Guidance

Practice guide 31: discharges of charges

Updated 25 November 2024

Applies to England and Wales

Please note that HM Land Registry’s practice guides are aimed primarily at solicitors and other conveyancers. They often deal with complex matters and use legal terms.

1. Introduction

This guide deals with:

• discharges of registered legal charges
• the release of part of a registered estate in a registered title from a registered charge
• the discharge of charges noted under the Land Registration Act 1925 and Land Registration Act 2002
• the withdrawal of notices of deposit of land and charge certificates
• early completion of applications where no evidence of discharge is lodged
• discharges of sub-charges

Discharges and releases of registered charges must be made in accordance with rules 114 and 115 of the Land Registration Rules 2003. Rule 114 of the Land Registration Rules 2003 stipulates that, subject to rule 115, a discharge of a registered charge must be in form DS1, and that a release of part of the registered estate from a registered charge must be in form DS3. Rule 115 of the Land Registration Rules 2003 permits notification of a discharge or a release of part of a registered charge which has been delivered in electronic form.

Please note that charge certificates have no legal significance under the Land Registration Act 2002. You must not lodge them to register a discharge after 12 October 2003. If you do, we may destroy them together with their contents.

2. Discharges and releases of registered charges

2.1 General: forms DS1 and DS3

Discharges by forms DS1 and DS3 are covered in this part of the guide.

We will not accept any alteration to form DS1 or form DS3 which is not provided for in the Land Registration Rules 2003. In particular, neither form should be altered if money remains outstanding under the charge as a personal debt of the borrower.

Applications made using a form DS1 may take longer to complete owing to the extra checks we make as part of our counter fraud processes and systems.

Applications to discharge a charge should be made by including the ‘discharge of a charge’ transaction in your application, confirming that evidence accompanies the application and uploading form DS1.

Applications to release part of a registered charge should be made by including the ‘discharge of part’ transaction, confirming that evidence accompanies the application and uploading form DS3.

Evidence of identity will be required for the lender unless the lender is a UK bank or building society who sends us the application itself, or it is represented by a conveyancer or the person lodging the application can confirm their identity.

Evidence of identity for an attorney signing a form DS1 or form DS3 on behalf of the lender is not required.

Evidence of identity will also be required for the person lodging the application is not a conveyancer. For more details see practice guide 67: evidence of identity.

2.2 Discharge application accompanies other applications

If application is made to discharge a registered charge that also relates to other applications but without the evidence of discharge, we will reject the application for discharge as being substantially defective under rule 16(3) of the Land Registration Rules 2003 and complete the other applications so far as possible. This is known as ‘early completion’, as it is intended to enable the other applications to be completed at the earliest possible time. When the application is completed we will inform the conveyancer who lodged the application that the application to register the discharge has been rejected and that the entries relating to the charge remain in the register. Under rule 16(3) of the Land Registration Rules 2003 we can reject an application on delivery or cancel it at any time thereafter where it appears to us to be substantially defective. In this practice guide we use the term ‘reject’ for all instances where rule 16(3) applies.

In this situation if any requisitions arise in respect of the other applications we will include a reminder that evidence of discharge of the charge has not been lodged. If the requisitions relating to the other applications are complied with but production of the form DS1 remains outstanding we will complete registration of the other applications and reject the application for discharge. Once the other requisitions have been complied with we will not extend further the period for production of the form DS1.

Following early completion a further application should be made by selecting the ‘discharge of charge’ transaction and uploading form DS1 when the form DS1 becomes available.

When we have applied early completion we will inform the original applicant if a successful application to discharge the charge is made by a different applicant within 6 months of the original application being completed.

When a transfer and or a new charge is to be registered as well as the discharge of an existing charge, lodging the application as soon as possible after completion will ensure the priority of the other applications is protected. Where there is a delay in receiving the discharge it is unsafe to delay lodging the application and rely on lodging a further official search of whole to protect the priority of the other applications. Making a further search does not extend the original priority period; rather a fresh priority period is created. If any competing application is lodged before the second search is made, that application will gain priority.

