Glossary of Chilean land and permitting terms for energy developers

Definitions

Apostille (apostilla)

Certificate that authenticates a public document issued in a country party to the Hague Convention, such as a power of attorney signed abroad, and replaces legalization for use in Chile. Ley 20.711Title and registry

Appraisal commission (comisión tasadora)

Panel of three professionals appointed by the electricity and fuels regulator (Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustibles, SEC) that, absent agreement, sets the compensation for an electric easement without counting any increase in value from the works. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, arts. 63 y 63 bisEasements

Archaeological monument (monumento arqueológico)

Site, ruin, deposit or anthropological-archaeological object that belongs to the State by operation of law; any find must be reported to the National Monuments Council. Ley 17.288, arts. 21 y 26Permitting and land use

BESS (battery energy storage system)

System that stores energy in batteries to deliver it to the grid later; it can sit inside or near a substation and, since electric concessions do not cover it, its site is negotiated with the landowner. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, art. 2Power sector

Border zone (zona fronteriza)

Area declared a border zone, where nationals of neighboring countries cannot acquire ownership or other real rights in real property unless exempted by decree and where, under DL 993, rural parcels cannot be leased to foreigners. Decreto Ley 1.939 de 1977, art. 7Minerals, water and special land regimes

Boundaries (deslindes)

Limits of a parcel with its neighbors as stated in the recording; older recordings often describe them by the names of adjoining owners, so they are checked against a plan or a survey.Title and registry

Certificate of current title (certificado de dominio vigente)

Copy of a parcel’s ownership recording, certified by the Conservador as still in force, showing who the current recorded owner is.Title and registry

Co-ownership (comunidad)

Situation in which several people own the same property, for example the heirs of a deceased owner; in practice, all co-owners sign a lease or an easement over the parcel.Title and registry

DDU 522 circular (Circular DDU 522)

March 2025 circular from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MINVU) that classifies standalone BESS as energy infrastructure, a use allowed in the rural areas of intercommunal plans subject to Art. 55 LGUC. Circular DDU 522, MINVU (2025)Permitting and land use

Direct agreement (acuerdo directo)

Agreement among the landowner, the tenant and the project lender that lets the lender cure the tenant’s defaults or step into its place before the lease is terminated.Project finance

DL 2.695 title regularization (Decreto Ley 2.695)

Decree-law of 1979 for regularizing possession of small properties that lack a recorded title; a title study checks the regularization order and the date it was recorded. Decreto Ley 2.695 de 1979Title and registry

Easement (servidumbre)

Encumbrance on a property in favor of another property or of a facility, allowing, for example, a power line or an access road to cross it.Easements

Easement strip, right-of-way (franja)

Strip of land along a power line that is subject to the easement, where the owner may not plant or build anything that interferes with it. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, art. 57Easements

Electric concession (concesión eléctrica)

Right granted by the State for hydro plants, substations, and transmission and distribution lines that allows the holder to impose easements; solar and wind plants are not subject to concession. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, arts. 2, 3 y 51Power sector

Encumbrance certificate (certificado de hipotecas y gravámenes)

Certificate from the Conservador listing the mortgages, easements, usufructs, attachments and prohibitions on transfer recorded against a parcel.Title and registry

Environmental approval (Resolución de Calificación Ambiental, RCA)

Resolution that concludes the SEIA review, approving or rejecting the project and setting the conditions under which it may be carried out.Permitting and land use

Environmental impact assessment system (SEIA)

Process run by the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) in which projects of the types listed by law, such as high-voltage lines, substations and power plants over 3 MW, are assessed through a DIA or an EIA. Ley 19.300, art. 10Permitting and land use

Equator Principles

Environmental and social risk framework that signatory banks apply to project finance; Chile is one of its Designated Countries, where compliance with local law is required. Equator Principles, Designated CountriesProject finance

Forest management plan (plan de manejo)

Plan that the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) must approve before any native forest is cut, with 90 days to decide on it. Ley 20.283, arts. 5 y 8Permitting and land use

Full environmental impact study (EIA)

Full route into the SEIA, required when a project triggers any of the effects in Article 11 of Law 19.300, such as resettlement of communities, a location in or near protected areas or impacts on cultural heritage. Ley 19.300, art. 11Permitting and land use

Gen-tie line (línea de conexión)

Dedicated line that carries power from a plant or BESS to the substation where it connects to the grid; it may apply for an electric concession to obtain the statutory easement. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, arts. 2, 14 y 51Power sector

Grant of heirship (posesión efectiva)

Order that recognizes the heirs of a deceased person, similar to probate; until it is recorded along with the special recordings, the heirs cannot dispose of the estate’s real property. Código Civil, art. 688Title and registry

IFC Performance Standard 5 (PS5)

