Am I eligible for adverse possession? Find out now.
Answer objective questions about your possession and your evidence and get an instant initial orientation: whether there is a usucapião hypothesis worth investigating in Brazil, or whether an essential requirement is missing — and what to do next.
About the property and your possession.
Documents and evidence you have today. Answer honestly — the result is for you.
The questions, the articles and the review date.
5 or more "yes" = strong evidence, 2 to 4 = reasonable, 0 or 1 = insufficient.
Which modality each combination points to
| Time bracket selected | What the check requires beyond the eliminatory ones | Modality and legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 15 years or more | Nothing | Extraordinary — art. 1,238, main clause |
| 10 to under 15 years | Living there; an acquisition document, including a private agreement, to be assessed as just title; or productive works/services requiring confirmation | Shortened extraordinary — art. 1,238, sole paragraph; or a hypothesis of ordinary — art. 1,242 |
| 5 to under 10 years, urban | Living there, an area of up to 250 m² and owning no other property | Special urban — art. 1,240 |
| 5 to under 10 years, rural | Living on the land and owning no other rural or urban property | Special rural — art. 1,239 |
| Less than 5 years | No combination closes | None of the modalities assessed here |
Answering "not sure" on the lot size or on whether the property is public does not drop the outcome: it becomes a point to confirm. Answering "yes" to "do you own another registered property" closes both five-year modalities — the urban one and the rural one.
Every article is from the Brazilian Civil Code (Law 10,406/2002). Art. 1,238 grants fifteen years to whoever, over that term, without interruption or opposition, possesses a property as their own, regardless of title and good faith; its sole paragraph cuts the term to ten years where the possessor established habitual residence in the property, or carried out works or services of a productive nature there. Art. 1,242 requires ten years of continuous and uncontested possession, with just title and good faith. Art. 1,240 grants five years to whoever possesses as their own an urban area of up to two hundred and fifty square metres, using it as their home or their family home, provided they own no other urban or rural property. Art. 1,239 grants five years to whoever, owning no rural or urban property, possesses a plot in a rural zone of no more than fifty hectares, making it productive through their own work or their family work and having their home there. Art. 1,243 allows adding a predecessor's possession to yours. Art. 1,240-A, added by Law 12,424/2011, covers the two years of direct and exclusive possession over an urban property of up to 250 m² shared with an ex-spouse or ex-partner who abandoned the home. And art. 102 shuts the door: "public property is not subject to usucapião".
What the check explicitly does not assess
Adding a predecessor's possession. The accessio temporis of art. 1,243 can change the time bracket and, with it, the modality — the check asks nothing about whoever occupied the property before you. Good faith. A requirement of art. 1,242, and the check never asks about it. Nature of the title. The check records the type of document you selected; whether it is the just title of art. 1,242 is decided by examining the document against the property register. Works and services of a productive nature. In the 10-to-15-year bracket they replace habitual residence (art. 1,238, sole paragraph), but the check only asks whether you live in the property. Size and productivity of the rural plot. The fifty hectares and the work that makes the land productive (art. 1,239) enter as a point to confirm, never as a verified requirement. Registry status. The property register, the listed owner, encumbrances, abutting owners, overlapping areas and real measurements are left out. Origin of the occupation. The check cannot tell whether the possession began as permission or tolerance from the owner. Choice of route. Between the registry office and the courts, the check does not choose. Family modality. The check asks nothing that would decide the hypothesis in art. 1,240-A — direct and exclusive possession over a property shared with an ex-spouse or ex-partner who abandoned the home — and therefore never flags it in the result; the modality is explained in the FAQ on this page and is diagnosed in consultation.
Criteria adopted by convention, which the law does not set
There are three. One: treating a public deed, a private acquisition contract, a formal probate award, an auction certificate and a registered contract as a hypothesis of just title — art. 1,242 lists no documents, and the qualification depends on the case. Two: the 5-answer and 2-answer thresholds that grade the file as strong, reasonable or insufficient — a firm scale to describe the document file, not a legal criterion and not a measure of the chance of success. Three: treating "not sure" (on the lot size and on whether the property is public) as a point to confirm rather than as a negative answer.
