An embargo (court attachment) or a prohibición de enajenar y gravar (ban on selling or encumbering) noted in the Registro (public registry) is an order from a court (or from the Administración Tributaria, the tax administration) that prevents selling or mortgaging the property while it remains in force. It secures the outcome of a lawsuit or of a debt collection. The precautionary measures of a lawsuit are enforced only on the assets of the person against whom they are ordered, except for secuestro (judicial sequestration) (art. 587). Articles without further indication are from the Código de Procedimiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure, CPC; Gaceta Oficial No. 4.209 Extraordinario, September 18, 1990).
Which measure is on the property
| Measure | When it is ordered | Rule | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prohibición de enajenar y gravar | During the lawsuit | CPC arts. 588, num. 3, and 600 | The Registro must not record sales or encumbrances of the property |
| Embargo preventivo (pre-judgment attachment) | During the lawsuit | CPC art. 588, num. 1 | Applies only to movable property |
| Secuestro | During the lawsuit | CPC arts. 588, num. 2, and 599 | Applies to a specific asset, which may be the disputed property or the leased one |
| Embargo ejecutivo (enforcement attachment) | After a final judgment that was not complied with | CPC arts. 527, 534 and 535 | Can apply to the property and ends in a remate (judicial auction) |
| Tax authority measures | Collection of national taxes | COT (tax code) arts. 230, 232 and 239 | Prohibición de enajenar y gravar or embargo ordered by the Administración Tributaria |
Because art. 588 limits the embargo preventivo to movable property, during a lawsuit the usual measure on a home is the prohibición de enajenar y gravar. The judge orders it only if there is a "riesgo manifiesto" (manifest risk) that enforcement of the judgment will be rendered illusory, and evidence that gives rise to a presumption of that risk and of the right claimed (art. 585).
The decree must be issued on the same day as the request, cannot be appealed (art. 601) and can be enforced before the defendant is served (art. 602), so the owner may find out when requesting a registry certificate.
How it reaches the Registro and why it blocks the sale
The court sends an oficio (official letter) to the registrar of the place where the property is located so that no document seeking to sell or encumber it is recorded (CPC art. 600). In the embargo ejecutivo, the judge notifies the registrar for the same purpose (art. 535).
The Ley de Registros y Notarías (Registries and Notaries Law; Gaceta Oficial No. 6.668 Extraordinario, December 16, 2021) completes the picture:
A sale or encumbrance recorded after the prohibition was ordered and communicated is deemed "radicalmente nulas y sin efecto" (absolutely null and void, without effect) (CPC art. 600). Of an embargo already notified to the registrar, art. 549 says that any later act of disposal is "radicalmente nulo" (absolutely null).
Embargo ejecutivo and objection by a third party
Once the judgment is final, the debtor has three to ten days to comply (art. 524). If the judgment orders payment of money and the debtor does not pay, assets not exceeding double the amount and the costs are attached (art. 527).
A third party who claims to be the legitimate holder may object up to the day after the last cartel de remate (auction notice) (art. 546). The judge suspends the embargo if the thing is in that person's possession and they conclusively prove their ownership through a valid legal act; if the enforcing creditor or the debtor contradicts this with other conclusive evidence, an eight-day articulación (short evidentiary phase) opens. Against a prohibición de enajenar y gravar, art. 370, num. 1, allows the third party to intervene in the lawsuit (tercería, third-party intervention) by claiming that the assets are theirs.
In its judgment of April 18, 2024 (case file AA20-C-2024-000049), the Sala de Casación Civil (civil cassation chamber) granted the tercería of the owner of a plot of land in Lara and annulled the embargo ejecutivo; the court of first instance had already suspended the prohibición de enajenar y gravar with an oficio to the Registro.
Measures by the SENIAT (the national tax authority) and other taxes
The Código Orgánico Tributario (Organic Tax Code, COT; Gaceta Oficial No. 6.507 Extraordinario, January 29, 2020) governs national taxes and, on a supplementary basis, those of states and municipalities (art. 1).
We could not consult the SENIAT website; the above comes only from the text of the COT.
How a measure is lifted
The lifting is ordered by the court or by the Administración Tributaria and must be communicated to the Registro (courts do this by oficio); then request a new certificate to confirm that the suspension was noted. A mortgage is something else: it is not a court measure and is cancelled with the creditor (see mortgage release). To object, offer a guarantee or request the lifting, you need a lawyer who acts in the case file.