What Are Filed Documents?

Documents behind the register

A title register is deliberately concise. Rather than setting out every deed in full, it records the essentials and refers to the underlying documents. Those underlying documents — where HM Land Registry holds them on file against the title — are what people call filed documents.

Typical examples include:

• Transfers — the deed used when registered land changes hands, which may contain covenants or rights created at the time of sale.
• Conveyances — the older equivalent from before the land was registered, often the source of long-standing restrictive covenants.
• Leases — for leasehold titles, the lease itself is referred to in the register and may be held on file.
• Deeds — deeds of grant, deeds of covenant, deeds of easement and similar documents creating rights or obligations.

The register tells you these documents exist and summarises their effect; the filed copy is where the full wording lives.

How to spot the references

References to filed documents appear throughout the register, but two sections carry most of them.

| Where to look | What the references look like | | --- | --- | | Property register | Entries about rights benefiting the land often cite the deed that created them — for example a transfer or deed of grant identified by date and parties — and may note that a copy is filed | | Charges register | Entries about covenants and other burdens frequently state that a deed contains covenants, identify it by date, and note where a copy of it is filed |

The wording varies from title to title. Some entries set out the covenant or right in full within the register, in which case there may be nothing extra to obtain. Others give only a one-line summary and point to the document — which is exactly when a filed copy earns its keep.

Availability varies — and that matters

Not every document referred to in a register is actually held. For older titles in particular, an entry may summarise a Victorian conveyance of which no copy was retained; the register entry is then all the information there is. Conversely, many modern titles have transfers and leases readily available on file.

Because of this, treat any filed document as orderable on enquiry rather than guaranteed. The sensible sequence is:

1. Order the title register and read it through.
2. Note the entries that refer to documents, with their dates and parties.
3. Check whether copies of those specific documents are held.
4. Order the ones that are available and that actually answer your question.

Ordering copies

Through our service, filed documents work on enquiry: you tell us the property and which entries or documents you are interested in, we check whether copies are held against the title, and we confirm availability and price with you before any charge is made. If a document is not held, we say so rather than charging you to find out.

You can also apply for copies of filed documents directly from HM Land Registry, which usually costs less. Our fee covers the human work of reading the register, identifying the right documents, checking availability and delivering copies securely, with support if anything is unclear.

Keep it in proportion

Filed documents are most useful when a specific entry affects a decision — a covenant that might block an extension, a right of way whose route is disputed, lease terms you need to read in full. For a general picture of a property, the register and title plan are usually enough on their own.

This article is general information, not legal advice. If the effect of a deed or covenant matters to a transaction or dispute, have a solicitor or licensed conveyancer review the documents.