Buying

Due diligence: what to check before any money moves

The checks a notary runs, the ones they do not, the ones you can run yourself, and the order to do them in.

Updated 24 September 2026 · 5 min read

The short answer

The certificate must be checked at the land office against the seller’s identity — an agent’s photocopy proves nothing. ATR/BPN’s public Bhumi portal now lets anyone screen a plot’s basic registration status online, but it is a first look, not a substitute for a notary’s formal title search.
Zoning decides whether you may build or rent at all, and it is not visible from the plot. Bali Perda 4 of 2026 adds a further layer, restricting new tourism-accommodation permits on productive agricultural land in six regencies — Tabanan, Jembrana, Buleleng, Bangli, Karangasem and Klungkung.
Access must be a legal right of way written into the title, not a track the neighbour currently tolerates.
Pay a notary (PPAT) to run these checks before a deposit, not after. Their own fee for the deed is capped by regulation at 1% of the transaction value, so the check itself is rarely the expensive part of a purchase.

The order that matters

Most failed purchases in Bali fail on something knowable. The sequence below is ordered by how expensive the surprise is, not by how easy the check is.

Certificate authenticity and the registered owner’s identity, verified at the land office (BPN) — not the photocopy an agent hands you.
Zoning: green belt, residential, tourism, or restricted under Perda 4/2026 if the plot is agricultural land in one of the six named regencies.
Encumbrances: is the certificate pledged against a loan (Hak Tanggungan)?
Legal access: a right of way in the title, with a usable width.
Boundaries: a fresh survey, not the fence line. Fences move.
Water: source, yield, and whether a well is permitted.
Outstanding land and building tax (PBB): arrears attach to the land, and an unpaid balance left unresolved at completion becomes the buyer’s problem.
For anything already built: the building permit (PBG, which replaced the old IMB in 2021) and confirmation that what stands matches what was approved.

Who actually verifies each check

Not all of these run through the same office, and knowing which one saves time chasing the wrong document.

Check	Who verifies it	Can you screen it yourself first?
Certificate authenticity & owner identity	Licensed PPAT, at the land office	No — needs land office access
Zoning / agricultural restriction	Local spatial plan (RTRW/RDTR), OSS-RBA	Yes, as a first screen
Encumbrances (Hak Tanggungan)	PPAT, from the certificate itself	No
Outstanding PBB	Regency Bapenda (revenue office)	Yes, with the certificate details

What you can reasonably check yourself

Two of these do not require a licensed professional. Bhumi, ATR/BPN’s public portal at bhumi.atrbpn.go.id, lets anyone search a plot and see its basic registration status without visiting a land office in person — a useful early screen, not proof of a clean title, since it does not surface encumbrances, disputes, or whether the seller matches the registered owner.

Zoning can similarly be checked against the local spatial plan before you engage anyone, and since Perda 4/2026 it is worth confirming a plot is not on the restricted list of protected agricultural land in the six named regencies before getting attached to it. Title verification itself — the identity match, the encumbrance check — still has to go through a licensed PPAT with land office access.

What a notary does not do unless asked

A PPAT verifies title and executes the deed. They are not obliged to tell you the road is too narrow for a cement truck, that the neighbouring plot is zoned for a nightclub, or that the well runs dry in August. Those are your questions, and they are worth asking before the deed, not after.

Why it should not be the seller’s notary

Engage your own PPAT, not one the seller or their agent introduces. Since 2016 a PPAT’s authority runs across their entire province rather than a single district, so there is no shortage of qualified, independent PPATs to choose from in Bali — no practical reason exists to default to the seller’s.

Common questions

How long does due diligence take in Bali?

Two to four weeks is normal for a clean title. Longer if the certificate is inherited, subdivided, or pledged. Any seller who will not wait that long is telling you something.

Can I do due diligence myself?

You can screen a plot’s registration status on ATR/BPN’s Bhumi portal and check zoning against the local spatial plan yourself. Verifying the certificate against the seller’s identity still requires a licensed PPAT with land office access.

What is the Bhumi app, and can I rely on it instead of a notary?

Bhumi is ATR/BPN’s public land-information portal. It is a genuine first screen, but it does not surface encumbrances or disputes, so it does not replace a PPAT’s formal title check.

Does Bali’s Perda 4/2026 change what I need to check?

Yes, for land in Tabanan, Jembrana, Buleleng, Bangli, Karangasem or Klungkung: confirm the plot is not on the restricted list of protected agricultural land before assuming a villa can lawfully be built or permitted on it.

What happens if the seller has unpaid property tax?

Unpaid PBB attaches to the land, not just to the seller personally. Settle it, or have it settled from the sale proceeds, before completion — not after.

What documents should I ask for before a second viewing?

A copy of the certificate, the most recent PBB tax receipt, and, if anything is built, the building permit (PBG). None of these confirm the deal is clean on their own, but a seller who cannot produce them quickly is worth noting before you spend more time.

General information, not legal advice. Bali Perda 4/2026’s six restricted regencies and the Bhumi portal are described here from public reporting and ATR/BPN’s own site; confirm a specific plot’s status with a licensed PPAT before paying anything.