Cadastral Survey Plans

Cadastral Survey Plans show a property's legal boundaries, area and dimensions.

Some plan types are held with Archives New Zealand. Check the list of record locations to see where particular plan types are available from.

Order a plan

To order a copy of a plan you will need to know which type you need, its land district and either its reference number, legal description or street address. Other property record providers can help with more complicated searches or historical research.

Plan types

The main plan types are:

  • Survey plans

Often show detailed survey observations. It might also include a simpler plan detailing only the property's boundaries, area and dimensions. View an example survey plan (pdf 82.4KB). (Note that record orders received by email are in TIFF format).

  • Title plans

Show the plan that was deposited when the title was created. This could be a simple plan of the property's boundaries, area and dimensions, a detailed survey plan or a combination of both. View an example title plan (pdf 113.4KB). (Note that record orders received by email are in TIFF format).

Plan reference numbers

The reference number for title and survey plans is the plan number, which looks like “DP 123456”. They often form part of a property's legal description. Make sure to include any prefix or suffix.

Find legal descriptions

Recent legal descriptions look like "Lots 1 and 2 DP 456789". Older legal descriptions look like “Section 1019-1022 Town of Christchurch”. You can find legal descriptions on rating valuation notices or rates demands. You can also search maps on some local council websites. Rating rolls, which are held by some city and district councils, also list the history of legal descriptions for properties.

Use street addresses

You can also order a plan by providing the street address. In some cases, where land has been subdivided, further details may be required and LINZ will contact you.

Order a copy

You can order a copy of a land record either online or by completing a printable order form and posting or faxing it to us.

About cadastral survey plans

LINZ has survey plans which date back more than 160 years. Older plans may include the names of European settlers as well as English and Māori place names.

The three main types of cadastral survey plans LINZ holds are:

  • deposited plans (DP)
  • survey office plans (SO)
  • Māori land plans (ML).

Survey plans also show the label ("appellation") for a piece of land (eg "Section 1 Block VII Mata Survey District" for Crown Land or "Kaiti 313A6B2" for Māori Land or "Lot 1 DP 12345" for General Land).

When land is surveyed, surveyors create the cadastral survey plan and send it to LINZ. Plan approval and deposit enables computer registers (Certificate of title) to be issued.

LINZ holds cadastral survey plans electronically in Landonline.

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