Completing forms ID1 and ID2
Guidance for completing forms ID1: Certificate of identity for a private individual, and ID2: Certificate of identity for a body corporate.
Applies to England and Wales
Evidence of identity
You must provide evidence of identity for any party (and the person lodging the application if different) who is not legally represented.
When identity is verified by a conveyancer the evidence must be in form ID1 or form ID2 and must be completed by each individual person who is a party to the above transactions who is not legally represented. This requirement applies to both private individuals and corporate bodies such as companies.
Both forms can be downloaded free of charge from our website or by phoning customer support. Both parts of form ID1 or form ID2 lodged in support of an application must be dated and signed no more than three months before the time of lodgement.
Completed forms ID1 and ID2 are not open to public inspection and normally a person may not apply for an official copy of them. There are special provisions in the Land Registration Rules 2003 to allow inspection by specific persons, in some situations connected with court proceedings, insolvency and tax liability investigations. We hope that you will understand why evidence of identity is needed. Although this requirement may appear to be a burden, we believe it is essential to help combat identity theft and fraud. Our requirements are similar to the identity checks made by other organisations, including banks.
Fraud notice
If, when there is a requirement to confirm identity or provide evidence of identity, you dishonestly provide information or make a statement that you know is, or might be, untrue or misleading, and intend by doing so to make a gain for yourself or another person, or to cause loss or the risk of loss to another person, you may commit the offence of fraud under section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006, the maximum penalty for which is 10 years’ imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both.
When and for whom HM Land Registry will require confirmation of identity
We require confirmation of identity for the types of transactions and for the persons shown in the following table as well as the person lodging the application, if different. Please also see the exceptions mentioned below the table.
Confirmation of identity requirements
| Application | Person for whom confirmation of identity is required |
|---|---|
| Transfer of land or transfer of a mortgage (whether or not for money, also includes transfers to appoint or remove a trustee and assents by personal representatives | Transferor (seller), Transferee (buyer), any attorney acting for the seller or buyer, any personal representative |
| Lease (whether or not for money) | Landlord, Tenant, any attorney acting for the landlord or tenant |
| Surrender of a registered lease: application to close the leasehold title (includes surrenders by transfer and by operation of law) | Landlord, Tenant, any attorney acting for the landlord or tenant |
| Mortgage (charge): of registered land or of unregistered land on compulsory first registration | Lender (chargee), Borrower (chargor), any attorney acting for the lender or borrower |
| Discharge of mortgage in paper form DS1 or DS3 | Lender |
| Compulsory first registration explains when an application for first registration is compulsory) | Seller or landlord, Buyer or tenant, any attorney acting for the above |
| Voluntary first registration but only where the deeds have been lost and the applicant is not a conveyancer or a well-known corporate body who lost them themselves | Applicant for first registration as proprietor of the land, including where the applicant is a personal representative, any attorney for the applicant |
| Change of name by deed poll, statutory declaration or statement of truth | Person changing their name (in their new name) |
| Change of address | Person changing their address |
Exceptions
There are some exceptions, which are set out in full in practice guide 67: evidence of identity. The main exceptions affecting applications sent by someone who is not a professional conveyancer where we do not need confirmation of identity for some or all parties are:
- a lease or a charge which is merely being noted in the register
- voluntary applications for first registration unless the title deeds have been lost or destroyed.
We also do not require confirmation of identity for certain parties who already have to send us evidence of their appointment. This includes trustees in bankruptcy, liquidators and Mental Capacity Act deputies (a full list is in practice guide 67: evidence of identity). This exemption applies both when they are parties to a deed, and when they are also sending the affected application to us themselves.
Please note though that confirmation of identity is still required for the beneficiary under an assent or the transferee under a transfer, and also for any person lodging the application (unless they are the trustee in bankruptcy etc as referred to in the above paragraph). This applies both in situations where the land is already registered and also where an application is being made for compulsory first registration. In addition to the above we also do not require confirmation of identity where the true value of the land involved in the disposal does not exceed £6,000.
Completing the forms ID1 and ID2
Private individuals must complete form ID1, corporate bodies must complete form ID2.
Where a party to a transaction comprises more than one person, each one must complete a separate ID form and produce evidence of their identity.
The following examples help to illustrate when evidence of identity is required and for whom (where a conveyancer is verifying ID).
- neighbour A sells part of his back garden to neighbour B. Neither use a conveyancer and both are private individuals. Neighbour B then lodges the application for registration.
We need separate forms ID1 from neighbour A as the transferor and neighbour B as the transferee.
- C mortgages her property to D who applies to register the mortgage. Neither use a conveyancer and both are private individuals.
We need separate forms ID1 from C as borrower and D as lender.
- E and F transfer their property by way of gift to G. H submits the application for registration on behalf of G. All are private individuals.
We will need separate forms ID1 for E and F as joint transferors, G as the transferee and H as the person lodging the application.
- J, a company, discharges a mortgage and gives K, a private individual, a paper DS1. K lodges the discharge for registration.
We will need form ID2 for J and form ID1 for K.
