Ireland · Land registration · October 24, 2026
Registry of Deeds vs Land Registry in Ireland, Explained
Ireland has two property registers. How the Registry of Deeds and the Land Registry differ, how to tell which applies, and how each is searched.
Ireland has two separate systems for recording property: the Registry of Deeds and the Land Registry. Both are now run by Tailte Éireann. They work in completely different ways, and any given piece of land is in one or the other, never both. Knowing which one applies tells you where to look, what you'll find and how much you can rely on it.
The short version
| Land Registry | Registry of Deeds | |
|---|---|---|
| What's registered | The title itself | The existence of deeds |
| Main record | A folio with a registry map | A memorial of each deed, indexed by names and lands |
| State guarantee | Yes, the folio is guaranteed by the State | No |
| Share of Ireland | About 90% of land, 85% of titles | The rest |
| How to search | Free map on landdirect.ie; €5 plain folio copy | Usually by a solicitor or law searcher |
The figures for registered land are Tailte Éireann's.
The Registry of Deeds
The Registry of Deeds is the older system, dating from the early 1700s. It doesn't record title as such. It records that a deed exists: a conveyance, mortgage, lease or other document dealing with land. Registering a deed protects its priority: a deed that isn't registered can lose out to a later deed that is.
What the Registry of Deeds does not do:
- It doesn't keep the deeds themselves. The originals stay with the owner (or their bank or solicitor).
- It doesn't tell you what a deed means. To understand the effect, you have to read the documents.
- It doesn't guarantee that anyone owns anything.
So a search of the Registry of Deeds tells you which documents have been registered against a property. Working out who owns it means tracing the chain of title through those documents, which is a job for a solicitor.
The Land Registry
The Land Registry, set up in the 1890s, records title. When land is registered, the original title documents are filed, and a folio is opened. From then on, the folio is the record: you generally don't need to look at the old deeds again.
A folio has three parts: the property (with a reference to the registry map), the owner, and the burdens such as mortgages and rights of way. The title on the folio is guaranteed by the State, which compensates anyone who suffers loss through a Land Registry mistake.
The two are mutually exclusive
A property is either registered or unregistered.
- If it's registered, the Land Registry folio is the record and the Registry of Deeds is irrelevant to it.
- If it's unregistered, the Registry of Deeds system applies.
How unregistered land becomes registered
Since June 2011, registration in the Land Registry has been compulsory after a sale of unregistered land everywhere in Ireland, so each sale moves more land into the Land Registry. Land can also be registered voluntarily. Over time, the Registry of Deeds is becoming a register of historical documents more than current ones.
Much of rural Ireland was registered long ago, when tenant farmers bought out their holdings under the Land Purchase Acts and the land was registered as part of that process. Unregistered land today is more often older urban property that hasn't changed hands for a long time.
How to tell which system applies
- Check the registry map on landdirect.ie. Proceed as a guest and zoom in on the property. If it's inside a registered plot with a folio number, it's registered.
- If there's no plot, the land is probably unregistered (or the plot isn't mapped in the way you expect).
- Ask the seller's solicitor. They'll know whether title is registered and will show you either the folio or the deeds.
Searching each register
Land Registry. Map search on landdirect.ie is free. A plain copy of a folio is €5; a certified copy of a folio or folio with map is €40. Names searches are €5 per name (online for account holders). See our folio number guide.
Registry of Deeds. Searches are usually done by solicitors or professional law searchers, by names of parties and by the lands. The results list registered deeds, which then have to be obtained and read. For historical research, the older Registry of Deeds records are widely used by genealogists.
Why it matters when you buy
- Registered land is simpler and cheaper to deal with: the folio shows the owner and burdens, guaranteed by the State.
- Unregistered land means your solicitor has to examine the chain of deeds, and after you buy, the property will need to be registered in the Land Registry for the first time.
Either way, use a solicitor for a purchase.
Common questions
Is all land in Ireland registered? No. About 90% of land is registered, representing about 85% of titles, according to Tailte Éireann.
Does the Registry of Deeds keep my deeds? No. It records a memorial of each deed. The deeds stay with the owner or their solicitor or bank.
Which is better? Registration of title (the Land Registry) gives a State-guaranteed folio, which is why the law now requires registration after a sale of unregistered land.
Who runs both? Tailte Éireann, since 1 March 2023.
Related guides
- What is a folio number in Ireland?
- landdirect.ie map search as a guest
- Buying land in Ireland from the US
- All Ireland parcel map pages
Sources
- Tailte Éireann: Registry of Deeds FAQs and Land Registry FAQs.
- Citizens Information: property deeds (compulsory registration since June 2011).