The Government of Rwanda has approved 99 additional private land notaries in a move aimed at improving access to land services, reducing delays and making land transactions easier for citizens across the country.
The approval brings the total number of authorised private land notaries in Rwanda to 279, according to the National Land Authority (NLA).
Sylvain Muyombano, Head of the Land Administration Department at NLA, told The New Times that the Ministry of Justice had approved the additional practitioners.
The newly approved notaries will undergo professional training from December 14 to 19, 2026, before they can begin providing land rights transfer services.
Muyombano said the expansion would help reduce the distance citizens travel and the time they spend accessing land services, particularly in districts with limited access to private land notaries.
“Distance and the time taken to access services will be reduced thanks to the new private land notaries,” he said.
He explained that some districts had been experiencing shortages of private land notaries, creating gaps in service delivery.
Land transactions account for half of all land services, highlighting the need for more practitioners.
For example, Nyagatare District previously had only one private land notary. The latest approvals will increase the number to two.
Distribution of the New Land Notaries
The 99 newly approved notaries will be distributed across all four provinces and the City of Kigali, with the capital receiving more than half of them.
Kigali will receive 54 notaries, including 21 in Nyarugenge, 18 in Gasabo and 15 in Kicukiro.
Eastern Province will receive 19. Bugesera District will get 12, who will operate in Nyamata, Juru and Mayange sectors. Kayonza will receive two, while Gatsibo, Kirehe, Ngoma, Nyagatare and Rwamagana will each receive one.
Southern Province will receive 13 notaries. Six will operate in Muhanga, two each in Huye and Nyanza, and one each in Kamonyi, Nyamagabe and Ruhango.
Western Province will receive eight, including five in Rusizi, two in Rubavu and one in Nyabihu.
Northern Province will receive five, with four in Musanze and one in Rulindo.
Muyombano said increasing the number of private land notaries would bring services closer to citizens because demand remains high.
Requirements for Becoming a Private Land Notary
Applicants seeking to become private land notaries must first obtain approval from the Ministry of Justice after consultation with land administration authorities. They must also complete the required professional training.
According to the ministry, applicants must be Rwandan citizens aged at least 18, hold a bachelor's degree in law or an equivalent qualification, and have at least three years of professional legal experience.
They must also demonstrate integrity and meet requirements relating to criminal convictions and disciplinary records.
Applicants must have no final criminal conviction carrying a prison sentence of six months or more, unless they have been cleared through amnesty or rehabilitation.
They must also not have been dismissed from public service or private employment for disciplinary misconduct, unless rehabilitated.
For the latest authorisation process, applicants were required to submit documents to NLA, including a tax clearance certificate, a photograph identifying their office building and its location, as well as its geographical coordinates.
Former government employees who previously worked in land services must also provide a recommendation from the relevant Land Registrar, issued within the preceding two weeks.
Muyombano said private land notaries found guilty of professional misconduct could face a warning, reprimand, suspension of up to six months or dismissal from the profession.
Efforts to Reduce Delays in Land Transactions
Expanding the network of private land notaries is part of broader efforts to speed up land transactions. However, applications handled by private land notaries must still be approved by land offices.
The NLA says additional personnel have been deployed to support the approval process. Lawyers working in District Land One-Stop Centres are also expected to be allowed to approve land transfers soon.
According to the authority's Director General, pending land applications have fallen from 145,000 to 37,000 following the deployment of additional staff.
The outstanding applications include land subdivisions and transfers, although subdivisions and boundary corrections account for much of the remaining backlog.
The authority has set a target of clearing all pending applications by June 2027.
“We will have cleared all the backlog by June next year. Many backlog applications are related to land subdivisions and boundary corrections. There are few backlog cases related to land transfer approvals,” the Director General said.
Bugesera, Rwamagana, Musanze, Kamonyi and Gasabo are among the districts identified as having the highest demand for land services.
Meanwhile, the number of land files processed annually has increased from 15,000 to 800,000.
According to NLA, the Land Administration Information System requires at least 3,000 personnel across the public and private sectors to meet the growing demand for land services.
Charles Murama, a private land notary in Bugesera District, said additional practitioners would help maintain access to services even when one notary was away from the office.
“We handle over 300 cases of land buying and transfers per month,” he said.
