Short answer. A donation becomes binding on the donor from the moment the donor learns that the donee has accepted it. Under Article 734 of the Civil Code, the donation is perfected the moment the donor knows of the donee's acceptance, not merely when the donor offers or the donee accepts.
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
A donation is an act of liberality where the donor gives something to the donee, who accepts. Article 734 of the Civil Code pinpoints when that act becomes a completed, binding agreement. It provides that The donation is perfected from the moment the donor knows of the acceptance by the donee. "Perfected" means the donation now exists as a binding contract. The decisive event is not the signing of the deed alone, nor the donee's private decision to accept, but the donor's coming to know that the donee has accepted. Until that knowledge reaches the donor, the donation is not yet perfected.
Why acceptance is essential
A donation takes two willing parties. The donor must intend to give, and the donee must be willing to receive; no one can be forced to accept a gift. That is why acceptance by the donee is a necessary ingredient. A bare offer to donate, standing alone, binds no one. The donee must actually accept, and the law generally requires that the acceptance be made during the donor's lifetime. If the donee never accepts, or accepts only after the donor has died, there is no perfected donation. Acceptance is what turns a one-sided offer into a mutual, enforceable arrangement.
Knowledge, not just acceptance, is the trigger
Article 734 goes a step further than merely requiring acceptance: it requires that the donor knows of the acceptance. This detail matters when the donor and donee are apart, for instance when acceptance is made in a separate document or communicated later. The donation is not perfected the instant the donee signs an acceptance in private; it is perfected when that acceptance is brought to the donor's knowledge. The reason is that a donation is completed by the meeting of the two wills, and the donor's will is only truly joined to the donee's once the donor is aware the gift has been embraced.
Why the timing matters
Perfection is the line that changes everything. Before the donor knows of the acceptance, the intended donation is not yet binding, and the donor generally remains free to change his mind. Once that knowledge arrives, the donation is perfected and the donor is committed, subject only to the grounds for revocation the law separately allows. This timing can be decisive when a donor dies or withdraws around the same time the donee accepts. Note, too, that perfection under this article is about consent; a donation of real property must also meet the separate formal requirements, such as a public document, to be valid.