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Land Registry
What the Land Registry actually charges
The statutory fee scales in full, set by an order of Parliament, so the same at every firm.
Of every number on a conveyancing bill, this is the one no firm can argue with. Land Registry fees are not a price and not a quote. They are set by an order laid before Parliament, and the current one has been in force since December 2024. That means no firm can be cheaper on this line, and any firm that marks it up is charging you for something it did not set.
The order in force: Land Registration Fee Order 2024, in force since 9 December 2024.
The order: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
It steps up with the price of the property, and it costs less lodged electronically than by post. Your conveyancer almost always lodges through the portal, so the portal column is the one that should reach your bill.
Scale 1: a normal purchase
This is the fee to register the change of ownership, and it is set by an order of Parliament, not quoted by anyone. It goes up in steps with the price of the property. Your conveyancer will almost certainly lodge it electronically, which is the cheaper column, so that is the figure that should reach your bill. If a quote shows the by-post figure instead, ask why.
The whole scale runs £20 to £1,105 depending on price and how the application is sent.
| Price band | Portal, whole | Portal, part | By post | Voluntary first reg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to £80,000 | £20 | £45 | £45 | £30 |
| £80,001 to £100,000 | £40 | £95 | £95 | £70 |
| £100,001 to £200,000 | £100 | £230 | £230 | £170 |
| £200,001 to £500,000 | £150 | £330 | £330 | £250 |
| £500,001 to £1,000,000 | £295 | £655 | £655 | £495 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £500 | £1,105 | £1,105 | £830 |
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
Scale 2: remortgage and transfers not for value
The cheaper of the two Land Registry scales. It covers the paperwork where nothing is being bought, which for most people means a remortgage or putting a partner on the deeds. Same principle: the fee is set by order, it steps up with the amount, and sending it electronically costs less.
The whole scale runs £20 to £305 depending on amount and how the application is sent.
| Price band | Portal, whole | Portal, part | By post |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to £100,000 | £20 | £45 | £45 |
| £100,001 to £200,000 | £30 | £70 | £70 |
| £200,001 to £500,000 | £45 | £100 | £100 |
| £500,001 to £1,000,000 | £65 | £145 | £145 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £140 | £305 | £305 |
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
What the scale fees come to in the three cases people actually meet
The scales are the whole story, but they are easier to read as cases. These three are HM Land Registry's own worked examples from the same guidance page, and the fee beside each one is read straight out of the published table above.
| The case | What the fee is charged on | Portal | By post |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying a £350,000 house with a £150,000 mortgage, both sent in together | Scale 1, on the price | £150 | £330 |
| Remortgaging, the new mortgage securing £200,000 | Scale 2, on the amount the new mortgage secures | £30 | £70 |
| Giving a partner half of a £200,000 house with £100,000 of mortgage left | Scale 2, on the share after the mortgage, £50,000 | £20 | £45 |
A buyer with a mortgage pays one Land Registry fee, not two. HM Land Registry's own example is a £350,000 house bought with a £150,000 mortgage: sent in together, the fee is Scale 1 on the price and nothing for the mortgage. The mortgage only costs extra if it is sent in after the purchase has been registered, when it becomes a new application with its own Scale 2 fee.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
A remortgage. On a remortgage the fee is charged on the size of the new loan, not on the value of the house, and on the cheaper Scale 2. HM Land Registry's own example is a remortgage securing £200,000, assessed on £200,000. Removing the old mortgage from the register costs nothing.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
Putting someone on the deeds. Putting a partner on the deeds is charged on Scale 2, and only on the share that moves, after the mortgage is taken off. HM Land Registry's own example is a £200,000 house with £100,000 of mortgage left, half of it given to a partner: the fee is assessed on £50,000.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
Why the portal column is the one that matters
55% less through the portal than by post, on a transfer of a whole registered title. The electronic discount is written into the fee order, and it only applies to a transfer of a whole registered title. Registering a new lease, or buying part of a title, pays the higher column even when it is sent electronically, which is why a new-build flat can show a bigger Land Registry fee than a house at the same price.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
HM Land Registry also runs its own fee calculator on gov.uk, which is the place to check an unusual case. Nothing on this page replaces it.
No VAT on the fee
The registration fee carries No VAT. Land Registry fees carry no VAT. Your solicitor's own fee does, at 20%. If a quote adds VAT across the whole total including the Land Registry line, the total is wrong and it is wrong in their favour.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
The Land Registry's other fees on a purchase
These are the small, fixed, statutory fees your conveyancer pays the Land Registry during the job. Like the registration fee, they are set, not quoted, and cheaper through the portal.
The search that freezes the register for 30 working days so nobody can slip a charge on to your title between exchange and registration. It costs your conveyancer seven pounds. If it appears on your bill at thirty, that is a mark-up, not a disbursement.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
The bankruptcy search, run against each buyer's name because a lender will not complete without it. Six pounds a name electronically. It is charged per name, so a couple is twelve pounds, and that is the whole reason two quotes can differ on this line without either being wrong.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
A copy of the register and the title plan, which is how your conveyancer finds out what is actually on the deeds. Seven pounds each electronically. A purchase normally needs a handful, so this is a line of tens of pounds, not hundreds.
Source: HM Land Registry, read 28 September 2026.
This is one line of the bill
The Land Registry fee is fixed and small next to the rest. The legal fee, the searches and the tax are where a quote actually moves. The full breakdown of what buying a home costs is on the conveyancing fees page.
Questions people ask
Can a solicitor charge more than the Land Registry fee?
The Land Registry fee itself is fixed by an order of Parliament and is the same at every firm. A firm that lists a higher figure for it is marking up something it did not set.
Why do two quotes show different Land Registry fees?
Usually because one shows the electronic portal fee and the other the higher by-post fee, or because the fee steps up with the property price. The scale is public and the same for everyone.
Is there VAT on the Land Registry fee?
No. The statutory fees carry no VAT. Your solicitor's own fee does. A quote that adds VAT across the whole total, including the Land Registry line, has overcharged you.
What are the Land Registry scale fees?
They are the two fee tables in the Land Registration Fee Order 2024. Scale 1 is charged on a purchase and runs £20 to £1,105 depending on price and how the application is sent. Scale 2 is charged on a remortgage or a transfer where no price is paid and runs £20 to £305 depending on amount and how the application is sent. Each steps up with the value, and each is cheaper sent through the portal than by post.
How much are Land Registry fees when buying a house?
One Scale 1 fee on the price you pay, looked up in the table on this page. HM Land Registry's own example of a £350,000 house comes to £150 through the portal, the way a conveyancer normally sends it, or £330 by post. A mortgage sent in with the purchase adds nothing.
What are the Land Registry charges for a remortgage?
A Scale 2 fee on the amount the new mortgage secures, not on the value of the house. On HM Land Registry's own example of a remortgage securing £200,000 that is £30 through the portal. Removing the old mortgage from the register costs nothing.