Registering land or property with HM Land Registry
Printable version
1. When you must register
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
You must register all land or property with HM Land Registry if you’ve:
- bought it
- been given it
- inherited it
- received it in exchange for other property or land
- mortgaged the property
You do not usually need to register leasehold land or property if there are 7 years or less on the lease when you take ownership.
You must register your land with the Rural Land Register as well as HM Land Registry if you own agricultural land.
Your property might not be registered if you owned it before 1990 and have not mortgaged it since. Check if your property’s registered.
Once you’re registered
Information about your property will be available to the public from HM Land Registry, including:
- the names of the owners
- a plan of the property’s ‘general’ boundaries - the plan will not show where the exact legal boundaries are
You cannot opt out of your property information being publicly available.
If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland
HM Land Registry only deals with land and property in England and Wales.
Scotland
Register your land or property with Registers of Scotland.
Northern Ireland
Register your land or property with Land and Property Services.
2. Register for the first time
Land or property must be registered for the first time if it’s unregistered when you take ownership of it or mortgage it.
Even if you do not have to register, registering voluntarily:
- gives you proof of ownership
- helps protect your land from fraud
- makes it easier to change, sell or give your property away in the future
You can register property yourself or get a solicitor or conveyancer to do it for you.
Register land or property for the first time
-
Search the register to make sure your property is not already registered.
-
Apply for a search from the Land Charges Department to search against all previous owners since 1925. They will send you the results.
-
Fill in an application for first registration.
-
Prepare a scale plan showing where the land is outlined, if it’s not shown in the deeds.
-
Find the forms you need depending on your circumstances and fill out 2 copies of the list of documents form.
-
Find out the correct registration fee - this depends on the value of your property.
-
Send your documents, forms and fee to HM Land Registry.
If you bought the property
Include the same forms as for registering for the first time and a ‘transfer of whole of registered title’ form.
If you inherited the property
Include the same forms as for registering for the first time and include either:
- a completed ‘whole of registered title assent’ form - the executor needs to fill this out if the property was in the name of a sole registered owner and it’s been left to you in a will
- a completed ‘transfer of whole of registered title’ form - the surviving owner needs to fill this out if they jointly owned the property and you are inheriting a share
Contact HM Land Registry if you’re unsure which form you need.
Other documents you may need
You may also need to send:
- a ‘proof of identity’ form if you are not a legal professional, such as a conveyancer
- a ‘disclosable interests’ form if there are unregistered interests in the property not mentioned in the deeds (such as a short-term lease or a right of occupation) - read detailed guidance on unregistered rights from HM Land Registry
- a Land Transaction Return certificate if you’ve paid Stamp Duty (for a property in England and Northern Ireland) or Land Transaction Tax (for properties sold in Wales or after 1 April 2018)
- a certified copy of the lease, if you’re applying to register leasehold land or property
3. Change the registered owner name
You must apply to HM Land Registry to change the registered owner name for a property if you’re either:
- the new owner of a property
- adding someone else as joint owner
How to apply
A solicitor or conveyancer may be able to apply for you. If you’re a new owner, your solicitor or conveyancer may apply as part of the purchase.
Otherwise, follow these steps.
-
Download and fill in an application to change the register.
-
Fill in either a ‘transfer of whole of registered title’ form, if you’re transferring your whole property, or a ‘transfer of part of registered title’ form if you’re only transferring part of your property.
-
Find out the correct fee. Use the ‘Scale 2 fees’ if you’re transferring ownership of a property without selling it, for example as inheritance. Use the Land Registry fee calculator if you’re transferring part or all of a property as a sale.
-
Send your documents, forms and fee to HM Land Registry.
4. Update or correct the register
You must tell HM Land Registry if anything in the register changes or it is incorrect.
Update or correct contact addresses
You can register up to 3 addresses (including email and non-UK addresses) with HM Land Registry for each property.
To change your contact details or those of other owners or agents send a request to update registered owners’ contact address. You do not have to pay anything to do this.
Change your name
You must send HM Land Registry an application to change the register when you change your name. You do not have to pay anything to do this.
How to apply depends on which documents you can send that prove your name has changed. You’ll get back any official certificates you send in after the register has been updated.
Use application form AP1 if you have any of the following documents:
- an official or certified copy of a certificate showing the name change, such as a marriage or civil partnership certificate
- a copy of a deed poll
- a statement of truth
- a statutory declaration sworn before someone able to take oaths
You must also send additional proof if you’re not sending a certificate or using a conveyancer (for example a solicitor). When you send from AP1, include both:
- a filled-in confirmation of identity form in your new name
- a copy of an official document in your former name, such as a passport, driving licence or utility bill
If you’ve changed your gender
Use application form CNG if you have any of the following documents:
- a gender recognition certificate
- a new birth certificate
- a letter from a UK-based medical practitioner (such as a doctor) confirming you’ve changed gender
Send the completed form and one of the documents to the address on the form. You must send original documents, not copies.
If you’re sending a gender recognition certificate, write ‘Private and confidential’ on the envelope.
Returning to your original surname
To return to your original surname after a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership send HM Land Registry:
- application form AP1
- a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate
HM Land Registry will let you know if they need more information.
Stop your previous name being seen on old documents
Your previous name will still appear on any documents that were filed with HM Land Registry before you changed your name. Previous names cannot be changed but you might be able to stop them from being copied or inspected by making an exempt document application.
It costs:
- £12 per document for electronic applications - only businesses and organisations can apply electronically, for example conveyancers
- £25 per document for paper applications
You will need to fill in form EX1 and form EX1A.
Mortgage completion
You must tell HM Land Registry if a mortgage on a registered property is paid off (‘discharged’).
Usually your mortgage lender will do this for you automatically but they may send you a completed ‘cancellation of charges’ form.
Once you have this, fill in an application to ‘cancel entries relating to a charge’ and a confirmation of identity form.
Send all forms to the Citizen Centre.
HM Land Registry will update your details and tell you that the register has been updated.
Other changes
Transfer ownership of your property if you’ve:
- sold it
- divorced or separated and want to remove an owner
- married and want to add an owner
- given the property away
Send your requests
Send completed forms to the HM Land Registry Citizen Centre.
HM Land Registry
Citizen Centre
PO Box 74
Gloucester
GL14 9BB