The extension of deadlines for rural georeferencing and its impacts on land tenure legal certainty

Abstract

This article analyzes the legal impacts of the extension of rural georeferencing deadlines, as promoted by Decree No. 12,689/2025, on land legal certainty in Brazil. Based on an examination of the real estate registration system and the legal framework governing rural property, the paper describes the georeferencing model established by Law No. 10,267/2001, identifies the practical obstacles that hindered its universalization, and critically analyzes the innovations introduced by the decree, particularly the unification of the georeferencing certification requirement deadline to November 20, 2029. The study also examines Recommendation CN-CNJ No. 56/2026, which reinstated neighbor consent as a registry control mechanism during the transition period. The research adopts a qualitative approach with a hypothetical-deductive method, based on bibliographic review and normative analysis. The conclusion is that the extension of deadlines produces ambivalent effects: while it preserves the continuity of rural real estate transactions, it postpones the consolidation of a registration model fully based on geospatial precision, temporarily undermining land legal certainty.