Buying an Apartment in Ukraine as an Israeli: РНОКПП, Notary, Register Checks and Title Registration Under Martial Law

This guide is for those who are nevertheless considering buying property in Ukraine, usually for family reasons or because of a personal connection to the place. It is not a recommendation to invest in Ukraine, and we do not assess the security situation. Before any step, check the current travel warning issued by Israel's National Security Council, and plan to act through a power of attorney rather than by travelling.

1What may an Israeli buy in Ukraine, and what not?

An Israeli, like any foreigner, may buy an apartment, a private house, an office or a commercial building in Ukraine, and the procedure is very similar to that for a Ukrainian citizen. The restrictions apply to land, so when you buy a house with a garden or a building on a plot, the status of the land is checked separately.

• Apartments and buildings: allowed, with no special restriction for foreigners.
• Non-agricultural land within a settlement: under Article 81 of the Land Code, a foreigner may acquire it by purchase, gift, inheritance or by buying out the land under property they own.
• Non-agricultural land outside a settlement: only the plot on which a building owned by the foreigner stands.
• Agricultural land: foreigners may not own it. A foreigner who inherits such land must dispose of it within one year; otherwise a court may order its confiscation and sale at auction.
• An apartment in a multi-unit building: you buy the apartment itself. There is no separate purchase of the land under the building.

2What is РНОКПП and how do you get it from Israel?

РНОКПП is the taxpayer identification number in Ukraine, and every party to a real estate deal before a notary needs one, including a foreigner who does not live there. Without it the notary cannot certify the contract or register the buyer as owner.

The application is filed with the Ukrainian tax authority on form 1ДР, together with the passport and a certified Ukrainian translation of it. It can be filed in person or through a representative, and according to a June 2026 review by a Ukrainian law firm the procedure usually takes a few business days. The tax authority also mentions the option of sending the application through a Ukrainian diplomatic mission abroad. In practice, the simplest route is usually a power of attorney to a lawyer in Ukraine that expressly includes obtaining the number. The number stays yours for life, and you will need it later too, for example when you sell or let the property.

3What is the notary's role, and when does ownership pass?

A real estate sale contract in Ukraine must be certified by a notary, and the notary who certifies it also registers the buyer's ownership right in the State Register of Real Property Rights (Державний реєстр речових прав). Ownership passes only on registration, not on signing or payment. A preliminary agreement, if one is made, is also signed before a notary.

Before certifying, the notary checks the parties' identity, the documents and whether encumbrances and restrictions exist. However, the notary does not represent the buyer and does not check for them the merits of the deal, the actual condition of the property or the commercial risks. At the start of the war, only notaries on a Ministry of Justice list could certify deals in valuable property. The government cancelled that list with effect from 1 January 2024. On the other hand, under Cabinet Resolution 164 of 2022, notarial acts may not be performed for citizens of the Russian Federation and Russian companies, so the seller's identity and citizenship are checked at the very first stage.

4Which register checks should be done before signing?

The basic check is a current information extract from the State Register of Real Property Rights, which shows who the owner is, the registration history and which encumbrances, attachments and bans on disposal are registered against the property. But the check does not end there:

5How does registration work under martial law?

The register operates, but under special rules. Since March 2022 registration has been carried out under Cabinet Resolution 209 of 6 March 2022, and only registrars and notaries with approved access to the register may perform registration acts. The Ministry of Justice may suspend access to the registers in certain administrative units, and the resolution itself has been amended several times, for example in December 2023 and August 2025. Martial law has been extended from time to time since February 2022, so these rules still apply.

In practice: a property located in a territory on the official list of occupied territories or combat areas may be blocked for registration acts and transactions. Even where the deal itself is possible, the physical and legal condition of such a property is hard to verify. So first check the location against the current list, and only then start negotiating.

6How do you pay the price as a non-resident?

Payment is made by bank transfer, and in practice the price in a local deal is paid in hryvnia. Usually you open an account at a Ukrainian bank, transfer the money there from Israel, and the payment to the seller is made from that account. The Ukrainian bank will require proof of the source of funds, and the bank in Israel will ask where and why the money is going. So prepare documents in advance, such as bank statements, the sale contract and proof that the funds are documented savings or income.

Paying in cash is not advisable. Beyond the problem of proof, a full bank record of the money that entered Ukraine may be very important on the day you wish to sell and take the money out, because transfers out of Ukraine are restricted under Resolution 18 of the National Bank of Ukraine. We cover this in more detail in our guide on selling property in Ukraine and transferring the proceeds.

7What changes when you buy an off-plan apartment from a developer?

