The standard deed used to transfer ownership of a registered property from one person to another. Used in almost every residential sale, gift and equity transfer in England and Wales.
Hosted on LandRegistryForms.uk · No sign-up needed
The TR1 form is the official land registry form used to transfer ownership of a registered property in England and Wales. If you are buying or selling a house, adding a partner to a title or transferring a property to a family member, this is almost certainly the document your solicitor will prepare for completion day.
HM Land Registry introduced the form TR1 to replace the old-style conveyance deed, and it has been the standard transfer document for registered land ever since. Every year, hundreds of thousands of property transactions in the UK rely on this single form to move legal ownership from one person to another.
One thing people often get wrong is treating the land registry form TR1 as just another piece of paperwork. It is not. The transfer deed carries specific legal requirements around how it is signed and witnessed. If those requirements are not met, the transfer can be invalid regardless of whether the money has changed hands. That distinction matters more than most buyers and sellers realise.
People searching for the form TR1 land registry UK are usually dealing with one of a handful of situations. The most common is a straightforward house sale, but this deed is also needed in several other property transactions where the whole registered title changes hands.
The TR1 is signed on completion day and lodged at HM Land Registry to put the buyer’s name on the register. It is used in almost every residential sale in England and Wales.
Parents transferring a property to a child, or any situation where no money changes hands, still requires a TR1. The consideration section will show nil or a nominal sum.
When one co-owner buys out the other or the property is transferred as part of a financial settlement, a TR1 is needed to reflect the new ownership on the register.
If you are moving a property into a limited company, LLP or trust structure, a TR1 records that change at HM Land Registry regardless of whether money is involved.
Adding a spouse or partner to a title, or removing someone who is leaving a shared property, both require a TR1 to update the registered ownership.
Some remortgage transactions involve a change in the legal ownership structure, which requires a TR1 to be lodged alongside the new legal charge.
The land registry form has twelve numbered panels and each one needs to be filled in accurately. Even small errors can result in HM Land Registry raising a requisition, which pauses your application and adds weeks to the process. Work through each panel in order before signing.
Enter the full title number of the property being transferred. You will find this on an official copy of the register (OC1) or on correspondence from a previous solicitor. If two or more titles are being transferred together, for example a house and a separate garage title, list all of them here. Do not leave this panel blank.
Write the full address of the property as it appears on the register. Use the exact wording from the register, not the postal address if the two differ. This sometimes happens with older rural properties or land that does not have a standard street address. Include the postcode.
Leave this panel blank until completion day. Insert the actual completion date at the point the keys are handed over and the purchase monies are received. Never fill in a date in advance.
Enter the full legal name of the current registered owner or owners, exactly as they appear on the register. For individuals, use full forenames and surname rather than initials. For companies, include the full registered company name and company number. Even a minor discrepancy between this panel and the register will lead to a requisition from HM Land Registry.
Enter the full legal name of the new owner or owners exactly as you want them to appear on the register. For individuals this means full forenames and surname. For UK companies, include the registered number. For overseas entities, you will need the overseas entity ID issued by Companies House. This panel determines who is recorded as the legal owner after registration.
Enter up to three addresses where HM Land Registry and third parties can serve notices on the new owner. At least one must be a postal address, including the postcode. The others can be a UK DX box number or an email address. This is commonly the buyer’s solicitor’s address, the property address itself, or the buyer’s home address.
This panel contains the statement “The transferor transfers the property to the transferee.” It is a fixed declaration and does not need to be amended in a standard transfer. It confirms the operative effect of the deed — that ownership is passing from the seller to the buyer.
State the purchase price in both words and figures. For a standard sale you might write: “The transferor has received from the transferee the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds (£250,000).” For gifts or nil consideration transactions, tick the box stating the transfer is not for money or anything with monetary value. The figure here must match the amount on the SDLT return submitted to HMRC.
Tick the appropriate box. Full title guarantee is used in most arm’s length sales between unconnected parties. It implies the seller has the right to dispose of the property and that it is free from undisclosed burdens. Limited title guarantee is more appropriate for gifts, transfers by personal representatives or situations where the transferor has limited knowledge of the title history.
