Which Registro Público records sales in Punto Fijo?

The Registro Público del Municipio Carirubana. SAREN's office finder places it at Calle Comercio de Caja de Agua, Edificio Don Fernando, planta baja, Punto Fijo. For properties in the municipalities of Falcón and Los Taques, SAREN lists another Registro, in Pueblo Nuevo.

Which notarías are there in Punto Fijo?

SAREN lists two: the Notaría Pública Primera de Punto Fijo, on Calle Monagas, Edificio Coromoto, Caja de Agua, and the Notaría Pública Segunda de Punto Fijo, on Calle Garcés con Panamá.

Can you get the solvencia municipal online in Punto Fijo?

Yes, according to the guide on the carirubana.sigat.net portal: you request the cédula catastral or the certificado de empadronamiento, pay the fee, the Dirección de Control Urbano reviews it and the debt is assessed, and if no debts remain the document and the solvencia are printed. The amount of the fee and the validity of the solvencia are not published.

How much is the municipal property tax in Punto Fijo?

The January 2024 ordinance sets rates of 0.175% for single-family housing and 0.140% for multifamily, but it contradicts itself: article 36 applies them to the value of the property and article 35 says "sobre el valor del impuesto" (on the value of the tax). Ask at the alcaldía how it is calculated. Those who pay in January get a 20% discount.

What does the law say about the 80-meter strip from the sea?

The Ley de Zonas Costeras declares the strip of no less than 80 meters from the highest tide line on marine coasts to be in the public domain and restricts certain construction there. One of the copies of the law adds that this is without prejudice to the rights legally acquired by private parties; ask a lawyer to review the case.

Buying a property in Punto Fijo: procedures

Q: Is the buyer liable for the taxes the seller failed to pay?

Yes. The Carirubana ordinance makes the seller and the buyer jointly and severally liable for unpaid municipal taxes (article 43), so it is wise to ask for the property's account statement before paying.

The municipality and the offices involved

Punto Fijo belongs to the Municipio Carirubana, in Falcón.

We did not find an active official website for the alcaldía (city hall). Tax procedures are done at carirubana.sigat.net, the municipality's tax portal.

The tax office goes by different names depending on the source: the tax ordinance says SUMITCA (Superintendencia Integrada de Tributos; Carirubana's municipal tax office) and sometimes Superintendencia Municipal Integrada de Tributos; the portal uses the heading "Dirección de Hacienda" (finance department). Confirm at the alcaldía.

Procedure	Office	Published address
Cédula catastral (cadastral certificate), solvencia (municipal tax clearance) and tax	carirubana.sigat.net portal	Av. Comunidad Cardón, planta baja, Etapa III, local H-1/E2-1 (the portal's "Contactos" (contacts) page, without saying which office)
Recording the sale	Registro Público del Municipio Carirubana (public registry)	Calle Comercio de Caja de Agua, Edificio Don Fernando, planta baja, Punto Fijo
Option or power of attorney	Notaría Pública Primera de Punto Fijo (notary office)	Calle Monagas, entre Comercio y Acueducto, Edif. Coromoto, planta alta de Repuestos El Gigante, Caja de Agua
Option or power of attorney	Notaría Pública Segunda de Punto Fijo	Calle Garcés con Panamá, diagonal a la Clínica Falcón Sagrada Familia

Source: the office finder of SAREN (the national registries and notaries service), October 2026. For the municipalities of Falcón and Los Taques, SAREN lists another Registro, in Pueblo Nuevo.

Cédula catastral and solvencia municipal

According to the portal's guide, the Cédula Catastral or the Certificado de Empadronamiento (property enrollment certificate) is requested online:

In "Obligaciones Tributarias" (tax obligations), "Control Urbano" (urban control) section, choose "Solicitar Permiso" (request permit). It works for a new document, a change of ownership or renewing an expired cédula.

Upload as PDFs the property title, the owner's RIF (tax ID) and cédula (ID card), the planilla sucesoral (estate tax return form) and, in certain cases, a topographic plan.

Pay the fee and notify the payment.

The Dirección de Control Urbano (urban control department) reviews it and, if it approves, the property's debt is assessed.

