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  • Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    2. Property and housing
    3. Buying, selling and renting a home
    4. Buying your home
    5. Land and property registers

    Searching the Registry of Deeds

    The Registry of Deeds keeps information about land that is not registered in Land Registry. You can search paper records from 1923 until 1989 and digital records from 1 January 1990. Land & Property Services (LPS) own the digital and paper records in the Registry of Deeds.

    Documents for unregistered land

    The Registry of Deeds (RoD) is a registration of documents for unregistered land. This land is not registered with Land Registry.

    Under this system, a written summary  also known as a Memorial, of the relevant document is lodged in RoD with the original document.

    The Registry:

    • keeps the summary
    • returns the original document to the person who lodged it

    The Registry of Deeds records the document's existence and its priority date. It does not guarantee that any document registered is valid or has any legal effect.

    Index of names

    If you know the name of a former owner, a search for their name will show whether a deed created by that person has been registered in ROD and the property it relates to.

    Records between 1923 and 1989

    Name  index records from 1923 to 1989 are paper only. You can search the paper records in Land & Property Services offices.

    Records from 1 January 1990

    Registry of Deeds (RoD) records from 1 January 1990 to the present day are digitised. You can search RoD digital records in Land & Property Services (LPS) offices.

    Searching paper records

    To search the paper records, you need to buy a permit from LPS.

    • LPS offices

    You cannot search the paper records without the Grantor's name. If you're looking for a transaction where you bought a house, the Grantor is the person who sold you the house. 

    Searching digital records

    You can use RoD digital records to:

    • search name, Memorial number, vacate number, High Court number, Enforcement of Judgments Office number
    • search multiple forenames(for example making it possible to retrieve all records about a husband and wife in a single transaction)
    • view Memorial and abstract information

    A search certificate can be provided as verification of search results.

    For more information about the registry,  go to a LPS office or contact Land & Property Services (LPS):

    • LPS offices

    Permits to search paper records

    You need a permit to search RoD records before 1 January 1990.  You can buy a daily, monthly or annual permit from LPS:

    • a daily permit costs £10.00
    • a monthly permit costs £70.00
    • an annual permit costs £500.00

    When you have a permit, it is free to search certified and uncertified copy Memorials registered before 1 January 1990.

    Fees for document copies

    There are different fees for document copies:

    • £10.00 if using a kiosk terminal at a LPS office per search per 90 results
    • £6.00 per uncertified copy Memorial dated on or after 1 January 1990
    • £16.00 per certified copy Memorial dated on or after 1 January 1990

    More useful links

    • How to find property and land information
    • A guide to rates
    • Living in Northern Ireland
    • Your rights and responsibilities
    • Technology and online services
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    Land and property registers

    • How to search the registers
    • Personal applications to land registers
    • Protect your land and property from fraud
    • Searching the Land Registry
    • Searching the Registry of Deeds
    • Searching the Statutory Charges Register

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