How to Download the Property Tax Certificate Online: IGAC and Bogotá Cadastre

Quick answer: the first thing is to know who manages the cadastre for your property. If it is in Bogotá, the cadastral certificate is downloaded from Catastro en Línea of the UAECD. If not, it is requested at the IGAC procedures store, as long as your municipality does not appear as excluded on that screen.

Many people arrive at the notary's office with a PDF that was not the one they were asked for. Before opening any portal, it is worth being clear about what this document is: the cadastral certificate states what the cadastre has registered for the property (identification, characteristics, appraisal and its validity). It does not say who the owner is according to the registry, and it does not show that the property tax is up to date.

For the legal status of the property there is another document: the certificate of title and freedom (certificado de tradición y libertad) from the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro, which is requested online and does have a fee according to the current registry fee resolution (I am not citing a figure here; check the current figure with the SNR). We have a guide on the certificado de tradición y libertad. And if what they are asking for is the paz y salvo del predial, that is a different procedure.

First: confirm who the cadastral manager of your property is

There are two channels and they do not mix. Bogotá is requested from the Unidad Administrativa Especial de Catastro Distrital (UAECD). The national cadastral certificate of the IGAC uses the IGAC database, and the institute's procedures screen, consulted on October 20, 2026, excludes Bogotá and other independent cadastral managers it lists on that same page.

I am not going to copy that list for you, because it changes. Do this: go to the IGAC procedures list, search for “Certificado Catastral Nacional” and read whether your municipality appears as excluded. If it does, your certificate is issued by another manager; if not, follow the IGAC section below.

Watch out for one detail: do not use a manager's PDF for another property. The notary's office will return it and you will lose the day.

Bogotá, route 1: Catastro en Línea

This is the main route. The document certifies the registration of the property or improvement, its characteristics and conditions, with the validity of the appraisal, and according to the UAECD the online procedure does not generate a payment (official sheet, consulted on October 20, 2026).

1. Go to Catastro en Línea and register with document type and number, issue date and an active email.
2. On each login the system sends a dynamic key to that email.
3. With associated properties, the PDF is generated instantly from the download arrow or from the cadastral certificate button in “Mis Predios”. Labels can change, so look for the button the screen calls cadastral certificate.
4. If you have no properties, the system reports that there is no registration in the property database and that the census registration certification exists.

If you need the CHIP, the same portal offers “Obtén el CHIP de un predio” based on the official address, along with an option to validate certifications. Do not assume the CHIP is printed on the certificate.

Only if the online procedure does not show you the property, the office published by the UAECD is Av. Carrera 30 No. 25-90, Torre B Piso 2, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., phone +57 601 234 7600. In-person service is requested by appointment through the agency's schedule.

Bogotá, route 2: Catia

It is a second channel, not a replacement for the registry. According to the Portal Bogotá (notes from February 25 and April 20, 2026), anyone already registered in Catastro en Línea can open “Pregúntale a Catia” on the Catastro Bogotá site and type: requiero descargar el certificado catastral. The PDF arrives by email.

The Alcaldía describes it as free, available 24 hours, with digital certification and in less than five minutes. Take it as the official announcement for 2026, not as a deadline anyone has to meet. If Catia gets tangled up, go back to route 1; I find it safer because you see the PDF on screen.

Source: Portal Bogotá, February 25, 2026.

Property in the IGAC database

Here the certificate consults the physical, legal and economic information stored in the institute's database. According to Resolution 702 of May 24, 2023, the national cadastral certificate and the location certificates named there are not subject to a charge (text of the resolution). Note: the store's old help still talks about payment and deadlines; ignore it, since the resolution sets the free status.

The letterhead of that resolution prints the IGAC office at Carrera 30 No. 48-51, Bogotá D.C., and the phone line (601) 6531888. Confirm those details before going: they come from the 2023 document and are not the UAECD service office.

For a property in that database, the online help asks for the cadastral number of at least one. Look for it in the public deed, the registration certificate or the property tax bill. Then request “Certificado Catastral Nacional” in the virtual procedures store.

Now, an honest warning: the IGAC booklet of September 2025 says that online download of the certificate for a property you hold title to is enabled only after requesting it at least once, in person, at a Dirección Territorial, and that it can also be accessed through the portal or Carpeta Ciudadana. On the day of this review, the store was still offering the online request. Send the screen of that day; if it asks for the prior visit, there is no shortcut.

The resolution describes uses per property: military booklet, award of social interest housing, students of official educational centers, income tax return, notarial purposes, public utilities, bank loans and similar. That does not mean it is enough on its own. For the housing subsidy, for example, each entity asks for its own package, and the certificate does not replace the application.

Who can request it and what to do if the data does not match

Resolution 702 prohibits delivering products with owner data to anyone other than the holder, their attorney, the legal representative or the possessor. Other entities or individuals must prove their standing. So if a third party charges you to “get the certificate” or asks for your email key, that is not a channel of the UAECD or the IGAC. Do not give that key.

If the area, address or appraisal does not match the deed, do not edit the PDF or “fix” it by hand. The Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro reported on October 27, 2023 that cadastre and registry were out of sync and that it is advisable to compare the areas and boundaries in the deeds and the certificate of title with the current cadastral information. Cross-check the three documents and request the correction from the entity that corresponds.

To understand the appraisal figure, read cadastral vs. commercial appraisal. And if the value or the area does not match the property tax, you have the guide to appraisal review and claim.

According to the active listings on Colombia Move (October 2026), the housing section has 351 active listings. The certificate does not publish the property: it puts in writing what the cadastre already has registered.

Frequently asked questions

❓ Is the IGAC certificate valid if the property is in Bogotá?

No, in Bogotá the certificate is issued by the UAECD. The IGAC procedures screen lists other independent managers, so check it on the day you do the procedure, because it can change (verify with the official source).

❓ Do I have to pay to download it?

The national cadastral certificate under Resolution 702 has no charge, and in Bogotá the UAECD sheet says the procedure does not generate a payment. Other documents, such as the certificate of title and freedom, do have a fee, and its amount is not cited here (verify with the official source).

❓ Is it the same as the certificate of title and freedom or the paz y salvo del predial?

No. The cadastral certificate shows what is registered in the cadastre; the certificate of title and freedom reports the legal status and registry history of the registered property. The paz y salvo del predial is a different procedure and is requested separately (verify with the official source).

❓ Can someone else request it?

Resolution 702 reserves the owner's data for the holder, the attorney, the legal representative or the possessor. A third party or entity must prove its standing before the entity that issues the document (verify with the official source).

❓ In Bogotá, does it arrive the same day?

Catastro en Línea generates the PDF in the same session, and Catia sends it to the email of whoever is already registered. The “less than five minutes” is what the Alcaldía published in 2026, not a legal deadline (verify with the official source).

❓ What do I do if the property does not show up or the area does not match?

Do not use a PDF from another municipality or alter the file. Look for the cadastral number or the CHIP, request an appointment at the UAECD office if it is Bogotá, and cross-check the data with the deed and the certificate of title (verify with the official source).

❓ Does that paper prove I am the owner?

It proves what is registered in the cadastre, not the registry history. For a sale, the notary's office still requests the certificate of title and freedom and the other supporting documents that apply (verify with the official source).