Land titles
How to verify a land title in Ghana
Most land disputes in Ghana are not caused by exotic fraud. They are caused by buyers paying before anyone checked, at the Lands Commission, whether the seller owned what they were selling. That check is neither expensive nor slow, and it is the single most useful thing you can do before parting with money.
Start with an official search
An official search at the Lands Commission tells you who is registered as the owner, what interest they hold, and whether anything is registered against the land such as a mortgage, a caveat or a pending dispute.
Insist on an official search with a stamped result, not a printout or a screenshot forwarded to you. Anyone can produce a document that looks like a search result. Only the Lands Commission can produce one that is worth relying on.
Documents to ask for
Ask for the indenture or deed of assignment showing how the seller acquired the land, the site plan signed by a licensed surveyor, and the land title certificate or registered deed where one exists.
Check that the name on the documents matches the name on the seller’s ID, and that the site plan describes the plot you were actually shown. Mismatches between the plot on the ground and the plot on paper are common and are almost always a problem.
Visit the land, and the neighbours
Walk the plot with the surveyor’s site plan in hand. Confirm the pillars are where the plan says they are.
Speak to people living or farming nearby. Competing claims and previous sales surface in conversation long before they surface on paper, particularly on family land where more than one relative may believe they have authority to sell.
Buying from abroad
If you cannot travel, instruct a licensed Ghanaian lawyer to act for you rather than relying on a relative or the seller’s own agent. A lawyer carries professional liability; goodwill does not.
Never send money for land you have not had independently searched, however well you know the person asking.
This guide is general orientation, not legal advice. Land transactions in Ghana turn on the specific documents and the specific plot. Instruct a licensed Ghanaian lawyer to act for you before making any payment.