Toitū Te Whenua and Archives New Zealand hold original copies of land records. Most older historic records are held at Archives New Zealand.
Thousands of records held by Toitū Te Whenua have been digitised and are available to order in Land Record Search. However, some historic records are too fragile or too large to scan or copy.
Find electronic records in Land Record Search
You may be able to request to view original records in one of Toitū Te Whenua’s offices.
Step 1: Work out the record type
Check out the list of historic land records to find the type of record you want to view. Is it an old deed, abstract or journal?
Step 2: Gather references for the record
A reference may be a number or details of a record. Many important details of an historic record may be found in a property’s Record of title.
You can also find details in legal descriptions. Legal descriptions can be found on:
- rating valuation notices
- rate demands
- city council maps
- rating rolls held by city councils.
To find historic records it’s important you have the:
- record type, for example, title, deed, survey plan
- record reference number, for example the number of a Record of title
- date of the record, if known
- land district.
Gathering as much information as you can, such as references, owners, changes to the property will help with finding the right record.
Step 3: Work out the land district and street address
Find out the land district for a property by viewing a map of land registration districts. Choose the most likely district.
Gather as much information you can on the street address.
NZ land registration districts
Step 4: Make sure we hold the record
Check Toitū Te Whenua holds this type of record. Review the list of records we hold.
Land records held by Toitū Te Whenua
Check whether the record has been digitalised and put into our Landonline database:
If the record is not digitalised, you still can ask us to do a manual search. With a manual search we search for the original copy of document, and if we find it, scan it and email it to you.
You need to fill in a Manual Order Form and pay $25 by credit card or debit card.
We’ll let you know if you need to view a record in person.
How to order a manual request for a record
If the record is not held by us, it’s likely the record is held by Archives New Zealand.
You can look for the record with their Collections search tool. Then you can request to view the record in person at one of their offices.
Archives New Zealand – Collections search
Archives New Zealand – reading room locations
Step 5: Request to view records
If you’ve tried our Land Record Search and Manual Order Form, you may ask to request records in person.
Send an email with as much detail as possible, including a reference to us:
customersupport@linz.govt.nz
Once we find the record we’ll contact you in 2 business days with an appointment date, time and office location to view the records. We’ll also tell you the cost, if any, for viewing the records.
Land professionals who can help
If you can’t come into the office, you can arrange for a land professional to view the original record on your behalf. Land professionals include:
- accredited Crown property service providers
- conveyancers
- lawyers
- property managers
- real estate agents
- registered valuers
- resource management specialists
- specialist search agents
- surveyors.
Land professionals can also conduct a search for your land records.