Document
Registry of Deeds Search
Registry of Deeds Search - Unregistered Irish Property Records
Quick Answer
The Registry of Deeds is Ireland's archive of records for unregistered property, holding memorials of deeds dating back to 1708. Where a property has no folio, its ownership trail lives here. Order a deeds search online and we locate and retrieve the relevant records for you.
Not every Irish property has a folio. A large share of older urban stock – Georgian terraces, city-centre shops, houses that have not changed hands in generations – is unregistered, and its paper trail lives in the Registry of Deeds, an archive of property transactions running back over three centuries. Searching it is a different skill from a folio search, and it is one we do daily.
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
Covers
Ireland
Delivery
Delivered electronically once the search is completed
Format
Electronic
Needed to order
An address or Eircode is normally enough
If unregistered
We tell you, and point you to the record that does apply
What Is This Document
The Registry of Deeds records the existence of deeds affecting unregistered property. What is filed is a memorial – a summary of the deed’s parties, date and property – indexed by names and, in earlier periods, by county and barony. A deeds search locates the memorials relevant to a property or family, establishing the chain of transactions where no folio exists. It is the counterpart system to the Land Register, and older city property in Dublin and Cork is where it matters most.
Which Document Do I Need
If the property has a folio, you want a folio search, not a deeds search. If it has no folio – or you need the pre-registration history behind a modern folio – the deeds search is the route. For family and genealogical research, the names index makes the deeds records uniquely useful: a folio names the current owner, but memorials name every party to every recorded transaction.
| 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
A deeds search returns the memorial records located for your target: parties, dates, property descriptions and transaction types, with copy memorials where required. Depending on the brief, that can mean a single conveyance confirming a transfer, or a chain of memorials tracing a property through decades of hands. We agree the scope before starting so you pay for the search you need.
What Is Not Included
A deeds search establishes the recorded transaction history – it does not by itself prove current ownership the way a folio does, and it says nothing about planning, condition or value. For unregistered property, the search result is the raw material your solicitor builds title from, not the finished article.
Why People Order
Because unregistered title is proven by its chain of deeds, and gaps in the chain surface at the worst moment – mid-sale, mid-probate, mid-dispute. A deeds search fills the gaps on the record side: it confirms what was recorded, when, and between whom. Solicitors order these to reconstruct title; families order them to understand what a deceased relative actually held; researchers order them because no other archive reaches as far back with names attached.
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
Solicitors
Reconstructing the title of an unregistered terrace last conveyed decades ago, with copy memorials delivered to the brief and the gaps identified rather than glossed
Executors
Establishing that a city shop was held under a long lease rather than freehold - a distinction that changes the estate entirely
Families
Confirming the transfer that explains why two branches both believe they own the same holding
Researchers
Tracing a family through property transactions across generations, using indexes that name parties no other archive records
Buyers of Unregistered Property
Knowing the recorded chain before contracts rather than discovering its weaknesses during requisitions
Land Registry Context
The deeds records and the Land Register are complementary: as unregistered properties are sold, they must generally be registered, and the deeds trail becomes the foundation for the new folio. Dublin has the highest concentration of remaining unregistered stock, followed by the other cities; rural Ireland is almost entirely registered. If you are unsure which system holds your property, the address is enough for us to establish it before any search is run.
Common Mistakes
Assuming no folio means no records at all. Searching only the modern indexes when the transaction you need predates them. Expecting a memorial to be the full deed – it is a summary, and the original deed may be with the owner’s solicitor or lost. Treating the absence of a memorial as proof no transaction happened; registration of deeds was strong practice, not universal.
Found the memorial you need? The registered instrument itself is a separate order.
Order Registry of Deeds SearchHow To Order
Tell us the property address and what you are trying to establish – current chain, a specific transaction, or family holdings. Standard deeds searches are quoted before work begins; complex briefs are quoted before work begins. We run the index and memorial searches, and deliver the located records with a summary of what was found and what it means for your next step.
Turnaround & Delivery
Deeds searches are archival work and take longer than folio searches: allow 3-7 working days depending on scope. Complex chains and genealogical briefs are quoted individually. We flag findings as we go on longer searches rather than making you wait for the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Registry of Deeds in Ireland?
It is the national archive recording deeds affecting unregistered property, holding memorials - summaries of deeds - dating back to 1708. Where a property has no folio, its transaction history lives here.
How do I search the Registry of Deeds?
Order online with the property address and the question you need answered. Searches run through names and location indexes to locate the relevant memorials - archival work we carry out for you.
What is a memorial of a deed?
A filed summary of a deed: its parties, date, nature and the property affected. It proves the deed was recorded and captures its essentials, though it is not the full deed text.
Is my property in the Land Register or the Registry of Deeds?
If it has a folio, the Land Register. If not, its records are in the Registry of Deeds. City-centre and older urban property is most likely to be unregistered - we confirm which applies from the address.
Can I use deeds records for family history research?
Yes - the names indexes make the archive one of the richest genealogical property sources in Ireland, naming every party to every recorded transaction across three centuries.
How long does a deeds search take?
Typically 3-7 working days depending on scope. The standard search is; extended chain reconstructions and genealogical briefs take longer and are quoted before work begins.
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
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