Law No. 21,772 has been in effect since April 2, 2026. But not all of its changes operate at the same time. The digital repositories that notaries, conservators, and judicial prosecutors must maintain depend on regulations that have not yet been issued. Regulated fees await a decree from the Ministry of Justice. And SERNAC's oversight of public service at notaries and conservators now has a legal basis, though full implementation is yet to be defined. This alert maps what has already changed, what is coming, and the deadlines your company should be tracking.
What changed
Law No. 21,772, published on October 1, 2025, came into general effect six months after publication. Three changes with direct operational impact are already in force.
The first: the requirement of fingerprint identification on public deeds. All signatories must provide their fingerprint alongside their signature. The notary must record a note if this is not possible. This applies since April 2, 2026.
The second: the regulation of notarial records and notarial instructions. Both instruments, widely used in practice, lacked specific legal regulation. The law formalizes them and establishes their requirements.
The third: the transfer of supervisory authority from visiting judges to judicial prosecutors of the courts of appeals. They will conduct quarterly inspections, prepare reports, receive complaints, and coordinate with SERNAC.
Other relevant changes have deferred deadlines. Digital repositories (Article 409 ter, Organic Courts Code; Article 5 bis, Real Estate Registry Law) require technical regulations that, under the first transitional article, must be issued within one year of the law's publication, with a maximum deadline of October 1, 2026. Until those regulations are published, the technical implementation of the repository is not fully enforceable.
Maximum fees for notarial and registry services will be set by a reasoned decree from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, after consultation with the Judicial Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, and must be updated at least every two years (amended Article 492, Organic Courts Code). The law does not set a specific deadline for this decree.
What this could mean for your company
SERNAC as an oversight body for notaries and conservators is the development with the greatest potential practical impact. Law No. 21,772 subjects matters related to public service and service delivery to the Consumer Protection Law. This means that unjustified delays, irregular charges, lack of information, or service deficiencies can be channeled through SERNAC, which must also share information gathered with judicial prosecutors.
For companies with high notarial or registry traffic — real estate developers, construction companies, banks, investment firms, law firms — this opens an institutional channel to address service issues that previously depended exclusively on the internal judicial system.
Fee regulation is another point worth monitoring. Today, notarial and conservatory costs vary significantly between offices. The maximum fee decree could standardize charges, which would benefit companies with high-volume operations but could create adjustments at offices currently charging below the ceiling that gets set.
There is an area of concern regarding personal data protection. Public digital repositories will contain information from notarial and conservatory proceedings. The law does not explicitly resolve how this publicity reconciles with data protection obligations. The regulations will need to draw that line.
What you can do
- Adapt your public deed signing logistics. The fingerprint requirement for all signatories is already in effect. If you manage signings with multiple parties — powers of attorney, purchase agreements, corporate formations — coordinate the new procedure with your notary.
- Monitor the publication of digital repository regulations and the fee decree. Both instruments will define the operational scope of the reform. The regulations have a deadline of October 1, 2026; the fee decree does not yet have a known date.
- Record incidents in notarial or conservatory service. With SERNAC now enabled as an oversight body, complaints about delays, excessive charges, or service deficiencies have a new institutional channel. Document incidents so you can escalate them if needed.
If you need to evaluate how the changes under Law No. 21,772 affect your notarial and registry operations or prepare for pending implementation deadlines, schedule a consultation with Cubillos Lama
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case.