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Fully effective as of January 1, 2025, the ADU (Attestation de Droit d'Usage / Customary Land Use Certificate) replaces the village attestation with a single, secure document registered in the SIGFU (Urban Land Integrated Management System). A complete breakdown of this major reform.
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In Ivory Coast, land issues remain at the heart of many disputes and social concerns. For decades, transactions involving rural or peri-urban land relied on simple "village attestations"—documents recognized locally but lacking official legal value, a source of conflicts, fraud, and multiple attributions for the same plot.
The Customary Land Use Certificate (ADU — Attestation de Droit d'Usage Coutumier) is a major land reform by the Ivorian State, effective as of July 1, 2024 and free of charge since January 1, 2025. Its objective: to replace the old village attestation with a single, secure, and legally recognized document. According to the Ministry of Construction (National ADU Campaign, May 22–23, 2025 in Agboville), the ADU is now the only document recognized by the State to certify customary land rights on land from a subdivision.
"The objective is to end multiple attributions on the same plot," emphasized Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné (Aboisso, May 16, 2025, Act 1 of the ADU Campaign).
The architecture of this reform rests on the complementarity of two decrees:
This text governs the procedures for development, approval, and implementation of subdivision plans.
This second decree establishes the Urban Land Integrated Management System (SIGFU — Système Intégré de Gestion du Foncier Urbain).
This circular note implements provisions relating to the securing of customary information in the management of subdivisions approved prior to the implementation of the massive titling reform. It extends ADU guarantees to older subdivisions.
The ADU must be obligatorily signed by three entities to be valid:
This triple signature prevents unilateral and fraudulent attributions that characterized the old system.
"The ADU is in no way a threat to community rights. On the contrary, it constitutes legal recognition of customary rights and protects buyers against double attributions," clarified Minister Bruno Koné to the National Assembly (June 17, 2025). The Minister repeatedly emphasized during the 2025 ADU Campaign that "the ADU removes no power from Traditional Chiefs".
Each ADU is digitally registered in the SIGFU with:
The ADU does not confer full ownership, but it constitutes a provisional recognition of customary rights. It has become the essential foundational document for requesting and obtaining the Definitive Concession Decree (ACD — Arrêté de Concession Définitive). The ACD incorporates the creation of the Land Title by the Land Property and Mortgages Registry; once published in the Land Register, it is unassailable and imprescriptible. This is not a hierarchy ACD → Land Title: it is the same act at two successive stages of the procedure.
2025 Update: according to the Aboisso Regional Construction Directorate (MCLU Newsletter, August 2025), since March 31, 2025, every ACD application must be preceded by a land position request with the Single Land Window (GUF — Guichet Unique du Foncier) in your locality. This is an additional step to anticipate.
Official timeline for ACD: according to Ivorian administration texts (BÂTIR No. 004, Jan–Mar 2022), the regulatory timeline for ACD delivery on an approved subdivision is 180 calendar days at the MCLU (excluding taxes). In practice, this timeline can be significantly longer for various reasons that are not always clear.
| Criterion | Old Village Attestation | New ADU |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Basis | None (customary) | Decrees No. 2021-784 and 2021-862 + Circular Note 0174/2025 |
| Issuer | Village chief alone | Triple signature (chief, CVGFR president, subdivider) |
| Registration | No centralized register | SIGFU with unique IDUFCI |
| Verification | Impossible | Online via QR code |
| Physical Security | Plain paper | Secure form supplied by administration |
| Recognition | Local only | National, sole document recognized by the State for customary rights on subdivisions |
| Anti-Fraud Protection | None (multiple sales possible) | IDUFCI prevents double attributions |
| Cost | Variable (often diverted) | Free since January 1, 2025 |
According to the MCLU Newsletter of August 2025, the 4th edition of the MCLU Open Days (JPO — Journées Portes Ouvertes) was coupled with the ADU Campaign and visited 16 cities from May 16 to August 1, 2025:
Songon, Dabou, Abidjan, Grand-Bassam, Bonoua, Anyama, Yamoussoukro, Korhogo, San-Pédro, Abengourou, Daloa, Adzopé, Aboisso, Agboville, Bouaké, Man.
Campaign theme: "More Secure Urban Land and Sustainable Urban Development, Drivers of Social Stability".
At the closing in Man (August 1, 2025), the Minister emphasized: "You must no longer buy land in a subdivision that is not approved".
