Requesting and tracking a cadastral plan or an area calculation

01Two services not to be confused

On www.ancfcc.gov.ma, the “Services en ligne” block contains two neighbouring services, each with its “Commander” (order), “Suivre” (track) and “Vérifier” (verify) buttons (in Arabic: طلب، تتبع، تحقق). They belong to the National Agency for Land Registry, Cadastre and Cartography (ANCFCC), which keeps both the land register and the cadastral plans.

• Cadastral plan (on the Arabic site the same service is called التصميم العقاري, “land title plan”): the Agency presents it as a service “dedicated to ordering and delivering a cadastral plan online”. What you receive is a copy of the official plan of a titled plot or of one being registered, often called “the title plan”. This plan is explained in our cadastral plan guide.
• Area calculation (calcul de contenance, حساب المساحة): a service “dedicated to ordering and delivering the area calculation online”. The area (contenance, المساحة) of a property is expressed in hectares, ares and centiares. Like the plan, it is ordered for a land title or a registration application.

The portal does not describe in detail what the “area calculation” document contains: it says neither what it is based on nor what it looks like. What is certain: it is an administrative document attached to a land registry reference, not a measurement made on your land.

Who can ask for it? Decree No. 2-13-18 of 14 July 2014 allows anyone who proves their identity to obtain the information shown on the plans of registered properties or properties being registered, provided they give the title or application number (Article 27). You do not need to be the owner, but you do need the right reference. Details are in our guide, section Getting a copy of the plan.

Unregistered land (melkia, adoul deed): there is no title plan and no registered area to order. The reliable plan is a topographic survey made on site (see Melkia or land title).

02Before you start: what to gather

Both forms are identical. Have ready:

• The land title or application number, with its index and, if there is one, its special index. They appear on the certificate of ownership, the duplicate title, the purchase or partition deed, or the receipt for the registration application (see the numbers to keep).

• The competent cadastre office

  the form offers a “Cadastre” list of districts (for example Fès). Choose the one where the land is, not where you live.

• The type of reference

  “Titre” (title) or “Requisition” (application).

• Your identity

  surname, first name, type of document (national ID card, passport or residence card) and address. The email address is optional. The form has two tabs, “Particulier” (individual) and “Professionnel” (professional): use the one that matches your situation.

• A mobile phone

  a verification code arrives by SMS before payment, then the tracking code after payment.

• A bank card

  the only payment method shown on the form.

03Making the request online, step by step

Here is the process as described on the official pages “Service de demande de plan cadastral en ligne” and “Service de demande de calcul de contenance en ligne”:

1. 01

   Open the service from www.ancfcc.gov.ma, “Services en ligne” block: “Plan Cadastral” or “Calcul de contenance”, “Commander” button.

2. 02

   Fill in your personal details, in the tab that applies to you.

3. 03

   Describe the property: cadastre office, type (title or application), number, index, special index, number of copies, then document format, “Numérique” (digital) or “Papier” (paper).

4. 04

   Click “Enregistrer et ajouter un titre foncier”: the property is added to a table. You can add several in the same request, or remove one.

5. 05

   Enter the code shown in the image, then tick acceptance of the legal notice.

6. 06

   Check the summary: cadastre office, title number, status and price.

7. 07

   Confirm by SMS: enter your phone number, then the verification code received.

8. 08

   Pay by bank card. The tracking code is sent to you by SMS: write it down at once.

How much? The schedule of land registry fees (Decree No. 2-16-375 of 18 July 2016, as amended, published by the ANCFCC) sets a copy of the land title plan at a fixed fee of MAD 100. We found no line headed “area calculation”: for that service, rely on the price shown in the summary before paying. Fees collected remain with the Agency whatever the outcome of the request (Article 2 of the same decree).

How long? Both pages only say that requests are processed “during working hours”. No time frame is published.

At the counter. You can also apply at the competent land registry office or cadastre office, with your identity document and the property's references. For a paper copy ordered online, the page does not say where to collect it: ask the cadastre office you selected.

04Tracking the request and verifying the document

A cadastral plan, an area calculation or a certificate of ownership is tracked on the same page, “Suivi des demandes” (the “Suivre” button of each service). It asks for two things: the tracking code (رمز التتبع) received by SMS, and the code shown in the image (رمز التحقق). Decree No. 2-18-181 of 10 December 2018 provides that every electronic request receives a tracking code, which is why a mobile phone number or email address is required (Article 12).

