What land and property registers record across jurisdictions
A land and property register records who holds a legal interest in an identified parcel, what charges sit against it, and how that interest was created. Across jurisdictions the record is called a cadastre, a land register, a title register or a mortgage register, and it is frequently split between separate authorities for ownership and for charges.
What this register family establishes
A land and property register exists to identify a parcel, name the party who holds a registered interest in it, and record any charge attached to that interest. The identified parcel is the fixed point: everything else in the record is written against it, not against a person. Where the register works from a cadastral survey, the parcel carries a numeric reference that does not change even when ownership does. Where it works from deeds, the parcel is described by boundary and history, and the description can shift slightly with each transfer. Where the extract is needed before a stated closing date, its issue date matters as much as its content, since a search run afterwards proves only the position on that later day.
The interest recorded is rarely limited to bare ownership. Most registers also carry mortgages, easements, rights of way, leases above a stated term, and restrictions placed by a court or a public authority. A single parcel can therefore carry several entries layered on top of each other, each with its own date and its own priority against the others. The register's task is to state that priority, not to interpret what it means for a buyer or a lender.
The family is called by different names depending on the tradition it sits in. A jurisdiction built on the Torrens principle calls it a title register and treats the register entry itself as the source of ownership. A jurisdiction built on a deeds tradition calls it a land register or a real property register and treats the register as evidence of a chain of transfers rather than as the title itself. A cadastre, strictly, is the survey and valuation layer – the map and the parcel numbers – and in some jurisdictions it is combined with the ownership layer under one authority, and in others it is kept apart. This distinction between record scope and record authority governs what a single extract will and will not carry.
What stays constant across the family is the object, not the label. Every version of the record ties an identified parcel to a stated interest and a stated date. A public register, an extract certified for use abroad, and an internal working copy held by a notary all draw on the same underlying entry, though they are formatted for different readers.
How the same record varies between jurisdictions
The clearest variation is the split between the body that surveys the land and the body that registers the interest. In some jurisdictions a single land registry keeps both functions, so one extract states the parcel, the owner and any charge. In others, a cadastral office maps and numbers the parcel, while a separate land or mortgage registry records who holds it and what is charged against it. Where the two are split, a request addressed to the wrong body returns nothing useful, not an error – it simply returns whatever that body holds, which is only half the picture.
The search key varies with the split. Where the key is a cadastral number, a search by name returns nothing; the applicant must already know the parcel reference or obtain it from a separate address-to-parcel index. Where the key is the owner's name or company number, a search by parcel reference alone can miss recent transfers not yet cross-indexed. A jurisdiction that indexes by both is the exception, not the rule.
Charges follow a further pattern of their own. Some jurisdictions record a mortgage on the same page as the ownership entry. Others keep a distinct mortgage or charges register, held by a different authority again, so an extract confirming ownership says nothing about whether the parcel is encumbered. A reader who needs both facts must usually order from both sources, under their separate names and separate procedures.
Historical depth differs as well. A title register typically shows only the current state plus a limited history of recent transfers. A deeds register can show a chain running back decades, because each transfer is registered as a new deed rather than as an update to a single title. Neither approach is more complete than the other; each simply answers a different question about the same parcel.
Where the record is incomplete or closed
Not every parcel has a registered entry. Customary and communal land tenure, informal occupation, and long-unregistered rural holdings sit outside the formal register in a considerable number of jurisdictions, and no extract exists to order for them. The absence of an entry is not proof that no one holds the land; it is proof only that the interest has not been registered under the current system.
Access to the register itself is a separate question from its existence. Some jurisdictions publish land register entries to any applicant. Others restrict access to the registered owner, a party with a demonstrated interest, or a licensed local intermediary, and a foreign applicant with no local connection meets that restriction directly. Where access is restricted, the record's existence is confirmed even though the extract cannot be obtained through an open request.
A land or title extract, where it can be obtained, does not show a valuation, does not show planning permission or zoning status, and does not show whether a building on the parcel was constructed lawfully. Those facts sit in separate municipal or planning records, held by yet another authority, and a land register extract cannot be read as covering them.
Where ownership and charges are split between authorities, an extract from one side does not confirm the absence of an entry on the other. A clean ownership extract is not evidence that the parcel is unencumbered; it is evidence only that the ownership register shows no restriction, which is a narrower claim.
Which documents this family produces
The certified extract is the base document across the family: a single-page or short statement naming the parcel, the current holder and any registered charge, issued with a register stamp or an equivalent electronic seal. Where the register works from a title system, the same request can produce a title certificate, which restates the current entry rather than a history.
Where charges are held separately, a charge certificate or mortgage extract is ordered on its own, confirming what is registered against the parcel without restating who owns it. A historical extract, where the register supports one, adds prior entries and prior holders, useful where a chain of title needs to be shown rather than only the current state.
A cadastral extract, where the survey layer is kept apart from the ownership layer, adds the map sheet and the parcel's measured boundaries without confirming ownership at all. Ordering the correct document from this family starts with deciding which of these four questions is actually being asked, since a single extract answers one of them, not all.
What does a land and property register contain?
It contains an identified parcel, the party currently holding a registered interest in it, and any charge or restriction entered against that interest. Depending on the jurisdiction it may add a short history of prior transfers. It does not add a market value or a description of what stands on the parcel beyond what the registration itself states.
Is the land and property register public everywhere?
No. Public access is the norm in some jurisdictions and the exception in others, where only the registered owner or a party with a demonstrated interest may request an extract. A foreign applicant with no local standing meets the restricted version of this rule more often than a domestic one does.
What does a land and property register never show?
It does not show a market valuation, planning or zoning status, or whether construction on the parcel was carried out lawfully. Where ownership and charges are split between separate authorities, an extract from one side does not confirm what the other side holds. Those facts sit in different records entirely.
How is a land and property register different from a cadastre?
Strictly, a cadastre is the survey and parcel-numbering layer – the map and the reference numbers – while the land register is the ownership and charges layer. Some authorities combine both under one roof and issue a single extract; others keep them apart, so a cadastral extract and a land register extract answer different questions about the same parcel.
Can a foreign applicant order a certified extract from a land and property register?
In many jurisdictions, yes, provided the parcel reference or the owner's name is known and the register in question is open to public requests. Where access is restricted to a local intermediary or a demonstrated interest, the request has to be routed through a licensed registered agent in the jurisdiction rather than filed directly.
What is the difference between a title register and a deeds register?
A title register treats the current entry as the source of ownership and shows little transfer history. A deeds register treats each transfer as a separate registered document and can show a chain running back years or decades. Neither is more authoritative than the other; each is built on a different legal principle.
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REGISTRUM obtains and delivers official records issued by public registers and licensed registered agents. This page describes what those records contain and how they are obtained. It is not advice on the legal effect of any record. To order, write to info@registrumfirm.com.