Physical Search

Service documentation · Republic of Zambia · GSB e-Services

Owner	Lands and Deeds Department
Service key	MLNR/physical-search
Version	service v1, platform a0a302b8
Date	2026-10-21

Generated automatically by the service's end-to-end test run. Every screenshot shows synthetic test data on a local test installation, never real personal data.

This document describes the Physical Search service of Lands and Deeds Department as the platform runs it today. It is generated by the service's end-to-end test: every step below was performed by the test, and every screenshot was taken during that run with synthetic data. Regenerate it with npm run docs:services in the e2e suite; do not edit it by hand.

1. Service summary

Item	Detail
Service	Physical Search
Owner (MDA)	Lands and Deeds Department (MLNR)
Purpose	The service provides the possibility for the applicant to perform a physical search in the property record file and request photocopies for any file on the record. The property must be on Title.
Who can apply	Individual; Organization
How to apply	Online on the national e-Services portal, signed in with ZamPass; pay with ZamPay.
Fees	Physical Search: ZMW 22.40
Turnaround	Instantly
Validity of the output	Indefinite
Required documents	National Registration Card (NRC) (required) Certificate of Incorporation / ZDA (if company, church, society) (optional)
Output documents	Notice of Action Application form GF-1 Treasury Invoice GF-2 Treasury Receipt
Legal basis	Lands and Deeds Registry Act Cap 185 of 1995 (http://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Lands%20and%20Deeds%20Registry%20Act.pdf)

2. Application process, step by step

The process as configured in the back office:

Step	Role	Task	Type
1	Applicant	Apply	form
2	Applicant	Payment	payment
3	System	Generate Document	generate-document
4	Case Officer	Approve	approve
5	System	Generate Document	generate-document
6	System	Notify Client	notify

Who takes part in this journey: Citizen, Case Officer, Anyone (public).

Step 1. Find the service

Citizen · National e-Services portal

On the national e-Services portal the citizen opens All Services and searches for the service by name ("Physical Search"). Each result names the service and the ministry that provides it.

Step 2. Read the service page

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The service page sets out what the service is for, who provides it, the fee, how long it takes and the documents to have ready. "Start application" begins an application (the citizen is signed in with ZamPass).

Step 3. Confirm the applicant details

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The applicant details are filled in from the citizen's ZamPass account. The citizen says whom they are applying for (themself) and continues with "Proceed to Application".

Step 4. Fill in the application form

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The citizen answers the service's own application form, converted from the legacy system (5 answers in this run, all synthetic), for the type of application "New". Questions marked * must be answered; some appear only after an earlier answer. Answers are saved as the citizen types, so an unfinished application can be reopened from My Workplace.

Step 5. Upload the supporting documents

Citizen · National e-Services portal

Each document the service asks for has its own upload (2 in this run: National Registration Card (NRC), Certificate of Incorporation / ZDA (if company, church, society)). The files are checked and stored with the application; the page confirms each upload.

Step 6. Check the answers and confirm the declaration

Citizen · National e-Services portal

Before sending, the citizen sees every answer and document on one page and can go back to change them. The declaration that the information is true and complete must be ticked.

Step 7. Application sent

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The portal confirms the application with the ministry's reference number (MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 in this run). The fee is due now: it is taken with the application, so the invoice was raised when the application was sent.

Step 8. See that the fee is due

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The application shows "Waiting for your payment" in My Workplace with a Pay button (K22.40). The fee is taken with the application; the invoice was raised on ZamPay.

Step 9. Pay with ZamPay

Citizen · National e-Services portal

Pay opens the invoice (K22.40, the amount set by the platform, never by the page) with its PDF preview; the citizen pays at ZamPay by mobile money or bank card.

Step 10. Payment received

Citizen · National e-Services portal

ZamPay reports the payment; the dialog says "Paid. Thank you" and the application moves on to the ministry's officers.

Step 11. Take the new application on

Case Officer · Back office

The application arrives in the case queue of the ministry that owns the service (Lands and Deeds Department); only its staff see it. The officer opens it by its reference number - answers, documents and process are on the case - assigns it to themself and takes it on.

Step 12. Decide: Review, Inspect, e-Sign

Case Officer · Back office

At "Review, Inspect, e-Sign" the Case Officer records the decision: approve, with a comment kept in the case history. Approving moves the case on; the last decision completes it and issues the document.

Step 13. The document in My permits

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The issued document (MLNR-PS-2026-00001 in this run: "Physical Search") is listed in "My permits and licences" with its validity and a download of the sealed PDF.

Step 14. Verify the document

Anyone (public) · Public verification page

The QR code on the document opens the public verification page: genuine and current, to whom it was issued, and whether the electronic seal is valid. No sign-in is needed.

3. Payment

Item	In the test run
Fee (as published)	Search Fee - 22.40 ZMW (per property) Photocopy Fee - 22.40 ZMW (per page)
Invoice 1	1470243524437329
Amount 1	ZMW 22.40
Paid at 1	with the application

On screen: step 8 (See that the fee is due), step 9 (Pay with ZamPay), step 10 (Payment received) in section 2.

4. Output documents

Physical Search (sealed PDF)

Issued when the case was approved, from the service's output configuration (permitDocument/issued@1), filled from the application and the decision, sealed with the platform's electronic seal and stored as the issued version. The holder downloads it from My permits; the verification page checks it.

