HM Land Registry searches are among the most technically important — and, for inexperienced practitioners, most misunderstood — steps in a residential or commercial conveyancing transaction. Getting them right protects the buyer, the lender, and the firm. Getting them wrong can result in a priority period being lost, a charge being missed, or a registration application being rejected. This guide covers the searches available at HMLR, when to use each one, how the priority period works, and the practical pitfalls that generate the most complaints and claims.

Why HMLR Searches Matter

England and Wales operates a system of registered title, maintained by HMLR, which records ownership, charges, and third-party rights (easements, covenants, notices, restrictions) against each title number. Once land is first registered, the register is conclusive evidence of title subject to overriding interests and fraud. This means that what is on the register at the moment of registration governs what is owned.

The risk for a buyer is that, between the date the official copies of the register are obtained and the date of registration of the purchase, something new could be registered against the title — a new charge, a bankruptcy inhibition, a unilateral notice — that would take priority over the buyer’s interest. The official search with priority is the mechanism that addresses this risk.

The Official Search with Priority (OS1 and OS2)

OS1: Search of Whole

Form OS1 is the standard official search of the whole of a registered title. It must be submitted by the buyer’s solicitor before completion, giving sufficient time for the result to arrive and any issues to be raised. The search confirms the current state of the register and — critically — grants the applicant a priority period of 30 business days from the date of the search certificate.

During the priority period, HMLR will not register any dealing with the title ahead of the applicant’s pending application, provided that application is lodged within the priority period. This means the buyer’s solicitor must ensure the completed application for registration is lodged at HMLR within 30 business days of the search date. If for any reason completion is delayed beyond that window, a further OS1 search must be obtained.

OS2: Search of Part

Form OS2 is used where the buyer is purchasing only part of a registered title — for example, a new build plot being sold off from a larger registered title, or where a garden is being sold separately from a house. The priority period is the same: 30 business days. However, the precise extent of the land being purchased must be defined carefully, and the plan attached to the OS2 must accurately reflect the land in question. Errors in the plan are a frequent source of rejection by HMLR.

How to Submit the Official Search

Since October 2022, solicitors must submit official searches electronically through the HMLR portal (Business Gateway or the Land Registry portal) for applications that are capable of being submitted digitally. Paper submissions for OS1 and OS2 applications are no longer accepted from professional users. This change has materially reduced turnaround times: electronic OS1 results are typically returned within minutes during business hours.

What the Official Search Reveals

The search result will confirm:

Whether any entries have been made on the register since the official copies (or the last search) were obtained
Whether any pending applications are registered against the title
Whether any inhibitions or restrictions affect the title

A clean search result showing “No subsisting entries” is the green light to proceed to completion. An adverse entry must be investigated and, where appropriate, resolved before completion takes place.

Bankruptcy Searches (K16 and K18)

Why Bankruptcy Searches Are Required

Lenders require the buyer’s solicitor to confirm, before releasing mortgage funds, that none of the borrowers are bankrupt or subject to an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). This is because a bankrupt’s property vests in their trustee in bankruptcy, and a mortgage to a bankrupt is vulnerable to challenge by the trustee.

The Land Charges search for bankruptcy is carried out against the names of all individuals who are buying the property and taking out the mortgage.

Form K16: Search of the Individual Insolvency Register

A search against an individual’s name is carried out using Form K16 against the Land Charges Register maintained at HMLR’s Land Charges department in Plymouth (separate from the Property Register). Results are returned as either “clear” (no entries) or showing one or more entries that require investigation.

A critically important caveat: K16 bankruptcy searches are name-based, not title-based. This means they are only as reliable as the accuracy of the name searched. If a buyer’s full legal name is not searched — or if the name is misspelled — entries may be missed. The lender’s instructions (set out in the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook) specify the exact name(s) to be searched, typically the full name as it appears on the identity documents provided for AML purposes.

K18: Priority Search in the Land Charges Register

For unregistered land transactions, a K15 or K11 search against the land charges register is the mechanism that searches for registered charges, estate contracts, and other encumbrances that would affect the property. In contrast to the registered land system, where title is apparent from the register, unregistered land relies on the solicitor investigating the title deeds going back at least 15 years to a “good root of title.”

Official Copies of the Register and Title Plan

Strictly speaking, obtaining official copies of the register (sometimes called “office copies”) is not a “search” — it is a request for an up-to-date copy of the register at a specific moment. However, it is the foundation on which all conveyancing work is based.

Official copies consist of:

The property register (describing the land and the benefit of any easements)
The proprietorship register (identifying the registered owner and any restrictions on their power to dispose of the title)
The charges register (listing mortgages and other charges, restrictive covenants, and other encumbrances)
The title plan (showing the general position and extent of the registered title)

Official copies are only available through the HMLR portal or through approved search agents. They should be obtained afresh at the start of each transaction, not relied upon from a previous transaction — the register can change at any time.