Note: Early completion does not apply to dealing of part applications.

2.3 An existing restriction in favour of the lender

If applications are made to simultaneously discharge a registered charge and register other dispositions and there is a restriction in the register in favour of the existing lender which prevents registration of those dispositions, we will requisition for either evidence of discharge of the relevant charge or evidence that the terms of the restriction have been met. If the requisition is not complied with, we will cancel under rule 16(2) of the Land Registration Rules 2003 not only the application for discharge but also the applications to register any dispositions caught by the restriction. For instance if applications are made to discharge a registered charge and register a transfer and charge we will cancel the applications to register the transfer and charge as well as the application to discharge the charge. If however the restriction only prevents the registration of a charge, we will complete the registration of the transfer but cancel the application to register the new charge.

2.4 Applications that contain a defect not relating to the discharge

Rather than cancelling the entire application when satisfactory evidence of discharge is lodged, either with the application or while it is pending, but a requisition relating to some other aspect of the application cannot be complied with, we will complete the discharge of the charge. We will also complete so far as possible any accompanying transactions not affected by the requisition. See practice guide 50: requisition and cancellation procedure section 4 Discharge of charges.

2.5 Other methods and forms of discharges and releases

Rule 114(4) of the Land Registration Rules 2003 allows the registrar discretion to accept any other proof of satisfaction of a charge that the registrar may regard as sufficient. In the case of charges secured against unregistered land, we will accept a receipt endorsed on the form of charge itself as proof of discharge.

We will accept discharges in form 53 if dated before 1 October 1998.

2.6 Discharges and releases by companies

Companies registered under the Companies Act 1985, or to which section 718 of that Act applies, may execute either form DS1 or form DS3:

• by affixing the seal in the presence of a director and secretary
• without the use of the company seal, either:
  • by a director and secretary or 2 directors signing the form as a deed, or
  • (for deeds executed on or after 6 April 2008) by a single director signing the form as a deed, provided that the signature is witnessed and attested
• by some other method permitted under the company’s constitution

In the last case, your application to discharge a charge must be accompanied by a certified copy of the company’s constitution and any other necessary evidence of the company’s power to execute the form of discharge by that method but see also Special arrangements: facility letters.

2.7 Discharges and releases by building societies

Building societies may execute the form DS1 or form DS3 as a deed:

• in accordance with section 74(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925
• in some other way permitted by their constitution or rules
• by affixing the seal, which must be countersigned by a person acting under the authority of the society’s board of directors
• by the signature, unaccompanied by the seal, of a person with that authority

The last 2 methods are now laid down in The Building Societies (Prescribed Forms of Receipt) Rules 1997 and, strictly, apply only to endorsed receipts. We will accept form DS1 and form DS3 executed this way as proof of the satisfaction of the charge.

2.8 Discharges and releases by foreign companies

Foreign companies may execute a deed otherwise than under seal, if the deed:

• is signed by a person or persons who, in accordance with the laws of the territory in which the company is incorporated, is or are acting under the authority (express or implied) of that company, and
• is expressed, in whatever form of words, to be executed by that company

We will not question the execution of the form DS1 or form DS3, provided:

• it has been executed as described above, and
• there is satisfactory evidence that the corporate body executing the deed is a foreign company, and of the territory in which it is incorporated. This evidence is not required where the foreign company is already the registered proprietor of a registered charge

Where a foreign company executes a discharge or release under seal by way of authorised signatories, see practice guide 78: overseas companies and limited liability partnerships.

2.9 Discharges and releases by any other corporate body

Other corporate bodies, such as industrial and provident institutions and companies incorporated by royal charter or by statute, or other entities having corporate personality, must either execute in accordance with section 74(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925, or prove that they are entitled to execute in some other way. In the latter case, we will accept the discharge if we are satisfied that the instrument or statute constituting or regulating the affairs of the lender allows it to execute a form DS1 or form DS3 in the manner proposed, see also Special arrangements: facility letters.