Only complete this panel if there are two or more buyers. Tick whether they will hold as joint tenants or tenants in common in equal shares, or specify the trust on which they hold the property. Joint tenants own equally and the survivor automatically inherits on death. Tenants in common can hold in unequal shares and each owner can leave their share by will independently.
Use this panel to include any required statements, covenants, easements, restrictions or declarations that form part of the transfer. New-build transactions often include restrictive covenants imposed by the developer, or grants of rights of way. If there is too much to fit in the space, attach a continuation sheet CS to the form and cross-refer to it here.
The transferor must sign the form as a deed in the space provided. For individual sellers this means signing in the presence of an independent witness who must also sign, print their full name and provide their address. The witness cannot be the buyer, a spouse, civil partner or anyone living with the seller. For company transferors, execute under the Companies Act 2006 — typically two directors or a director and company secretary. If Panel 10 has been completed, the transferees must also execute the form.
Once the form has been signed on completion day it needs to reach HM Land Registry without delay. If you have a priority period running from an official search, your application must arrive before that period expires. Missing it means losing your protected priority position, which is a situation you want to avoid.
Fill in all panels including the date, which should be the actual completion date. The seller signs as a deed in the presence of an independent witness. Both the seller and the witness sign, and the witness adds their full name and address. Keep the original signed deed safe for submission.
The signed deed on its own is not an application. You need a completed AP1 to accompany it. The AP1 tells HM Land Registry what you are applying to do, confirms the title number, names the parties and states the registration fee. You can download the AP1 from this website.
Before completion, your solicitor should have obtained an OS1 official search which gives you 30 business days of protected priority. Your AP1 must be received before this period runs out. If it expires, a new search will be needed and there is a risk that something could be registered against the title in the meantime.
HM Land Registry will not register the transfer without evidence that Stamp Duty Land Tax has been dealt with. Attach the SDLT5 certificate from HMRC, or a self-certificate if the transaction is exempt. The purchase price on the SDLT return must match the figure in Panel 8 of the form.
The registration fee is based on the purchase price and is set by HM Land Registry’s fee scale. Use the fee calculator on the HM Land Registry website to work out the correct amount. Sending the wrong fee will cause your application to be rejected and returned, which wastes time and could put your priority at risk.
Qualified conveyancers can submit electronically through the HM Land Registry Business e-services portal. If you are acting for yourself, you will need to send the application by post. Include the signed deed, AP1, SDLT certificate, any mortgage discharge documents, identity evidence if required and a completed DL document list. Keep copies of everything you send.
The TR1 form download itself is completely free. The cost comes when you submit it to HM Land Registry, which charges a registration fee based on the purchase price of the property. These fees are set by statutory instrument and apply to all transfers of registered title in England and Wales.
The fee scale for transfers for value (standard sales) is as follows:
|
Property value |
Postal application |
Electronic application |
|
Up to £80,000 |
£20 |
£20 |
|
£80,001 to £100,000 |
£40 |
£40 |
|
£100,001 to £200,000 |
£100 |
£95 |
|
£200,001 to £500,000 |
£150 |
£135 |
|
£500,001 to £1,000,000 |
£295 |
£270 |
|
£1,000,001 and over |
£500 |
£455 |
Transfers that are not for value, such as gifts or transfers following a divorce settlement, are charged at half the standard fee. So a property worth £300,000 being transferred as a gift would attract a fee of £75 by post rather than £150.
On top of the registration fee, most buyers also pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to HMRC. SDLT is separate from the Land Registry fee and is calculated on the purchase price. The SDLT threshold for residential property is currently £125,000, though first-time buyers benefit from relief up to £425,000. You need an SDLT5 certificate from HMRC before HM Land Registry will process your application.
This is one of the most common questions people ask after submitting, and the honest answer is that processing times at HM Land Registry have increased significantly over the past few years. The backlog built up during the pandemic and has not fully recovered.
For most residential transfer applications, you should expect the following as a rough guide:
|
Application type |
Current estimated time |
|
Transfer of whole title (straightforward) |
3 to 5 months |
|
Transfer with new mortgage |
3 to 6 months |
|
Transfer involving a discharge of charge |
3 to 5 months |
|
First registration alongside TR1 |
6 to 12 months |
|
Priority or expedited application |
Varies – weeks to months |
These figures are approximate. HM Land Registry publishes its current processing times on its website and updates them regularly. Times can vary based on the complexity of the application, whether a requisition is raised and how quickly it is responded to.
