Titles, surveys, instruments and other land records stored with Toitū Te Whenua.

 

Toitū Te Whenua holds digital records that can be ordered through Land Record Search, and paper original copies that can be viewed by request. 

Not all New Zealand property information is held by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

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
  • a limited amount of historical documents, such as journals, deeds and abstracts
  • a limited amount of historical documents relating to the control and management of land. 

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
  • mortgages held by a bank
  • easements, for example, a right of way for access to a sewage line. 

Statutory information 

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: 

  • survey plan
  • Gazette notice. 

Gazette - find a Gazette notice 

Limited historical records 

You may be able to find some historic records such as: 

  • land ownership and transfer information
  • control and management of land information
  • abstracts and journals for surveys and titles
  • deeds for land ownership. Deeds were replaced by titles in 1871
  • historic Crown property paper files from earlier government departments, such as the Department of Survey & Land information, Department of Lands and Survey and the Ministry of Works. 

Information included in our land records 

Information in title and survey records may include: 

  • 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. 

Explanations of types of 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 

Other land record providers 

Record locations

Start your record search 

Use Land Record Search to find electronic copies of records.

Go to Land Record Search

Last updated

Contact Kōrero whakapā

Got a query about land records? 

Email our Customer support team:

customersupport@linz.govt.nz