International Finance Corporation standard on land acquisition and involuntary resettlement that does not apply to voluntary transactions but does apply to negotiated deals where the buyer could resort to compulsory procedures, and that treats easements as land acquisition. IFC Performance Standard 5 (2012), paras. 5 and 6 and note 2Project finance

Independent system operator (Coordinador Eléctrico Nacional, CEN)

Independent technical body created by Law 20.936 that coordinates the operation of Chile’s power system, much like an ISO, and processes interconnection requests to the transmission system. Ley 20.936 de 2016Power sector

Indigenous consultation (consulta indígena)

Good-faith consultation process that the Environmental Assessment Service runs when a project under SEIA review directly affects indigenous peoples, under ILO Convention 169. Decreto Supremo 40 de 2012 (Reglamento del SEIA), art. 85Permitting and land use

Indigenous lands (tierras indígenas)

Land protected under the Indigenous Law (Law 19.253); community land cannot be leased, an individual’s land can be leased for five years at most, and encumbering it requires approval from the national indigenous development agency (CONADI). Ley 19.253, art. 13Minerals, water and special land regimes

Interconnection request (Solicitud de Autorización de Conexión, SAC)

Request to the Coordinador to connect a project to the transmission system; it does not require title to the land, but the authorization can be voided if title is not shown in time for the under-construction declaration. Decreto Supremo 37 de 2019 (Energía), arts. 15 y 25Power sector

Land option (opción de arriendo)

Agreement under which the owner holds land for a project in exchange for periodic option payments, and the developer may exercise it to sign a lease if the project moves forward.Contracts and property rights

Land registry (Conservador de Bienes Raíces, CBR)

Land registry for a comuna or group of comunas, kept by a registrar who acts as an official witness (ministro de fe); it holds the property, mortgages and encumbrances, and prohibitions registers for the real estate in its territory, indexed by the names of the parties rather than by parcel. Ley del Registro Conservatorio de Bienes Raíces, arts. 31, 32 y 41; Código Orgánico de Tribunales, arts. 446 y 447Title and registry

Land-use plan (plan regulador comunal, intercomunal or metropolitano)

Municipal, intercommunal or metropolitan planning instrument that sets land uses and the urban limit; outside that limit, infrastructure is subject to Art. 55 LGUC. Ley General de Urbanismo y Construcciones, art. 28Permitting and land use

Lease (arriendo)

Contract under which the owner grants the use of the land in exchange for rent; if executed by public deed it binds a later buyer and, if recorded before the mortgage, the mortgage lender too. Código Civil, art. 1962Contracts and property rights

Marital community property (sociedad conyugal)

Marital property regime under which, if a rural parcel is community property, the husband needs his wife’s authorization to encumber it or to lease it for more than eight years. Código Civil, art. 1749Title and registry

Mining concession (concesión minera)

Real property right over mineral substances, separate from and independent of ownership of the surface parcel, which subjects the parcel to mining easements against compensation. Código de Minería, arts. 2, 120 y 122Minerals, water and special land regimes

Negotiated easement (servidumbre voluntaria)

Easement the owner grants by agreement, on the route, terms and price the parties negotiate; it is granted by public deed and may be recorded with the Conservador. Código Civil, arts. 698 y 880Easements

Notary (notario)

Civil-law notary who, as an official witness (ministro de fe), drafts and authorizes public deeds and other public instruments. Código Orgánico de Tribunales, art. 399Title and registry

Open access (acceso abierto)

Rule under which owners of transmission facilities, except dedicated systems, cannot deny third parties access on grounds of technical capacity. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, art. 79Power sector

PAS 160 (Art. 55 approval within the SEIA)

Sectoral environmental permit that takes the place of the Art. 55 LGUC approval when a project goes through the SEIA; it requires that the project neither create new urban centers nor cause loss or degradation of soil. Decreto Supremo 40 de 2012 (Reglamento del SEIA), art. 160Permitting and land use

Promise to contract (promesa)

Agreement binding the parties to enter into another contract later; it is enforceable only if it is in writing, sets a term or condition and specifies the promised contract. Código Civil, art. 1554Contracts and property rights

Public deed (escritura pública)

Document executed before a notary and entered in the notary’s protocol, which must be written in Spanish. Código Orgánico de Tribunales, arts. 403 y 404Title and registry

Real right (derecho real)

Right held over a thing regardless of any particular person; the Civil Code recognizes ownership, inheritance, usufruct, use or habitation, easements, pledge and mortgage as real rights. Código Civil, art. 577Contracts and property rights

Recording (inscripción)

Entry of a title in one of the Conservador’s registers; ownership of real estate is transferred by recording, and possession of it can only be acquired that way. Código Civil, arts. 686 y 724Title and registry

Restriction on encumbrance and transfer (prohibición de gravar y enajenar)

