Document
Registry of Deeds Search
Title Deeds in Ireland - What They Are and What You Actually Need
Quick Answer
Title deeds are the documents proving ownership of property. In Ireland, registered property - the majority - is proven by the folio rather than deed bundles, while unregistered property still relies on its chain of deeds. Understanding which applies to your property tells you what documents you actually need - and both can be ordered here.
Ask three people where their title deeds are and you will get a solicitor’s office, a bank vault and a shrug. All three answers can be right – and for most Irish property, the real answer is better: the title is registered, and the proof is a live register entry you can order a copy of this morning. This page untangles what “title deeds” means in Ireland today, and gets you the documents that actually prove your ownership.
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
“Title deeds” covers the documents establishing ownership: conveyances, transfers, leases, mortgages and the rest. Ireland runs two systems in parallel. Registered title: ownership recorded on a folio, which is conclusive – the historic deeds became background the moment registration happened. Unregistered title: ownership proven by the deeds themselves, as an unbroken chain, with memorial summaries recorded in the deeds archive. Which system your property is in determines what your “title deeds” actually are.
Which Document Do I Need
Registered property: your title documents are the folio – with its title map – order current copies, certified if they are heading into a formal process. Unregistered property: the operative deeds matter, and copies of recorded memorials support or reconstruct the chain. Buying? Your solicitor will want the folio or the chain, depending. Inheriting? Probate generally needs up-to-date folios, with certified copies commonly requested. In every case, the address is enough for us to establish the route.
| 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: current folio – owner, class of title, burdens – plain or certified, with the title map available as a bundle. Unregistered route: located memorial copies with a chain summary. Where a property straddles both worlds – a registered farm with an unregistered cottage, a folio grounded on old deeds – the search covers both sides and says so plainly.
What Is Not Included
Title documents prove ownership as recorded – they do not settle boundary lines on the ground, planning compliance, or informal family arrangements that never reached the record. Where documents raise questions rather than answer them, that is solicitor territory; our role is putting the authoritative copies in your hands quickly.
Why People Order
Because title questions arrive attached to deadlines: a sale agreed, a probate deadline, a bank asking for security documents, a boundary letter from a neighbour’s solicitor. The person who knows what their title documents are – and has current copies – moves through all of these faster and cheaper than the person hunting for a deed box that stopped mattering in 1987.
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
Sellers
A couple’s “missing deeds” panic ends in ten minutes - the house is registered and the folio prints fresh. Title documents ready before going to market is the single best time-saver in an Irish sale
Buyers
Knowing whether the property is registered, and what proves its title, before your solicitor has to ask the vendor - which is where unregistered surprises usually emerge
Executors
Certified folios assembled for probate in a week rather than a month of searching for documents that were never the operative record
Farmers and Landowners
Confirming which fields are registered, and under what class of title, before signing a lease or planning succession
Land Registry Context
The drift from deeds to register has been running for generations: unregistered sales generally trigger first registration, so each decade the deeds world shrinks toward the older urban cores while the registered world grows. The practical consequence: most people’s title documents are simpler than they fear, and the fastest way to certainty is not the attic – it is a search that establishes registration status and returns the operative record.
Common Mistakes
Hunting physical deeds for a registered property. Assuming the bank “has the deeds” when the meaningful record is the register. Treating a decades-old folio copy as current title. Ignoring memorial records for unregistered property because the originals are missing. Sending plain copies where the process required certified.
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 your situation – sale, probate, refinancing, general certainty. We establish registration status, retrieve the folio and map or the memorial records, and deliver copies by email with certified versions posted where selected.
Turnaround & Delivery
Registered-route documents: delivered within 24 hours. Unregistered chains: 3-7 working days by scope. Certified copies are posted within 15 working days and add production and postage. Deadlines noted at checkout are prioritised.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are title deeds in Ireland?
The documents proving property ownership. For registered property - most of Ireland - the folio is conclusive as to what it records and effectively replaces the deed bundle. For unregistered property, the chain of deeds itself, supported by recorded memorials, proves title.
Who holds the title deeds to my house?
If registered: the live record is the register - order a folio copy any time; any old deeds are background. If unregistered: usually the owner's solicitor holds the operative deeds, or historically a lender did.
Are the folio and title deeds the same thing?
For registered property the folio does the job title deeds used to do, and is what solicitors, banks and courts rely on. The phrase "title deeds" survives; the folio is what answers it.
How do I prove I own my house in Ireland?
Order a current folio if registered - it names the registered owner. If unregistered, the deeds chain proves it, and a memorial search establishes what is recorded.
What happens to deeds when a property is first registered?
They ground the registration and then become historical: the folio takes over as the operative record. Keeping old deeds is worthwhile for history and occasional boundary context, not for proving current title.
Do I need title deeds to sell my house?
You need to prove title: a current folio for registered property, or the deeds chain for unregistered. Establishing which - and having the documents ready before going to market - is the single best time-saver in an Irish sale.
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.
Search the Deeds Record
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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