2.10 Special arrangements: facility letters

Bodies corporate which intend to execute a significant number of discharges or releases otherwise than in accordance with section 74 of the Law of Property Act 1925 or section 36A of the Companies Act 1985, may ask HM Land Registry Head Office for a special arrangement.

You can contact the Commercial Arrangements Section at HM Land Registry Head Office by emailing [email protected].

Provided we are satisfied that they have power to do as they propose, we will make an arrangement that will obviate the need for the evidence that the discharge or release has been properly executed to accompany every application.

The lender will have to undertake to inform us of any change in the power, or the personnel empowered, to grant discharges or releases in the organisation’s name. A special arrangement of this kind may be set out in either:

• a facility letter
• a customised form DS1 (in the case of discharges of whole) or form DS3 (in the case of releases of part)

Where such arrangements were made before 1 April 1998, your application should be accompanied by a copy of the facility letter with the form DS1 or form DS3. Where an arrangement has been made on or since 1 April 1998, however, you should enter the date of the facility letter in panel 7 of the form DS1 or form DS3. If you need confirmation that a facility letter exists, or that a form DS1 or form DS3 has been executed in accordance with it, you should address your enquiry to the lender.

Similar arrangements may be made for other types of lender.

2.11 Release of part of the land in a registered title from a registered charge

A release of part of the land in a registered title from a registered charge must be in form DS3. The land must be identified on an accompanying plan or by reference to the title plan. Any accompanying plan must be signed by, or on behalf of, the lender. Form DS3 should also be used where part of the land in a registered title, and the whole of the land in (an) other registered title(s), are discharged from a registered charge.

3. Discharges and releases of noted charges

3.1 General

A charge of a registered estate may have been noted under section 49 of the Land Registration Act 1925 or under section 32 of the Land Registration Act 2002. Most noted charges will have been entered in one of three ways:

• following an application by the chargee under section 34(2)(a) of the Land Registration Act 2002 for an agreed notice
• by us on first registration of the registered estate
• under section 49 of the Land Registration Act 1925

A charge may have been noted as a unilateral notice following an application by the chargee under section 34(2)(b) of the Land Registration Act 2002. Separate provisions govern the cancellation of unilateral notices from those governing the cancellation of other notices.

Note: A charge may also be the subject of a caution under section 54 of the Land Registration Act 1925. Rules 222 and 223 of the Land Registration Rules 2003 deal with the withdrawal or cancellation of these cautions.

3.2 Notices other than unilateral notices including charges noted under the Land Registration Act 1925

An application to cancel a notice (other than a unilateral notice) must be made by selecting the ‘cancellation of a notice (other than unilateral)’ transaction and uploading form CN1 accompanied by sufficient evidence that the charge has been discharged as follows.

3.2.1 Discharges of fixed equitable charges

HM Land Registry will accept:

• a form DS1 or form DS3
• an endorsed receipt on the instrument of charge
• a letter addressed to HM Land Registry confirming that the charge has been satisfied, signed by the noted chargee (or an authorised signatory of the noted chargee if it is a body corporate), and including confirmation that there has been no assignment of the benefit of the charge

If an assignment has been made, the normal conveyancing evidence of devolution of title must be lodged

You do not have to upload a copy of the charge itself but (if available) it may be useful as evidence that the applicant is still entitled to the benefit of it.

3.2.2 Discharges of floating charges

HM Land Registry will accept:

• a copy of a declaration of satisfaction in Companies House Form MR04
• a letter from the Registrar of Companies confirming that the charge has been satisfied
• a letter addressed to HM Land Registry confirming that the charge has been satisfied, signed by the noted chargee (or an authorised signatory of the noted chargee if it is a body corporate), and including confirmation that there has been no assignment of the benefit of the charge, or
  • If an assignment has been made, the normal conveyancing evidence of devolution of title must be lodged
• where a subsequent transfer on sale of the land has been lodged for registration, a certificate signed by the conveyancer or secretary of the chargor company that none of the events which would cause the charge to become fixed, occurred before the date of the transfer

3.2.3 Discharges of a sub charge

It appears that the default position is that both the principal chargee and the sub-chargee have power to discharge the principal charge, but the default position is subject to the terms of the sub-charge. As the law in this area is complex and uncertain our preference is to receive a discharge of the principal charge by the principal chargee and a separate discharge of the sub-charge by the sub-chargee in form DS1 or DS3 as the case may be.

