Short answer. Under Article 734 of the Civil Code, a donation is perfected from the moment the donor knows of the acceptance by the donee. Acceptance alone is not enough — the donation is only complete and binding once the donor has actual knowledge that the donee accepted it.
What the law says
The donation is perfected from the moment the donor knows of the acceptance by the donee.
Civil Code, Article 734 — When A Donation Is Perfected. Read the full provision →
The moment of perfection: donor's knowledge, not donee's acceptance
A donation has two essential acts: the donor's offer to give, and the donee's acceptance. But Article 734 fixes the point of perfection not at the donee's act of accepting, but at the donor's knowledge of that acceptance. A donation is not yet a completed, binding transaction the instant the donee says yes. It becomes binding only once the donor is actually informed that the donee has accepted. Until the donor receives that knowledge, the donation is legally incomplete — it has not yet passed the threshold into a fully enforceable contract of donation.
Why the donor's knowledge is the controlling moment
Donation is a voluntary and gratuitous act — the donor gives without receiving anything in return. Because the donor is the one making a sacrifice, the law ensures that perfection does not occur behind the donor's back. If a donee sends acceptance by letter, the donation is not perfected when the letter is mailed or even when it is delivered — it is perfected only when the donor actually reads or is informed of the acceptance. This rule protects the donor from being bound by a donation that they do not yet know has been completed, while also giving the donee a clear and definitive moment from which rights under the donation arise.
Formal requirements still apply
The perfection rule of Article 734 operates alongside, not instead of, the formal requirements for donations. Donations of personal property valued above a certain amount must be made and accepted in writing; donations of real property must be made in a public document and accepted in the same document or a separate public document that is notified to the donor. When a donation must be made in writing or in a public document, the donor's knowledge of acceptance must occur within the context of those formal instruments. Perfection under Article 734 is the contract-law moment of binding agreement — it does not substitute for the statutory formalities that the law separately requires.
Consequences of perfection
Once the donation is perfected — once the donor knows the donee has accepted — the agreement becomes binding on both parties. The donor is obligated to deliver the thing donated, and the donee acquires the right to demand it. From that moment the donor can no longer unilaterally withdraw from the donation as if it had never been made. Revocation remains possible only on specific grounds recognized by law, such as ingratitude of the donee or the birth of children the donor did not have at the time. Perfection thus marks the boundary between a tentative gift and a legally enforceable commitment.