The council’s digital services team are working alongside a private provider to scan and digitise about 13,000 files, over about 12 to 18 months.
The council did not divulge the cost of the project.
But chief executive Alex Parmley said it was "one part of our transformation process".
Undertaking the change from paper to digital files in-house would have taken four council staff 10 years to complete.
"It was identified that partnering with an outside agency would mean a much faster process, improved quality, and better end-service experience for customers," Mr Parmley said.
The process will initially digitise 500 documents in a "pilot phase".
This will run until the end of next month and it is hoped the remaining files will become available by September 2025.
While the physical copies of these files will be temporarily unavailable during the process, digital copies will be available upon request.
The aim is "to make it easier for customers" to access property files and will help council better manage records.
"We will start with digitising 500 property files. Property owners can visit the Waitaki District Council webpage to see which files are part of this pilot."
During the changeover, the physical files would be temporarily and briefly unavailable for viewing at council offices.
"Once digitised, they will be available on request, so the community can access them quickly."
Digitisation came with three projected major benefits: improved access, enhanced security, and future proofing.
Mr Parmley said the pilot was also an important step to making public property files available for "on demand" viewing.
