Guidance

HM Land Registry portal: how to make a bankruptcy search

How Business e-services customers can make a bankruptcy search through the portal.

Applies to England and Wales

All searches are £2 per name.

Log in to the portal.

Select ‘Land Charges Services, select ‘Bankruptcy Search’.

  1. Select the type of search you need: ‘Private Individual’ or ‘Complex Names’.
  2. Select ‘Next’.
bankruptcy step 1

Enter the ‘Customer Reference’ and ‘Contact Name’ fields. The ‘Contact Tel No’ is pre-filled with the number associated with the Variable Direct Debit account used to pay the fee. If you want to change this, you can overwrite it.

bankruptcy step 2

Add a name

  1. You can add up to 6 names to search against.
  2. Make sure that all the names have been spelt correctly before you continue, as you will be unable to change them after this step. Once the list of ‘Name(s) to be searched’ is complete, select ‘Submit’. By selecting ‘Submit’ you agree to pay the fee shown at the top of the screen.
bankruptcy step 3

Certificate of result and office copy request

A message shows you that the search has been completed and that the result is ready.

  1. You can see the result by selecting ‘Show certificate of the result of search in a separate window’. The certificate can be saved to your computer or printed. You can access PDFs free of charge for 30 days (inclusive) from the day the registration was completed, in ‘PDF downloads’ area.
  2. You also have the option to request an office copy by selecting ‘submit’. There is an additional fee for this service.
bankruptcy step 4

Bankruptcy entries

The number of bankruptcy entries are shown. Select ‘View Entries’ to see the details for each entry and request office copies. When viewing an entry, select ‘Show details’ to see the full information about the entry.

bankruptcy step 5

Order office copies

You can see the details of entry(ies).

  1. You can request an office copy for any entry: tick the checkbox ‘Office Copy Required (£1)’.
  2. Select ‘Submit’.
bankruptcy step 6

Confirmation

  1. A message confirms that your application has been accepted and that the office copies will be sent by post/DX.
  2. If you want to make another search, select ‘New Enquiry’.
bankruptcy step 7

Other information

Bankruptcy searches may only be carried out against private individuals. For land charges searches against pending land actions, use ‘Land Charges Full Search’.

Logout

When you have completed your tasks, select ‘Logout’ at the top of the screen to exit the system securely.

Updates to this page

Published 19 October 2015

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