When Official Copies Are Not Enough

Official copies reveal what is currently registered. They do not reveal what might be registered in the future, or what overriding interests might affect the land (such as rights of persons in actual occupation under Schedule 3, Land Registration Act 2002). A full investigation of title will therefore include reviewing the filed documents referred to in the register, raising enquiries about occupiers, and considering the physical inspection of the property.

Searches Against the Title: Practical Issues and Common Pitfalls

Priority Period Expiry

Losing the priority period is one of the most damaging mistakes a conveyancing solicitor can make. If completion occurs and registration is not lodged before the priority period expires, the buyer loses the protection of the priority period. Any dealing registered in the interim — a new charge by the seller’s lender if the seller’s discharge was not registered in time, or a judgment creditor registering a restriction — could take priority.

Most firms have diary systems that track priority period expiry dates. However, in busy periods or when files change hands, these dates can be missed. The solution is to build priority period tracking into the file management system and to treat expiry as a non-negotiable deadline.

Chain Delays Pushing Past the Priority Period

In a long chain, completion may be delayed weeks or months beyond the original expected date. If the buyer’s solicitor has already obtained an OS1, the priority period may expire before completion occurs. In this situation, the solicitor must obtain a further OS1 before the revised completion date. There is no fee for a second or subsequent search — the cost is modest — but the solicitor must be alert to the issue.

Searches in the Name of a Company

Where the buyer or seller is a company, the bankruptcy search considerations do not apply, but the solicitor must instead search against the company at Companies House to confirm it is not in administration, liquidation, or subject to a winding-up petition. This is typically done by checking the Companies House register directly.

Where the company has a registered charge over property, the charge should be registered both at Companies House (under the Companies Act 2006) and at HMLR. Discharge of a company charge requires both registers to be updated.

Searches for Unregistered Land

Approximately 14% of land in England and Wales remains unregistered — roughly 5.5 million hectares. When acting on a transaction involving unregistered land (which will trigger first registration at HMLR), the solicitor must:

Investigate the title deeds
Submit a Land Charges search (K15/K11) against the names of all estate owners in the abstract of title
Submit a local authority search and other property searches in the usual way
Apply for first registration at HMLR following completion

First registration applications are more complex and time-consuming than dealings with already-registered titles. HMLR’s current target turnaround for first registrations is 50 business days, though complex applications can take considerably longer.

Searching Against Leasehold Titles

Where a leasehold property is being purchased, the official search should be made against the leasehold title number. However, the solicitor should also check the freehold title to verify the terms of the lease that are noted there, any restrictions on the freeholder’s power to dispose, and whether there are any entries that might affect the leasehold interest.

In commonhold properties (still relatively rare in England and Wales despite the government’s stated intention to promote the tenure), the relevant title is the commonhold unit title, and the solicitor should also review the commonhold association’s register entry.

HMLR’s Digital Services and API Access

HMLR offers a Business Gateway API that allows high-volume conveyancing firms and search providers to submit searches and applications programmatically. Firms handling large volumes of residential conveyancing — particularly in the new build and remortgage sectors — benefit significantly from automation. The API supports:

OS1 and OS2 official searches
Official copies and title plan requests
Register updates and application lodgement
Discharge of registered charges (DS1/e-DS1)

Firms that have not yet integrated with the Business Gateway should consider doing so, as HMLR continues to develop its digital strategy and paper-based processes are progressively being phased out.

Costs and Fees

HMLR search and registration fees are set by the Land Registration Fee Order, most recently updated in 2023. Key fees include:

Official search with priority (OS1/OS2): £4 per search (electronic); £8 paper (where still permitted)
Official copies: £3 per title register or title plan
First registration: fees on a scale based on consideration value
Transfer of whole: fees on a scale based on consideration value
Voluntary first registration: 25% reduction on applicable fee

These fees are disbursements passed on to the client and must be included in the solicitor’s costs estimate under the SRA Transparency Rules.

Conclusion

HMLR searches are deceptively simple to order and easy to misunderstand. The official search with priority is not merely administrative box-ticking — it is the mechanism that ensures the buyer’s title is free from post-exchange encumbrances and that the lender’s charge will be registered in the correct priority. Solicitors who understand exactly what each search does — and what it does not do — are far better placed to protect their clients and their firm.

Obiter helps conveyancing teams track every milestone — including priority period expiry dates and HMLR application deadlines — by logging actions from emails automatically, so nothing slips through between fee earners.

HMLR Land Registry Searches: A Practical Guide for Solicitors