Land Registry fees in the UK: Scale 1, Scale 2, Registers of Scotland and LPS compared

England and Wales: Scale 1 (purchases)

Scale 1 covers transfers of registered land for money, first registrations and leases. The fee is based on the price, VAT included. These are the fees in HM Land Registry’s guidance under the Land Registration Fee Order 2024, which “came into effect on 9 December 2024 and still apply”:

Four points from the guidance:

• The portal discount (55%) applies only to transfers of the whole of a registered title. A transfer of part or a new lease pays the postal fee even when sent online.
• There is no extra fee for the buyer’s mortgage if it is lodged with the transfer. HM Land Registry’s example: Janek buys a house for £350,000 with a £150,000 mortgage and pays only the Scale 1 fee on the price. If the mortgage is sent in after the transfer has been completed, it pays its own Scale 2 fee.
• Leases are charged on the premium plus the highest yearly rent in the first five years.
• HM Land Registry fees carry no VAT.

Most buyers never pay the fee themselves. The conveyancer pays it and lists it among the disbursements on the bill. See conveyancing explained.

England and Wales: Scale 2 (no money paid, mortgages)

Scale 2 applies to gifts and assents, transfers on a divorce court order and mortgages of registered land, such as a remortgage:

For a gift, the fee is based on the value of the property minus any mortgage that continues (or any new one registered at the same time). For a share, only that share’s value counts. For a mortgage, it is based on the amount secured: in HM Land Registry’s example, a £200,000 remortgage is charged on £200,000. Removing the old loan costs nothing. Adding or removing an owner is explained in transfer of equity.

First registration of unregistered land

Land that has never been registered pays Scale 1 on the price if the application follows a sale made within the past year. Gifts, assents, exchanges, first mortgages, transfers of a share and sales more than a year old are charged on the current market value. Voluntary first registration has a reduced fee (at least 25% less: last column of the Scale 1 table). If HM Land Registry decides it must inspect the land, it charges £40 more. See first registration of unregistered land.

England and Wales: common fixed fees

Members of the public can download a title register or title plan for £7 through the GOV.UK property information service: see the title register.

Applications with no fee include changing an owner’s name or address or the property description, registering an owner’s death, removing a paid-off mortgage, and registering the form A joint proprietorship restriction used by tenants in common.

Scotland: Registers of Scotland

Land in Scotland is registered in the Land Register of Scotland, kept by Registers of Scotland (RoS). Fees are set by the Registers of Scotland (Fees) Order 2014. The current table was substituted on 1 April 2021. The 2025 amending order did not change the land registration scale. For a disposition (the Scottish deed transferring ownership), the fee is calculated on the price paid or the value of the property, whichever is greater:

Under paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 1, column 3 applies where the application “may be, and is, made using the digital registration system”. The table itself labels column 3 “Former Fee”. Payotte reports the rule in the text. The RoS fees page could not be read by automated access on 21 October 2026, so ask your solicitor which column applies to your application.

Other Scottish fees in the same Order:

• Standard security (a mortgage): £80 per title sheet, or £60 through the digital registration system.
• Advance notice under the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012, or its discharge: £20.
• Each extra title sheet affected: £60.
• Online search of the registers including one title sheet: £3 plus VAT. A search done by the Keeper costs £30 plus VAT.

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is a separate charge, paid to Revenue Scotland: see LBTT and buying a home in Scotland.

Northern Ireland: Land & Property Services

Land & Property Services (LPS) keeps the Land Registry of Northern Ireland, with titles held in folios, and the Registry of Deeds for unregistered land. Fees are set by the Land Registry (Fees) Order (Northern Ireland) 2014, in force since 8 September 2014. The revised version on legislation.gov.uk shows no change to the scale. A transfer is charged on the market value of the estate. LPS may accept the price in the deed as that value.

Other fees in the Order and on nidirect:

• First registration (Form 1): £140, or £110 by electronic lodgement.
• Registering a charge (mortgage): £110, or £90 electronic.
• Release of a paid-off charge: £20.
• Change of name or address: £90 (nidirect).
• Inspection of a folio, map or instrument: £5.
• Uncertified copy folio: £7 through the direct access service, £11 otherwise.
• Certified copy: £17.
• Priority search: £31.

When registered co-owners transfer the land to themselves, they pay only the minimum fee. Northern Ireland uses SDLT, like England: see buying a home in Northern Ireland.

Side by side: the registration fee on a purchase

These are the registry fees only. The tax on the purchase is much larger: check it with the stamp duty calculator, which covers SDLT, LBTT and LTT.

Which professional to consult

A conveyancer (a solicitor in Scotland and Northern Ireland) calculates the fee, lodges the application and pays it on your behalf. HM Land Registry warns that registration “is complex” and that errors can have “significant consequences”. Its fee calculator gives the cost of each type of application.