Owner’s covenant not to mortgage, encumber or sell the parcel; once recorded in the Conservador’s prohibitions register, it appears on the parcel’s certificate. Ley del Registro Conservatorio de Bienes Raíces, arts. 32 y 53Contracts and property rights

Rural construction approval (Art. 55 LGUC report, IFC)

Favorable report from the regional office of the housing ministry (SEREMI MINVU) and the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) that infrastructure outside urban limits needs before municipal approval; under the SAG’s procedure, the landowner files the request and soil pits are required. Ley General de Urbanismo y Construcciones, art. 55Permitting and land use

Rural parcel (predio rústico)

Property suited to farming, grazing or forestry; under a lease of such land the tenant cannot assign or sublease without the owner’s prior written authorization. Decreto Ley 993 de 1975, art. 7Contracts and property rights

Rural subdivision rules (Decreto Ley 3.516)

Decree-law that allows rural parcels to be freely divided into lots of at least 0.5 hectares, which are then barred from changing their use except as Articles 55 and 56 LGUC allow. Decreto Ley 3.516 de 1980, art. 1Permitting and land use

Screening opinion request (consulta de pertinencia)

Request to the Environmental Assessment Service for an opinion on whether a project, or a change to an existing one, must enter the SEIA. Decreto Supremo 40 de 2012 (Reglamento del SEIA), art. 26Permitting and land use

Short-form environmental impact statement (DIA)

Shorter route into the SEIA, for projects that do not trigger any of the effects, characteristics or circumstances listed in Article 11 of Law 19.300. Ley 19.300, art. 11Permitting and land use

Site control (título habilitante)

The set of rights a developer holds to show it can use the project site, such as an option or promise, a recorded lease, easements or a concession; the CNE requires such title to declare a project under construction. Decreto Supremo 125 de 2017 (Energía), art. 19, letra hProject finance

Small distributed generation (PMGD)

Generation or storage project connected to the distribution grid with surplus capacity of up to 9 MW; on private land, its connection request requires a current title certificate and a sworn statement from the landowner. Decreto Supremo 88 de 2019 (Energía), art. 43Power sector

State land concession (terreno fiscal, Bienes Nacionales)

State-owned land that the Ministry of National Assets can grant in concession to a Chilean legal entity, for a fee and for up to 50 years. Decreto Ley 1.939 de 1977, arts. 57, 61 y 62Minerals, water and special land regimes

Statutory electric easement (servidumbre legal eléctrica)

Easement that the holder of an electric concession for a line or substation may impose on third-party land without the owner’s agreement, against the compensation set by law. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, arts. 14 y 51Easements

Surface right (derecho de superficie)

Real right to build and keep structures on another’s land, which the Chilean Civil Code does not provide as a general right; in Chile, a project on private land is secured with a recorded lease and easements. Código Civil, art. 577Contracts and property rights

Tax roll number (rol de avalúo)

Number the Chilean tax service (Servicio de Impuestos Internos, SII) assigns to each parcel for property tax; it does not prove ownership, which rests on the recording at the Conservador.Title and registry

Title study (estudio de títulos)

A lawyer’s review of a parcel’s chain of ownership recordings and of its encumbrances, prohibitions, estates and signing powers, usually covering at least the ten-year period of extraordinary acquisitive prescription (Chile’s counterpart to adverse possession). Código Civil, art. 2511Title and registry

Transmission corridor study (Estudio de Franja)

Ministry of Energy procedure for new transmission projects that require it, with a strategic environmental assessment; the decree setting the final route creates the easement by operation of law. Ley General de Servicios Eléctricos, arts. 93, 94 y 97Easements

UF (unidad de fomento)

Unit of account adjusted daily for changes in the consumer price index, commonly used in Chile to set rents and long-term prices.Contracts and property rights

Under-construction declaration (declaración en construcción)

Act by which the National Energy Commission (Comisión Nacional de Energía, CNE) recognizes a project as under construction; it requires title to the land, such as ownership, usufruct, lease, concession or easement, or a promise relating to its use. Decreto Supremo 125 de 2017 (Energía), art. 19Power sector

Usufruct (usufructo)

Real right to use and enjoy another’s property while preserving it; when granted to a corporation or foundation it cannot exceed 30 years. Código Civil, art. 770Contracts and property rights

Water use right (derecho de aprovechamiento de aguas)

Real right to use and enjoy water, separate from land ownership; one granted by concession lasts 30 years, is renewable and is recorded in the Conservador’s water rights register. Código de Aguas, arts. 6 y 114Minerals, water and special land regimes

Zoning certificate (Certificado de Informaciones Previas, CIP)

Certificate issued by the municipal building department (Dirección de Obras Municipales) stating the zoning rules that apply to a parcel under the land-use plan in force. Ley General de Urbanismo y Construcciones, art. 116Permitting and land use

Related pages

• How land acquisition works in Chile
• How Chile differs from the US, Europe and China
• Insights on land for energy projects in Chile