Short answer. Under Article 2094 of the Civil Code, all movables within commerce may be pledged, as long as they are susceptible of possession. The two requirements are: the property must be a movable within the commerce of man, and it must be capable of being physically delivered to and held by the pledgee.
What the law says
All movables which are within commerce may be pledged, provided they are susceptible of possession.
Civil Code, Article 2094 — What May Be Pledged. Read the full provision →
The two requirements for pledgeable property
Article 2094 of the Civil Code sets two conditions. First, the property must be a movable within commerce: it must be capable of private ownership and transferable between private parties. Things that are outside the commerce of man — such as properties dedicated to public use, rights inseparable from persons, or things forbidden by law from being alienated — cannot be pledged. Second, the movable must be susceptible of possession: it must be capable of being physically delivered and held by the pledgee for the duration of the pledge.
Delivery is essential to the pledge
A pledge is not perfected by agreement alone. For the pledge to be valid and binding on third parties, the thing pledged must actually be delivered to the creditor or to a third person designated by the parties. This delivery requirement is what distinguishes a pledge from a chattel mortgage, where the debtor retains possession of the encumbered property. Because the pledgee must hold the thing, only movables that can be physically handed over qualify under Article 2094. Rights and obligations that exist only on paper may be pledged if they can be delivered through their documentary evidence.
What 'within commerce' means in practice
A movable is within commerce if it can be lawfully sold, donated, or transferred between private persons. Personal property in ordinary everyday use — jewelry, vehicles, machinery, livestock, documents of title, shares of stock, negotiable instruments — all qualify, because none is inherently outside private commerce. By contrast, property belonging to the public domain, property that the owner is legally prohibited from alienating, or rights that are purely personal and non-transferable are not within commerce and therefore cannot be pledged regardless of their physical character.
Documentary rights and incorporeal movables
Incorporeal rights — such as shares of stock, promissory notes, and warehouse receipts — are movable property even though they have no physical substance. They satisfy the possession requirement of Article 2094 through delivery of the certificate, instrument, or document that represents the right. Endorsing and delivering a stock certificate, for example, gives the pledgee possession of the right the certificate embodies. The Civil Code's rule is therefore broad enough to cover modern financial instruments, not just physical goods, so long as those instruments are within commerce and delivery in some meaningful form is possible.