The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, has lifted the suspension on the issuance of special certificates of title, introducing mandatory public notices, land inspections and stricter verification procedures aimed at preventing fraud and protecting legitimate landowners from losing their property.
Nabakooba announced the lifting of the suspension on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, more than two months after the ministry halted the issuance of the certificates on August 14 following public complaints that individuals were using the process to claim land belonging to other people.
“This morning I am here to present the new guide issued to regulate the issuance of special certificates of title. As we all recall, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development on the 14th of August, 2026, halted issuance of Special Certificate of Title,” Nabakooba said.
“This was due to public outcry where a number of innocent persons were losing their properties under the guise of special certificate of titles,” she added.
The minister unveiled new guidelines governing applications, verification and issuance of special certificates, saying the review was intended to close procedural loopholes, strengthen the integrity of the land register and safeguard security of tenure as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Special certificates of title are issued to replace duplicate certificates that have been lost, destroyed or rendered unusable. However, the ministry said the absence of detailed procedures had left gaps that could be exploited by people seeking to make fraudulent claims over land.
“The Registration of Titles Act provides for the issuance of special certificates of title under Section 69 but fell short of explicitly providing for the procedure to help eliminate aspects of fraud that are rampant today,” Nabakooba said.
She said the ministry had developed guidelines to help landowners replace their titles while strengthening checks by officials responsible for processing applications.
“The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has reviewed the procedure of issuance of special certificate of title to streamline the process and minimise the loopholes leading up to false claims by fraudulent members of society and ensure security of tenure as enshrined in the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda,” she said.
The lifting of the suspension means applications can resume under the revised procedures, which require applicants to provide supporting documents and undergo verification before a replacement certificate is approved.
Under the guidelines, applications will fall into four main categories: replacement of obliterated titles, replacement of lost or destroyed duplicate certificates, applications arising from court orders and applications made by administrators or executors of estates of deceased persons.
Applicants seeking replacement of lost or destroyed titles must submit an application in triplicate, a statutory declaration supporting the application, proof of payment of statutory fees, a copy of their national identity card and passport photographs.
They must also provide a police form reporting the loss of the title, a Local Council I committee report, an inspection or boundary opening report, a Gazette notice, a newspaper advertisement in a newspaper of wide circulation and a local notice.
For an obliterated title, the applicant must submit the damaged duplicate certificate alongside the application, statutory declaration, evidence of payment, identification documents, passport photographs, a Local Council I committee report and an inspection or boundary opening report.
The guidelines also impose additional safeguards on applications involving court orders. A person seeking issuance of a special certificate pursuant to a court order must submit a formal letter requesting implementation and attach a certified copy of the order.
The registrar must verify the order with the court that issued it before granting the special certificate.
Applications involving estates of deceased persons will require additional documentation to establish the applicant’s authority to act on behalf of the estate. Executors and administrators must submit the application in triplicate, a statutory declaration, proof of payment, a copy of the title, identification documents and passport photographs.
They must also provide a police form reporting the loss, a Local Council I committee report, an inspection or boundary opening report, a Gazette notice, a newspaper advertisement, a local notice, a copy of the inventory, letters of probate or administration and a copy of the petition for probate or letters of administration.
One of the most important changes is the introduction of a mandatory notice period of at least 30 days before a special certificate is issued under Section 69 of the Registration of Titles Act.
During this period, the registrar must publish a notice in the Gazette, while the notice must also be displayed at the relevant sub county, on the Local Council I noticeboard and on the land that is the subject of the application.
The ministry will publish a monthly list of applications in a newspaper of wide circulation and display notices on its website, identifying the affected parcels of land and the applicants.
The notice placed on the land must be headed “NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL CERTIFICATE OF TITLE”. It must identify the parcel, provide relevant land register particulars, include at least three previous transactions where available, state the applicant’s name and the date of application, and provide a contact point for objections.
These measures are intended to give people who may have an interest in the land an opportunity to learn about an application and challenge it before a replacement title is issued.
The guidelines provide for objections from anyone claiming an interest in the land or alleging fraud, impersonation, competing ownership, double sale, unlawful retention or another material irregularity.
An objection must be submitted to the registrar through a formal letter within the applicable notice period, with the objector required to explain the grounds for challenging the application.
Where an objection is received, the registrar must call both parties for a hearing and make a ruling on the matter.
The guidelines also require physical inspection of the land and, where necessary, the opening of boundaries to establish the condition and use of the property.
The exercise must be conducted by a government surveyor together with a registrar of titles or land officer. The inspection report must record the proceedings, members present and details of the land, including its development status, occupancy and use.
The inspection must take place in the presence of the Local Council I committee, which must have a quorum of five members.
The registrar will not be permitted to issue a special certificate merely because an applicant claims to have lost the original document. The guidelines require the registrar to establish that the original certificate was genuine and authentic, the applicant has been properly identified and has the legal authority to apply, and the loss, destruction or obliteration has been sufficiently established.
The registrar must also confirm that the transaction is genuine, relevant encumbrances and dealings have been identified, any recognised pending transactions have been completed, the required notices have been published and no unresolved matter legally prevents issuance.
The proposed special certificate must accurately reflect the Register Book, whose integrity the guidelines identify as a key consideration in every application.
Every decision to approve, defer, reject or suspend an application must be recorded with reasons, strengthening accountability and creating a record that can be reviewed where questions arise over the handling of a particular application.
The guidelines further require each special certificate to contain the information prescribed by the Registration of Titles Act, including relevant Register Book particulars, memoranda, endorsements and the reason for issuance.
The Register Book must be endorsed with the fact and date of issuance, the reason for issuance, a reference to the previous certificate, the application number, the relevant Gazette notice and any applicable court order, alongside other required particulars.
The ministry has also committed to wider consultations with stakeholders as it works towards translating the guidelines into regulations.
“As we lift the suspension, we are going to undertake wider consultations with the relevant stakeholders and translate these guidelines into regulations,” Nabakooba said.
The guidelines are to be read alongside the 1995 Constitution, the Registration of Titles Act, the Land Act, applicable regulations, court orders and other relevant laws.
Article 237 of the Constitution provides for security of tenure and protects lawful and bona fide occupants, while Section 69 of the Registration of Titles Act provides for special certificates where duplicate titles have been lost, destroyed or rendered unusable.
Section 70 addresses special certificates issued pursuant to court directions and establishes an objection mechanism.
The revised procedures are intended to make the replacement of land titles more transparent, strengthen scrutiny of applications and give affected parties a formal opportunity to challenge suspicious claims before a new certificate is issued.
Nabakooba said the lifting of the suspension would allow the process to resume under the new safeguards as the ministry continues consultations aimed at establishing a stronger regulatory framework for the issuance of special certificates of title.
