Land registry and cadastre in Croatia: how to check a property online
Croatia keeps two parallel records of real estate. Every buyer should understand both - or at least know what to look for in them, so they know what to ask their lawyer.
Two records, one problem
The Croatian system records property in two ways:
Zemljišne knjige (land registry, literally “land books”) is the historical legal register. It is kept by the courts (land registry courts, municipal courts). Entries in the Zemljišne knjige carry legal weight - whoever is registered there as the owner is the owner in the legal sense.
Katastar (the cadastre) is a technical record. It is managed by the Državna geodetska uprava (DGU, the State Geodetic Administration). The cadastre captures the physical state of the plot - its size, boundaries, and land type.
Ideally the two registers should match. In practice they very often do not - and this is one of the most common sources of complications when buying Croatian property. A mismatch between the Zemljišne knjige and the cadastre does not automatically mean a problem, but it always deserves an explanation.
Where to search online
Both registers are now accessible online through an integrated portal:
oss.uredjenazemlja.hr - Otvoreni sustav za upravljanje zemljištem (the open land management system). This is the main gateway. It lets you view both the Zemljišne knjige and the cadastre at the same time. The interface is in Croatian, but it is not hard to navigate.
katastar.hr - the older DGU portal with a map interface. You can search for plots visually on the map.
For a basic check of a property you only need one of the following:
- the plot number (Czech: číslo pozemku, Croatian: katastarska čestica)
- the house number and municipality
- the cadastral area (katastarska općina)
The seller or estate agent should provide you with these numbers. If they refuse to share them, that alone is a warning sign.
What to look for in the Zemljišne knjige
Vlasnički list (ownership certificate)
The basic document showing who is registered as the owner. It should match whoever is selling you the property. If several owners are listed (co-ownership, heirs), all of them must sign the contract - or it must be proven that the others agree.
Teret (encumbrances)
The part of the ownership certificate that records easements, mortgages and other restrictions. A mortgage, a lien, a right of way across the plot, a right of residence - all of this is recorded here. Before buying, all charges must be settled, or their removal must be agreed as part of the transaction.
Plomba (provisional entry)
A plomba is a note of ongoing proceedings. If a plomba is registered against the property, it means the legal status is not yet settled - a mortgage entry, an inheritance procedure or another court proceeding is under way. I strongly advise against buying while a plomba is in place without thorough legal review. We warn about this in the pitfalls and risks section too.
Zabilježba (notation)
Similar to a plomba, but of a milder nature. It may record a pre-emption right, a tenancy right or another title that limits how the property can be disposed of.
Mismatch between the Zemljišne knjige and the cadastre
This is a common situation in Croatia, especially for older properties. Examples:
- The cadastre shows a house, but the Zemljišne knjige still lists the plot as agricultural land (an unauthorised building, or one that was never legalised)
- The area in the cadastre does not match the area in the Zemljišne knjige
- The owner in the Zemljišne knjige is a different person from the seller (unregistered inheritance)
None of these situations is automatically fatal, but each requires legal review. As standard, your lawyer should check both registers and flag any mismatch.
Registration and the waiting period
After the purchase agreement is signed and the transfer tax is paid, an application for intabulation is filed - the registration of ownership in the Zemljišne knjige. Depending on the specific court, this process takes anywhere from several weeks to several months. Until intabulation is completed you are the economic owner, but not the owner in the legal sense.
To protect you in the meantime, a plomba is registered against your claim - your lawyer requests this from the court immediately after the contract is signed.
Practical steps
- Ask the seller for the cadastral number and the cadastral municipality number
- Check the basic status yourself on oss.uredjenazemlja.hr (owner, teret)
- Have your lawyer carry out a complete legal due diligence of both registers
- The lawyer must explicitly confirm that the status is clean, or describe what needs to be resolved
Checking the Zemljišne knjige is free and available online - there is no reason to skip it.
The whole process from due diligence to signing the contract is described in our guide how to buy property in Croatia.