Pay the tax. With no debts, the document and the solvencia are printed.

Another portal guide attributes the cédula to the "Dirección de Catastro Municipal" (municipal cadastre department), and the ordinance speaks of the "Unidad Municipal responsable del Catastro" (municipal unit responsible for the cadastre). Ask which office issues it.

Fees: Not published; the amount only appears inside the taxpayer's account.

Validity of the solvencia: Not published.

Article 97 of the Ley de Registros y Notarías (Registries and Notaries Law) prohibits recording the sale without the payment form for the ISLR (income tax) advance and the solvencia for municipal taxes. More in solvencia municipal and cédula catastral.

Old debts are the buyer's too. The tax ordinance makes the seller and the buyer jointly and severally liable for unpaid municipal taxes (article 43; article 8, numeral 4, excepts a purchase by a final and binding court decision). Ask for the account statement before paying.

After buying, any change in the property's legal status is notified to Catastro (cadastre office) "dentro del lapso de quince (15) días continuos siguientes a la fecha en que se hubiese producido la notificación" (within fifteen (15) calendar days following the date on which the notification took place) (article 28). The text does not say which notification; ask when the period starts. Failing to do the cadastral registration is fined 11 TCMMV (the BCV's highest-value-currency exchange rate) and doing it late, 6 (article 62).

The Impuesto sobre Inmuebles Urbanos (municipal property tax)

It is governed by the ordinance in Gaceta Municipal Extraordinaria (municipal gazette, special issue) No. 0519-A-2024 (January 4, 2024).

Base: the cadastral value of the land and the building (article 31), never higher than the market value (article 33).

Rates (article 35): single-family housing 0.175% (zoning R1 to R5); multifamily 0.140% (R6 to R8); parking spaces and storage units in propiedad horizontal (condominium property) 0.91%; land with no construction 0.91%.

The ordinance contradicts itself: article 36 multiplies the value of the property by the rate, but article 35, numeral 1, applies the housing rates "sobre el valor del impuesto" (on the value of the tax). Ask at the alcaldía how it is calculated.

Payment: annual, assessed by month (article 37). Paying in January gives a 20% discount (article 55).

Exemption: older adults whose property is their primary residence, with the original of the primary residence certificate (article 48, numeral 12). The age is not set.

We did not find an automatic increase clause; the amount is updated with the TCMMV (article 56). More in municipal property tax.

What is specific to Punto Fijo: the coastal zone

Public domain strip: the Ley de Zonas Costeras (Coastal Zones Law; Gaceta Oficial No. 37.319, November 7, 2001) declares the strip from the highest tide line to no less than 80 meters inland to be in the public domain of the Republic, "en el caso de las costas marinas" (in the case of marine coasts) (article 9). The Provea copy adds "sin perjuicio de los derechos legalmente adquiridos por los particulares" (without prejudice to the rights legally acquired by private parties); the FAOLEX copy does not include it.

Restricted construction: in that strip, among other activities, "la construcción de instalaciones e infraestructuras que disminuyan el valor paisajístico de la zona" (the construction of facilities and infrastructure that diminish the scenic value of the area) is restricted (article 19, numeral 1).

Works anywhere in the coastal zone: its land strip measures no less than 500 meters from the highest tide line; the exact limits are set by the Plan de Ordenación y Gestión Integrada de las Zonas Costeras (integrated coastal zone management plan) (article 4), which we did not find published. Installing infrastructure requires a concession or authorization from the competent body (article 29).

If the property faces the sea or you plan to build or extend, ask a lawyer to check how the law applies to it.

The steps of the purchase

Sign the opción de compra-venta (purchase option agreement).

Check title and encumbrances.

Ask the seller for the cédula catastral, the solvencia and the account statement.

Calculate the closing costs.

Sign and record the sale.

Request the change of ownership on the portal and notify Catastro.

Buying a property in Punto Fijo: procedures, city hall and registry

The municipality and the offices involved

Cédula catastral and solvencia municipal

The Impuesto sobre Inmuebles Urbanos (municipal property tax)

What is specific to Punto Fijo: the coastal zone

The steps of the purchase

Frequently asked questions

Sources