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Public Utilities

A private document with no certain date is useless against a third party

Last reviewed: September 12, 2026 — VerifiedPoder Judicial

In short

Article 279 defines the public instrument as one authorised by a notary or a competent public official in the exercise of their function, with the formalities the law requires, and refers its validity to the applicable administrative rules and, if a notary authorised it, to notarial legislation. Article 280 explains why that route is sought: the public instrument makes plena fe before the parties and before third parties of the facts and acts the notary or official authorises, and of their circumstances of time and place, and its probative force may be defeated only by a judicial sentence in a civil or criminal trial. It adds that neither the authorising officer nor the witnesses may contradict the content, unless they allege having been victims of deceit, violence or intimidation; and it saves the failed document: one that does not meet the requirements to be a public instrument counts as a private one if the grantors signed it. Article 281 defines the private instrument and governs acknowledgement of signature, with a detail people forget: whoever signed must declare whether the signature is theirs or not, but their successors need only declare whether they know it is their predecessor’s or do not know. Acknowledging the signature implies acknowledging the content, and an instrument with a signature acknowledged at trial makes plena fe between grantors and universal successors. Article 282 defines the holographic signature and treats a signature on a blank document under the rules of the tacit power, unless the signer shows it does not answer to their instructions or that it was taken and completed against their will. Article 283 defines the certain date, says where it comes from — a public registry, transcription into a public instrument, or the death of a signer — and closes: a private instrument without a certain date is not opposable to third parties, even if its content is acknowledged at trial. And Article 284 gives a right to a copy to whoever does not keep the original.

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What is it?

They are Articles 279 to 284 of the Civil Code of 2020: what a notarial document proves, what a private one proves, and what the latter lacks against third parties.

Who can do it?

Anyone holding a signed document who needs to know what it is good for and against whom.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: See who authorised it

    Article 279: public is one authorised by a notary or competent official with the legal formalities.

  2. Step 2: Count what it proves

    Article 280: it makes plena fe before parties and third parties, including circumstances of time and place.

  3. Step 3: If it failed as public, it still serves

    Same article: it counts as a private instrument if the grantors signed it.

  4. Step 4: Careful acknowledging the signature

    Article 281: acknowledging the signature implies acknowledging the content.

  5. Step 5: Never sign a blank

    Article 282: that signature is governed by the rules of the tacit power, absent your contrary proof.

  6. Step 6: Get a certain date

    Article 283: given by a public registry, transcription into a public instrument, or a signer’s death.

  7. Step 7: Because without it, third parties ignore it

    Same article: a private instrument without a certain date is not opposable to third parties.

  8. Step 8: Ask for your copy

    Article 284: with several parties and a pending performance, whoever lacks the original may demand a copy.

Where to do it

These six articles describe no procedure before any agency. The Code refers the notarial instrument’s validity to notarial legislation, which was not read for this batch: the referral is named here and its content is not told. It does not say how a signature is challenged or authenticated. It does not explain what the rules of the tacit power, to which Article 282 sends a blank signature, provide. It does not say whether Article 283’s three sources of certain date are the only ones. And it does not say what happens between the parties themselves when the date is not certain: the article speaks only of opposability to third parties. None of those gaps is filled here.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

The sentence with the most consequences in this section is the last of Article 283: a private instrument without a certain date is not opposable to third parties, even if its content is acknowledged at trial. Translated: you may hold a signed paper, admitted by the other side, and still find it useless against a creditor, a later buyer or anyone who did not sign. That is why it matters where the certain date comes from, and the article says: incorporation or inscription in a public registry, transcription into a public instrument, and the death of one of the signers. The first two depend on you; the third does not. If the document has to hold against third parties, that step is not a luxury. The second warning is Article 282 and it is one people read too late: a signature written on a blank instrument is governed by the rules of the tacit power. That is, signing a blank is treated as if you had authorised whoever fills it in, and the burden of showing that what was filled in does not answer to your instructions, or that the paper was taken and completed against your will, is yours. The third is for trial: acknowledging your signature implies acknowledging the content, so acknowledging it without having read what sits above leaves nothing open. With successors the article is gentler, since they need only say whether they know the signature is their predecessor’s or do not know. And two good things people fail to use: a document that failed as a deed is not lost, it counts as a private instrument if signed; and if you signed something with several parties and something is still pending, Article 284 gives you the right to be handed a copy, even if someone else kept the original. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.

Common mistakes

  • Relying on a private document against a third party with no certain date: Article 283 makes it unopposable.
  • Believing acknowledgement at trial is enough: the article says it still fails against third parties.
  • Signing a blank paper: Article 282 treats it under the rules of the tacit power.
  • Acknowledging the signature without reading the content: acknowledging one implies the other.
  • Throwing away a document that failed as a public deed: it counts as private if signed.
  • Thinking the notary may take it back later: only by alleging deceit, violence or intimidation.
  • Believing a public instrument is undone by another document: only by a judicial sentence.
  • Ending up with no copy of the contract: Article 284 gives one to whoever lacks the original.

Frequently asked questions

Does my private contract hold against a third party?

Article 283 says a private instrument without a certain date is not opposable to third parties, even if acknowledged at trial.

How is a certain date obtained?

The same article gives it by incorporation or inscription in a public registry, transcription into a public instrument, and a signer’s death.

I signed a blank paper. What happens?

Article 282 governs it by the rules of the tacit power, unless you show it does not answer your instructions or was completed against your will.

The document failed as a deed. Is it worth anything?

Article 280 says it counts as a private instrument if the grantors signed it.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 12, 2026

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