- L sells his house to M but appoints an attorney N to execute the transfer. M lodges the application for registration. L, M and N are all private individuals.
We will need separate forms ID1 for L, M and N.
Which parts of the form to complete
You must complete section A.
Section B must be completed by a conveyancer, Chartered Legal Executive or a Licensed Probate Practitioner (regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers).
Verification of identity
You can have your identity verified by:
- a conveyancer
- a Chartered Legal Executive
- a Licensed Probate Practitioner (regulated by the Council for Licenced Conveyancers)
- people who work in certain professions.
Conveyancers, Chartered Legal Executives or Probate Practitioners may charge a fee for this service. See section 9 of practice guide 67 and completing form ID3 for a full list of accepted professions and the forms required for verification by a non-conveyancer.
You will need to take the identity evidence mentioned in section B3 of form ID1 or form ID2 and a passport-size photograph with you taken in the last 3 months (you will need 2 copies of the photograph if you are going to a conveyancer, because they will need a copy for their records). The photograph must be printed on photographic paper and your face must be clearly visible. ID forms may be rejected if this is not the case.
If you have your identity verified by a conveyancer and then lodge your application by post we may make additional checks to satisfy ourselves that everything is in order.
To come within the definition of conveyancer in rule 217A of the Land Registration Rules 2003 an individual must be authorised under the Legal Services Act 2007 to provide conveyancing services; in effect they must have a practicing certificate. If verification is given by a person who has made it clear on the ID form that they are retired or not practising, a requisition is likely to be raised. Paralegals are also unable to verify identity because they do not fall within the rule 217A definition of conveyancer. Some Chartered Legal Executives and Licensed Probate Practitioners are not conveyancers, but HM Land Registry has agreed that they can verify identity for Land Registration purposes.
Verification of identity of persons resident overseas
Where a person is resident overseas and it is not possible for their identity to be verified by a UK conveyancer, section B of the ID1 or ID2 should be completed and signed by a lawyer or notary public qualified to practice in the person’s country of residence. The form should be amended to include confirmation of the country in which the lawyer or notary public is qualified to practice, confirmation that they are so qualified to practice and the name and address of the body with which they are registered to practice.
Form ID1 or form ID2 will always be required. The option in forms AP1, FR1 and DS2 that sufficient steps have been taken to verify someone’s identity cannot be used.
Verification of identity by a serving officer of the UK armed forces operating overseas
Where a member of the UK armed forces is serving overseas they can have their identity verified by an officer who is also serving with them overseas. In this situation the verifier must provide their passport number.
Identity requirements where two or more applications are being lodged at the same time
If you intend to lodge two or more applications at the same time, and at the same office, and the parties for those applications (who are not legally represented) are the same, you need provide only one set of identity evidence for each of those parties for all of the applications.
If the parties in the applications (who are not legally represented) are different, you will need identity evidence for each separate party.
Properties where the true value does not exceed £6,000
You do not have to confirm the identity of persons involved in transactions where the true value of the land which is the subject of the disposal does not exceed £6,000. In these cases you may instead lodge a certificate by someone qualified to give property valuations confirming the value of the land, for example an estate agent, a surveyor, a land and property valuer or auctioneer who holds a qualification from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or some other person who is similarly qualified.
You may still supply evidence of identity if you prefer, and we also reserve the right to require evidence of identity in form ID1 or form ID2, in any particular instance.
Facility letter arrangements
HM Land Registry has issued ‘facility letters’ for a limited number of people who regularly deal with HM Land Registry. These exempt these individuals from our normal identity requirements. A copy of the facility letter must be enclosed with any application where confirmation of identity is usually required, in place of an ID form.
A facility letter can only be used where the value of the property does not exceed £100,000.
HM Land Registry is currently accepting applications for facility letters which will be valid for a period of 12 months. If a facility letter is to be renewed after the 12 months we will require a further form ID1 or form ID2 to be lodged.
Further support required
If you require further support because of your condition or circumstances, please contact us.
Send your forms
Send the completed form(s) to our Citizen Centre, see HM Land Registry address for applications.
Updates to this page
Last updated 5 February 2024 + show all updates
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Guidance amended as a result of amendments to form ID3 and the withdrawal of form ID4.
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The guidance has been amended as CLC-regulated licensed probate practitioners can now verify identity on forms ID1 and ID2.
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Following a review of our practice, a personal representative who assents or transfers land has been removed from the exception status and must now provide evidence of identity with any such application.
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Amended to reflect our current identity policy which is contained in practice guide 67.
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Updated to reflect our current identity policy.
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The guidance has been amended as we will currently accept forms ID1 and ID2 dated up to 6 months before lodgement.
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We've added a link to practice guide 67a: temporary changes to HM Land Registry’s evidence of identity requirements. The guide provides information on how to verify your identity for land registration purposes during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We've also updated the 'Facility letter arrangements' section to advise we're not accepting applications for new facility letters until further notice.
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CILEx Conveyancing Practitioners, Chartered Legal Executive Conveyancing Practitioners, Chartered Legal Executives and officers of the UK armed forces for members of the UK armed forces serving overseas can now also verify identity.
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First published.