Previous Land Ownerships

Previous Land Ownerships

Prior Copies Search

To obtain details of previous land ownerships from the Land Registry you will need to apply for a Prior Copies Search. A Prior Copy is just the same as a current copy, save that it shows the detail current at the date of the search. You can search back to April 1993 when the Land Registry started digitising their Title Records. If the property first became registered after this date, then that date would be the earliest you can search back to.

Differences between Current and Prior Copies

The main differences shown in a Prior Copy of the Title Register and a current copy is the name and address of the owner, and the name and address of the mortgagee.

Property With Postal Address

To obtain a Prior Copy of the Title Register for a property with a full postal address simply click the following link:

Prior Copies search

Property Without Postal Address

Where the property does not have a property erected upon it there will be no postal address, and therefore the procedure for obtaining a Prior Copy is a little different from above.

Instead of selecting the search for a Prior Copy of the Title Register you will instead need to select the Map Search link. The application form for this search has a map built into it so that you can identify the property.

On the application form you will need to go to the Comments box near the foot of the form and insert "I require a Prior Copy of the Title Register, not the current copy".