Guide · Updated 2026-10-21
Survey plans in Nairobi: FR plans, RIM sheets and Ardhisasa
Buying land, subdividing it or putting up a fence starts with its survey: the plan that measured it, and the map of how it sits among its neighbours. Ardhisasa sells survey plans by parcel number — but you first need the right number, and to know which plan you are paying for. Nairobi Maps shows, for every plot in Nairobi, the survey plan and the index map sheets that cover it, on the map.
The plans, in plain words
- FR survey plan — the Survey of Kenya’s plan of one survey, such as the subdivision that created a group of parcels, known by its FR number (for example
FR 518/115). It gives the measurements and the beacons. - Registry Index Map (RIM) — a sheet showing every parcel in part of a registration block, with its number: where a parcel lies among its neighbours. A RIM shows general boundaries, not exact measurements, and one block can need many sheets.
- Mutation — the form a licensed surveyor prepares when a parcel is subdivided or parcels are joined. Once it is approved, the index map is amended to show the new parcels.
- Control points — the surveyed points a plan is measured from. Ardhisasa sells them with a plan as a CSV file.
Find the right plan before you pay
- Find the plot. Type its LR number (
209/12345), its block and plot number (Nairobi/Block 181/2504), its FR number, or the number it had before its block was converted (Dagoretti/Riruta/3778) into the Nairobi Maps search box, or tap it on the map. - See its plans. The plot’s card names its FR survey plan and the Registry Index Map sheet its record gives, marks that sheet among the block’s sheets, and shows them on the map.
- Open them here, or buy them on Ardhisasa. On Gold and Platinum, each FR plan and RIM sheet is bought on its own and kept — see plans and pricing. For the Ministry’s own copy, use Sale of Plans with the parcel number.
- Read old coordinates. Older Nairobi plans are in the Cassini grid; the Cassini converter puts them on a GPS.
Buy a survey plan on Ardhisasa: Sale of Plans, step by step
- Sign in to Ardhisasa with your user ID and password, then the code sent to the phone number you registered.
- Open Survey and Mapping under Services, and press View more.
- Choose Sale of Plans then New Application. The dashboard lists your earlier requests, pending or completed.
- Enter the parcel number and tick the results you want: PDF for the plan, CSV for the survey control points on it.
- Search, then View to see a preview of the survey plan.
- Add it and Submit then Pay, by the payment method you choose.
- Download the PDF or CSV from the application’s details. The invoice and the receipt are under their own tabs.
These are the steps in the Ministry of Lands’ Sale of Plans user guide (May 2025). Ardhisasa is at ardhisasa.lands.go.ke; fees are shown there when you pay.
Nairobi Maps and Ardhisasa: which does what
| Nairobi Maps | Ardhisasa | |
|---|---|---|
| Find a plot by LR, block or FR number, or on the map | Yes, every Nairobi parcel | By parcel number |
| See which plans cover a plot, before paying | Yes, on the map | A preview, by parcel number |
| FR survey plans and RIM sheets | Yes, each on its own (Gold and up) | Yes — Sale of Plans |
| Survey control points as a file | No | Yes — the CSV |
| What may be built on the plot (zoning) | Yes | No |
| Who owns it — the official search | No | Yes |
Use them together: find the plot and its plans here, then buy the Ministry’s copy and search the title there.
Questions
What is Sale of Plans on Ardhisasa?
The Ministry of Lands’ service for buying survey plans online. You enter a parcel number, preview the plan, pay, and download it as a PDF, with its survey control points as a CSV if you ask for them.
What is an FR number?
The number of a survey plan held by the Survey of Kenya, such as FR 518/115. Each plan records one survey — for example the subdivision that created a group of parcels — so many parcels can share one FR number.
What is a Registry Index Map (RIM)?
A sheet showing all the parcels in part of a registration block, with their numbers. It shows where a parcel lies among its neighbours, not its exact measurements, and one block can need many sheets.
How do I know which survey plan covers my plot?
Find the plot on Nairobi Maps by its LR, block or FR number. Its card names the FR survey plan and the Registry Index Map sheets that cover it, so you know what you are buying before you pay.
Is a survey plan proof of who owns the land?
No. A survey plan shows where land is and how it was measured. Who owns it is in the land register, which you search on Ardhisasa — see how to do a land search.
My survey plan has old coordinates. How do I put them on a GPS?
Older Nairobi plans use the Cassini grid, in feet or metres. The Cassini converter on Nairobi Maps turns them into latitude and longitude, and back.
Nairobi Maps is independent: it is not the Ministry of Lands or the Survey of Kenya. This guide explains the usual steps from the Ministry’s own guide; they change, so confirm them on Ardhisasa, and have a licensed surveyor confirm the boundaries on the ground.
Keep going
- How to do a land searchFind the plot, then search the title on Ardhisasa
- Registration blocksAll 250 blocks, their parcels and boundaries
- Cassini converterSurvey coordinates to GPS and back
- Subdivision approvalSplitting a plot: what the county approves, and how
- Built-environment due diligenceEvery check before you buy, design or build
- Nairobi flood mapWhere rain water runs and collects, hour by hour