An apartment under construction is bought today under Law 2518-IX on guaranteeing proprietary rights to real estate to be built in the future, adopted on 15 August 2022 and in force since 10 October 2022. The law creates a special proprietary right in the future apartment, which is registered in the State Register of Real Property Rights and also allows its holder to require the developer to complete construction. Every transaction in such a right is certified by a notary, and the register blocks a second sale of the same apartment.

• Guaranteed share: under Cabinet Resolution 8 of 3 January 2023, a minimum share of the building may not be sold until construction is completed: 10% in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv, and 5% in other settlements.
• Refund: when the contract ends early, the developer must refund the money within 60 days.
• Delay: the buyer may terminate the contract if commissioning of the building is delayed by more than six months, subject to the exceptions in the law.
• Ownership: once construction is completed and the building is commissioned, the special right is replaced by registered ownership of the apartment.

Important: older projects, especially those that began before the law, are sometimes sold through other structures, such as construction financing funds or investment agreements, in which the buyer's protection is much weaker. Before any payment, check which legal structure the developer is offering, whether the apartment is registered as a future real estate object in the register, and the status of the permits and the land. The law also does not remove the economic risk that the developer will not finish construction.

8How do you sign remotely through a power of attorney?

The whole transaction can be carried out without travelling to Ukraine. In the current period this is also the route we prefer. The power of attorney is signed in Israel, apostilled and translated into Ukrainian:

1. Agree the wording of the power of attorney in advance with the notary in Ukraine, so that it is accepted without comments.
2. Define the powers expressly: obtaining the РНОКПП, opening a bank account where the bank allows it, ordering register extracts, signing the contract, paying the levies and registering ownership.
3. Sign before an Israeli notary. If you are married, a spousal consent document may also be required.
4. Add an apostille. Israel and Ukraine are both parties to the Hague Convention, so consular legalisation is not required.
5. Translate into Ukrainian and have the translation certified in Ukraine as required.
6. Send the original to the lawyer or representative in Ukraine, and keep a scanned copy.

9How much does the transaction cost and how long does it take?

Levy and duty rates per PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, as of June 2026. In certain cases an exemption from the pension fund levy applies, and this should be confirmed with the notary before the deal. As for timing, obtaining the РНОКПП takes a few days, and registration by the notary is usually done on the day of signing. What actually determines the timeline is preparing the power of attorney and translations, opening the account and transferring the funds, and the register checks. In a well-organised deal this usually means a few weeks.

10And on the Israeli side?

Israeli residents are liable to tax in Israel on income from property abroad, and the Israel-Ukraine tax treaty, in effect from 1 January 2007, determines which country may tax and how credit is given for tax paid in Ukraine. Taxation of rental income and of a sale, in Ukraine and in Israel, is covered in our guide on property taxes in Ukraine for non-residents. Already on the day of purchase, keep all the transaction documents and bank transfer records, as they will be the basis for reporting and calculating tax in the future.

11Checklist before signing

1. You have checked the current travel warning and decided to act through a power of attorney.
2. You have checked that the property is not in an occupied territory or a combat area where registration is restricted.
3. For a private house: you have checked the plot's designation and that it is not agricultural land.
4. You have obtained a РНОКПП.
5. You have obtained a current extract from the State Register of Real Property Rights, and also checked the legacy registers, the register of debtors and the register of court decisions.
6. You have checked the seller: identity, citizenship, spousal consent, minors and sanctions.
7. For an off-plan apartment: you have checked that the apartment is registered as a future real estate object under Law 2518-IX, and checked the permits and the developer's rights to the land.
8. You have arranged the payment route: a bank account, source-of-funds documents and a full record of the transfer.
9. You have confirmed who pays each levy and fee, and written it into the contract.
10. After signing, you have confirmed that ownership was registered in your name and obtained an updated extract.

12What to do before signing a deal in Ukraine, and how we accompany you

In today's Ukraine the first question is not the price but whether the deal can be carried out and registered at all, and at what risk. Acts under Ukrainian law are performed by licensed local notaries and lawyers. We coordinate them from Israel: we prepare the power of attorney, the apostille and the translations with you, review the documents and the register extracts, and look at the deal from your perspective as Israeli buyers, including the transfer of funds and reporting in Israel. We do not recommend investing in Ukraine and do not assess the security situation. Our role is to present the legal position and the risks to you as they are.

Read next · 10 min readSelling Property in Ukraine under Martial Law and Moving the Proceeds to Israel: What Is Possible, What Is Restricted and the RisksSelling an apartment in Ukraine under martial law: the register, occupied areas, a power of attorney from Israel and NBU limits on moving the proceeds abroad.Read the guide