Colombian Public Deed: The Price in Words Correctly

Buying real estate in Colombia involves several notarial documents: the purchase promise, the public deed and optionally a mortgage if financing is involved. In all of them, the price must be written in words with a very specific format that notaries require.

This guide explains the exact format Colombian notaries accept, the four mandatory elements, the errors that protocols reject, and how to generate the text correctly. For quick conversion use our Colombian pesos to words converter with the "Notarial" mode.

The canonical format: four elements

Colombian notaries follow a convention consolidated over decades. The price is written with four elements in this order:

1. Amount in uppercase letters: DOSCIENTOS CINCUENTA MILLONES DE PESOS
2. M/CTE suffix (or "MONEDA CORRIENTE"): M/CTE
3. Figure in parentheses: ($250.000.000) with period thousand separator
4. ",oo" suffix inside the parentheses to indicate whole value without centavos

Complete result:

DOSCIENTOS CINCUENTA MILLONES DE PESOS M/CTE ($250.000.000,oo)

Real examples by operation type

Apartment purchase in Bogotá

80 m² apartment in Chicó, $580 million:

QUINIENTOS OCHENTA MILLONES DE PESOS M/CTE ($580.000.000,oo)

Purchase promise with down payment

Total $300M with $30M initial payment:

El precio total de la compraventa es la suma de TRESCIENTOS MILLONES DE PESOS M/CTE ($300.000.000,oo)…

Home mortgage

El monto del crédito hipotecario asciende a DOSCIENTOS MILLONES DE PESOS M/CTE ($200.000.000,oo)…

The 8 errors Colombian notaries reject

1. Missing M/CTE. Writing only DOSCIENTOS MILLONES DE PESOS ($200.000.000).
2. Missing ",oo". Writing ($200.000.000) without the two lowercase "o" at the end.
3. Gender agreement: DOSCIENTAS MILLONES instead of DOSCIENTOS MILLONES.
4. Figure-words discrepancy. Notary returns the document.
5. Incorrect apocope: VEINTIUNO MILLONES instead of VEINTIÚN MILLONES.
6. Forgetting "de" with million: UN MILLÓN PESOS instead of UN MILLÓN DE PESOS.
7. Wrong thousand separator: $200,000,000 US-style. Colombia uses period.
8. Accents and uppercase: some notaries are strict about the accent on "MILLÓN" even in uppercase.

Why words prevail over the figure

In Colombia, like many Hispanic countries, notarial documents and securities have a protective rule: if the words differ from the numeric figure, the words prevail. The Colombian Code of Commerce and notarial doctrine support this.

The reason is practical: a numeric figure like $200,000,000 can be altered by adding or removing zeros relatively easily. The words "DOSCIENTOS MILLONES DE PESOS" require rewriting and any cross-out is evident. That is why notaries scrupulously check agreement.

The role of the notary and the Superintendencia

In Colombia public deeds are protocolized at a Notaría authorized by the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro. Notaries are numbered by city (Notaría 1 de Bogotá, Notaría 73 de Bogotá, etc.) and each has its own protocol where signed documents are filed.

The notary must verify:

• Identity of the parties (ID card or foreign ID)
• Legal capacity to sell/buy
• Property freedom (no hidden encumbrances)
• Agreement between figure and words
• Correct format of price in words (including M/cte and ",oo")
• Payment of notarial fees per current tariffs

How to generate the correct format without errors

You have two options:

Option 1: Write by hand

Requires knowing RAE rules (apocope, gender, "y" conjunction, "cien" vs "ciento", preposition "de" with million) then adding M/cte and ",oo" per Colombian convention. Error-prone for large amounts.

Option 2: Use our converter

Our Colombian pesos to words converter has a "Notarial" mode designed for exactly this format:

• Type the figure (e.g., 250000000)
• Select "Notarial" mode
• Get: DOSCIENTOS CINCUENTA MILLONES DE PESOS M/CTE ($250.000.000,oo)
• Click "Copy for notary" and paste directly into your document

Special cases

Mixed USD and COP price

Although Colombian real estate prices are typically in pesos, with foreign investors a USD clause may appear. The deed must register both: principal in pesos (M/cte + ",oo") and USD equivalent at the day's exchange rate. See our dollars to words guide.

Price in UVR (Unidad de Valor Real)

Some mortgages quote in UVR (inflation-indexed) instead of pesos directly. The deed first records the UVR amount and then its peso equivalent at signing.

Frequently asked questions

Can the notary reject my deed if M/cte is missing?

Yes. Though not required by codified law, it is notarial practice. The notary reviews each document before protocolizing and returns those that do not meet the standard format.

"MONEDA CORRIENTE" or "M/cte" — which to use?

Both are valid. Abbreviated "M/cte" is more compact and used in modern deeds. Full "MONEDA CORRIENTE" appears in traditional or very formal deeds.

Do I have to write "$" or just the number in parentheses?

The "$" symbol inside the parentheses is standard and practically universal in Colombian deeds. Some old formats omit "$" but today it is considered incomplete.

Sources

• Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro de Colombia
• Colombian Code of Commerce · articles on public deeds
• Notaries 1, 19, 73 and 76 of Bogotá · public formats
• Real Academia Española · Ortografía 2010, §10