Updated 12 November 2026
The official way to check a licensed land surveyor in Kenya is to search the Land Surveyors’ Board digital register, not a business card or a social-media page. The Board’s 7 May 2026 public notice, signed by Secretary Kipkemoi Roy, tells the public to verify, before engagement, both the registration status and the validity of the annual practising status of any licensed surveyor through the digital register at www.lsb.go.ke/register. That register was still the official public list when checked on 12 November 2026.
On a count of the official register on 12 November 2026, there were 186 unique licence numbers. This guide does not paste the names. Search the exact name and licence number. A later official register would supersede that count. An approved survey assistant, an architect, a physical planner or an NCA contractor is not a licensed surveyor merely because they work on a land or building project.
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In this guide
What a surveyor’s licence is
The same 7 May 2026 notice states that the Land Surveyors’ Board is established under section 7 of the Survey Act, Cap 299, and is responsible for examining and licensing surveyors, maintaining the register, and handling complaints and disciplinary matters. It says that, under that Act, only duly licensed surveyors, together with their approved survey assistants working under their instructions, or government surveyors acting under the authority of the Director of Surveys, may lawfully undertake and certify surveying and mapping work for land registration, development approvals, conveyancing, land-use planning, infrastructure and compulsory acquisition.
The notice also points to sections 36 and 37 of the Survey Act. It says only duly licensed surveyors may lawfully undertake land surveying practice, and that it is an offence to carry out surveys for plans for registration, or surveys affecting land boundaries, while unqualified; to present yourself falsely as a licensed surveyor; to procure a licence fraudulently; or for a licensed surveyor to permit an unlicensed person to undertake survey work. The published penalty language is a fine, imprisonment, or both. The notice does not print a shilling amount in that paragraph, and this guide does not invent one.
How to search for a licensed land surveyor in Kenya
Open the official digital register of a licensed land surveyor in Kenya at www.lsb.go.ke/register. The public search field is labelled “Surveyor Name”, with the prompt “Begin typing the surveyor’s name”. Type the exact name on the quotation, the plan or the identification document. The results table, when checked on 12 November 2026, showed the name, the licence number, the firm, the postal address and a status column. Each name linked to a profile page under /profile/ followed by that licence number. Confirm both that the person appears on the register and what the status column says for 2026.
Do not stop at a familiar firm name if the licence number on the documents does not match the row you have found. A postal address or a firm name on the register is supporting detail. It is not, by itself, proof that a later mobile number or a new website belongs to that surveyor. If the name you were given does not appear, try a shorter form of the name, then confirm with the Board rather than guessing.
The 7 May 2026 notice is explicit that you should check the annual practising status as well as registration. A name on the register is not the same thing as an active practising status for the current year.
What the 186 entries include, and what they omit
On a count of the official register on 12 November 2026, there were 186 unique licence numbers. For the 2026 practising year, the status column showed 145 rows marked “Active”, 39 marked “Not Active” and 2 marked “Government Surveyor”. That is the complete set of licensed-surveyor rows in the register as it stood that day. This guide does not reproduce the 186 names and does not publish the contact details printed on those rows. The source for those details is the official register itself.
The same official site also listed 786 approved survey assistants when checked on 12 November 2026. The Board’s notice says those assistants work under the instructions of a licensed surveyor. An assistant number is not a substitute for a licensed land surveyor in Kenya. If the person you were given is only on the assistant list, you still need the licensed surveyor under whose instructions they are working.
The register does not, on its face, publish a disciplinary history or a fee schedule, and it does not certify a particular plan. A name marked “Active” for 2026 is official evidence of that printed status on the date you searched. It is not a finding that a particular beacon, map or WhatsApp account belongs to that surveyor.
How this sits with other built-environment checks
A land or building project can also involve an NCA-registered contractor, as we have already set out in our guide to checking an NCA contractor, and it can raise the fraud risks covered in our land-fraud checklist. Those checks do not replace the surveyor register. An architect or a physical planner is licensed by a different statutory board. A government surveyor acting under the Director of Surveys is recognised in the Board’s own notice; two 2026 register rows used the printed status “Government Surveyor” when checked.
If you cannot find a licensed land surveyor in Kenya of that name and licence number, or if the 2026 status is “Not Active”, ask the Board before you pay or before you rely on the plan. The 7 May 2026 notice warns that engaging an unqualified person can lead to rejected survey records, invalid land transactions, boundary disputes, delays, financial loss and litigation, with no professional accountability or legal recourse from that unqualified person.
Who to contact at the Land Surveyors’ Board
The official 7 May 2026 notice, checked again on 12 November 2026, lists the Board’s inquiry contacts as info@lsb.go.ke, the website https://www.lsb.go.ke, and telephone +254 799 093 219. Use those contacts if the digital register does not show a clear result, or if you need to confirm a status that looks out of date.
When you write, include the exact name and licence number you were given, the document on which they appear, and the date you searched the register. The official list answers a narrow question: is this person among the licensed surveyors on the current digital register, and what practising status is printed for the current year? It does not, on its own, approve a mutation or a development application.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the official licensed-surveyor list?
On the Land Surveyors’ Board digital register at www.lsb.go.ke/register, which is the address given in the Board’s 7 May 2026 public notice. That register is the current official list of a licensed land surveyor in Kenya. Search it before you engage a surveyor. A later official register would replace today’s count.
How many licensed surveyors are on the register?
On a count of the official register on 12 November 2026, there were 186 unique licence numbers. For 2026, 145 were marked Active, 39 Not Active and 2 Government Surveyor. That count is for the register as it stood that day only.
Is an approved survey assistant a licensed surveyor?
No. The Board’s 7 May 2026 notice says approved survey assistants work under the instructions of a licensed surveyor. The official assistant list is a separate record. It had 786 entries when checked on 12 November 2026.
Why do I also have to check practising status?
The Board’s public notice tells you to verify both registration status and the validity of the annual practising status before engagement. A name on the register is not, by itself, an active practising status for 2026.
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