The article is devoted to such a method of protection of registered rights to immovable property as recognition of registered rights (encumbrances) as being absent. The author examines its legal nature from the position of the enforcement acts of judicial institutions, as well as from the theoretical positions of the civil law doctrine in order to establish its connection with the period of limitation. Currently these relations are treated in accordance with two basic approaches. The first approach means the application of a general three-year limitation period under Paragraph 1 Article 196 of the RF Civil Code. The second approach amounts to the non-application of limitation periods under Paragraph 5 Article 208 of the RF Civil Code. A situation of legal uncertainty stems primarily from the lack of any clarity concerning the legal nature of the method of protection, which eventually makes it more difficult to protect the rights the details of which are registered in the Unified State Register of Rights to real estate and transactions with it. In practice, this results in difficulties in choosing an appropriate method of protection limited by limitation periods, and often leads to impossibility of judicial protection that also involves the loss of rights to immovable property. On the other hand, a registered right may be challenged at any time if the applicant's right to recourse to a court is not limited by the limitation periods. i.e. if this right is negatory.