Unregistered private purchase agreements can also constitute just title. In the ten-year bracket, missing residence or acquisition documents requires checking productive works or services before ruling out the hypothesis. STJ.
This check does not assess the family modality or the exceptional five-year ordinary modality (article 1,242, sole paragraph: acquisition for value relying on a registration later cancelled, plus residence or investment of social/economic interest). The family modality additionally requires direct, exclusive possession, residence and no other property, among other conditions, and may be granted only once.
Everything you need to know.
What is adverse possession (usucapião) in Brazil?
Usucapião is the legal way to acquire ownership of property through prolonged, continuous and uncontested possession for the periods set by law. Anyone who meets the requirements may obtain recognition of ownership and its registration through judicial or extrajudicial proceedings, with notices and examination of any objections.
What are the time periods for usucapião in Brazil?
The main ones, all from the Civil Code: extraordinary — fifteen years, cut to ten if you established habitual residence in the property or carried out works or services of a productive nature there (art. 1,238); ordinary — ten years with just title and good faith, reduced to five in the specific cases provided by law (art. 1,242); special urban — five years over an urban area of up to 250 m² used as your home, provided you own no other urban or rural property (art. 1,240); special rural — five years over a rural plot of no more than fifty hectares, made productive by your work or your family work and used as your home, on the same condition (art. 1,239); and the family modality — two years of direct and exclusive possession over an urban property of up to 250 m² shared with an ex-spouse or ex-partner who abandoned the home (art. 1,240-A). This check does not assess the family modality: it asks nothing that would decide it.
What does “peaceful and uncontested possession” mean?
It means possession exercised without legally relevant opposition. Any notice or lawsuit requires examination of its content, outcome and effect on possession and the running of time: an unsuccessful possessory action does not automatically interrupt the period for acquiring ownership by adverse possession. This test does not resolve that analysis.
What is possession with the intention of acting as owner?
It means occupying the property and behaving as its owner: maintaining it and paying bills and taxes, without paying rent or relying on permission from the owner. Tenants, borrowers under a gratuitous loan for use and caretakers do not possess with the intention of acting as owners — time spent under those conditions does not count towards usucapião.
Can public property be acquired through usucapião?
No. The Constitution prohibits acquiring public real estate belonging to the federal government, states or municipalities through usucapião, under any modality and regardless of the length of possession. Other routes exist for occupation of public land, such as land regularization programmes (REURB).
Which documents prove possession?
The most used: contracts or receipts of the acquisition (even unregistered ones), IPTU tax bills in your name with payment receipts over the years, utility bills in your name, the property declared in your income tax return, dated photos, receipts of renovations, and witnesses (long-time neighbors). The more documents covering the whole period, the stronger the case.
Can usucapião be done at the registry office, without a lawsuit?
Yes. Article 216-A of Law 6,015/1973 allows recognition at the Real Estate Registry with a lawyer, a notarial record, survey documents and the other required evidence. All signatures need not be obtained in advance: right holders and neighbours may be notified, with silence treated as consent in the statutory circumstances. A justified objection sends the matter to court; an unjustified objection is assessed by the registrar. No completion time is guaranteed.
How long does it take and how much does it cost?
Duration depends on the documents, notices, further inquiries and any dispute; there is no universal estimate in months or years. Costs can include the notarial record, technical survey, certificates, registration and court fees, depending on the route. A lawyer is required on both routes, with legal fees quoted separately.
Does this test replace a lawyer’s analysis?
No — under no circumstances. The test is an initial orientation based on your answers. Every usucapião case has particularities (chain of possession, adding predecessors’ time, documents, registry status, neighbors) that only a professional document review can assess. A negative result here does not mean there is no path — and a positive one does not waive the full review.