How Do I Process Survey Plan Registration in Lagos?
Introduction
In Lagos, your property is only as bankable as the evidence that defines it. A Registered Survey Plan is that definition: a legally recognised map of your parcel—coordinates, beacons, area, boundary ties—authenticated by a Registered Surveyor and lodged/validated with the Office of the Surveyor-General (OSG), Lagos State. Without a properly prepared and registered survey, you cannot chart the land, cannot reliably seek Governor’s Consent, and you will struggle to register title instruments or raise finance.
This counsel-grade guide explains, step by step, how to instruct the right surveyor, produce a compliant plan, process charting/registration with OSG, and avoid the traps that derail investors. Use it as your operational checklist whether you are buying bare land, perfecting an estate plot, regularising a built property, or preparing a file for a lender.
Doctrine: Never pay for land—pay for coordinates that the State has recognised.
What “Survey Plan Registration” Really Means
In practical Lagos usage, “registering” a survey involves three interlocking outcomes:
Preparation & authentication of the survey by a Registered Surveyor (bearing the surveyor’s seal/signature and unique plan number).
OSG processing (lodgement, validation, and charting) of the parcel’s soft-copy coordinates against State layers (acquisition/committed areas, rights-of-way, pipelines, coastal/drainage setbacks, overlaps).
Issuance/endorsement of OSG acknowledgements/receipts and (where applicable) Charting/Record copy confirming the parcel as plotted in the State system.
Result: you now hold a survey that the Lagos OSG recognizes, which you can safely annex to deeds and use for Consent → Stamp → Registration.
The End-to-End Process (Step-by-Step)
Step 1 — Instruct the Right Professional
Engage a Registered (Licensed) Surveyor with an active practice in Lagos.
Demand and keep copies of: practising licence, stamp/registration number, and a short method statement for your job (equipment to be used, expected timeline, deliverables).
Align deliverables upfront (see Step 7): hard-copy plans (usually 4–6 originals), soft-copy coordinate files (CSV/DXF), and OSG lodgement/charting.
Tip (risk control): Sign a brief Letter of Instruction stating that all soft files and OSG receipts/acknowledgements are part of the deliverables and belong to you.
Step 2 — Title/Access Triage Before Fieldwork
Confirm access (no barricades/hostilities).
Review any existing survey; if one exists, share it with your surveyor for comparison—do not bin the old plan until the new one is lodged.
If buying inside a layout/estate, obtain the estate’s approved layout and your plot allocation sketch to avoid mis-pegging.
Step 3 — Reconnaissance & Beaconing (On-Site)
The surveyor performs a reconnaissance survey, identifies/advises beacon locations, and then sets/re-sets concrete beacons at parcel corners.
Photograph every beacon with visible labels, and keep a dated site log (this helps in future boundary disputes).
The crew observes control points (reference stations) to stabilise measurements.
Deliverable: Field notes (digital), beacon list (e.g., BP 1–BP 6), and preliminary coordinates.
Step 4 — Measurement & Computation
The surveyor takes observations (Total Station/GNSS), closes traverses, and computes the parcel: bearings, distances, area.
Quality control: closure error limits, coordinate transformation parameters, and area tolerance should be documented internally by the surveyor.
Deliverable: Draft Survey Plan (PDF for review) showing:
Title/description (e.g., “Plan of Land at … in … LGA, Lagos State”)
Coordinate table and beacon list
Bearings/distances on boundary lines
Area (in sqm/ha) written in words and figures
Abuttals (north/east/south/west neighbours/streets)
Surveyor’s seal, signature, and plan number (to be applied on final hard copies)
Step 5 — Internal Legal Scrub (Before OSG Lodgement)
Your counsel should check:
The name of the owner/proposed owner is correctly spelt (match IDs and deed parties).
Description aligns with your deed/contract and any estate layout.
Coordinates are presented in OSG-compatible format; soft copy exists.
Abuttals make sense (no phantom neighbours; road names correct).