3.3 Unilateral notices

An application to cancel the entry of a unilateral notice must be made in:

• form UN2: where the application is for removal by the registered beneficiary under rule 85 of the Land Registration Rules 2003
• form UN4: where the application is for cancellation by the registered proprietor under rule 86 of the Land Registration Rules 2003.

Evidence of discharge is not required in either of these situations.

For more information on how to apply see practice guide 19: notices, restrictions and the protection of third-party interests.

4. Discharge of a mortgage protected by notice of deposit

Instead of registering a mortgage with HM Land Registry and holding a charge certificate, a lender used to be able to hold a borrower’s land or charge certificate as security for the loan. Before April 1995, the lender could apply for an entry to be made in the register giving notice that the certificate had been deposited with them.

Although we no longer register such notices, notice of deposit entries still appear on some registers. Where they do appear, they take effect to give notice of the deposit and to operate as a caution against dealings. This position will remain unchanged notwithstanding the abolition of land and charge certificates under the Land Registration Act 2002.

We will accept the following evidence to cancel a notice of deposit entry.

• An application in form 86 to the Land Registration Rules 1925, provided it is dated before 13 October 2003
• The duplicate part of form 85A, form 85B or form 85C (to the Land Registration Rules 1925), provided it is dated before 13 October 2003
• A withdrawal in form WCT by the lender in whose favour the notice is made
• An application in form CCD by the proprietor of the registered estate or registered charge to which the notice relates, provided it is shown that the notice does not protect a valid interest, or that the interest has come to an end

5. Electronic notifications of discharge (ENDs)

Electronic notifications of discharge were a method of discharge of mortgage that were discontinued on 3 January 2010. Certain lenders had the right to transmit electronic notifications of discharge to HM Land Registry instead of completing form DS1.

As with the paper form of discharge, an electronic notification of discharge does not, of itself, cause the charge to be cancelled. When the electronic notification of discharge was sent, it was held as a message on our computer system until an application in form AP1, form DS2 or form DS2E to discharge the charge was received. Then, provided the rest of that application is in order, we would cancel the entries relating to the charge without a paper form of discharge. Although lenders can no longer transmit electronic notifications of discharge to us, there are still many that await an application to remove the charge entries.

6. Electronic discharges

An electronic discharge is a discharge of a registered charge sent electronically by the lender’s computer system direct to us. For an electronic discharge, the HM Land Registry computer system makes a number of checks and, if everything is in order, cancels the charge entries automatically and, in most cases, immediately on receipt of the discharge. An electronic discharge is different to an e-DS1.

An electronic discharge can only be sent for a discharge of whole.

All electronic discharges will be sent via secure virtual private networks. A number of security features have been incorporated to ensure that only lenders can send electronic discharges to us.

An electronic discharge cancels the charge entries automatically and, in most cases, immediately. An electronic discharge does not require a separate formal paper application to discharge the charge, nor does it need any manual intervention. It is completely automated between various computer systems.

HM Land Registry introduced electronic discharges because a system for automatically discharging registered charges is required for e-Conveyancing. Electronic discharges are now supplemented by the introduction of e-DS1s. Both electronic discharges and e-DS1s currently operate as standalone applications for discharge and both will, in time, form part of an integrated e-conveyancing system.

Electronic discharges will also overcome some of the problems associated with form DS1 and the former electronic notifications of discharge procedure, especially the inherent delays. Lenders who use electronic discharges are introducing new processes that automate and speed up the way they deal with redemptions and enable them to send an electronic discharge more quickly than a DS1 or an END.

