Estonian land register (kinnistusraamat): how to check the owner, mortgages and encumbrances

What is the Estonian land register (kinnistusraamat)?

The kinnistusraamat is Estonia’s land register. Under § 1 of the Land Register Act (Kinnistusraamatuseadus, KRS), it collects and publishes how ownership of immovable property arises and passes, and which real rights encumber it. It is kept by the land registry department of Tartu County Court (Tartu Maakohtu kinnistusosakond) and the RIK, the state Centre of Registers and Information Systems, under the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs.

Two rules make it the source that counts. First, information entered in the register is presumed correct (§ 56 of the Law of Property Act, Asjaõigusseadus or AÕS), and someone who acquires in reliance on it is protected unless an objection has been entered or they knew, or should have known, that the entry was wrong (§ 56¹, acquisition in good faith). Second, a buyer becomes the owner once entered in the register — not on signing, paying or getting the keys, as the Chamber of Notaries points out.

How to search the Estonian land register online, step by step

Searches are made in the e-Land Register, the register’s official website, which has Estonian and English versions. § 74 of the KRS says everyone may access a register part and obtain printouts, online or at a notary’s office.

1. Open the e-Land Register

   Go to kinnistusraamat.rik.ee. The search is on the home page, and one search criterion is enough.

2. Log in

   To see results you must log in through the state authentication portal (TARA). In our test on 29 September 2026, running a search took us straight to the login page, which accepts an ID card, Mobile-ID, Smart-ID or an EU eID.

3. Search for the property

   Enter the address or part of it, the cadastral code in the format XXXXX:XXX:XXXX, or the property number (kinnistu number). You can also search by a company’s name or registry code: these are the search keys allowed by § 74 (4¹) of the KRS.

4. Check the result list

   According to the e-Land Register help page, the first result list shows up to 25 properties with these data free of charge: property number, type, cadastral code, stated purpose (sihtotstarve), address, area and apartment number. Use them to make sure it is the right property before you pay.

5. Choose what to buy and pay

   “Aadressi info” (address info) is Division I; “Omaniku info” (owner info), Division II; “Koormatise info” (encumbrance info), Divisions III and IV together; and “Kogu registri info” (full register info), all four in a single extract. You pay on the same site by bank link, card or mobile payment.

6. Read and save the extract

   The register part opens, and besides the divisions it shows data from the building register and the address data system. What you bought can be reopened for 24 hours from the same IP address.

Without an ID card, Mobile-ID, Smart-ID or an EU eID you cannot use the website. The law provides another route: consulting the register at a notary’s office (§ 74 (4) of the KRS).

How much does a land register extract cost?

These are the current RIK service prices. The Estonian version of the page states that no VAT is added to them (“Hindadele ei lisandu käibemaksu”):

• Division I, composition of the property: €2.
• Division II, owner: €2.
• Divisions III and IV together, encumbrances and mortgages: €2.
• Whole register part (terve registriosa): €6.

Access is free for the owner, the owner’s legal representative or guardian, and the owners of apartments in the same building together with the apartment association’s representatives, according to the e-Land Register home page and § 77¹⁶ (3) of the KRS. Bear in mind that searches leave a trace: when the result contains a private individual’s data, that person can see your name, personal code, the date and time and what you looked up in the data tracker (andmejälgija) of the eesti.ee state portal for one year.

The four divisions of a register part (registriosa)

Every registered property has its own register part, the registriosa: a title and four divisions (§ 11 (4) of the KRS). The title shows the land registry department and the property number; §§ 13 to 16 set out what goes into each division:

Division I · “Kinnistu koosseis” (composition of the registered immovable)

The cadastral code, stated purpose, location and area; restricted real rights held in favour of the property; and mergers, divisions and separations of plots. One important caveat: the code, purpose, location and area are supplied by the land cadastre, and § 13 (2) of the KRS expressly says they are not entries within the meaning of the law. Do not treat the area shown here as guaranteed — check it in the cadastre.

Division II · “Omanik” (owner)

Who owns the property and, where there are several owners, whether it is held in joint ownership (ühisomand) or in shares (kaasomand), with each co-owner’s share. According to the RIK data description, for a private individual it shows the name and personal ID code (or date of birth if there is none); for a company, the name, seat and registry code; and in every case the legal basis of the entry.

Division III · “Koormatised ja kitsendused” (encumbrances and restrictions)

The restricted real rights burdening the property, except mortgages: servitudes, rights of use, rights of pre-emption and notations about them. It also holds restrictions on the owner’s right of disposal and other notations on ownership, with their changes and deletions (§ 15 of the KRS).

Division IV · “Hüpoteegid” (mortgages)

The mortgagee (hüpoteegipidaja), the monetary amount of the mortgage (hüpoteegisumma) and the notations, changes and deletions that affect it (§ 16 of the KRS).

