Effective April 1, 2026, a significant land reform in Cameroon will empower traditional third-degree chiefs to issue official land certificates. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Land Affairs (MINDCAF), this initiative aims to transform rural land management and recognize customary rights, long overlooked by the formal legal system.
The reform introduces two new types of documents: the Attestation of Recognition of Customary Land Rights (ARDFC) and the Attestation of Peaceful Enjoyment of Land (AJPTER). The ARDFC is intended for families and communities occupying ancestral lands without formal title, thus formalizing their customary rights. The AJPTER, on the other hand, is for individual occupants who can demonstrate peaceful and continuous use of the land. These attestations are not property titles, but rather intermediate proofs facilitating access to land titles.
This reform specifically targets occupied and utilized lands within the national domain, excluding vacant or abandoned lands. It will enable occupants to prove their occupation, have their customary rights recognized, and initiate formalization procedures with the land registry. By entrusting this power to traditional chiefs, the government hopes to accelerate and facilitate land management, while reducing land-related conflicts, a major source of social tension in rural Cameroon.
Despite this progress, the land title remains the only definitive proof of ownership in Cameroon. The ARDFC and AJPTER do not allow for the sale, mortgage, or secure inheritance of land. To definitively secure land, it is advisable to have the land surveyed, verify with the land registry the absence of an existing land title, file a land title application, and keep all evidence of occupation and use.
