How to Complete Form AS1: Panels, Fees, and Processing Times

To complete Form AS1, a personal representative fills in the title number, property address, date, and beneficiary details, chooses a title guarantee, sets out how joint beneficiaries will hold the property, and signs in front of an independent witness. The form is then lodged with HM Land Registry alongside Form AP1, the grant of probate or letters of administration, identity evidence if you are acting without a conveyancer, and the correct fee. Everything on the form must match the register and the grant exactly, because mismatches are the main reason these applications stall.

When Form AS1 Is the Right Form

Form AS1 is for one situation: a personal representative assenting the whole of a registered title to a beneficiary for no money.¹ The property is already on HM Land Registry’s records, you are transferring all of it, and the beneficiary is inheriting rather than buying.

If only part of the title passes to the beneficiary, use Form AS3. If the property is being sold to a third party, use Form TR1. If the land has never been registered, the assent forms part of a first registration using Form FR1 rather than Form AP1. And before you can sign an AS1 at all, you need a Grant of Probate (if there was a will) or Letters of Administration (if there was not). HM Land Registry will not process the application without it.

What to Gather Before You Start

Have these to hand before opening the form:

The title number, from the top of any official copy of the register, or from HM Land Registry’s online search.
The full postal address of the property, including postcode, or a description such as “land adjoining 2 Acacia Avenue” if there is no postal address.²
The original or an official sealed copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. A conveyancer acting for you can certify that they hold it; a lay applicant needs the document.¹
The full names of every personal representative, exactly as shown on the grant.
Full names and service addresses for each beneficiary. Up to three addresses per beneficiary are allowed, and at least one must be a postal address in the UK or abroad.³
An independent witness available to watch each signature.

The form is available as a PDF or Word file from GOV.UK.¹ Anything handwritten should be in black ink and block capitals.

Working Through the Panels

Panels 1 and 2: Title Number and Property

Panel 1 takes the title number. If this is a first registration of previously unregistered land, leave it blank. Panel 2 is for the property address or description. Copy it exactly as it appears on the official copy of the register. A stray difference here is one of the most common reasons HM Land Registry raises a requisition.⁴

Panels 3 and 4: Date and Transferee

Panel 3 is the date of the assent. Panel 4 is for the beneficiary, called the “transferee”: full name and at least one postal service address. If more than one beneficiary is being registered, enter all their names and addresses here.

Panel 5: Title Guarantee

You choose between full title guarantee, limited title guarantee, or no title guarantee. Most personal representatives give a limited title guarantee, which is the safer choice when you are dealing with someone else’s property; the narrower promise is only that you personally have not created new charges or burdens during your handling of the estate. A full title guarantee carries a wider set of implied promises and suits a representative with thorough knowledge of the property’s history.⁵

Panels 6 and 7: Additional Provisions and Restrictive Covenants

These are for extra terms or new restrictive covenants. In a straightforward inheritance you leave them blank.

Panel 8: The Assent

Panel 8 carries the operative words: “The personal representative transfers the property to the transferee.” There is no field for a purchase price. The form assumes no money changes hands, because the transfer is a gift under the will or the intestacy rules.³

Panel 9: Signing and Witnessing

Every personal representative named in the grant must sign. Each signature needs an independent witness who watches the signing and then adds their own signature, printed name, and address.⁶ The witness cannot be a party to the transaction, so not the beneficiary and not another personal representative. Make sure every date and signature is legible; unreadable handwriting is another common trigger for requisitions.

Panel 10: How Joint Beneficiaries Hold the Property

If two or more beneficiaries are taking the property, Panel 10 asks how they will hold it. There are three options:³

Joint tenants: the beneficiaries own together without defined shares, and if one dies their interest passes automatically to the survivor, whatever their will says.
Tenants in common in equal shares: each owns a distinct equal share that they can leave by will.
Another arrangement, such as unequal shares or a trust, with the details set out.

Get this panel right. Unless the joint tenants box is ticked, or the third box is used with wording that shows a joint tenancy, HM Land Registry will enter a Form A restriction on the register. That restriction means a sole surviving owner cannot sell or mortgage the property without appointing a second trustee, which can slow future transactions.⁶

Identity Verification for Lay Applicants

If you are applying without a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, HM Land Registry needs proof of your identity. Which form you use depends on who verifies you:

Form ID1, used when a conveyancer verifies your identity. It must be signed and dated no more than three months before you lodge the application.⁷
Form ID3, used when a non-conveyancer verifies you. Both you and the person vouching for you must hold a current full UK passport, you must have known each other for at least a year, and you cannot be related or involved in the same transaction.⁸

There is one exception: no identity form is required if the property is worth £6,000 or less.⁷ Without the required evidence, HM Land Registry will cancel the application.

What to Send and Where

Form AS1 does not travel alone. You also need Form AP1 to apply to change the register, or Form FR1 for a first registration.⁶ The full package is:

The signed Form AS1.
Completed Form AP1 (or FR1).
The original or an official copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
Identity verification (Form ID1 or ID3) where required.
The correct fee.

No covering letter is needed. Send the package to:

HM Land Registry
Citizen Centre
PO Box 7806
Bilston
WV1 9QR⁹

Fees

Because no money passes for an assent, fees are calculated under Scale 2 on the property’s value minus any mortgage that will remain on the title.¹⁰ The postal fees are:

Up to £100,000: £45.
£100,001 to £200,000: £70.
£200,001 to £500,000: £100.
£500,001 to £1,000,000: £145.
Over £1,000,000: £305.

Pay by cheque or postal order made payable to “HM Land Registry.”

Processing Times

Do not expect a fast decision. As of early 2026, around 36% of applications to update existing titles are processed within a day, but roughly 39% take longer than three months. HM Land Registry estimates that over half of title-update applications take about 17 weeks, with some running to 11 months.¹¹

If anything is wrong or missing, HM Land Registry sends a requisition asking for clarification. Requisitions add weeks or months. Getting the details right first time is worth the care.

Mistakes That Cause Delays

HM Land Registry has flagged the errors it sees most often:⁴

Name mismatches. Names on the AS1 must match both the register and the grant exactly. A middle name on one document but not the other is enough to trigger a requisition.
Undated signatures. Every signature needs a clear, legible date beside it.
Missing pages. If you print the form, check every page is in the envelope.
Incomplete addresses. Postcodes are easy to forget on the beneficiary’s service addresses.
Illegible handwriting. If any part of the form is handwritten, it must be readable. Block capitals in black ink, as the form instructs.

The simplest way to avoid most of these is to type the form using the Word version and cross-check every name against both the register and the grant of probate before anyone signs.

1
HM Land Registry. Whole of Registered Title: Assent (AS1)
2
HM Land Registry. AS1 – Assent of Whole of Registered Title(s) by Personal Representative(s)
3
HM Land Registry. Land Registry Form AS1
4
HM Land Registry. Avoiding the Simple Errors That Cause Delays
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GOV.UK. Practice Guide 48: Implied Covenants
6
HM Land Registry. Guidance: How to Complete Form AS1
7
GOV.UK. Practice Guide 67: Evidence of Identity
8
GOV.UK. Certificate of Identity for a Private Individual (ID3)
9
HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry Address for Applications
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HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry Registration Services Fees
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HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry: Processing Times