The allocation of an individual land title is generally considered an attractive opportunity for individuals to improve land tenure security, to increase the value of their land as a saleable commodity and for potential use as collateral for a bank loan.  The PTSL (Complete and Systematic Land Registration) Program, implemented during the Jokowi presidency, was thus widely appreciated by land title recipients across the country. Under the program, the number of land parcels registered with a hak milik certificate increased substantially and may even come close to achieving the highly ambitious goal of registering 126 million land parcels by 2025. This program, however, was not the first time that the government of Indonesia had introduced individual land registration to its citizens. This paper presents the history of individual land titling in Indonesia since the colonial era, examining the challenges of successful implementation and analysing the impacts of previous programs. Legal arrangements regarding land ownership are foundational determinants of societal development and this review will enable a more realistic assessment of the long-term social and economic implications of the PTSL program in Indonesia.