Prenotation on a land title: how to protect your deposit between the sale agreement and the deed in Marrakech

Between signing a promise to sell and the final deed, weeks or even months usually go by. During that time the land title stays in the seller’s name, and nothing legally prevents another deed from being filed at the Land Registry. The prenotation is the tool designed to fill that gap. Few buyers know about it, yet it is one of the rare protections recorded directly on the title.

What the text says: article 85

The dahir of 12 August 1913 on land registration, in the version amended by law 14-07 and published by the ANCFCC, states that “anyone claiming a right over a registered property may request a prenotation for the provisional preservation of that right”. The registrar records it on the land title in three cases:

• on a document the registrar cannot register as it stands;
• on an order from the president of the court of first instance where the property is located;
• on a copy of a claim on the merits filed before the competent court.

The key point is one sentence of the same article: “the date of the prenotation fixes the rank of the later registration of the right whose preservation is requested”. In other words, a buyer who has had their right prenoted comes ahead of anyone whose deed is filed afterwards.

According to ReaConsult and Mubawab, sale agreements and sales subject to conditions precedent are among the rights that can be prenoted.

Why it helps between the agreement and the deed

ReaConsult lists, among the clauses to include in a preliminary contract, a land-registry prenotation “to prevent a double sale”, alongside deposit escrow at the notary and automatic termination if the deed is not signed by the agreed date. The same article reports a Casablanca commercial court decision (no. 4428, 11 July 2023): a buyer recovered MAD 2,610,000 plus damages after ten years of seller non-performance. The example mostly shows that disputes can drag on for a very long time.

A prenotation does not solve everything. According to ReaConsult, it guarantees neither the value of the property nor the absence of earlier charges already recorded on the title. So read the title first: an existing mortgage or seizure stays there. Our guide on the land title and the moulkiya covers these checks. And a prenotation only applies to registered properties: for an unregistered property (moulkiya), there is no title to record it on.

Durations: sources differ

Handle this point with care. Article 86, as replaced by law 14-07 in the ANCFCC text, sets the effect of a prenotation obtained by court order at three months from the date of the order, if the final registration has not taken place. Mubawab and a Casablanca law firm mention instead six months for an order. We rely on the official text, but the duration applicable to your file must be confirmed by the notary or the registrar.

According to Mubawab, a prenotation based on a claim lasts as long as the proceedings. ReaConsult says its conditions of maintenance and removal depend on the regulations in force. We could not verify the fees in a clear source: ask the notary for the tariff rather than relying on an approximate figure.

The 2026 angle: authentic form is mandatory

A prenotation on a document requires a document the registrar will accept. Law 41-25 requires an authentic deed for transfers of ownership and, according to Bladi.net (16 June 2026), extends the requirement to promises to sell, with private deeds struck by nullity. Our article on law 41.25 and the authentic deed details the timeline. In practice, a promise made in an agency, without a notary or adoul, is not a solid basis for prenoting anything.

Checklist before paying a deposit

• Ask for a recent certificate of ownership and check that no mortgage, seizure or competing prenotation appears on it.
• Have the promise drawn up in authentic form by the notary, never at an agency alone.
• Pay the deposit into the notary’s escrow account, not to the seller or the agent.
• Ask the notary whether a prenotation is possible for this property and on what basis (document, court order).
• Write into the contract a deadline for signing the deed and the fate of the deposit if the seller fails to perform.
• For an unregistered property, deal with registration first before any significant payment.

This article is informational and does not replace advice from a notary or lawyer. Sources differ on some durations: check them for your file.