Significant Amendments to the Law on State Survey and Cadaster

The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted on October 23, 2025, amendments to the Law on State Survey and Cadaster, which will enter into force on January 1, 2026. These amendments introduce a series of solutions aimed at removing legal and technical obstacles in the process of registering real estate and property rights in the cadaster, while also strengthening supervision over the work of geodetic organizations and promoting the digitalization of procedures.

The most important changes relate to resolving problems observed in the previous implementation of the law, especially in situations where the basis for registration is a court or administrative decision issued before June 8, 2018, as well as in cases involving old private documents certified by courts before the introduction of public notaries.

The stated goal of the amendments, as communicated publicly, is to liberalize strict formal requirements for registration in order to allow property and ownership rights to be recorded without unnecessary delays or litigation, which was often impossible due to the lack of passive legitimacy or other legal obstacles.

One of the key novelties is the introduction of a new Article 88b, which regulates special cases of registration of right holders, known in practice as “small convalidation”. This provision allows registration even when the document submitted does not fully meet the general legal requirements, provided that certain specific, clearly defined conditions are met.

Some of the most significant cases where registration is now possible include:

• when the document does not contain a property designation, but a geodetic report is attached that enables identification;
• when there is a discrepancy in surface area between the document and the cadaster, supported by the findings and opinion of a court-appointed expert;
• when an old building permit (issued before August 1, 1992) is not accompanied by an occupancy permit, but expert examination confirms that the building was constructed in accordance with the project;
• when 30 years have passed since the decision serving as the basis for registration, even if it lacks a finality clause;
• when the clausula intabulandi or proof of payment of the purchase price is missing, but the document is older than 30 years;
• when there are discrepancies in the identity details of persons in the documents, which may now be resolved through witness statements.

These situations have frequently represented obstacles to registration in practice — the new legal solutions now overcome them without the need for court proceedings.

In addition, the amendments introduce a new electronic filing procedure aimed at simplifying and accelerating the registration process. The application may be submitted through an online platform on the Cadaster Authority’s website or, as before, via professional users (lawyers, notaries, etc.).

If the application is submitted electronically, it cannot be filed through a lawyer; the document holder submits it personally in digital form, providing consent for the processing of personal data. If the documentation meets the requirements, the cadaster office notifies the applicant and instructs them to submit the documents in the legally prescribed form, after which the registration is carried out without issuing a formal decision.

If the requirements are not met, the applicant is notified through the application and directed either to a professional representative (e.g., lawyer) or to litigation.

The purpose of this new approach is to enable faster and simpler registration of property rights, significantly reducing administrative delays and allowing citizens and legal entities to become registered right holders more efficiently. However, the actual impact and consistency of its implementation can only be properly assessed after the law enters into force.