How to get an SG diagram

What it is

An SG diagram is the surveyed drawing of one piece of land: its boundaries, dimensions, beacons and servitudes, signed by a land surveyor and approved by the Surveyor-General. The Land Survey Act defines it as the document that forms the basis for registering rights in that land. A general plan is different: it shows two or more pieces of land, such as a whole township layout.

Councils ask for the SG diagram with building plans because it shows exactly where the boundaries and servitudes are. Johannesburg's checklists list it as a submission document for residential plans.

Getting it online

The Chief Surveyor-General keeps scanned copies of about two million diagrams online. You can search two ways:

1. By SG number. The number is on your title deed. Choose the office, enter the number exactly as written, in capitals, without spaces.
2. By property. Choose the office, pick Urban for an erf, enter the township name and erf number (and portion if there is one).

Start at csg.dlrrd.gov.za. Downloading is free (R0 under the 2022 gazetted fees, the latest we could find).

When we checked in October 2026, the site itself warned that its download service was having problems, and our browser could not verify its security certificate. If it does not work, email the Gauteng office.

The Gauteng office

Surveyor-General Gauteng, 610 Lilian Ngoyi Street, Pretoria Central. Phone 012 312 8911. Data requests: sgdatagp@dlrrd.gov.za. Emailed scanned copies are also free; paper prints cost R11 (A4) or R16 (A3) under the 2022 fees.

In Johannesburg

The city's Corporate Geo-Informatics office also sells erf dimensions taken from SG diagrams at R18 per A4 page (2026/27).

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