Tanzania National Land Database to Centralize Records as Land Boards Digitize Services

The Tanzania national land database will centralize official land records and geographic information as the Government expands the digitization of land administration and professional services.

The Deputy Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Kaspar Mmuya, outlined the National Land Data Infrastructure (NLDI) project during a visit to its offices in Dodoma to inspect its implementation progress.

The database will serve as the hub for core land information and enable stakeholders to obtain geographic data for different uses through a dedicated platform being developed under the project.

Completion of the project will provide Tanzania with modern aerial imagery and accurate information on different areas, replacing some of the outdated data currently in use.

The system is intended to reduce land disputes arising from differing interpretations of boundaries, overlapping land uses and conflicting ownership claims by making official information available from the relevant authorities.

“The Ministry of Lands must be the custodian of land information in the country. We want to build national infrastructure that will connect us and provide accurate land data to serve as a reference for various uses,” Mmuya said.

He instructed the experts implementing the project to develop a robust system that protects land information scientifically and digitally for the benefit of current and future generations.

He also assured that the Government would continue investing in modern technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles, to collect accurate land data and strengthen the planning and management of land resources.

Valuation and Town-Planning Services

The development of the national database is accompanied by efforts to digitize services provided by institutions operating within Tanzania’s land sector.

On 8 September 2026, Mmuya directed the Valuers Registration Board (VRB) and the Town Planners Registration Board (TPRB) to accelerate the adoption of digital systems.

He issued the directive during a visit to the boards’ offices in Mtumba, Dodoma, where he urged their staff to use the systems to increase the speed and efficiency of their work, improve public access to services and strengthen accountability.

Mmuya also called on Tanzanians who own land to follow the appropriate titling procedures to secure their ownership and avoid land disputes.

He commended VRB and TPRB for supervising professionals in their respective fields, including taking disciplinary action against practitioners who breach professional principles, regulations and ethical requirements.

VRB is a statutory body established under sections 12, 13 and 14 of the Valuation and Valuers Registration Act No. 7 of 2016.

Its responsibilities include registering valuers, enlisting technician valuers, issuing certificates to people qualified to practise valuation and assessing academic and practical qualifications for registration.

The board is also responsible for protecting consumers and maintaining professional standards in the valuation sector.

Digital Land Administration in Tanzania

The NLDI project builds on Tanzania’s efforts since the mid-2010s to centralize and digitize land information, replacing fragmented paper-based and district-level records.

Under the World Bank-backed Land Tenure Improvement Project, Tanzania established the National Integrated Land Management Information System (ILMIS) and modern geodetic reference infrastructure covering the country.

The infrastructure supports the recording of property information through different fit-for-purpose approaches and technologies.

The earlier programme sought to enable Tanzanians without documented land rights to obtain them more quickly and at a reasonable cost while making records easier to retrieve for reference and conflict resolution.

Development partners, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supported pilot programmes for issuing low-cost Certificates of Customary Right of Occupancy (CCROs) alongside the development of central land-administration infrastructure.

The Government has also introduced e-Ardhi, a digital platform developed and managed by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development.

The platform supports the transition from manual and paper-based land administration to a digital framework intended to address fragmented records, lengthy processing times, limited transparency and dependence on physical documentation.