stamp per page.
• Sworn statement by the manager, to be supplemented within 75 days by a criminal record extract from the place of birth less than three months old.
• Certified list of managers and location map of the premises.
• Single “Personne morale” (legal entity) form and filing report, downloadable from 225invest.ci.
• Legalised power of attorney if an agent lodges the file.

Key points

• In towns, the ACD gives full ownership; it is only issued within an approved subdivision.
• In a village subdivision, demand the ADU: the village certificate has not been accepted since 2025.
• Before paying, check the subdivision and request a land status report (3,000 FCFA, two days).
• Land with an ACD is sold by notarial deed: use a notary and pay by bank transfer.
• In rural areas, only Ivorians can be owners, and land without a land certificate cannot be sold.
• A power of attorney is signed at the consulate, in person; limit it to one transaction and one period.
• To set up a business, use CEPICI’s one-stop office and its official list of documents.

Frequently asked questions