Document
Officially certified copy of the registered title plan
Quick Answer
A Certified Map is an officially certified copy of the registered title plan, supplied together with the Certified Folio. For a Galway City property it is what is required wherever a registered extent has to be proved rather than simply seen. It answers what the register maps; it does not settle a boundary argument, which turns on the instruments and the evidence on the ground.
Every folio carries a plan reference, and the parcel identified by that reference is the ground the folio describes in words. The Certified Map is that plan, certified as a true copy of the register – the version required for Galway City planning applications, transfers of part and formal applications.
Supply the Galway City 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 Galway
Faster option
Folio Search delivered electronically within 24 hours
The title plan shows the extent of registered land as the register maps it. A Certified Map is that plan reproduced and certified under seal as a true copy at a stated date, which is what allows a planning authority, a lender or a court to act on it without verifying it themselves.
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.
On Galway City property the practical question is usually what the plan covers rather than where exactly the line falls. The medieval core retains older stock while suburbs and apartments are fully registered, so establishing which registered parcel a plan relates to – and whether the holding runs to more than one – is frequently the substantive part of the work.
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 a Galway City 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 Galway City 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 Galway City 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 a Galway City 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 Galway City property are ordered in a fairly narrow set of situations, and it is worth knowing which one you are in before ordering.
Apartment titles map the block rather than the unit interior. The certified plan is ordered to establish the registered extent of the scheme and any mapped areas that go with the unit, such as a designated space.
Need something faster while this is in the post? The Galway City Folio Search is delivered electronically within 24 hours.
Order Certified MapThese are the parties who most often need the certified plan for a Galway City property:
Galway City is a compact city at the mouth of the Corrib, with a medieval core between the river and the bay, and that shapes what the registered mapping looks like. The market is built on a university and technology city with the largest student rental market in the west, and that shows in the volume of extent enquiries.
Anyone reading a Galway City plan tends to meet the same two points – Corrib river and weir land, with water, fishing and drainage rights registered, and multi-unit student conversions, where registered use and consent history are frequently in question.
The practical consequence for mapping is that a Galway City plan often needs reading rather than glancing at. The medieval core retains older stock while suburbs and apartments are fully registered, so the first question is usually which registered parcel the plan relates to and whether the holding runs to more than one.
One order, two certified documents: the Galway City title plan and the certified register entry.
Order Certified MapDelivery is by post within 15 working days, and the Certified Folio is supplied alongside the map as one order. Because certification is applied to a physical document under seal, there is no electronic alternative – a scan of a certified map is simply a scan, and formal readers treat it as such.
Two things are worth doing if time is short. Order early, because 15 working days is roughly three calendar weeks. And order a Folio Search at the same time: it arrives electronically within 24 hours and answers ownership and burdens straight away.
Fast track delivery is available at an additional charge.
The certified title plan for a Galway City property, supplied with the Certified Folio as one order and posted within 15 working days. Fast track delivery available.
Order Certified MapProperty Records Team
Last reviewed:
Land Registry Online - Irish property records specialists processing folio, deeds and title searches nationwide