Land Revenue Offices (Malpot) & Survey Offices (Napi) of Nepal: Directory and Services Guide

Nepal divides routine land administration between two distinct district-level offices that most landowners must deal with at some point. The Land Revenue Office (Malpot Karyalaya) handles the legal and financial side of land: it registers deeds, records and transfers ownership, maintains the ownership ledger, and collects land revenue and registration fees. The Survey Office (Napi Karyalaya) handles the spatial side: it prepares, keeps, and updates cadastral maps and field books (the technical record of each parcel's shape, size, and boundaries).

In practice the two work together. When land changes hands, the Malpot office updates the ownership record and issues the land ownership certificate, while the Survey office is the authority for the parcel map, area, and boundary records that underpin that certificate. Both office networks sit under the same parent ministry, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, but report up through different departments.

The Department of Land Management and Archive (DoLMA), based in Babarmahal/Kathmandu, is the government body that runs the nationwide network of Land Revenue (Malpot) offices. It is responsible for land reform, land administration, safeguarding ownership and tenancy records, and collecting land revenue. The Survey Department (Department of Survey), headquartered at Minbhawan, Kathmandu, is Nepal's national mapping agency and the controlling body for Survey (Napi) offices.

The Survey Department is organised into divisions covering its technical mandates, including the Cadastral Survey Division (which deals with land-parcel mapping and land records), the Topographical Survey and Land Use Division, the Astronomical and Geodetic Division, and the Geographic Information Infrastructure Division. The Cadastral Survey Division is the unit most directly relevant to landowners, since it governs the field surveying and mapping that produces parcel records.

Because Nepal moved to a federal structure, land administration spans federal, provincial, and local roles, but the registration, survey, and revenue offices that the public uses remain part of these federal departments under MoLMCPA.

The Malpot office is where most land transactions are legally completed. Its core service is deed registration (likhat parit) and the related ownership change, after which it issues or updates the lalpurja, the land ownership certificate that is the supreme proof of ownership in Nepal. The lalpurja records the owner's details, land location, area, boundaries, and ownership history.

Several recurring services have their own Nepali names that landowners will encounter at the Malpot office. Understanding these terms helps in finding the right counter and preparing documents.

The Survey office maintains the cadastral record — the maps and field books that define each parcel geographically. A district's survey records are originally created through cadastral mapping, after which the maps and field books are kept and updated by the district Survey office as transactions occur. When boundaries, areas, or parcels need to be re-checked, the Survey office is the authority.

Common Napi office services include printing parcel maps, plot (kitta) registers, and field-book extracts, as well as boundary verification and updates that flow from Malpot transactions. Several of these have moved online (see below), reducing the need to visit the office in person for basic map and record prints.

Nepal's land offices are organised by district and, within larger areas, by sub-district jurisdiction, so the correct office depends on where the land is located — not where the owner lives. As a general rule, each of Nepal's 77 districts is served by a district Survey office and one or more Land Revenue offices, with the office's jurisdiction covering specific municipalities and wards. The Survey Department lists a large nationwide network of survey offices spanning all districts.

In densely populated areas such as the Kathmandu Valley, multiple Land Revenue offices share a district and each one serves only certain municipalities or wards. For example, Kathmandu district is served by several Land Revenue offices (such as those at Kalanki, Dillibazar, Chabahil, and other locations), Lalitpur and Bhaktapur have their own offices, and each handles a defined set of areas. To find the right office, identify the district and municipality/ward of the land parcel, then match it to the office whose jurisdiction includes that area.

Nepal's land offices evolved over more than a century. The Mal Adda (revenue office) was established in 1953 B.S., and a Pota Registration Adda followed in 1978 B.S., handling deed approval (likhat parit), namsari, dakhil kharij, and revenue collection. The Survey Department and a department of land revenue were established in the mid-20th century (around 2014 and 2016 B.S. respectively), with district Land Revenue offices following Nepal's reorganisation into districts.

The Land Revenue Act, 2034 B.S. (1977 A.D.) gave Land Revenue offices their modern authority, gradually consolidating the functions of older Mal, Kosh, and Tahsil offices. Administrative reorganisation continued — the land revenue department was shifted to the land ministry, and the departments of land reform and land revenue were later unified — leading to today's structure, in which the Department of Land Management and Archive runs the Malpot offices and the Survey Department runs the Napi offices under MoLMCPA.

Nepal has digitised much of its land administration, which affects how the offices operate and what can be done remotely. On the revenue side, the Department of Land Management and Archive uses a web-based Land Records Information Management System (LRIMS) that captures land transactions, maintains digital records, and integrates checks such as biometric and citizenship verification for accuracy and tax management.

On the survey side, the Nepal Land Information System (NeLIS) acts as a central database storing survey and plot data from survey offices, and the public-facing Mero Kitta platform lets citizens obtain certain land services online — for example, map print, plot register print, and field-book print — without visiting a survey office. These systems have improved transparency, automated calculations, and enabled real-time monitoring across the office network.