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How to Check Who Owns a Property in Croatia
Who this page is for
You need proof of who legally owns a property in Croatia if you are buying it, inheriting it, lending against it, or checking a neighbouring plot before you build. This page explains where ownership is recorded, how to obtain the document that proves it, and what that document will and will not tell you.
Need a land registry extract?
Fill in the form with the address and the document arrives by e-mail, usually within 2 hours.
Order a land registry extract- Buyers from the EU and from outside the EU. Anyone can order the document. You do not have to be a Croatian citizen or resident.
- Heirs living abroad. You can check what a deceased relative was registered as owning before you start probate.
- Owners and neighbours. You can check encumbrances on your own plot or on the plot next door.
Where ownership is recorded in Croatia
Croatia keeps two separate registers, and the difference matters.
- Land registry (zemljisna knjiga), kept by the municipal courts. It records legal ownership, mortgages and other rights. The extract from it is called a zemljisnoknjizni izvadak, known in English as a title deed or ownership certificate.
- Cadastre (katastar), kept by the State Geodetic Administration. It records physical facts: parcel boundaries, area and land use, and who is recorded as the possessor.
Legal ownership is proven by the land registry extract, not by the cadastre. The two registers can disagree, usually because an inheritance or a sale was never registered. If they disagree, resolve it before any purchase.
How to check ownership, step by step
- Collect what you know about the property. A street address is enough. A cadastral parcel number with the cadastral municipality is even better.
- Find the parcel if you only have an address. Our free cadastral parcel check locates the parcel on the map and shows its number, area and land use.
- Order the land registry extract. Send us the address, or the address together with the owner name, or the parcel number. We locate the correct land registry folio for you.
- Read section B and section C. Section B (vlastovnica) lists the owners and their shares. Section C (teretovnica) lists mortgages, easements and court annotations, which pass to a new owner.
- Check for a pending entry. An annotation called a plomba means a change has been filed but not yet decided. Never sign before you know what it is.
What you get, how long it takes, what it costs
| Document | What it proves | Delivery | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official land registry extract | Current legal ownership and encumbrances, with an electronic signature and a QR code for verification. Accepted by banks and notaries. | Usually within 2 hours | 16 € |
| Unofficial extract | The same content for your own information, without the electronic signature. | Usually within 2 hours | 14 € |
| Historical extract | Earlier entries and deleted encumbrances, so you can see the history of the property. | Usually within 2 hours | 18 € |
| Possession sheet from the cadastre | Who the cadastre records as possessor, plus area and land use. | Usually within 2 hours | 14 € |
| Full ownership documentation | Official and unofficial extract, historical extract, encumbrance data and a cadastral plan excerpt in one package. | Usually within 2 hours | 38 € |
| Cadastral parcel check | Boundaries, area, neighbours, land use from the spatial plan and buildability. | Immediately | Free, detailed data 9 € |
Delivery times apply during business hours. Around one folio in ten is not digitally available and takes longer. We tell you by e-mail when that happens, and we refund you if the document cannot be obtained at all.
The document is issued in Croatian
Land registry extracts are issued by Croatian courts in Croatian, and only that form carries legal weight. We deliver the document exactly as issued. If you need it for a bank, a court or an authority outside Croatia, you will usually need a certified translation by a sworn court interpreter, and sometimes an apostille. We do not issue translations, so plan for that separately. For your own reading the structure is simple: section A describes the parcels, section B the owners, section C the encumbrances.
What the extract will not tell you
- Whether a building is legal. Permits are recorded separately. The parcel check shows publicly published permits for the plot.
- Whether the boundaries on the ground match the plan. That needs a licensed surveyor.
- Unregistered claims. An unregistered inheritance or a private agreement does not appear until it is filed.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Croatian OIB number or an e-Citizen account?
No. You order with an address, or an address and the owner name, and an e-mail address for delivery. The Croatian e-Citizen system requires a Croatian electronic identity card, which most foreign buyers do not have. Ordering through us avoids that.
Can I check ownership if I only know the address?
Yes, and that is the usual case. We locate the cadastral parcel and the land registry folio from the address. If the address is ambiguous, for example a large building with many units, the owner name helps us identify the right unit.
Is the document valid for a bank or a notary?
The official version is. It carries an electronic signature and a QR code and has the same legal force as an extract collected in person at the court. Banks usually ask for an extract no older than 30 days, notaries commonly 15 to 30 days.
Can I pay from abroad?
Yes. Payment is by card through Stripe, in euros, which is the currency of Croatia. No Croatian bank account is needed. The invoice is issued by Blue Jupiter j.d.o.o.
The registered owner has died. What can I do?
The extract will still show the deceased person until the inheritance is registered. Order a historical extract as well, because it shows how ownership moved over time, which is what a probate lawyer asks for first.
Do I need a power of attorney to check a property owned by someone else?
No. The Croatian land registry is public, so anyone may obtain an extract for any property. A power of attorney is needed to act on a property, for example to sign a purchase contract, not to inspect it.
What if the property is not in the land registry at all?
Some properties, especially older buildings and properties on the islands, are recorded only in the cadastre or in a separate book of deposited contracts. We identify which register applies and deliver the correct document for your property.
Related pages
- Order a Croatian land registry extract
- What a land registry extract contains
- Free cadastral parcel check
- Full price list
- Croatian contract templates
This page is informational and does not replace legal advice. For a specific transaction, consult a Croatian lawyer or a public notary.
Need a land registry extract?
Fill in the form with the address and the document arrives by e-mail, usually within 2 hours.
Order a land registry extract