Document
Officially certified copy of the registered title plan
Quick Answer
For an Athlone property, a Certified Map is the sealed copy of the registered title plan - the parcel outlined, identified by its plan reference and certified as a true copy, supplied with the Certified Folio as one order. Planning applications, transfers of part and court matters routinely require certified mapping, and a printed copy will not do.
There is a difference between seeing the registered extent of an Athlone property and proving it. An ordinary map answers the first. The Certified Map answers the second, because the seal permits reliance by a reader who cannot verify the copy themselves.
Supply the Athlone address or folio number. The certified title plan and the Certified Folio are issued together under seal and posted to you within 15 working days.
Buy Certified MapDocument
Officially certified copy of the registered title plan
Supplied with
The Certified Folio - certified register entry included in the same order
Shows
The registered extent of the property, identified by plan reference
Delivery
By post within 15 working days
Format
Sealed physical document - no electronic version
Needed for
Planning applications, transfers of part, lending and court use
Boundaries
General boundaries - approximate, not conclusive
County register
County Westmeath
Faster option
Folio Search delivered electronically within 24 hours
Registered land is described twice: in words on the folio, and graphically on the title plan. The Certified Map is the certified copy of that plan, issued under seal, showing the registered parcel outlined and identified by its reference.
The certificate speaks to one thing, and it is worth being precise about what. It states that this is a true copy of the registered map as at the date of issue – nothing more and nothing less. That is what allows a reader who did not obtain the document to act on it.
That distinction matters more than usual on Athlone ground, where the local complication is Shannon callows and flood-liable riverside land, seasonally inundated and affecting insurance. A line drawn against water records where that water reached when the survey was made, and where the feature has since moved, the plan and the ground describe different lines. No ordinary dealing corrects the plan for it.
A Certified Map is the document a planning authority, a solicitor, a lender or a court office will expect when a registered extent has to be proved, and for that purpose it does the job completely. What it does not do is settle an argument about precisely where a boundary lies, which is resolved through the registered instruments, the physical evidence and, where it comes to it, the courts.
One caution matters more than every other point on this page. It does not make the mapped line conclusive. Registration in Ireland operates on general boundaries: the line shows approximately where the division between two properties runs, and certifying the copy does not change that.
So a certified plan proves what the register maps, and stops there. It does not prove where an Athlone boundary legally falls. If your question is whether the wall is yours, whether the fence line moved, or how wide a right of access actually is, the plan will not answer it – and a certified plan will not answer it any better than an ordinary one, because certification speaks to the copy rather than the content.
Those questions run on the registered instruments, physical evidence, and where necessary agreement or a court. Conclusive boundary fixing exists as a separate process, but it demands precise mapping and the participation of the parties affected, and it is uncommon. In practice, general boundaries is the rule you are working under.
Start with what has been asked of you, because the wording usually gives it away. “Certified copy of the map”, “certified site extent” and “certified copy of the folio” all point to this order – the certified plan and the certified register entry are supplied together, so a request for either is covered. “Who owns it” and “what is registered against it” are folio search questions, answered electronically within 24 hours and at a fraction of the wait. Where nothing formal is being submitted and you simply want to see the shape of the Athlone parcel, the ordinary title map is enough.
| Need | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| You need certified evidence of the extent for a planning or formal application | Certified Map | €149.99 |
| You want to know who owns it and what burdens are registered | Folio Search, within 24 hours | €32.99 |
| You need the register entry itself in certified form | Included - the Certified Folio comes with this order | €149.99 |
| You need the wording of a burden or a past transfer | Instrument Copy | €349.99 |
| You just want to see the extent for your own information | Ordinary title map | — |
| No folio exists for the Athlone address | The title is unregistered - start with a folio search | €32.99 |
There are three situations where the certified plan will disappoint you, and it is better to know them in advance.
The first is a boundary argument. The plan shows the registered position, and that is useful, but general boundaries means it is evidence rather than proof. Where an Athlone boundary is genuinely in dispute, the answer comes from the registered instruments, the physical evidence on the ground, agreement between the parties, or the courts.
The second is the terms of a registered right. The plan shows where a right runs; it does not say what it permits. The certified folio supplied with it names the burden, but the wording lives in the registered instrument, which is a separate order.
The third is unregistered property. Where no folio has ever issued, there is no title plan to certify. A folio search against the address establishes which system the title sits in, within 24 hours.
Certified plans for Athlone property are ordered in a fairly narrow set of situations, and it is worth knowing which one you are in before ordering.
River-bounded parcels need the certified plan wherever the watercourse forms the mapped division. Channels migrate over decades and the plan is not corrected for it, so the certified copy is evidence of the registered position rather than the present physical one.
Boundary queries are the most common single reason for ordering. The certified plan shows what the register maps and, just as importantly, establishes that the line is general – which is often the answer to the query itself.
Checking ownership first? The Athlone Folio Search shows who is registered and what affects the title, within 24 hours.
Order Certified MapThese are the parties who most often need the certified plan for an Athlone property:
Geographically, Athlone is a Shannon crossing town at the centre of the country, spanning two counties across the river. Underpinning it is a midlands hub with a large third-level presence and national road and rail connections, which accounts for most requests for the certified plan.
Two local features come up repeatedly on extent questions. The first is Shannon callows and flood-liable riverside land, seasonally inundated and affecting insurance. The second is the county boundary running through the town, so folios carry Westmeath or Roscommon references.
The practical consequence for mapping is that an Athlone plan often needs reading rather than glancing at. Property on either bank registers in different counties, which the address alone does not reveal, so the first question is usually which registered parcel the plan relates to and whether the holding runs to more than one.
Working to a deadline? Fast track delivery is available at an additional charge.
Order Certified MapCertified Map: delivered by post within 15 working days, together with the Certified Folio, which is supplied as part of the same order. Both are sealed physical documents, so there is no electronic equivalent – the certification is what gives them standing and that has to travel on paper.
Where you need the information before the certified pack arrives, order a Folio Search alongside it. That comes back electronically within 24 hours and answers the ownership and burdens questions while the certified documents are still in the post.
Fast track delivery is available at an additional charge where the timeline is tight.
The certified title plan for an Athlone property, supplied with the Certified Folio as one order and posted within 15 working days. Fast track delivery available.
Order Certified MapProperty Records Team
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Land Registry Online - Irish property records specialists processing folio, deeds and title searches nationwide