Guidance

Notice 2 (under rule 54C of the Land Registration Rules 2003): Documents in electronic form purporting to effect registrable dispositions (effective 3 April 2023)

Updated 16 November 2023

Applies to England and Wales

Notice given under rule 54C of the Land Registration Rules 2003

Interpretation

1.In this Notice:

a) expressions have the meaning which they bear in the Land Registration Act 2002 and the Land Registration Rules 2003;

b) “controlling conveyancer” is the conveyancer so named and whose functions are described in the Appendix;

c) “Digital Registration service” is the service which is the subject of Notice 25 given by the registrar under Schedule 2 to the Land Registration Rules 2003 and that enables applications to the registrar to be made electronically using a digital application form;

d) “qualified electronic signature”, “qualified certificate for electronic signature” and “qualified trust service provider” have the meanings they bear in Regulation (EU) 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market, as amended by the Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/89).

Currency and scope of notice

2. This notice is given under rule 54C of the Land Registration Rules 2003 and shall be current for the purposes of that rule on and after 0630 hours on 3 April 2023. It replaces Notice 2 of 5 February 2022.

3. The registrar is satisfied that adequate arrangements have been made for a private pilot dealing with documents in electronic form that purport to effect transfers and legal charges of a registered estate, subject to the exceptions, limitations and conditions set out below.

Approval to participate in the pilot

4. The controlling conveyancer’s firm must be one that has been approved by the registrar to participate in the private pilot.

The form of the document and how it must be signed

5. If the document purports to effect a transfer, it must be in a Form TR1 or Form AS1 as appropriate in electronic form with the following modifications:

a) “Date:” in panel 3 must be replaced with “Date and time when this document takes effect:”; and

b) the text outside and relating to panel 12 must be omitted and the panel completed with the words “Signed by [full name of individual]” followed by the individual’s electronic signature, with this being repeated for each party signing the document.

6. If the document purports to effect a legal charge, it must similarly state the date and time when it takes effect as in paragraph 5 a), and the execution clause must be completed as in paragraph 5 b).

7. The document must contain a provision stating that the document takes effect on the date and at the time of completion (with that date and time later being added to the document as required by paragraphs 5 and 6).

8. All the signatures must be qualified electronic signatures with embedded timestamps and LTV (long-term validation) enabled.

9. Unless the registrar otherwise directs, the document must be signed in accordance with the steps set out in the Appendix.

The estates that can be transferred or be the subject of a legal charge

10. The estate must be a registered estate in land.

11. The disposition must be in respect of the whole of the registered estate in a single individual register.

Other conditions to be met

12. Unless the registrar otherwise allows, the property concerned must be one which is to be used for residential purposes only immediately after the transfer.

13. All parties purporting to authenticate the document must be individuals.

14. The disponor and the disponee must have conveyancers acting for them.

15. Where the disposition is the grant of a legal charge, it must fall within paragraph 16 or paragraph 17.

16. A legal charge falls within this paragraph if:

(a) it is contemporaneous with a transfer to the chargor;

(b) the transfer is one to which this Notice applies; and

(c) unless the registrar otherwise directs, the legal charge is lodged for registration at the same time as the transfer is lodged for registration.

17. A legal charge falls within this paragraph if:

(a) it is a remortgage of a registered estate which is subject to a registered charge that will be discharged as part of the same transaction;

(b) it is a first charge, not a second or subsequent charge; and

(c) the chargor is the registered proprietor of the registered estate when the legal charge is created.

The application for registration

18. The application for registration of the disposition must be made by way of the Digital Registration service.

19. The application must be to meet the registration requirements relating to the disposition as set out in Schedule 2 to the Land Registration Act 2002.

Nicola Muir
Deputy Director, Central Legal Services
29 March 2023

Appendix

1. The controlling conveyancer initiates and controls the signing process by doing the following:

• Uploading the agreed draft of the document – the transfer or legal charge – to the e-signing platform.

• Providing email details of all the signatories and the order in which they are to sign, setting themselves up as the final signatory. The controlling conveyancer may choose to make the other party’s conveyancer a “viewer” in the process so that they have access to the document once their client has signed.

• Marking up the document to highlight where each signatory needs to sign and where they, the controlling conveyancer, will date the document upon completion.

• Requiring of the signing platform that qualified electronic signatures be used by all signatories.

• Providing approval for the document to be sent out for signing by the signing platform.

2. In the order specified, the platform makes each signatory aware that the document is ready for them to sign. Usually this will be by way of an email containing a link to the signing platform.

3. The platform also makes each signatory aware they must complete an ID process before signing and transfers them to the qualified trust service provider (“QTSP”) or provides them with a choice of QTSPs.

4. The QTSP determines if the signatory has a qualified certificate for electronic signatures. If the signatory does have a qualified certificate, the signatory provides the details and validity is checked by the QTSP. If the signatory does not have a qualified certificate, the QTSP completes the necessary ID verification process and issues a qualified certificate.

5. The signatory signs – if using an existing qualified certificate, after having authenticated himself or herself by providing a PIN and/or a One Time Password.

6. The platform arranges for the next signatory or signatories to complete the signing process.

7. Once the final signature has been added, the platform makes the controlling conveyancer aware that the document has been signed and is ready for their dating and signature.

8. Upon completion, the controlling conveyancer adds the time and date in the required field and also their signature. (The validity of the signatures can be checked before this is done.)

9. The platform provides the controlling conveyancer with an electronic version of the signed and timed and dated document together with a final completion certificate/audit report that records, among other things, who created the document, who signed it, the identity of the QTSP and the timing of the signatures.

10. If the controlling conveyancer is not also the conveyancer who will be lodging the application for registration, the controlling conveyancer sends the executed transfer to the lodging conveyancer.

11. Before lodging the application, the lodging conveyancer checks that all the signatures are valid.