The ADU is designed as a transitional step, not as an end in itself. Here is the journey to complete security:
The ADU is issued upon allocation of a lot in a subdivision. It bears the mandatory triple signature and is registered in the SIGFU with its IDUFCI.
A surveyor-expert registered with the Professional Order conducts the topographic survey and installs official boundary markers. The required precision is 0 to 99 cm for at least 1/10th of the boundary points (Decree No. 2023-238).
Since March 31, 2025, before any ACD application, the applicant must file a land position request with the Single Land Window (GUF) in their locality. This is a mandatory preliminary step introduced by the MCLU (MCLU Newsletter, August 2025).
The file includes the ADU, the boundary plan, identity documents, and proof of tax payment. The technical file must include a digital file compatible with IDUFCI.
The GUF (Tower D, ground floor, Abidjan Plateau) processes the file. The Control Service verifies that the subdivision is approved, that the ADU is authentic, and that the lot is not subject to a stay.
The ACD is signed by the Minister of Construction (Abidjan district) or the Prefect (outside Abidjan). Since January 2024, this signature has been electronic via the MCLU's SIGNE platform, which has allowed the Ministry to increase from approximately 17,000 ACDs issued in 2020 to a target of 24,000 to 30,000 per year (BÂTIR No. 008, Jan–Mar 2024). As a field indicator, the South Comoé Regional Directorate issued 5,760 ACDs in 2024 alone (MCLU Newsletter, August 2025).
The ACD is published in the Land Register by the Land Registry. The land title obtained is definitive, unassailable, and imprescriptible (Article 3, Decree No. 2023-238).
Costs vary depending on location, area, and intermediaries involved. Here is an approximate breakdown:
| Expense Item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| ADU (since January 1, 2025) | Free |
| Surveying (approved surveyor) | 150,000 – 400,000 FCFA |
| Technical file compatible with IDUFCI | 100,000 – 200,000 FCFA |
| Land position request (since 31/03/2025) | Per local GUF rate |
| Transfer price and land publication taxes | Variable (depending on location and area) |
| GUF fees | ~101,000 FCFA (ACD) |
| Notary fees | 8 to 10% of transfer price |
For a personalized cost estimate, use our land cost simulator.
The ADU represents a historic breakthrough for land security in Ivory Coast. By combining tripartite signature, SIGFU registration, and IDUFCI identifier, it ends the fraudulent practices of the old village attestation system.
But the ADU remains a transitional step. To truly protect your investment, the path must lead to the ACD and then to the Land Title. This is the only document that assures you undisputed ownership, enforceable against all, and valuable to banks.
At Capital Foncier, we support our investors at every stage—from ADU verification in the SIGFU, to the land position request, and finally to obtaining the definitive land title.
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The ADU has been in effect since July 1, 2024 and has been free of charge since January 1, 2025. According to the Ministry of Construction, it is now the only document recognized by the State to certify customary land rights on land from a subdivision. Old village attestations are no longer valid for new transactions and must be regularized.
Each ADU is produced on a secure form and registered in the SIGFU with a unique IDUFCI. You can verify its authenticity online via the QR code printed on the document, or by consulting the SIGFU with the lot's IDUFCI. Never accept an ADU without these security elements.
The ADU requires three mandatory signatures: the village chief, the president of the Village Land Management Committee (CVGFR), and the subdivider. An ADU without this triple signature is not valid.
It is a new preliminary step before any ACD application, introduced by the MCLU and documented by the Aboisso Regional Construction Directorate (MCLU Newsletter, August 2025). It requires the applicant to first file a land position request with the Single Land Window (GUF) before being able to file the actual ACD application.
Transactions do occur on the basis of an ADU, but it confers only provisional recognition of customary rights, not full ownership. The buyer will then have to pursue the ACD procedure. We strongly recommend going through a notary and verifying the ADU in the SIGFU before any transaction.
The Rural Land Certificate is issued by AFOR (Rural Land Agency) after an official land survey (Decree No. 2019-266). It is specific to the rural land domain. The ADU concerns urban and peri-urban subdivisions involving village communities. Both are intermediate steps toward the land title, but via different routes.
The official timelines (180 calendar days for the ACD at the MCLU) are those provided by Ivorian administration texts. In practice, they can be much longer for various reasons that are not always clear. Anticipating and regularly checking the progress of your file with the GUF is the recommended approach.
No. The ADU does not protect against expropriation for reasons of public utility. Only the land title registered in the Land Register offers maximum protection, and even then, the State may expropriate subject to just and prior compensation. With an ADU, compensation will be significantly lower than with a land title.
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