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Records Managed and Preserved by the LTSA

Each time a land transaction occurs in BC, (e.g., ownership transfer, mortgage registration, subdivision, Crown land grant, etc.) various land records are created. The LTSA is responsible for maintaining the integrity and security of these records, and ensuring that clients have reliable access to them.

There are tens of millions of individual land records of various record types in our care, dating from the earliest days of BC's settlement to the present. There are plans, maps, letters, documents, certificates, registers, indices, books, etc. They exist in a range of formats, including: historic records in original paper form, microfilm copies, and today's secure electronic records.

The LTSA's land title and survey records can be divided into several general categories.

Types of Land Title and Survey Records

Historic Records

• Land title and survey records of enduring value for legal, survey, research and conveyancing purposes, and which includes any of the following types of records.

Land Titles

• Records of property ownership and various interests that affect ownership.

Land Title Documents

• Legal instruments deposited with the LTSA that create and affect ownership of interests in land.

Survey Plans

• Plans showing the legal boundaries of Crown and private land parcels and interests.

Field Books

• Historic books containing survey field measurements, notes and other observations.

Crown Grants

• Documents verifying the terms and conditions of a transfer of a Crown land parcel to private ownership.

Index Books

• Various books / ledgers containing references and notations about parcels, ownership, companies, documents, plans and other records, and that function primarily as 'finding aides' to enable the retrieval of land title documents and survey plans.

Records Users

Many different parties require access to LTSA records for the purposes of conveyancing, legal research, environmental research and historical research. Our customers include:

• Primary: lawyers, notaries public, land surveyors, title search/registry agents, government agencies and taxation authorities (federal, provincial, municipal), and Crown corporations
• Secondary: real estate agents, land appraisers, First Nations researchers, genealogists, historians, writers, natural resource companies, property owners and others.