There are 5 categories of land according to Article 2 of Ordinance No. 74-1 of 6th July 1974 to establish the rules governing land tenure in Cameroon. They are as follows;
- Registered Lands: These are lands which have undergone the process of registration of documents and transactions affecting the land. These are lands that have been registered under the authority of the Ministry of State Property, Surveys, and Land Tenure.
Registered lands are recorded in a Special Register called a Land Register and such registration shall mean a real property right has been registered and may be opposed by third parties.
- Freehold Lands: These are lands subject to a type of property ownership in which a person or organization has outright ownership, forever, of a property and the land on which it is built. Freehold lands are lands free from the hold of any entity besides the owner. Hence, the owner of such an estate enjoys free ownership in perpetuity and can use the land for any purpose in accordance with the law.
- Lands acquired under the Transcription System: These are lands that were acquired under different communication mechanisms at the time the 1974 Ordinance came into force.
- Lands acquired by a final concession: These are lands granted based upon special demands. Such as lands granted for government projects, projects of enterprises, public interest projects, etc.
- Lands entered in the Grundbuch: These are lands inscribed in the Land register.