The municipality and the offices involved
The city of Mérida is in the Municipio Libertador of Mérida state. Its tax portal, libertador.sigat.net, is the collection platform of SAMAT (Mérida's municipal tax service) and publishes ordinances, guides and office locations. Ejido is in another municipality (Campo Elías), with its own Registro Público (public registry) according to SAREN (the national registries and notaries service). Confirm the municipality in the title document.
Taxes are administered by the Servicio Autónomo Municipal de Administración Tributaria (SAMAT), the autonomous municipal tax administration service, which issues the tax solvencia (municipal tax clearance) (article 38 of the tax ordinance). The cadastre is kept by the Oficina Municipal de Catastro (municipal cadastre office).
| Procedure | Office | Published address |
|---|---|---|
| Cadastral registration and ficha or cédula catastral (cadastral certificate) | Oficina Municipal de Catastro | Not published |
| Payment of the tax and solvencia | SAMAT | Individuals: Av. Urdaneta, oficina de la alcaldía (city hall office). Legal entities: Av. Andrés Bello, C.C. Las Tapias, nivel 1, locales 11, 12 y 13, sector El Acuario |
| Recording the sale | Registro Público del Municipio Libertador Estado Mérida | Av. Urdaneta con Av. Gonzalo Picón, calle 42, casa N° 3-90, urb. Los Profesores |
| Authenticating an option or a power of attorney | Notarías Públicas Primera, Segunda, Tercera y Cuarta de Mérida (notary offices) | See the list |
Notarías in the municipality:
Source: office finder of SAREN, October 2026. Confirm them before you go.
Ficha catastral, cédula catastral and solvencia
The tax ordinance says "cédula o ficha catastral" (cadastral certificate or record) (article 3, numerals 24 and 30); the fee ordinance charges for the "ficha catastral" and SAMAT's guide calls it "cédula catastral". Not having the property registered does not release you from tax already accrued (article 10 of that ordinance).
The procedure is online, according to SAMAT's guide:
SAMAT must issue the solvencia within no more than five business days, and only if the tax is paid at the time it is requested (articles 18, 19 and 38). Without the solvencia municipal the Registro does not record the sale (article 97 of the Ley de Registros y Notarías, the Registries and Notaries Law). General rules: solvencia municipal and cédula catastral.
Cost, according to the fee ordinance (articles 10 and 24), in UCD (the BCV's highest-value-currency exchange rate):
| Procedure | Fee |
|---|---|
| Cadastral registration | 10 UCD |
| Certified ficha catastral | 1 UCD for the first page and 0.4 UCD for each additional page |
| Certified ficha catastral, habilitada (1 day) | 20 UCD |
| Issuing the solvencia | 5 UCD; 10 UCD if it is "habilitada" |
The solvencia line does not say which tax it is for, nor does it define "habilitada". The UCD is equivalent to the exchange rate of the highest-value currency published by the BCV (the central bank) and is paid in bolívares at the rate on the day of payment (article 4 of the fee ordinance).
Aseo urbano (waste collection): according to a press release from the alcaldía published by Ciudad360 on March 11, 2025, waste collection is paid at the Sergidesol window in the alcaldía, outside SIGAT, and Catastro asks you to upload the solvencia de aseo (waste collection clearance).
The Impuesto sobre Inmuebles Urbanos y Periurbanos (urban and peri-urban property tax)
The ordinance in force is the Ordenanza de Reforma Total a la Ordenanza de Impuesto sobre Inmuebles Urbanos y Periurbanos (full amendment to the urban and peri-urban property tax ordinance), published in Gaceta Oficial Municipal Extraordinaria No. 41 of April 26, 2024, which repeals the one in Gaceta No. 33 Extraordinaria of July 12, 2017 (article 60). It is the version the portal publishes (October 2026). The same Gaceta carries the Ordenanza de Planta de Valores de la Tierra y Valor de la Construcción (land and construction value schedule ordinance).
| Building | B | C | D | E | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without basement, with elevator | 35 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 10 |
| With basement and elevator | 45 | 35 | 30 | 25 | 15 |
| Without basement or elevator | 40 | 35 | 25 | 20 | 10 |
We do not reproduce zone A: the ordinance assigns it 40, 270 and 150, figures that are inconsistent with one another. In zones B to E the table without an elevator is worth more than the one with an elevator and no basement; that is how it is published. Houses: table 5. Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela (GMVV) homes: table 4, although table 5 has another, different GMVV row. Constructions 31 years old or more carry a depreciation factor of 0.50, and these values "no son necesariamente vinculantes" (are not necessarily binding) for a sale (articles 10 and 11 of the Planta de Valores).
Example (Propiedash's own calculation, not the ordinance's, and of the construction only): 100 m² in a zone C building with basement and elevator, 30 years old or less, are 100 × 35 = 3,500 UCD; at 0.2%, 7 UCD a year. Catastro classifies the zone (article 2 of the Planta de Valores).
The mayor can exonerate by decree, among other cases, properties declared uninhabitable due to an earthquake or another disaster and homes of owners in proven need due to illness or economic problems (article 41). Late payment is fined 15 UCD (article 54). More in the guide to the municipal property tax.