Summer services update
Not all New Zealand property information is held by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).
We recommend you check what you can order below before using Land Record Search.
Titles we hold
Titles are documents that show the legal ownership of land or property.
We hold:
- current Records of Title
- older records of title, previously called certificates of title or computer registers
- historical documents, such as journals, deeds and abstracts
- historical documents relating to the control and management of land.
Some historical documents prior to 1900 may not be available.
Survey plans and information we hold
Survey plans show the area, size and features of land or property.
We hold:
- cadastral survey plans
- surveyors' technical records
- field books and notes dating back to the earliest surveys.
Some historical plans prior to 1900 may not be available.
Instruments we hold
Instruments, or documents, record transactions for a property. Examples of instruments on a title include:
- transfer of a property from the current owners to new owners
- a mortgage held by a bank
- an easement, for example, a right of way for access to a sewage line.
Statutory actions
We may hold information when a land has been used for a specific purpose, such as a road. This land may not have a title. Instead you'll see statutory action information.
We only hold statutory action information if required to do so by legislation.
For statutory action information you may like to search for a lands:
- survey plan
- Gazette notice.
Gazette - find a Gazette notice
Some historical records
You may be able to find historic records such as:
- land ownership and transfer
- control and management of land
- abstracts and journals for surveys and titles
- deeds for land ownerhsip. Deeds were replaced by titles in 1871
- historic Crown property paper files from earlier government departments. For example, the Department of Survey & Land Information, Department of Lands and Survey and the Ministry of Works.
However some records may be too delicate or large to scan and send by email. You may be able to view these records in one of our offices:
View original paper land records
Other land record providers
Most historic records, such as Crown grants, indexes and registers for the deeds system, are held by Archives New Zealand.
Archives New Zealand - Collections search
Find other land record providers
Information included in our land records
Title and survey records we have information about:
- ownership or other rights over land
- transfers of rights over land
- the physical nature of land.
Our records do not include information about:
- permits granted for the use of the land
- information on what has been done to the land.
Next steps
Find out how to order records:
How to order for titles, surveys and other property records in Land Record Search