If you live in London, Dallas or Doha and someone in Kenya has offered you a plot, the first question is who actually owns it. This guide covers how to do a land search in Kenya online, from your phone or laptop, and what to do when the land you are looking at has not reached the online system yet.
The short version: for land in Nairobi, Murang'a, Isiolo and the onboarded parts of Mombasa, you can run an official search on Ardhisasa. Everywhere else, someone still has to go to the county land registry.
What an official search is, in the law
The Land Registration Act, section 34, says a person who requires an official search on any parcel is entitled to receive the particulars of the subsisting entries in the register, certified copies of documents, and the cadastral map or plan filed in the registry, once they pay the prescribed fee. (Land Registration Act, Kenya Law)
In practice the search certificate tells you three things that matter:
- the registered owner or owners
- the parcel details on the register
- any entries against the title, such as a bank charge, a caution or a court order
That is the register speaking. It is the starting point for every land deal in Kenya, and it is not the whole check. More on that below.
Which counties are online in 2026
Ardhisasa launched in Nairobi in 2021. The State Department for Lands and Physical Planning has since rolled it out to Murang'a, Isiolo and Mombasa Island, adding registration sections (blocks) as they are digitised. (State Department for Lands, 17 July 2026)
The most recent change came this July. From 20 July 2026, all transactions for a new batch of Mombasa blocks are processed only through Ardhisasa, and manual processing for those blocks stopped on the same date. That builds on Mombasa Block XVI and Block XVII, which went live on 21 July 2025. (Citizen Digital, 18 July 2026)
So if your plot is in one of the newly onboarded Mombasa blocks, an online search is now the route, not an option. The Ministry's public notice lists the blocks. Check it against the registration section on your title before you decide which way to search.
How to do a land search in Kenya online: the steps
Here is the process for land on a live registry. Screens change, so treat the menu names as a guide and follow what the portal shows you.
- Get the parcel number right. You need the exact title or parcel number as it appears on the register, for example a Nairobi Block number or an LR number. Ask the seller for a clear copy of the title, then type the number yourself. Do not search a number someone has already typed into a message for you.
- Log in to Ardhisasa. Go to ardhisasa.lands.go.ke directly. Do not follow a link from a seller or an agent. A Space Kenya guide to searching from abroad notes that logging in requires an eCitizen account, which in turn requires a Kenyan ID number. (Space Kenya)
- Open the search service. Choose the land search option, pick the registry that holds the title, and enter the parcel number.
- Pay the fee shown on the portal. Payment goes through the platform. See the note on the fee below.
- Download the result. Keep the original PDF. A screenshot or a forwarded photo is not the same document.
- Compare it line by line with what you were given. Owner name, parcel number, size and every entry. If anything differs from the seller's copy of the title, stop there and ask your advocate why.
If you do not have a Kenyan ID
Kenyans abroad who hold only a foreign passport, and buyers without an active ID, usually need someone in Kenya to run the search for them. That should be your own advocate, not the seller's and not the agent. Send them the parcel number and ask for the original search certificate, not a summary of it. A family member can do it too, but an advocate will also know what the entries mean.
A note on the fee
We are not going to print a single number here, because the official position is unsettled. The Nation reported in March 2024 that both electronic and manual official searches cost Sh500, and that the Ministry had gazetted regulations raising that to Sh1,000, which would take effect only if Parliament approved them. (Nation, 16 March 2024) We could not find an official source confirming which figure applies today. Pay what the portal charges at checkout, and be wary of anyone who wants a "search fee" sent to a personal M-Pesa number.
When your land is not on Ardhisasa
Most of the country is still on paper. For a plot in Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado or anywhere else that has not been onboarded, the official search is done at the county land registry where the title is held. Someone has to lodge the application in person, pay, and collect the certificate.
From abroad, that someone should again be your advocate. Ask for the stamped original, scanned in full, and ask them to note the date and time they lodged the application.
If you are looking at land on a group ranch, the steps are different again. Our earlier guide to Kajiado group ranches covers that.
Searching close to completion, and the 14-day stay
Run the search at the start, before you agree a price. Then run it again shortly before you sign and pay, because the register can change between the two.
The Land Registration Act also has a provision most buyers never hear about. Where a person proposing to deal with registered land applies for an official search with the owner's written consent, and states the particulars of the proposed dealing in the application, registration of other instruments affecting that land is stayed for 14 days from the time of the application. A properly executed instrument for that dealing, presented within those 14 days, takes priority. (Land Registration Act, Kenya Law) Ask your advocate whether to use it on your transaction. It is the closest thing the system has to holding your place in the queue.
When the system is down
On 2 September 2026 the Law Society of Kenya said Ardhisasa had been unavailable since 1 September, disrupting searches, transfers and registrations. (Kenyans.co.ke, 3 September 2026) Pulse reported the next day that Ardhisasa had posted an update confirming the platform was restored, and that users could log in again. (Pulse Kenya, 3 September 2026)
Outages happen on any system. The risk for a buyer abroad is the seller who uses one as a reason to skip the search: "the system is down, pay the deposit now and we will search next week." That is the moment to wait.
What the search will not tell you
A clean search confirms the register. It does not confirm that the person selling to you is the person on the register, that the title deed in their hand is genuine, or that the plot you were shown on the ground is the parcel on the title. We wrote up two 2026 cases where buyers lost money on deals that looked right on paper, one of them after a registry search, in A clean land search is not enough. If your search result refers to a green card, our green card guide explains what it should match.
If you want a second opinion on an area or an asking price before you pay anything, you can ask bRRAIn, our property research assistant, or book a call with the Karibu team.
Before any money moves, have the search certificate in your own inbox, in your own name or your advocate's, dated within days of the payment.
Sources: Land Registration Act, 2012, section 34 and the official search stay provision (Kenya Law). State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, 17 July 2026. Citizen Digital, 18 July 2026. Nation, 16 March 2024. Kenyans.co.ke, 3 September 2026. Pulse Kenya, 3 September 2026. Space Kenya, Ardhisasa search from abroad. Ardhisasa. This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to an advocate about your specific transaction.