Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

HM Land Registry Processes 4.6 Million Register Changes with 98% Digital Uptake

HM Land Registry processed 4.6 million register changes during the 2025/26 financial year, with 98% of these applications submitted digitally. The agency also received 22.7 million official information requests in the same period, a slight decrease from the previous year.

The Land Registry is responsible for recording ownership changes and mortgages. In 2025/26, it handled around 18,000 daily requests to create new property titles. Registering new ownership occurs at the end of a property transaction, after stamp duty land tax (SDLT) has been paid. Lenders rely on this information for official searches, title records, and registration services to complete mortgage transactions securely.

Digitalisation and Automation

The report highlights that 98% of processed applications were submitted digitally, supporting the Land Registry’s aim to make the property market less stressful. Qualified Electronic Signatures (QESs), which use biometric checks such as facial recognition, were identified as the most secure form of electronic signature currently available. Nationwide Building Society was the first lender to submit a mortgage application using QES.

The Land Registry increased automation for high-volume register update applications and expanded automation for single-transaction applications, including severance of joint tenancy. A new business gateway API service is set to automate checks before submission, with an estimated customer time saving of 300,000 hours per year by 2028. Enhancements to the online portal now allow customers to track applications and respond to requisitions more easily. The legacy electronic Document Registration Service has been replaced by the Digital Registration Service for a more streamlined user experience.

Local Land Charges Register

Since its launch in 2018, the Local Land Charges (LLC) register has saved customers over £4.5 million in search fees and reduced the average time to obtain an LLC search result by 13 days. The register now includes data from 147 local authorities, covering over nine million charges. The Land Registry also led a pilot to explore the benefits of providing access to building regulations and highways data to speed up conveyancing. Findings from this pilot are expected later this year.