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After obtaining a Grant of Probate, property is transferred using one of two Land Registry forms: form AS1 (an Assent) if the property is being passed to a beneficiary, or form TR1 (a Transfer) if the property is being sold to a third party. Both applications are submitted to Land Registry using a covering form AP1. This page describes England and Wales. Processing times vary widely — see the section below.
Transferring a deceased person’s property at Land Registry is one of the final steps in estate administration. Whether you are passing the property to a family member or completing a sale, understanding which forms to use, what documents are needed, and how long the process currently takes can save significant frustration.
When dealing with property after probate, there are two fundamentally different transactions depending on who receives the property:
The distinction matters because the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) treatment, the Land Registry fee, and the supporting documents differ between the two routes. An assent to a beneficiary is not a “sale,” so SDLT is generally not chargeable on the beneficiary receiving property under a will or intestacy (though specialist advice is needed in some circumstances, particularly where the beneficiary takes subject to a mortgage).
Whether using form AS1 or form TR1, every Land Registry application is submitted using form AP1 — the “Application to Change the Register.” The AP1 is the covering form that tells Land Registry what you are applying to do, which title number is affected, who is making the application, and what supporting documents are enclosed.
The AP1 must be completed carefully. On the current version of the form:
Applications can be submitted by post to Land Registry’s processing centres, or by solicitors and licensed conveyancers via the Land Registry portal or Business Gateway. Form AP1 itself notes that a key number “is only available to professional customers, such as solicitors”, and that where an application is sent in by a private individual, payment must be by postal order or cheque made payable to HM Land Registry. In practice that means a postal application for an unrepresented party.
The standard documents required for a post-probate property transfer are:
Priority searches protect the transaction
Before submitting the AS1 or TR1, a solicitor will typically carry out a Priority Search (form OS1 for registered land or OS2 for part of a registered title). A Priority Search protects the buyer or beneficiary for 30 business days by preventing any other registration or entry from taking priority during that period. This is particularly important in sales: if another charge or restriction is registered against the title between exchange and completion, it could otherwise take priority over the buyer.
Land Registry timescales vary enormously depending on what the application does. Its processing times page, last updated 2 July 2026, gives the position:
Land Registry publishes and updates these figures on its processing times page. The point it makes repeatedly is worth holding onto: your legal ownership is protected from the moment the application is received, not from the moment it completes.
That protection is what makes a practical point possible: a property can be sold and the sale completed before the registration of the preceding assent has been processed, provided that application has been lodged. Conveyancers routinely proceed this way. It does need the two applications to be dealt with in the right order, so tell whoever is acting on the sale that an earlier application is pending.
The vast majority of property in England and Wales (over 90%) is now registered at Land Registry. If property is registered, the process described above applies — you use the title number and submit the appropriate forms.
However, some property — particularly older rural property or property that has not changed hands since compulsory registration was introduced in the relevant area — may be unregistered. You can check whether a property is registered by searching on Land Registry’s website; a copy of the title register costs £7.
For unregistered land, the title is proved by a bundle of title deeds rather than a register entry. Transferring unregistered land is more complex:
Unregistered land is a specialist area. Establishing a good root of title from a bundle of deeds, and preparing a first registration, is work most people hand to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.
AS1, TR1, AP1, FR1 and DJP are all HM Land Registry forms, and HM Land Registry covers England and Wales only. None of them can be used elsewhere in the UK.
In Scotland, property is registered with Registers of Scotland. The grant an executor obtains is confirmation, not probate, and a docket transfer endorsed on the confirmation is the usual route for transferring heritable property to a beneficiary. In Northern Ireland, registration is handled by Land Registry Northern Ireland and the Registry of Deeds — see nidirect for the forms and fees that apply there.
Obtain official copies of the register before you start
Before completing any Land Registry forms, obtain official copies of the register entries and title plan for the property using form OC1 (or via the Land Registry portal). These show the current registered proprietor, any charges or restrictions, and the exact property boundaries. Completing forms with incorrect details causes delays and can result in the application being rejected.
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