Land Registry
The expedite (fast-track) process is available for applications, either residential or commercial, where a delay would:
- cause problems not related to a land transaction
- put a property sale or any kind of property transaction at risk, for example, a refinancing deal or development
The age, degree of complexity and type of application are not factors in whether or not we will expedite. If a delay in registration is causing problems, whether legal, financial or personal, our criteria for expedition are met.
We usually only consider requests from the organisation that sent us the application or the buyer or seller of the property.
You cannot ask us to expedite an application to search the register, including searches of the index map. Find out how long we take to process applications.
Please lodge each request against a single title number and HM Land Registry reference. This will allow us to pair your request with the application more efficiently.
Evidence
You will need to provide evidence which clearly shows why you are asking us to expedite your application. We will use your evidence to make it easier for us to determine if we can approve your request.
Examples of evidence we accept include:
- a copy of the sale or purchase contract or a mortgage offer letter confirming the offers expiry date, or confirmation that a transaction is being planned which is dependent on registration of the application in question being expedited
- a clear explanation in cases of problems or hardship, whether financial or personal, which should link to the need for the registration to be completed
We accept redacted documents that contain commercially sensitive information. Redacted documents must still clearly show why you are asking us to expedite your application.
Request an expedite using the portal
Conveyancers and legal professionals with access to the HM Land Registry portal should use Application Enquiry to request an expedite.
- In Application Enquiry, select Still need to contact us?
- Fill in the appropriate contact details and select the Request an expedite option.
- Select the expedition reason from the drop-down menu to complete the request.
You cannot make a request using reply to requisition.
Contact us
If youve used a conveyancer or solicitor, ask them to send us your request using the HM Land Registry portal.
If you havent used a conveyancer or solicitor, use our contact form to ask for your application to be processed urgently.
- Open our contact form.
- Select Member of the public.
- Select Next step when presented with coronavirus (COVID-19) information.
- Select An application in progress or completed followed by Next step.
- Select the required transaction type, for example Application to update the register.
- Select I want to expedite my application followed by Next step.
- Enter your details and provide acceptable evidence.
- Select Submit.
Approved requests
If we approve the request, we aim to process the application within 10 working days, subject to any outstanding applications or requests for information (requisitions) that need to be completed first.
Last updated 5 July 2023 +show all updates
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We have updated our guidance on applying for an expedite to clarify that, if a delay in registration is causing legal, financial or personal problems, our criteria for expedition are met.
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We have made clear we accept redacted documents that contain commercially sensitive information as evidence.
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Added a link to our application processing times.
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We have updated our guidance to clarify that the expedite (fast-track) process is available for residential and commercial applications, and where any kind of property transaction is at risk.
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Added translation