The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has confirmed the possibility of the state registration of rights to land plots for farming enterprises on the basis of documents issued to their founders or members. This is an important clarification for farming enterprises that face refusals from state registrars because the primary land documents are issued not to the legal entity, but to the founder or member of the enterprise.

At the initiative of the Ukrainian Agri Council, which was supported by other associations of agricultural producers, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, in a letter of May 20, 2026, No. 73031/8.4.1/32-26, provided interregional departments with clarification regarding the state registration of rights to land plots granted for conducting a farming enterprise.

What exactly this means for farming enterprises and how to act in the event of an unfounded refusal by a state registrar is explained by experts of the Ukrainian Agri Council, within the project to support Ukrainian agricultural producers from affected regions in partnership with the international humanitarian organization Mercy Corps.

The need for such clarification arose due to the inconsistent practice of state registrars. In practice, farming enterprises often received refusals to carry out registration actions solely on the grounds that the title documents for the land plot were issued in the name of the founder or member of the farming enterprise, rather than directly to the farming enterprise itself as a legal entity.

In its clarification, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, taking into account the conclusions of the Supreme Court, confirmed that in the legal relations of permanent use and lease of a land plot granted to the founder of a farming enterprise, a substitution of the user in fact takes place. The obligations of the land user pass to the farming enterprise from the day of its state registration.

The Ministry of Justice also emphasized that in such legal relations the subject is not the individual — the founder, head, or manager of the farming enterprise — but the farming enterprise itself as a legal entity.

When carrying out registration actions, a state registrar must be guided not only by general and special legislation, but also by the conclusions on the application of legal norms set out by the Supreme Court.

In particular, the state registration of rights to land plots granted for conducting a farming enterprise, in connection with the creation of a legal entity with the organizational and legal form of "farming enterprise," is carried out for the relevant legal entity on the basis of documents issued in the name of the founder or member of such a farming enterprise.

At the same time, the requirement to submit, for the purposes of the state registration of rights, documents on the transfer of the land plot on the right of permanent use specifically to the farming enterprise, rather than to its founder, is unfounded.

Thus, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine confirmed the possibility of the state registration, for a farming enterprise as a legal entity, of rights to land plots granted to its founder or member for the creation and/or conduct of a farming enterprise, provided that the proper documents envisaged by legislation are submitted.

The mere fact that the primary document is issued in the name of the founder or member of the farming enterprise cannot be a formal ground for refusing to carry out the state registration of rights for the farming enterprise.

In the event of an unfounded refusal by a state registrar to carry out the state registration of rights to a land plot for a farming enterprise, such decisions, actions, or inaction can be appealed in accordance with Article 37 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Registration of Real Property Rights and Their Encumbrances."

According to this article, decisions, actions, or inaction of a state registrar, of a subject of the state registration of rights, as well as actions related to the automatic state registration of rights, can be appealed to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, its territorial bodies, or to a court.

A complaint to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine or its territorial body can be submitted by a person whose rights have been violated within two months from the day when such person learned or could have learned about the violation of their rights.

In the event that the fact of an unfounded refusal by a state registrar to carry out the state registration of rights is established, such a refusal may result for the registrar not only in the annulment of the unlawful decision and the obligation to eliminate the violation, but also in being held administratively liable under Article 166-23 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses — for violation of the procedure for the state registration of real property rights and their encumbrances.

The sanction of this article provides for a fine of from UAH 6,800 to UAH 10,200, and in the event of a repeated violation within a year — from UAH 8,500 to UAH 17,000.

In addition, based on the results of considering the complaint, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine or its territorial body may decide to temporarily block or annul the state registrar's access to the State Register of Real Property Rights. This is a separate measure of response to violations in the sphere of the state registration of rights.

If a state registrar, contrary to the clarification of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, refuses the state registration of rights to a land plot for a farming enterprise or puts forward unfounded requirements regarding the submission of additional documents, agricultural producers can contact the UAC legal advisory line.

UAC specialists will help analyze the documents and prepare a complaint to the relevant interregional department of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine regarding the unlawful decisions, actions, or inaction of the state registrar.

The clarification of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the joint position of agricultural associations should help overcome unlawful refusals, illegal requirements, and inaction of certain state registrars, as well as contribute to the proper protection of the rights and legitimate interests of farming enterprises.

To get a consultation, submit your request via the electronic form: https://forms.gle/v56UzTAsrD9Zrx998

For information, contact the legal advisory line at: +38 067 522-03-43

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MERCY CORPS is an international humanitarian organization that operates in more than 40 countries worldwide and provides assistance to people affected by disasters, wars, poverty, and the consequences of climate change.