6.1 Acceptance criteria of an electronic discharge

There may be a small number of situations when an electronic discharge is rejected. We will inform the lenders immediately if we cannot accept an electronic discharge. They will then investigate the reason why the electronic discharge has been rejected and use an alternative method for discharging the charge.

6.2 When charge entries are cancelled

There may be occasions when we will not be able to cancel the charge entries immediately. For example, there might be an application pending against the title concerned. This would have to be completed first before the charge entries could be cancelled. In this situation, we will accept the electronic discharge but the charge entries will not be cancelled until the prior application has been completed. The lenders will tell you if this situation occurs.

Where the charge entries have been cancelled immediately, the lenders will confirm that the charge has been electronically discharged by HM Land Registry. If the charge entries cannot be cancelled immediately, the lenders will confirm that they have lodged an electronic discharge with us and that we have informed them that we are dealing with the removal of the charge from the register.

6.3 How conveyancers know that the charge entries have been cancelled

The lender will tell you that either:

• the charge has been discharged
• we have confirmed that we have received the electronic discharge but cannot cancel the charge entries immediately

6.4 What you should do if you act for a borrower

The lenders will tell you in their redemption statement that they will discharge the charge by an electronic discharge. You must tell them which charges are being redeemed and pay off the charge(s) in the normal way.

Provided the correct payment is received, and the charge is one which can be discharged by an electronic discharge, the lenders will send an electronic discharge to us. If accepted, the charge entries will be cancelled automatically. The lenders will then write to you to confirm that the charge has been successfully discharged.

If there is another party involved, you will need to agree on a revised form of undertaking to allow for the different method of discharge.

6.5 What you should do if you act for a buyer

You should proceed with the transaction in the same way as you would with any other, except that you will need to allow for the different method of discharge by agreeing on a revised form of undertaking.

You should make the arrangements for completion as you would normally, except for the modified undertaking.

If the redemption is part of a larger transaction you should you should select the ‘directly submitted by the lender’ option when including the discharge transaction within your application. If you lodge the application before an electronic discharge has been lodged we will complete the other applications so far as possible but take no action in respect of the existing charge. If the application form refers to the electronic discharge we will inform you when we complete the application that the charge entries have not been cancelled.

Lodging the application as early as possible in this situation will protect the priority of the other applications. If any requisitions arise in respect of the other applications we will follow the procedure set out in Discharge application accompanies other applications.

6.6 How to check that an electronic discharge has been transmitted

If you have access to the HM Land Registry portal, you can check by using the application enquiry service. Application enquiry is not available from Business Gateway.

If you do not have portal access, you should contact the HM Land Registry Customer Support Centre who will confirm either that:

• the charge entries have been cancelled following receipt of an electronic discharge
• an electronic discharge has been received
• no electronic discharge has been received

7. E-DS1

An e-DS1 is an electronic form of discharge submitted by lenders or their authorised agents through the portal. The e-DS1 acts as both the evidence of discharge and the application to remove the charge from the register.

An e-DS1 can only be lodged for a discharge of whole of the land charged and replaces the END. A separate application is needed for each title the charge is to be discharged from, and also if the lender has more than one charge to discharge.

Unlike an END, an e-DS1 can provide immediate certainty of lodgement of a discharge because real-time validations are in place to assist the user when they are inputting data and, once the lender has submitted the e-DS1, HM Land Registry will issue an electronic acknowledgment to the user.

7.1 Who is able to submit an e-DS1

At this stage, the e-DS1 service is designed for corporate lenders and their agents only. Access to the e-DS1 will be via the portal. Once a user has completed the sign-up process for the portal they will have role-based access, which provides security and negates the need for a lender’s signature. The role-based access will recognise the user and not request any details about their organisation. This ensures that the user can only discharge charges in favour of the organisation they represent.

7.2 How an e-DS1 is submitted

Once the user has accessed the portal they will be presented with a series of steps which leads them through the process for keying the appropriate data for the e-DS1. When completing the e-DS1 the user will receive real-time validation messages as a response to the information supplied and checked by the system. Once the e-DS1 has been fully completed it must be submitted because there is no facility to save the completed e-DS1.

