Every parcel of registered land in Seychelles carries a unique parcel number, for example T3885, V255 or plain 18. It is the single most useful thing to know about a piece of land. With it you can pull the surveyed size, the boundary beacons, the district and the planning zone. This guide explains what the number means and where to find yours.
01 What the number is
The parcel number is the identity of the land in the national Land Register, kept under the Land Registration Act. It is not an address and not a survey coordinate. It is the register's own reference for one defined parcel, tied to a surveyed boundary lodged with the survey authority. Two things follow. First, the number is exact. One number means one parcel with one boundary. Second, the number is durable. It stays with the land through sales and inheritance, so the same number on an old deed and a new one is the same ground.
02 The letter and the digits
Most parcel numbers are a letter followed by digits. A few, in the oldest registered blocks, are digits alone. The leading letter marks the registration section, the survey block the parcel belongs to. Different parts of the country fall in different sections, so the letter is a rough clue to where the land sits, though it is an administrative code rather than a district name. The digits are the parcel's own number inside that section.
You do not need to decode the letter yourself. What matters is that you copy the number exactly, letter and digits together, because T3885 and V3885 are two entirely different plots. A missing or wrong letter is the most common mistake when people quote their land.
03 Where to find yours
- The title or transfer deed. The parcel number is stated at the top of the deed, usually next to the words "Title Number" or "Parcel".
- The survey plan. The cadastral or survey plan of the land shows the parcel number against the outlined boundary, with the beacon marks at the corners.
- A property tax or rates notice, if the land carries immovable property tax, quotes the number.
- The Land Registry. The Registration Division can confirm the number from the owner's name, though a personal search is the reliable route.
If all you have is a beacon number from a survey plan, that is enough too. A beacon is a shared corner, so it points back to the parcel it marks.
04 Subdivision and new numbers
When a parcel is subdivided, the parent number is closed and each new plot receives its own new number. So a plot that was once one number may today be several. If an old deed quotes a number that no longer returns a single parcel, subdivision is the usual reason, and the survey plan of the subdivision shows the new numbers. The reverse happens on amalgamation, where two parcels merge into one new number.
05 Looking it up
Type your number into the SeyLand land record lookup. You get the surveyed area, the island, the district and the beacons around the plot, straight from official records, at no charge. Enter a beacon number instead and you get the parcel it corners. From there the full report adds the value range, comparable sales and any planning history.