• You did not receive the code, or lost it

  call the e-services numbers shown on the portal (05 30 14 14 14, 08 00 00 29 29 or 08 00 00 20 16) or file a complaint on the Chikaya platform. Do not start a new order and pay twice before checking.

• The document is ready

  download it and keep the original file. To print it to scale, choose “actual size”, not “fit to page” (see Reading a survey plan).

• Verify authenticity

  the “Vérification de l'authenticité des documents” page asks for the reference printed on the document and a code. According to the pages of both services, this check is possible for three months from the date the plan or calculation was signed. If you need to pass the document to a buyer, a notary or a surveyor, do so within that period so they can check it.

05Following a registration application: what really exists

Many people search for “تتبع مطلب التحفيظ” or “suivi de réquisition”. When we checked, the portal offered no service by that name. The tracking code described above only works for orders of certificates, plans or area calculations. For a registration application (réquisition), the official means are:

• Land registry notices (Publicité foncière, الإشهار العقاري): you choose the registry office, the type of reference (land title or application), the type of procedure (ordinary or special) and the type of notice. You can read application extracts, corrective extracts and notices of closure of boundary marking whose time limits are running. This is where you see whether the application has passed its public stages.

• Mohafadati (محافظتي): an alert service for your titles and applications, covered in our Mohafadati guide.

• A request filed at the registry office (registration of a deed, certificate, etc.): it is tracked and paid with the reception order number on the receipt, through the “Paiement des droits de la conservation foncière – Public” service (see Paying online).

• The counter of the land registry office, with your identity document and the application receipt, for details the online services do not show.

The stages of an application, their legal time limits and the usual causes of delay are set out in our guide Tracking a land registry file. The technical file submitted by the surveying engineer has no public online tracking: the engineer is the one who tells you about the cadastre office's comments.

06What these documents say, and what they do not

A cadastral plan and an area calculation give the official version of the property as it was fixed at the time of boundary marking and recorded since. That is valuable when preparing a purchase, a partition or a permit application. But they have clear limits:

• It is not boundary marking.

  Boundary marking (bornage, التحديد) takes place on the land, with neighbours summoned, and fixes the boundaries; a document issued online neither places nor finds any marker (see the boundary marking guide).

• It is not the current state of the land.

  If markers have disappeared, a wall was built in the wrong place or the land was divided without formalities, the plan will not show it.

• It is not a topographic plan.

  It shows no relief and, as a rule, no recent buildings; architects often ask for a topographic plan for a building project.

• It is not up-to-date proof of ownership.

  The current owner, mortgages and entries appear on the certificate of ownership (see the certificate of ownership).

• It is not permission to divide.

  Selling part of the land requires an authorised subdivision and a technical file prepared by an engineer registered with the Order.

To compare areas written in different ways (“1 ha 25 a 40 ca” in the deed, m² elsewhere), use our area converter. To spot inconsistencies between the deed, the certificate and the plan, our land file consistency check sorts them by level. To read each item on the plan, see Reading a survey plan.

07When to call a surveying engineer

The plan and the area calculation can be ordered without any intermediary: you need nobody for that. A surveying engineer (ingénieur géomètre-topographe) registered with the National Order of Surveying Engineers (ONIGT) becomes useful when you need to go from the document to the land:

• Finding or restoring markers, or checking that a wall or fence follows the boundaries on the plan (boundary marking and boundary checks).

• Explaining a difference in area between the deed, the plan and the land, by measuring on site and tying the survey to the plan's coordinates.

• Preparing a technical file

  subdivision, partition, bringing the title plan into line with the actual situation. It is filed with the cadastre office for checking (Decree No. 2-13-18, Article 17).

• Registering land that is not yet registered: survey, boundary marking and title plan (land registration).

Each has a role: the ANCFCC issues plans and keeps the register; the notary, adoul or lawyer drafts deeds; the lawyer handles an objection or a dispute; the engineer measures and draws up plans. Ellipsoide is a surveying engineering firm in Fès: if your plan raises a question on the ground, we can check it on site.