Local Government Area and district are accurate.
Why now? Fixing errors before OSG saves weeks.
Step 6 — OSG Lodgement (Soft & Hard)
The surveyor lodges the plan at the Office of the Surveyor-General, Lagos State, submitting hard copies and soft-copy coordinates as required.
Fees: Charting/verification and any record copies as assessed by OSG.
You (or your lawyer) should receive official receipts/acknowledgements showing the plan reference and lodgement date.
Deliverable: OSG acknowledgement (keep safely).
Step 7 — Charting & State-Layer Screening (OSG)
OSG charts your coordinates against Government datasets:
Government acquisition/committed areas
Rights-of-Way (federal/state roads, rail, waterways/drainage)
Pipelines & power lines (easements/setbacks)
Coastal/wetland/drainage setbacks
Overlaps with earlier registered surveys
Outcomes:
Clean — proceed to finalise and collect your endorsed copies/records.
Query — OSG issues queries (overlap, setback encroachment, wrong LGA, mis-tie). Your surveyor must respond (amend coordinates, re-peg, or re-site the parcel line).
Step 8 — Final Authentication & Collection
Upon a clean chart, the surveyor prints and signs the agreed number of hard-copy originals, embosses seal, inserts plan number and date.
Collect:
Hard-copy survey plans (multiple originals—keep 2 in your vault).
Soft-copy coordinates (CSV/DXF) on a labelled drive/email.
OSG receipts/acknowledgements and any Charting/Record copy issued.
Label and archive everything in a digital vault (see Aftercare).
What a Compliant Lagos Survey Plan Must Contain (Buyer’s Eyes Only)
Title/Heading (parcel description + location + LGA).
Scale and North point.
Coordinate grid (state-approved system) and coordinate table.
Beacon list (with unique beacon IDs).
Boundary data: bearings & distances on each side.
Area statement (sqm/ha both in figures and words).
Abuttals (accurate neighbours/streets/parcels).
Surveyor’s details: name, licence number, seal/stamp, signature, plan number and date.
Endorsements as per OSG practice (where applicable).
Timelines & What Actually Controls Them
Fieldwork & computation: ~ 3–10 working days (size/terrain dependent).
OSG lodgement & charting: query-free files can move in weeks; queries (overlaps, setbacks) add significant time.
Client responsiveness: delays in approving drafts or paying fees stall the file.
Name/description hygiene: mismatches across documents trigger queries.
Practical rule: Treat survey registration as a mini-project with milestones and diaries.
Cost Categories (Plan with Bands, Not Myths)
Figures vary by parcel size, locality, terrain, urgency, and the surveyor’s practice. Use categories to negotiate and allocate in your contract.
Professional Survey Fees
Mobilisation, fieldwork, computations, drafting, printing.
Include soft-copy coordinates and OSG lodgement in scope.
OSG Charges
Charting/verification fees; record copy or other processing heads as assessed.
Administration
Notarisation/certifications (if any), courier, site logistics, liaison.
Planning approach: For urban plots, agree a fixed fee for (i) survey production (hard + soft), and (ii) OSG lodgement/charting, exclusive of any extraordinary re-survey arising from your later boundary change.
How the Survey Plan Feeds Your Title Perfection
Deed annexure: The registered survey is annexed to your Deed of Assignment/Lease/Sublease—it is how the instrument “knows” the land it conveys.
OSG charting report: A clean chart supports your Governor’s Consent application; encroachments/overlaps must be resolved before perfection.
Registration: Lands Registry is far more efficient where the parcel description matches the OSG-recognised survey.
Red Flags (Walk, or Restructure with Heavy Protections)
Surveyor cannot show licence/seal or refuses to include soft-copy coordinates in deliverables.
Estate plot presented without the approved layout or contradictory plot numbers.
Beacons missing, lines in the bush don’t match the paper.
Seller resists OSG charting (“We’ll do it later”).
Coordinates “change” mid-deal without explanation.
