Short answer. The heir with the largest interest in the property covered by the title keeps the original. If shares are equal, the oldest co-heir gets it. Under Article 1090, the others are entitled to authentic copies of the title, paid for by the estate.
What the law says
the title shall be delivered to the one having the largest interest, and authentic copies of the title shall be furnished to the other co-heirs at the expense of the estate. If the interest of each co-heir should be the same, the oldest shall have the title.
Civil Code, Article 1090 — Titles Covering Several Parcels. Read the full provision →
When one title covers multiple pieces
Article 1090 addresses a practical problem that arises often in estate partitions: a single title document — a Transfer Certificate of Title or Original Certificate of Title — covering more than one parcel of land, or a single parcel that gets physically divided among several heirs. Once the lots are assigned to different people, there is only one original title but multiple rightful claimants to the document. Article 1090 resolves this by designating who holds the original and entitling everyone else to certified copies.
The largest-interest rule, and the age tiebreaker
The original title goes to the co-heir who received the largest share of the property covered by that title. If three heirs are given lots from one mother title and one heir received a lot twice as large as each of the others, that heir holds the original. When everyone's share is the same size — equal lots, equal value — the statute applies a straightforward tiebreaker: the oldest co-heir holds the title. There is no provision for rotating custody or for a committee to decide; the law picks one person, clearly.
Authentic copies for everyone else, at estate expense
Holding the original title does not give that co-heir any legal advantage over the others. Each of the other co-heirs is entitled to authentic copies of the title — certified true copies — and the cost of obtaining those copies is borne by the estate, not by the individual heirs. This ensures that every person who received a portion of the property has a document they can use to prove their ownership, register their lot, or deal with third parties. The lack of the original does not impair their rights.
What this means in practice
If you are not the one holding the original title, you will need to request a certified true copy from the Registry of Deeds where the title is registered. That copy serves the same evidentiary purpose as the original in most transactions and proceedings. Once you have your specific lot registered under a new title in your name — which is the normal next step after a partition and which requires the assistance of the Registry of Deeds — the question of who holds the old mother title becomes mostly historical. The new individual titles are what govern ownership going forward.