For more information on submitting an e-DS1 see HM Land Registry portal: discharge a charge (e-DS1).

7.3 When the charge entry will be cancelled

Although the charge entry will not be cancelled immediately, in many cases the application will be processed automatically by the system so the register will be updated very quickly, in a matter of seconds. However on some occasions we will not be able to cancel the charge entries automatically, such as when there is a prior pending application against the title concerned. This would have to be completed before the charge entries could be cancelled. The e-DS1 can still be submitted but the charge entries will not be cancelled until the prior application has been completed.

Once the lender has submitted the e-DS1 they will receive an electronic message confirming that we have received their application.

7.4 How conveyancers will know that the charge entries have been cancelled

The lender will be able to tell you either:

• that the charge has been discharged, because they will have been informed of completion of the registration, or
• that we have confirmed that we have received the e-DS1 but the lender has not yet received confirmation of completion of the registration

7.5 What you should do if you act for a borrower

The lender should indicate in their redemption statement that they will discharge the charge using an e-DS1. You must tell them which charges are being redeemed and pay off the charge(s) in the normal way.

Once the lender has received the correct payment, they will arrange for an e-DS1 to be submitted. The lender can opt for a notification to be sent to them on completion of registration.

7.6 What you should do if you act for a buyer

You should proceed with the transaction in the same way as you would with any other, except you will need to allow for the different method of discharge by agreeing on a revised form of undertaking. You may wish to use a similar format to that used for an electronic discharge.

You should make the arrangements for completion as you would normally except for the modified undertaking. If the redemption is part of a larger transaction you should select the ‘directly submitted by the lender’ option when including the discharge transaction within your application. If you lodge the application before an e-DS1 has been lodged we will complete the other applications so far as possible but take no action in respect of the existing charge. If the application form refers to the e-DS1 we will inform you when we complete the application that the charge entries have not been cancelled. Lodging the form AP1 as early as possible in this situation will protect the priority of the other applications. If any requisitions arise in respect of the other applications we will follow the procedure set out in Discharge application accompanies other applications.

7.7 How to check that an e-DS1 has been transmitted

If you have access to the HM Land Registry portal, you can check by using the application enquiry service. Application enquiry is not available from Business Gateway.

If you do not have portal access, you should contact the HM Land Registry Customer Support Centre who will confirm either that:

• the charge entries have been cancelled following receipt of an e-DS1
• an e-DS1 has been received
• no e-DS1 has been received

8. Restrictions

Generally, any restriction entry that specifically relates to the charge you are discharging will be cancelled automatically when the charge is discharged. However, if a restriction in favour of the lender does not specifically refer to the charge being discharged, a separate withdrawal of that restriction must be made in form RX4. If form RX4 is not lodged, the restriction will remain in the register.

For more information on how to apply see practice guide 19: notices, restriction and the protection of third-party interests.

Where a charge is released as to part independent of a transfer of part a note will normally be added to any restriction in favour of the chargee that the restriction does not affect the part released.

9. Fees

No fee is payable for:

• registering a discharge of a registered charge
• withdrawal of a notice of deposit
• cancelling or removing notice of a charge

10. Things to remember

To avoid requisitions being raised before submitting your application to us make sure:

• you have included the correct transaction and uploaded the correct form of discharge for whole/part of the land
• you check all clerical details in deeds and pay particular attention to the charge date, property descriptions, title numbers and full names of the lender
• the form of discharge has been correctly executed and that you have uploaded, where necessary, evidence of constitution of a corporate body
• you have complied with the terms of the facility letter
• for electronic discharges, form END1 is not sent to Land Registry by way of evidence of discharge of a charge or mortgage. Form END1 simply triggers the transmission of the electronic discharge (the END itself) by the lender to us

More information and top tips for avoiding requisitions can be found on HM Land Registry Training Hub.

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