How do I get a cadastral map or survey for a plot in Lebanon and confirm its boundaries?

Also asked as: “How do I get a survey for land in Lebanon?” · “How do I check plot boundaries in Lebanon?” · “Cadastral plan for a plot in Lebanon” · “Who confirms the boundaries of my land in Lebanon?”

How a plot is identified on paper#

The Land Registry is kept by property, not by owner. Each plot has its own real folio under its survey number, and the owner's title deed is a copy of that folio^[2]. To ask for an extract (ifadeh aqariyeh) you give the governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[4,5]. If the seller cannot give you these, see how to find a property's number and zone.

An official extract describes the plot, including its total and cadastral area. It also lists the owners and the shares each holds, along with mortgages, seizures and pending court actions^[5,10]. According to one law firm, Legalmondo, the area is left out when the plot has not been finally surveyed. If that line is blank, the boundaries are probably not yet fixed on a certified plan.

Ownership is written as a fraction of 2,400 shares^[3,5,6], so holding all 2,400 means owning the whole plot. Shares are undivided fractions of the plot, not a marked-out piece of ground^[2,6,11].

What the cadastral plan proves#

Land Registry entries are proof against third parties of the facts and rights they record. Where the boundaries on the cadastral plan differ from those on the ground, the plan prevails^[2,3]. So a fence, a wall or a neighbour's word does not move a registered boundary. Kallas Law Firm adds that the certified survey plan has a probative force beyond doubt.

Once land is registered, nobody can acquire it by long possession, however long they have held it^[2]. A buyer who relies on the registry entries keeps the right they acquire, unless they knew beforehand of defects that would annul it.

According to LIBC (2021), the Cadastre plans demarcation, drafting and measurement works and monitors the sworn surveyors and engineers that the directorate treats as its affiliates^[1]. We found no published procedure for ordering a copy of the cadastral plan or for hiring one of these surveyors, no fee and no public list of them. Ask the Land Registry office for the plot's area what plan or extract it can issue and what it costs. Ask any surveyor you hire to show proof that they are sworn.

When the village is not surveyed yet#

Sources disagree on how much of Lebanon is surveyed. LIBC (2021, citing the directorate) says 50% is delineated and surveyed, 30% delineated but not surveyed and 20% neither. UN-Habitat/GLTN (2024) says 65% is surveyed and 35% is not. The Monthly Magazine (2015) says about 54% has final cadastral surveys and about 25% is wholly unsurveyed^[1,6,9]. Taken together, roughly a third to a half of the country is not fully surveyed.

A Land Registry opens in a cadastral region only after the delimitation and registration works there are completed and certified. Until then, any new registration goes through a special procedure of provisional delimitation and publication, with two months to object^[2,3]. The Monthly Magazine reported in 2015 that unsurveyed land is recorded only in booklets kept by mukhtars, with estimated areas, and that these booklets cause many disputes^[9].

Two newer rules touch this land. Annahar reported on 30 March 2026 that Finance Ministry Circular 609/2026, dated 25 February 2026, registers unsurveyed land and mushaa first in the State's name, bans "ilm wa khabar" certificates for them and limits the mukhtar to identification^[12]. We could not read the circular itself, and its effect on ordinary private sales is not known. It was contested as of 30 March 2026, with talks on a new decision^[12,13]. Ask the land-affairs directorate or a lawyer whether it still applies.

The second rule is Art. 49 of Law 40/2026. It makes owners bear delimitation and survey costs by parcel area: LBP 9 million under 3,000 m², 18 million for 3,001 to 10,000 m², 36 million for 10,001 to 100,000 m² and 60 million above 100,000 m², recorded as a lien on the property. Which parcels it covers and when it is charged were not verified^[14,15]. More in buying land that is not yet surveyed.

When the survey reaches your village#

Delimitation moves village by village in each caza and region by region in the cities. It is done on site with the mukhtar, the owners and the neighbours present, and boundary markers are placed at the limits. Owners who do not attend are bound as if they had been there^[3]. Kallas Law Firm says the operations are announced at least two months ahead in the Official Gazette and three local newspapers^[2,3].

During the works, oppositions must be filed within 30 days of the posting of the provisional delimitation record^[2,3]. At this stage a possessor can be registered as owner after five years of peaceful, public and uninterrupted possession with a just title, or after 10 or 15 years without one, depending on the land type. If a possessor has no title, has not held the land long enough and does not pay the indemnity, the land is registered in the State's name^[3].

If you live abroad and own land in an unsurveyed village, arrange for someone you trust, or a lawyer, to watch for announcements and attend. Ask the lawyer what power of attorney they need from you.