What is the Land Registry fee?
HM Land Registry charges a fee to register a change to a property's title in England and Wales, such as recording a new owner after a purchase, a new lease, or a mortgage. It's a fixed fee based on the property's value, looked up from a published scale rather than calculated as a percentage, and it's completely separate from Stamp Duty Land Tax, solicitor's fees, and any mortgage arrangement fee.
There are two fee scales. Scale 1 applies when money changes hands for the property or lease itself, such as a purchase. Scale 2 applies when it doesn't, such as a gift, an inheritance, or registering a mortgage. Both scales offer a reduced fee for applications submitted electronically rather than by post.
Scale 1 vs. Scale 2: which applies to you?
Use Scale 1 if you're buying a property, or being granted a new lease for a premium (the fee is then based on the premium plus the total rent payable over the lease). Use Scale 2 if no money is changing hands for the property itself: a gift between family members, an assent transferring a deceased person's property to a beneficiary, a transfer under a court order, or registering a new mortgage or charge on a property you already own.
Electronic vs. paper applications
Applications submitted electronically through the HM Land Registry Portal or Business Gateway cost less than paper applications, for a whole-title application. In practice, almost all conveyancing solicitors submit electronically as standard, so most buyers pay the lower electronic fee without needing to ask, though it's worth confirming with your solicitor if you want to be sure.
Example Land Registry fee calculations
These worked examples come straight from the calculator above, so the figures match exactly what you'd see entering the same numbers yourself.
First-time buyer, portal
£220,000 · Scale 1 · Portal
- Registration fee
- £150
House purchase, by post
£350,000 · Scale 1 · By post
- Registration fee
- £330
Remortgage, portal
£300,000 · Scale 2 · Portal
- Registration fee
- £45
High-value purchase
£1,200,000 · Scale 1 · Portal
- Registration fee
- £500
Frequently asked questions
What is the Land Registry fee for?
It's the fee HM Land Registry charges to register a change to a property's title, such as recording a new owner after a purchase, a new lease, a mortgage, or a transfer without money changing hands (like a gift or a transfer between spouses). It's separate from Stamp Duty Land Tax, solicitor's fees, and any mortgage arrangement fee.
What's the difference between Scale 1 and Scale 2 fees?
Scale 1 applies to applications for monetary consideration: buying a property, or being granted a new lease for a premium. Scale 2 applies where no money changes hands for the property itself, such as a gift, an assent (transferring a deceased person's property to a beneficiary), a transfer by court order, or registering a mortgage/charge. Scale 2 fees are lower than Scale 1 fees at every value band.
Why is the electronic fee cheaper than the paper fee?
HM Land Registry charges a reduced fee for whole-title applications submitted electronically through its Portal or Business Gateway service, because they're processed more efficiently than paper applications. Most conveyancing solicitors submit electronically as standard, so the reduced fee applies to the large majority of property transactions.
Who pays the Land Registry fee?
In a standard purchase, the buyer pays the Land Registry fee, usually collected by their conveyancing solicitor as part of the completion statement alongside Stamp Duty Land Tax and legal fees. For a remortgage, it's typically the borrower (via their solicitor) who pays the fee to register the new charge.
Is the Land Registry fee based on the full property value or my mortgage amount?
For a purchase (Scale 1), it's based on the purchase price of the property, not the size of your mortgage or deposit. For a remortgage with the same lender adding a new charge (Scale 2), it's typically based on the property's value.
Do I get a discount for first-time buyers or first registrations?
There's no first-time buyer discount on Land Registry fees specifically (that's separate from Stamp Duty Land Tax first-time buyer relief). However, a voluntary first registration of previously unregistered land gets a 25% reduction on the standard Scale 1 fee, to encourage owners to register land that predates compulsory registration. This calculator doesn't cover that specific discount; check GOV.UK if it applies to you.
Methodology and assumptions
This Land Registry fees calculator assumes:
- A standard whole-title application, using the published Scale 1 or Scale 2 fee table looked up by value band.
- It doesn't include the 25% reduction available for voluntary first registration of previously unregistered land, or the different rules for part-title (rather than whole-title) transfers.
- It covers England and Wales only. Scotland (Registers of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (Land Registry of Northern Ireland) charge different fees under separate systems.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest penny.
For Stamp Duty Land Tax on the same purchase, use a stamp duty calculator separately; this fee is charged in addition to it, not instead of it.
Sources
Land Registry fee figures are taken directly from:
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