In 1996 Daniel Waothi Mburu bought a plot in Ruiru, took a bank loan against it, and did an official search that showed him as the registered owner. In 2000 he went to sell it. A new search at the Thika Land Registry showed the land registered to someone he had never heard of, with a title supposedly issued in 1988, years before he bought it.
The Land Registrar in Thika confirmed there were two green cards for the same parcel. Mr Mburu went to the High Court with his title, his two searches and a certified copy of the green card from Kiambu, which listed every owner of the plot from 1992 to him. In September 2013 the court found there had been a mistake when records moved from Kiambu to the new Thika registry, and ordered the register rectified in his favour.
His title and searches showed two owners. The green card showed the court which one the record actually supported.
What a green card in a land search in Kenya actually is
"Green card" is the name registry staff, advocates and courts use for the land register of a parcel. The law calls it the land register, and section 7 of the Land Registration Act, 2012 says it has three main parts:
- The property section, describing the parcel: its number, size and the registry map it sits on.
- The proprietorship section, recording who owns it, and every change of owner.
- The encumbrance section, recording charges to banks, cautions, restrictions, inhibitions and leases.
Each entry is numbered and dated, and entries that have since been cancelled can still be read on it. A green card produced in a 2022 case from Nandi, Misoy v Jerotich & another, showed the first registration, a transfer to two buyers, the title issued to them, a rectification entry cancelling that transfer, then a transfer to the plaintiff. The whole history of the plot was on one page.
Green card versus an official search
An official search and the green card come from the same register, but they tell you different things.
Section 34 of the Act says an official search gives you particulars of the subsisting entries in the register: who owns the land now and what is registered against it now. The certificate of official search is Form LRA 85 under the Land Registration (General) Regulations, 2017, and regulation 86 says one obtained electronically carries the same weight as one done at the counter.
What a search does not show is history. A transfer that was cancelled, a charge discharged last year, a restriction lifted, an owner who held the land for three months before selling: none of that is a subsisting entry. Section 7(6) also allows the Registrar to open a new edition of a register showing only subsisting entries, so even a later green card can start clean.
For most purchases a search is the first check. The green card is how you see whether the story the seller tells matches the record.
How to get a land green card in Kenya
The application for an official search, Form LRA 84, lets you ask for particulars noted on the property, proprietorship or encumbrance sections, and for certified copies of documents. Your advocate can use it to request a certified copy of the register and of the documents in the parcel file, such as the transfer that put the current owner on the register. Section 7 of the Act requires each registry to keep parcel files containing the instruments that support every entry.
- For land on Ardhisasa, the Ministry of Lands' online platform at ardhisasa.lands.go.ke, the search is made online. Ask your advocate whether the certified copy of the register can be issued through the platform or has to be collected from the registry.
- For land not yet on the system, the request goes to the county land registry where the parcel is registered.
Ask specifically for a certified copy. Under section 35(2) of the Act, a copy certified by the Registrar is accepted as prima facie evidence of the document. Fees are prescribed and change from time to time, so confirm the current amount at the registry or on the platform.
What to compare against the title
Lay the title you were sent next to the green card and check, line by line:
- The parcel number, character for character, including the block and registration section.
- The acreage. A title for 0.1 hectares on a parcel the register shows as 0.05 hectares is a problem.
- The registered owner's name and ID number. Section 9 of the Act says the register records the proprietor's name, PIN and ID number.
- The date the title was issued. It should match a title entry on the card.
- The encumbrances. Any charge on the card that does not show as discharged must be dealt with before you pay.
What a mismatch means
Not every difference is fraud. Registrars can correct formal errors and update particulars under section 79. But a mismatch means you do not buy until it is explained in writing, by the registry, to your advocate.
- The owner on the card is not your seller. Stop. Either the seller is not the owner, or there has been a transfer you were not told about.
- The title date does not appear on the card. The title in your hand may not have been issued by that registry.
- Two cards, or two registries, for one parcel. This is what Mr Mburu found. It has to be resolved by the registry or the court before anyone deals with the land.
- A rectification entry. The register was corrected at some point. Find out why, and whether the correction was by the Registrar or by court order.
- An active caution, restriction or inhibition. Someone has registered an interest or a court has frozen dealings. Nothing transfers until it is removed.
Under section 80, a court can order the register rectified if a registration was obtained, made or omitted by fraud or mistake. But section 80(2) protects a registered owner who had no knowledge of the fraud or mistake and did not cause or contribute to it. In practice that means the time to catch a problem is before your name goes on the register, not after.
From abroad
The title you are shown on WhatsApp is a photo of a document the seller holds. The green card is the registry's own record. Ask your advocate, not the seller or the agent, to obtain the certified copy, and ask for it as a scanned PDF with the certification visible. Then do the line-by-line comparison yourself. If a relative is helping, give them the five checks above and ask them to send you the documents rather than their reading of them.
Questions people ask
What is a green card in land? It is the land register for a parcel, with the property, proprietorship and encumbrance sections recording its description, its owners over time and anything registered against it.
Is the green card the same as an official search? No. An official search shows the entries that are current today. The green card shows the full record, including cancelled and historical entries, unless a new edition has been opened.
Can a title deed be genuine if it does not match the green card? The register is the record the law relies on. Section 35(3) treats entries on the register as conclusive evidence of what they record. If a title does not match, have your advocate get the registry's explanation in writing before you go further.
How do I get a green card for my land in Kenya? Through your advocate, by requesting a certified copy of the register at the land registry or, for land on the system, through Ardhisasa.
Where Karibu fits
Karibu checks title records, agent licences and asking prices by area. If the title and the green card you have do not line up, or you are not sure what an entry means, ask bRRAIn, our property research assistant, before you pay anything.
Ask your advocate for the certified green card in the same message as the official search.
Sources: Land Registration Act, 2012, sections 7, 9, 34, 35, 79 and 80. Land Registration (General) Regulations, 2017, regulation 86 and Forms LRA 84 and 85. Daniel Waothi Mburu v Jane Njambi, High Court, 20 September 2013. Misoy v Jerotich & another, ELC, 29 September 2022. Ardhisasa, Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to an advocate about your situation.