Parcel touches ROW/pipeline/coastal/drainage corridors—expect enforcement trouble; title perfection won’t cure physics.
Practical Contract Language You Can Lift (Illustrative)
Survey & Charting Condition Precedent
“Completion is conditional upon delivery of a Registered Survey Plan of the Property, prepared by a Registered Surveyor, together with soft-copy coordinates (CSV/DXF), and an OSG charting report confirming that the Property is outside acquisition/committed areas, rights-of-way, pipelines, and coastal/drainage setbacks and is free of overlap.”
Surveyor’s Scope in the Seller’s Deliverables
“Vendor shall procure at its cost a Registered Survey Plan (minimum six hard copies) and provide Buyer with the soft-copy coordinates, OSG lodgement receipts, and evidence of charting/record.”
Long-Stop & Escrow
“If the Survey deliverables and OSG charting are not produced by the Long-Stop Date, Buyer may rescind and receive an immediate refund of deposit from escrow.”
(Tailor to your facts and bargaining power.)
FAQs (Concise Counsel)
Q1: Can I use an old survey someone “managed” years ago?
A: Only if it charts clean today. Have your surveyor lodge the soft coordinates and obtain confirmation. Boundaries and datasets evolve; do not assume.
Q2: Must I register a survey before I apply for Governor’s Consent?
A: You must have a Registered Survey Plan and OSG charting clean enough to support Consent. In practice, treat survey + charting as a pre-condition to Consent.
Q3: What if OSG says my parcel overlaps a neighbour’s?
A: Pause the deal. Options: re-establish beacons jointly; adjust boundary (with documented consent); or walk. Do not paper over overlaps.
Q4: Who should pay for the survey—the buyer or the seller?
A: Contractual. Market practice varies: Developers often bear master surveys; retail sellers sometimes shift cost to buyers. Decide in writing at Heads of Terms.
Q5: Does a survey cure encroachment into a drainage or pipeline setback?
A: No. A survey reveals reality; it does not legalise a violation. Expect planning enforcement; redesign or find an alternative plot.
Q6: How many originals should I collect?
A: Minimum four (two to you, one to counsel, one spare). Banks often request one for collateral files.
Aftercare (Where Bankability Is Won)
Digital vault: Store notarized scans (PDF) of the survey, OSG receipts, and soft files; version-control them.
Chain consistency: Ensure the same coordinates appear on every instrument (deeds, mortgages, site plans).
Physical integrity: Protect beacons during fencing/construction; re-peg if disturbed and update the plan if lines move.
Cross-bordering: If parcels straddle planning jurisdictions, resolve planning/approval pathways before you design.
One-Page Checklist (Print & Carry)
Registered Surveyor engaged; licence/credentials verified
Letter of Instruction signed; deliverables include soft coordinates and OSG lodgement
Reconnaissance done; beacons set and photographed
Draft plan reviewed (names, LGA, abuttals, area)
OSG lodgement done; receipts/acknowledgements collected
Charting returns clean (no acquisition/ROW/pipeline/coastal/drainage/overlap)
Final hard copies (≥4) collected; surveyor seal/signature present
Soft copies (CSV/DXF) saved to vault; labelled properly
Survey annexed to deed; coordinates used in Consent/Registration pack
Beacon protection and site diary updated
Conclusion
A Registered Survey Plan, properly charted with the Lagos OSG, is the foundation stone upon which Governor’s Consent and title registration rest. Skip it—or do it poorly—and your transaction will haemorrhage time and value. Execute it well, with clean charting and disciplined deliverables, and every next step—Consent → Stamp → Register—becomes faster, cheaper, and bank-friendly.
Call to Action
Need a survey that the Lagos OSG will recognize on first pass—plus a clean charting report you can use for Consent and Registration?
Retain Chaman Law Firm. We coordinate Registered Surveyors, manage OSG lodgement/charting, scrub names/descriptions, and roll the survey seamlessly into your Consent and Registration files. You’ll receive a finance-grade completion pack ready for lenders and resale.