The issued PDF has 1 page; the image shows the first.

Fields

Field	Value in the test run
Document title	Physical Search
Permit / licence number	MLNR-PS-2026-00001
Holder	Chanda Mwila
Valid from	2026-10-21
Valid until
Status	active
Verification code (printed with a QR code)	JMA5-8LHS-BD

Seal

Item	Detail
Seal status	sealed
Signature level	PAdES-B-T
Sealed by	the platform seal (development key in the test run)
Signed at	2026-10-21T08:10:56.038Z
Trusted time-stamp	2026-10-21T08:10:56.827Z (time-stamping authority)
Document fingerprint (SHA-256)	8322f6c67e40c722...

Verification

Item	Detail
Where	The public verification page of the national portal, <portal>/verify/<verification code>, opened by scanning the QR code on the document.
What it shows	Whether the document is genuine and current, its holder and validity, and whether the electronic seal is valid and who sealed it.
Checking a copy	Anyone can upload a PDF they were given; the page says whether it is exactly the document that was issued. A changed copy is reported as not matching.

On screen: step 13 (The document in My permits), step 14 (Verify the document) in section 2.

5. Notifications

When	Channel	To	Message	Delivery
Payment due (invoice raised)	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Payment due for application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 - The fee of ZMW 22.40 for Physical Search (MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26) is now due. Invoice 1470243524437329.	shown
Application received	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 received - Your application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 for Physical Search has been received by Lands and Deeds Department.	shown
Payment received	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Payment received for MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 - Your payment of ZMW 22.40 for MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 (Physical Search) has been received. Receipt: <ZamPay>/pdf?documentType=receipt&invoiceNumber=1470243524437329	shown
Licence / permit issued	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Your Physical Search document has been issued - MLNR-PS-2026-00001 has been issued for Physical Search.	shown
Decision: approved	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 completed - MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 (Physical Search) is complete. Your documents are ready.	shown
Invitation to rate the service	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	How was Physical Search? - How was Physical Search? Tell us in about a minute.	shown
Payment due (invoice raised)	sms	+260 97* *** 567	Fee of ZMW 22.40 due for MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26. Invoice 1470243524437329. Pay: <ZamPay>/pay-for-service/get-invoice/1470243524437329	delivered
Application received	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 received	skipped
Payment due (invoice raised)	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Payment due for application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26	skipped
Application received	sms	+260 97* *** 567	Application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 for Physical Search has been received. Track it: <portal>/my-workplace	delivered
Payment received	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered
Invitation to rate the service	sms	+260 97* *** 567		skipped
Invitation to rate the service	email	e2e.c***@example.test	How was Physical Search?	skipped
Decision: approved	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Application MLNR-PS/00001/10-21-26 completed	skipped
Licence / permit issued	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered
Licence / permit issued	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Your Physical Search document has been issued	skipped
Decision: approved	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered

Delivery: shown = in the portal's notification bell; delivered = the SMS gateway (a test double in this run) reported the text delivered; skipped = not sent on that channel (e-mail is not configured on the test installation, and some notices go out on one channel only); sent by the national portal = a ministry node handed the notice to the national portal, which texts and e-mails the citizen under its own name and the citizen's preferences. Addresses written <portal>, <ZamPay> stand for the national portal and ZamPay.

6. Legacy mapping

Item	Detail
Replaces	Physical Search in the legacy ZIGS e-Services directory (ZIGS_Services)
Legacy service id	442
Legacy provider	Lands and Deeds Department (MLNR) under Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources
Legacy process	not recorded
Fee in the legacy system	Physical Search: ZMW 22.4 (New)
Fee taken before submission	yes (as in ZIGS)
Time to issue (legacy)	New: 1 working day
Legacy output templates	Notice of Action: ZIGS_Forms_Notices / GS-2.NoticeOfAction Application form: ZIGS_Forms_MLNR / MLNR_PhysicalSearch.Application GF-1 Treasury Invoice: ZIGS_CustomForms / GF-1 Invoice GF-2 Treasury Receipt: ZIGS_CustomForms / GF-2 Receipt
Legacy address	none recorded
How it was brought over	Imported by the platform's legacy catalogue importer (zcm-backend scripts/zigs/importLegacy.js) from the ZIGS snapshot: form, case types, fees, documents, process and output templates, then served by the new platform.

7. Version and date

Item	Detail
Document version	service v1, platform a0a302b8
Generated	2026-10-21T08:11:04Z (by the end-to-end run, not edited by hand)
Service version	not versioned (configured directly)
Platform snapshot	backend a0a302b8 portal 72805f0 back office 58e5946
Test suite	e2e 5999d9b; one installation (combined); seed profile mihud
Journeys	30-catalogue-service.spec.js: citizen finds the service, answers its form, uploads its documents and sends the application - passed 30-catalogue-service.spec.js: the case goes through every step of its process: payments by the citizen, each officer step by its role - passed 30-catalogue-service.spec.js: the grant document is issued, sealed, filled in and verifiable; the citizen has it in My permits - passed
Result	3 of 3 journey tests passed
Data	Synthetic test data on a local test installation; provider test doubles for ZamPass, ZamPay, SMS and signing.