In a building divided into apartments, every apartment (korteriomand) has its own register part: when the apartments are registered, a separate part is opened for each and the building’s former part is closed (§ 6 (2) of the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act, KrtS). Division I of each apartment also shows its number, whether it is residential or non-residential, its share of the common property and the property numbers of the other apartments, while the title shows the apartment association’s registry code (§ 6 (3)).

Mortgages, servitudes and notations: how to read each entry

Entry names are legal terms from the AÕS. These are the ones you will meet most often when buying an apartment or a house:

• Hüpoteek (mortgage, § 325): entitles the mortgagee to satisfy the secured claim out of the property. A mortgage does not presuppose that the secured claim exists (§ 325 (4)), so what counts is the entry: until it is deleted, it stays in Division IV.
• Reaalservituut (real servitude, § 172): burdens one property for the benefit of another; the owner of the benefiting property may use the burdened one in a certain way, or the owner of the burdened property must refrain from certain uses.
• Isiklik kasutusõigus (personal right of use, § 225): similar in content to a servitude, but held by a specific person rather than by another property.
• Ostueesõigus (right of pre-emption, § 256): held by a person or by the owner of another property. Once entered, it has the same effect towards third parties as a preliminary notation (§ 257 (3)).
• Märked (notations, § 63): an eelmärge (preliminary notation) secures a claim to acquire, delete or change a right, and any later disposal is void to the extent it harms that claim; a vastuväide (objection) secures a claim to correct an incorrect entry; a keelumärge (notation concerning prohibition) fully or partly bars disposal and is entered, for example, under a court order securing an action (§ 63¹ (6)); and a märkus (notation) makes visible other facts the law allows to be entered.

Order matters too: rights obtain their ranking when entered, and entries are made in the order in which applications arrive (§ 59 of the AÕS). If an application has been filed but not yet decided, the printout must refer to it (§ 76 of the KRS) — look for it before you sign.

What is not in the land register: cadastre and building register

Three state registers describe the same property, each from a different angle:

• Kinnistusraamat (Tartu County Court and RIK): who owns the property and which rights and mortgages burden it. This is the one with legal effect: its entries are presumed correct (§ 56 of the AÕS).
• Maakataster, the land cadastre of the Maa- ja Ruumiamet (Land and Spatial Development Board): the plot, its boundaries, area, land-use purpose, address, taxable value and land-use restrictions. The cadastral data in Division I come from here.
• Ehitisregister (EHR, the Building Register, run by the Ministry of Climate): buildings, permits and energy performance certificates. Under § 61 (1) of the Building Code (Ehitusseadustik), its data are informative and statistical; the applications, permits and orders it holds do have legal effect. The e-Land Register help page likewise warns that the EHR data it displays are informative.

To locate the plot and read its land use, follow our guide on how to look up a plot on the Estonian cadastral map. And remember that the registered land use does not mean you may build: we explain why in sihtotstarve and building rights.

Common mistakes when checking the register

• Searching for a person by name. The public cannot. Searching by a private individual’s name and personal code is reserved for a closed list: attorneys, notaries, bailiffs (kohtutäitur), bankruptcy trustees, credit institutions and a few others (§ 74 (4²) of the KRS). You can, however, search by a company’s name or registry code.
• Buying only Division II. Knowing the owner is not enough: mortgages are in Division IV, and servitudes and prohibitions on disposal in Division III. Before a purchase, the whole register part for €6 is the sensible choice.
• Relying on the English translation. The machine-translated English extract gives a quick overview, but according to the register’s help page it has no legal force.
• Expecting to see the deeds. The documents behind each entry sit in the land registry file (kinnistustoimik), which can only be accessed with a legitimate interest (§ 74 (2) of the KRS); the land registry department reviews such a request within 30 days.
• Assuming you own it once you sign. Ownership starts with the entry. According to the RIK, the land registry department generally decides an application within one month of filing, and within three months for a first registration.

If you are an estate agent in Estonia

For a listing or a sale, the kinnistusraamat is the check you cannot skip: who can sign, which mortgages are registered and which servitudes or notations will affect the buyer. The Domuspace cadastral map gives you the official cadastral plots for all of Estonia, on desktop and mobile. Each plot is coloured by the outcome of the visit in six statuses, so the whole team sees which areas have been worked, and from the plot card you save the owner’s contact details — entered by you — linked to the cadastral code.

What Domuspace does not do is show registered owners or encumbrances: those are still checked in the kinnistusraamat, as described in this guide. If you work the Estonian market, see how Domuspace works in Estonia.

This guide is for information only and is not a substitute for advice from a legal professional. Prices and screens may change: the details were checked on 29 September 2026 against the official sources linked above.