Official Search of Whole (with priority)

Fees for this service will be changing from £3 to £7 on 9th December 2024

Overview

An Official Search of Whole (with priority) protects agreements between buyers, sellers and lenders. Use this service when your application relates to the whole of the registered title to protect transfers, leases and mortgages. It also prevents any registrations of adverse interest for 30 business days.

It will also tell you about:

alterations made to the register since the search from date
applications against the title that have not yet been completed
existing official searches
outline applications that are not protected by official search

If you’re a software developer

Use this document to integrate data into your system.

Process flow

Input

To request an official search, you will need to send:

login details
external reference number
title number
search start date
customer reference
registered proprietor or applicant for first registration
- For one or more private individuals, enter the surname of one proprietor only
- For companies, enter the full name including punctuation
- Do not put a full stop at the end of the name
applicant name
priority type
contact details
property description
alternative despatch details

The following parameters will also be necessary if there are any complications, and may be supplied to keep transaction calls and processing times to a minimum.

continue despite name mismatch?
continue if developing or part?
continue if fee confirmation exceeds fee amount?
fee confirmation?

Validation

Validation diagram details the validation that the request undergoes.

Search of whole with priority via BG (business gateway) flow chart

Validation diagram Business Rules

Business Rule	Decision point	BG Code	Message ID	Message text
Internal business rule	Does <Title number> exist on LR systems? N	bg.title.invalid	MSG-BG-010	Title number is invalid
BRL-ISBG-004	Is the <Title number> a caution title? Y	bg.title.caution	MSG-BG-074	Official Search cannot be lodged against a Caution Title
BRL-ISBG-011	Is the <Title number> closed ? Y	bg.title.closed	MSG-BG-014	This title number is closed
BRL-ISBG-034	Is the search from date valid? N	bg.date.missing	MSG-BG-038	Search from date is invalid
BRL-ISBG-026	Do <Search Names> match proprietors names? N Did request specify <Continue if Name Mismatch? N	bg.state.nonamematch	MSG-BG-035	There is no name match for this title number
Internal business rule	Is the < Title number> a pending a pending FR?Y Are there any pending searches of part against <Title Number>? Y	bg.title.pendingsearchofpart	MSG-BG-012	The title has applications of part pending against it. If you intend to take a registrable disposition of part you should apply for an official search of part.
Internal business rule	Is the < Title number> a pending FR?Y Are there any pending searches of part against <Title Number>? N Is the <Title Number> a developer title? Y Did customer specify continue if developer title? N	bg.title.developertitle	MSG-BG-013	This is a developing title. If you intend to take a registrable disposition of part you should apply for an official search with priority of part.
BRL-FEE-011	Calculate <Actual Fee>	bg.fee.feeMismatch	MSG-BG-032	Fee Amount provided does not match with the fee calculated by Land Registry
Various internal business rules (see work flow)	Determine if result can be delivered electronically
Internal decision point	Prepare acknowledgement response	bg.officialSearch.sucessMessage	MSG-BG-087	We have accepted your application for an official search with priority. Priority begins now and expires on <date>