The short answer: a proper land search in Lagos is two searches at two offices, both inside the Secretariat at Alausa, Ikeja.
1. The Land Registry tells you who owns it and whether anything is hanging over it.
2. The Surveyor-General's office tells you where it actually is and whether the government has a claim on it.
One without the other leaves a hole big enough to lose your money in. Budget one to two weeks and well under ₦100,000 for both.
What a search actually reveals
A Land Registry search is a look inside the government's file on that property. It shows you:
- The registered owner's name — which may not be the person selling to you
- Any registered against the land
- Existing mortgages or charges
- Court disputes and restrictions on the owner's rights
- The property description and every transaction recorded on it
One limit worth knowing upfront: only registered property can be searched. If the land was never registered, the registry has no file, and a "no records found" result tells you nothing about ownership either way. That is exactly when the survey side matters most.
The two searches side by side
| Land Registry search | Surveyor-General search | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | Who owns it? Any encumbrance? | Where is it? Is it acquired? |
| Office | Lands Bureau, Alausa | Office of the Surveyor-General, Alausa |
| You submit | and title particulars | The survey plan and coordinates |
| You receive | Search result, or a | Land Information Certificate |
| Catches | Fake owners, hidden mortgages, disputes | Committed acquisition, flying coordinates, overlaps |
What to gather before you go
- A copy of the title document you want to verify — C of O, Deed of Assignment, or Governor's Consent — with its registration particulars: the volume, page and file number stamped on it.
- A registered survey plan with coordinates.
- The property address, and its if you have it.
- Written authority from the seller, or a sworn declaration that you are permitted to verify the title. Registry staff routinely ask for this.
- Your own identification.
If the seller refuses to give you the registration particulars or written authority, that is your search result. A genuine owner has no reason to obstruct a search. Do not pay a deposit to unlock cooperation — verify first, pay second, always in that order.
Step by step at the Land Registry
- Write an application letter addressed to the Registrar of Titles, stating the property and your reason for searching.
- Collect and complete Form 3, the official search application form, at the Lands Bureau. If you want stamped copies of the documents on file rather than just a result, use the CTC form instead.
- Pay the assessed fee at the designated bank. Wait for the bank to issue your payment certificate — this can take from half an hour to the following day. Photocopy both the teller and the certificate; the Bureau retains copies and returns your originals.
- Submit everything to the officer on duty: application letter, completed form, payment evidence, copies of the title document, and your authority to search.
- Collect the result. A straightforward search takes a few days. Lagos also runs an expedited one-day CTC e-search for urgent cases.
- Request a Certified True Copy of whatever the file contains. A verbal answer from an officer protects nobody. A CTC is the version that stands up if the matter later goes to court.
Then repeat the exercise at the Surveyor-General's office with your survey plan, to obtain the Land Information Certificate confirming the land's acquisition status.
Doing it online
Lagos runs an electronic land portal at landonline.lagosstate.gov.ng. You create an account, then search property by address, property number or parcel ID. It returns GIS maps, assessment data, scanned documents and the property's transaction history, and you can apply for a CTC online and choose email, courier or walk-in collection.
The portal consolidates land records going back to the nineteenth century alongside current titles. It was built partly to cut out middlemen — which is worth knowing if anyone offers to "facilitate" your search for a fee.
Use it. But for a purchase you are about to pay for, still get the physical CTC. The portal is a fast first look, not a substitute for stamped evidence.
What it costs
Be careful with fee figures you find online, including ours. The Lands Bureau states plainly that its scale of charges is subject to yearly review without notice, and most articles quoting exact search fees are quoting numbers from years ago.
Treat the table below as an order of magnitude. Confirm the current assessment at Alausa before you budget.
| Item | Indicative cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Land Registry search fee | Assessed by the registry; historically a few thousand naira | 3 – 7 working days |
| Expedited CTC e-search | Higher; assessed on application | 1 day |
| Land Information Certificate (residential) | ₦10,000 order of magnitude, plus development levy | About 5 working days |
| Land Information Certificate (commercial) | ₦20,000 order of magnitude | About 5 working days |
| Charting of survey plan | ₦20,000 – ₦100,000 by plot size | 1 – 3 weeks |
| Solicitor to run it for you | Negotiated; commonly a percentage or flat fee | — |
Set against a plot costing tens of millions, this is the cheapest part of the entire transaction. It is also the only part that can stop you losing everything.
Reading the result
| What it says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Owner's name matches your seller | Good. Now confirm identity with photo ID. |
| Owner's name is different | Ask for the chain of transfers. Every link needs a document. |
| Mortgage or charge registered | A bank has an interest. It must be released before you buy. |
| Caution or court restriction filed | Someone is contesting the land. Stop. |
| No records found | The land was never registered. The survey search now carries the whole burden. |
| Committed acquisition | Government has earmarked it. Walk away. |
One more search is worth running if a company is selling to you: a check at the Corporate Affairs Commission confirming the company exists, is in good standing, and that the people signing are authorised to.
Bottom line
Two offices, both at Alausa. The registry answers who owns it. The Surveyor-General answers where it is and whether it is free. Get both results in writing, certified, before any money moves. A week or two of waiting and a fee you will barely notice against the purchase price is the entire cost of not losing the land.
Sources
- Lagos State Lands Bureau — requirements for processing title documents, including Form 3 (Search) and CTC e-search
- Lagos State e-GIS land portal — property search and CTC applications
- Mondaq — conducting land searches and verifying property titles in Lagos
- Housing TV Africa — verifying land titles at the Lagos State Land Registry, Alausa
- Legal Panic — step-by-step search procedure at the Lagos Land Registry
- Land title search at the Lagos Land Registry — Form 3 and sworn declaration
- Obtaining a Land Information Certificate from the Office of the Surveyor-General
- Techpoint Africa — Lagos launches e-GIS land portal to eliminate middlemen
This article explains general procedures in Lagos State. It is not legal advice. Government fees, forms and processing times are revised from time to time and the Lands Bureau reviews its scale of charges yearly without notice — confirm current details at Alausa or through your solicitor before you transact.
