Land Registry
Evidence of identity
You must provide evidence of identity for any party (and the person lodging the application if different) who is not legally represented.
The evidence must be in form ID1 or form ID2 and must be completed by each individual person who is a party to the above transactions who is not legally represented. This requirement applies to both private individuals and corporate bodies such as companies.
Both forms can be downloaded free of charge from our website or by phoning customer support.
Both parts of form ID1 or form ID2 lodged in support of an application must be dated and signed no more than three months before the time of lodgement.
Note: Our normal requirement is for both parts of an ID form and the photograph to be no more than 3 months old at the time of lodgement but this has been extended temporarily to 6 months until further notice because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Completed forms ID1 and ID2 are not open to public inspection and normally a person may not apply for an official copy of them. There are special provisions in the Land Registration Rules 2003 to allow inspection by specific persons, in some situations connected with court proceedings, insolvency and tax liability investigations. We hope that you will understand why evidence of identity is needed. Although this requirement may appear to be a burden we believe it is essential to help combat identity theft and fraud. Our requirements are similar to the identity checks made by other organisations, including banks.
Fraud notice
If, when there is a requirement to confirm identity or provide evidence of identity, you dishonestly provide information or make a statement that you know is, or might be, untrue or misleading, and intend by doing so to make a gain for yourself or another person, or to cause loss or the risk of loss to another person, you may commit the offence of fraud under section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006, the maximum penalty for which is 10 years imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both.
When and for whom HM Land Registry will require confirmation of identity
We require confirmation of identity for the types of transactions and for the persons shown in the following table as well as the person lodging the application, if different. Please also see the exceptions mentioned below the table.
Confirmation of identity requirements
| Application | Person for whom confirmation of identity is required |
|---|---|
| Transfer of land or transfer of a mortgage (whether or not for money, also includes transfers to appoint or remove a trustee and assents by personal representatives | Transferor (seller), Transferee (buyer), any attorney acting for the seller or buyer |
| Lease (whether or not for money) | Landlord, Tenant, any attorney acting for the landlord or tenant |
| Surrender of a registered lease: application to close the leasehold title (includes surrenders by transfer and by operation of law) | Landlord, Tenant, any attorney acting for the landlord or tenant |
| Mortgage (charge): of registered land or of unregistered land on compulsory first registration | Lender (chargee), Borrower (chargor), any attorney acting for the lender or borrower |
| Discharge of mortgage in paper form DS1 or DS3 | Lender |
| Compulsory first registration explains when an application for first registration is compulsory) | Seller or landlord, Buyer or tenant, any attorney acting for the above |
| Voluntary first registration but only where the deeds have been lost and the applicant is not a conveyancer or a well-known corporate body who lost them themselves | Applicant for first registration as proprietor of the land, any attorney for the applicant |
| Change of name by deed poll, statutory declaration or statement of truth | Person changing their name (in their new name) |
| Change of address | Person changing their address |
Exceptions
There are some exceptions, which are set out in full in practice guide 67: evidence of identity - conveyancers. The main exceptions affecting applications sent by someone who is not a professional conveyancer where we do not need confirmation of identity for some or all parties are:
- a lease or a charge which is merely being noted in the register
- voluntary applications for first registration unless the title deeds have been lost or destroyed.
We also do not require confirmation of identity for certain parties who already have to send us evidence of their appointment. This includes personal representatives (executors or administrators of a deceased persons estate), trustees in bankruptcy, liquidators and Mental Capacity Act deputies (a full list is in practice guide 67: evidence of identity - conveyancers). This exemption applies both when they are parties to a deed, and when they are also sending the affected application to us themselves.
Please note though that confirmation of identity is still required for the beneficiary under an assent (except in the case where someone is assenting the property to themselves) or the transferee under a transfer, and also for any person lodging the application (unless they are the executor, trustee in bankruptcy etc as referred to in the above paragraph). This applies both in situations where the land is already registered and also where an application is being made for compulsory first registration. In addition to the above we also do not require confirmation of identity where the true value of the land involved in the disposal