Someone shows you a fard. Is the name on it really yours?
A fard is the official paper that shows who owns a piece of land in the government record. In Pakistan, people buy and sell property every day on the strength of this one document. But a paper alone proves nothing. Fards get forged. Names get misspelled. Records get outdated.
This guide shows how to check property ownership in Pakistan yourself, in every province, without paying a middleman.
What a fard actually shows
The fard is an extract of the record of rights. It lists the owner, the father's name, the khewat number, the khasra number, the area, and the share in joint property.
Khewat is the ownership account number. Khasra is the plot or survey number. The Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) describes the fard as your land's legal identity.
How to check ownership in Punjab
Punjab has the most computerised land record in the country. It is run by the PLRA at punjab-zameen.gov.pk.
You can get a fard three ways. Online through the PLRA portal, where you log in and verify the ownership details digitally. In person at an Arazi Record Centre after biometric verification. Or at an Arazi Moawin kiosk.
You need your CNIC and the property details, usually the khewat, khasra, or registry number. The fee is small. Around Rs 50 per khatooni and up to Rs 150 per khewat, plus a service charge.
Get a fresh fard close to the day you need it. Never rely on the seller's old copy.
One change matters if you buy in Punjab. In July 2026 the province made the Green Property Certificate compulsory for transfers. Within days it withdrew that requirement. The PLRA notification of 11 July 2026 restored the fard and the naqal arazi record as legally valid for transactions. So today, the fard is still the document to ask for.
How to check ownership in Sindh
In Sindh the record is kept by the Board of Revenue. Start at sindhzameen.gos.pk. You can search by CNIC or by name, using the district, taluka, and deh.
For Karachi city plots, the Property Register holds the ownership record for about 35,000 plots, houses, and shops in the City Survey Area. It is digitised and free to view.
One caution. The Board of Revenue says the online information has no legal validity. For anything official, get the printed computerised copy from a Peoples Service Centre. The online check is a good first look, not the final word.
Islamabad, KPK and Balochistan
For an Islamabad plot, use the Capital Development Authority. It runs a property verification service. An allotment letter alone is not proof of ownership.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Revenue and Estate Department runs the land records portal at kplr.gkp.pk. Most districts are computerised.
In Balochistan the records are still being digitised slowly. Until they are online, verify in person at the tehsil office or the sub registrar. Always see the original documents, never a copy.
Check the mutation history, not just the fard
The fard tells you who owns the land today. It does not tell you how the ownership changed over time. That history sits in the mutation record, or intiqal. A clean property has a clear chain of mutations. Gaps in that chain are how double sales happen.
If a fard shows a name that looks recent, or the mutation number does not match the story the seller tells, slow down. Our guide on what property mutation is and why it matters explains the whole chain.
Red flags that should stop you
- The seller only shows photocopies and will not produce the original fard.
- The name on the record differs from the CNIC, even by one letter.
- The fard looks different from the official format of that province.
- Someone offers to sell you a national database report about the property as proof. These reports are often fake.
- The seller pushes you to skip the mutation to save fees.
A short checklist
- Find out which authority covers the area. PLRA for Punjab, Board of Revenue for Sindh, CDA for Islamabad.
- Pull a fresh fard yourself, never the seller's copy.
- Match the names on the record with the CNIC.
- Trace the mutation history.
- Check for mortgages, court stays, or disputes on the plot.
- Buying from abroad? Read first whether foreigners can buy property in Pakistan.
For the full pre purchase walkthrough, see our guide on how to check a property in Pakistan before buying.
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