Document
Registry of Deeds Search
How to Get a Copy of the Deeds to Your Property
Quick Answer
"Getting the deeds" means different things depending on the property. For registered property, the folio is the ownership record and copies are ordered directly. For unregistered property, the deeds are the record, held physically by the owner's solicitor or lender, with memorial copies in the Registry of Deeds. Order online and we retrieve what exists for your property.
Few phrases cause more confusion in Irish property than “the deeds”. People ring solicitors for deeds that do not exist, and skip records that do. The honest starting point: what counts as the deeds depends on whether your property is registered – and once that is known, getting copies is straightforward. That is the service on this page.
Send what you have - address, townland, or the names of the parties. The deeds search is delivered electronically, with the timeframe confirmed when we scope the search.
Buy Registry of Deeds SearchKey Facts
Coverage
All of Ireland
Delivery
Electronically, timeframe confirmed on scoping
Needed to order
An address or Eircode is normally enough
Registered land
Recorded on a folio, identified by number and county
Unregistered land
Evidenced through the Registry of Deeds instead
Boundaries
General boundaries - mapped approximately, not conclusively
What Is This Document
For registered property – most of Ireland – the folio replaced deeds as the proof of ownership: the “deeds” people expect are the folio, with its title map available, and copies are ordered from the register. For unregistered property, ownership is proven by the physical chain of deeds, usually held by the owner’s solicitor or, historically, their lender, with memorial summaries recorded in the Registry of Deeds. A copy-of-deeds order with us starts by establishing which world your property is in, then retrieves the records that exist.
Which Document Do I Need
Want proof of ownership of a registered house or land? The folio is the document – order the folio search, or the Folio + Map bundle where boundaries matter. Need sealed versions for a formal process? Certified copies. Chasing the pre-registration history, or dealing with an unregistered building? The memorial records in the deeds archive are the target, ordered as a deeds search. Not sure which? Order with the address; the routing is our job.
| Need | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Trace an unregistered title | Registry of Deeds Search | €349.99 |
| Establish whether a property is registered at all | Folio Search, within 24 hours | €32.99 |
| Read a registered burden in full | Instrument Copy | €349.99 |
| Prove a register entry | Certified Folio | €149.99 |
| See the registered extent | Title Map | — |
| The property is registered | Search the folio instead | €32.99 |
What Information Is Included
Registered route: the current folio – owner, description, burdens – with the title map available as a bundle. Unregistered route: copy memorials of the recorded deeds located for the property, with a summary of the chain found. Both delivered by email, with certified versions available where the copies are heading somewhere formal.
What Is Not Included
Copies prove what is recorded – they do not resolve disputes about what should have been recorded, and old memorials are summaries rather than complete deed texts. Where the chain has genuine gaps, your solicitor builds the bridge; our searches supply the materials. And none of it speaks to condition, planning or value.
Why People Order
Because the requests behind “I need the deeds” are real and time-bound: probate papers that want proof of what the deceased owned; a paid-off mortgage and a bank asking where documents should go; a sale where the solicitor asks the vendor for deeds nobody can find; a family trying to establish what exactly was bought in 1963. Each resolves faster once the right record – folio or memorial – is in hand.
Not sure whether the property is registered or unregistered? A folio search settles that within 24 hours.
Order Registry of Deeds SearchReal World Use Cases
Owners After Redemption
A homeowner whose mortgage ended years ago discovers the house is registered and the folio - not a deed box - is the proof. One order settles a question that had been nagging for a decade
Executors
A widow finalising probate orders folios for the house and the field, which is all the “deeds” the process actually needed
Vendors
A solicitor asks for deeds on an unregistered terrace; the memorial search reconstructs what was recorded and keeps the sale moving
Researchers
A grandson traces the purchase of the family shop through the recorded transactions, decades after the paperwork disappeared
Land Registry Context
Ireland has been steadily moving property from the deeds world to the registered world for over a century: sales of unregistered property generally trigger first registration, so the unregistered share shrinks every year and concentrates in older urban buildings and long-held family property. This is why “where are my deeds?” increasingly has a happy answer: for registered property there is no box to lose – the record is the register, and a current copy is always orderable.
Common Mistakes
Assuming a registered property has a bundle of operative deeds somewhere – the folio superseded it. Paying for storage retrieval of old documents when a current folio was what the process needed. Assuming lost deeds for an unregistered property means lost ownership; memorials and other evidence can rebuild the chain. Ordering plain copies for probate when certified were required.
Found the memorial you need? The registered instrument itself is a separate order.
Order Registry of Deeds SearchHow To Order
Order with the property address and what you need the deeds for – sale, probate, curiosity, dispute. We establish registered or unregistered, retrieve the folio or the memorial records accordingly, and deliver copies by email with a plain-language note on what was found.
Turnaround & Delivery
Registered-route copies: delivered within 24 hours. Unregistered deeds searches: 3-7 working days depending on the chain. Certified versions for formal use add production and postage. The order confirmation states the expected time for your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get the deeds to my house in Ireland?
Depends on registration. Registered property: order the folio - that is the current ownership record, with the title map available alongside it. Unregistered: the physical deeds are usually with the owner's solicitor, and recorded memorial copies are ordered from the deeds archive. We establish which applies from your address.
The bank held my deeds - what happens now the mortgage is paid?
If the property is registered, the meaningful record is the folio, which you can order any time. Any physical documents the lender held can be returned to you or your solicitor, but they are history rather than the live proof.
Can I get deeds for a property I do not own?
You can order the public records: the folio for registered property, memorial copies for recorded transactions on unregistered property. Private deed originals held by owners or their solicitors are not public.
What if the deeds are lost?
For registered property, nothing is lost - the register is the record. For unregistered property, recorded memorials plus other evidence can ground a reconstructed title; a deeds search establishes what exists.
Are copies of deeds accepted for probate?
Probate applications involving registered land generally need an up-to-date folio, and certified copies are commonly requested. Where papers are being lodged, ordering the certified version avoids a second round.
How much does a copy of deeds cost?
Folio copies. Deeds searches are, confirmed with scope before work starts - no surprise fees.
What does a Registry of Deeds search actually return?
Memorials - registered summaries of deeds, not the deeds themselves. A memorial records the parties, the date, the nature of the dealing and the lands affected, and is the route to identifying the original deed.
How far back do the deeds records go for property in Ireland?
Memorials have been registered since 1708, so the record can run considerably further back than land registration. Coverage depends on whether the parties chose to register a memorial at the time.
Trace an Unregistered Title
Memorials, priority and chain of title from 1708. Scoped and quoted before work begins.
Order Registry of Deeds SearchProperty Records Team
Last reviewed:
Land Registry Online - Irish property records specialists processing folio, deeds and title searches nationwide
- Irish Land Register folio records
- Registry of Deeds memorial records
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