It is worth knowing that the delay in processing does not affect the legal position of the buyer. Once the TR1 has been submitted with a valid AP1 and within the OS1 priority period, the buyer’s interest is protected even while the application is pending. The registration is backdated to the date the application was received, not the date it was actually processed.
If you are buying a property for the first time, you may be wondering what role the TR1 form plays in your purchase and whether you need to do anything with it yourself. The short answer is that your solicitor handles it on your behalf, but understanding what it does and when it matters is still useful.
When you buy your first home, your solicitor will prepare this land registry form TR1 once the sale is agreed and the searches have come back satisfactorily. You will typically be asked to sign it shortly before or on completion day. At that point the seller also signs it, and the signed form is submitted to HM Land Registry along with the AP1 and your SDLT return.
As a first-time buyer in England and Wales you are entitled to Stamp Duty Land Tax relief on properties up to £625,000. You pay no SDLT on the first £425,000 of the purchase price, and 5% on the portion between £425,000 and £625,000. Above £625,000 the standard rates apply and first-time buyer relief does not apply at all.
Your solicitor will handle the SDLT return and claim the relief on your behalf. The important thing to know is that the purchase price declared on the TR1 form must match the SDLT return exactly. If the figures differ for any reason, HM Land Registry will raise a requisition and the registration will be held up.
Many first-time buyers purchase with a partner, friend or family member. If that applies to you, Panel 10 of the form is particularly relevant. This is where you decide whether to hold the property as joint tenants or tenants in common. Most couples buying together opt for joint tenancy, which means equal ownership and automatic inheritance on death. If you want to hold different shares, or protect a contribution one of you is making from a gift or inheritance, tenants in common is the more appropriate option.
Your solicitor should discuss this with you before completion. If they do not raise it, ask them directly. Getting it right now is considerably easier than trying to change it afterwards.
You do not need to find a TR1 form download or fill it in yourself. Your solicitor prepares it, arranges for the seller to sign it and handles the submission to HM Land Registry. Your involvement is limited to signing when asked and making sure funds are in place on completion day. Everything else is handled for you.
You can, and people do. There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor or conveyancer when completing a TR1 form UK. That said, conveyancing involves real financial and legal risk, and mistakes are often expensive to fix after the fact. If there is a mortgage involved, your lender will almost certainly insist on a qualified conveyancer acting for them. If you are proceeding without a solicitor, HM Land Registry will require you to complete an ID1 identity verification form as well.
Both forms transfer a whole registered title, but the TR2 is used specifically where an existing mortgage or legal charge on the property will continue after the transfer rather than being redeemed on completion. This comes up most often in lender repossession sales. In a standard residential sale where the seller pays off their mortgage on completion day, the land registry form TR1 is the right choice.
Processing times vary considerably and have lengthened in recent years. HM Land Registry publishes its current target times on their website. For a standard residential transfer you might be looking at anything from a few weeks to several months. The registry does offer priority processing in limited circumstances, such as where a mortgage offer is about to expire or there is a genuine emergency, but this is not available as a matter of course.
HM Land Registry will reject the application and ask you to resubmit using the current version. This is more than just an inconvenience. If your OS1 priority search period has expired by the time you resubmit, you may find that something has been registered against the title in the meantime. Always use the TR1 form download link on this page to ensure you have the version currently in force.
Yes. As a deed, the form must be signed by the transferor in the presence of an independent witness. The witness needs to sign, print their full name and add their address. They must be independent of the transaction, which means they cannot be the buyer, a spouse, civil partner or anyone living at the same address as the seller. A friend, colleague, neighbour or solicitor is perfectly acceptable.
Yes, registration is essential. Signing the deed transfers the equitable interest in the property, but legal ownership does not pass until the transfer has been registered at HM Land Registry. Until registration is complete, the buyer’s ownership is not fully protected and the seller technically remains the legal owner on the register. This is why getting the TR1 land registry application submitted promptly after completion day matters.
Current HMLR version · Free · No sign-up required
Download TR1 PDF — Free