To fill out HM Land Registry Form ID1, complete your personal and transaction details in Section A, attend an appointment with a qualified verifier who inspects your original identity documents and completes Section B, and submit the signed form with your main application within three months of the date it was signed. The form is only for individuals acting without a conveyancer; corporate bodies use Form ID2 instead.1HM Land Registry. Verify Identity: Corporate Body (ID2)
When You Need Form ID1
You need a completed Form ID1 if you are a party to one of these transactions and you are not represented by a solicitor, licensed conveyancer, or other authorised legal professional:
- Transfers of land or a mortgage, including transfers appointing or removing a trustee and assents by personal representatives
- Grants of a new registrable lease, whether or not money changes hands
- Registration of a charge against registered or unregistered land on compulsory first registration
- Discharges of a mortgage using paper form DS1, or partial releases using DS3
- Surrenders of a registered lease, including by transfer or by operation of law
- Most voluntary and compulsory first registrations where title deeds have been lost or destroyed, and all other compulsory first registrations
If more than one unrepresented person is a party to the transaction, each person completes a separate Form ID1. The person lodging the application also needs identity evidence if they are not one of the parties themselves.2HM Land Registry. Completing Forms ID1 and ID2
What to Gather Before You Start
Get your documents together before you book a verifier. Turning up with the wrong papers wastes the appointment.
Identity Documents
The verifier must inspect either one document from List A or two from List B (no more than one of each type in List B).
List A (one of):
- A current valid full passport from any country
- A current UK, EU, Isle of Man, or Channel Islands photocard driving licence (not a provisional licence)
- A current Biometric Residence Permit issued by the UK Home Office
List B (two of):
- A credit card (Mastercard, Visa, American Express, or Diners Club) or a debit or multi-function card (Maestro, Mastercard, or Visa) issued in the UK, supported by a postal account statement less than three months old
- A utility bill less than three months old, sent by post rather than electronically
- A council tax bill for the current year
- A council rent book showing rent paid for the last three months
- A mortgage statement for the most recent accounting year
- A current firearm or shotgun certificate
The card statements and utility bills must be paper originals, not printouts of electronic statements. If your bank only sends digital statements, request a postal copy well ahead of your appointment.3HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry Form ID1
Photographs
Bring two identical colour passport-sized photographs taken within the last three months. They must be printed on photographic paper, and your face must be clearly visible with a neutral expression facing the camera. One is attached to the form; the second goes to the verifier at the appointment.3HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry Form ID1
Completing Section A
Download the current version of the form from the GOV.UK page for Form ID1 so you are working from the latest edition.4GOV.UK. Verify Identity: Citizen (ID1) Handwritten entries must be in black ink and block capitals; typing directly into the PDF before printing avoids legibility problems.
Enter your full legal name exactly as it appears on your identity documents, your current residential address, and the details of the transaction (for example, whether you are transferring property, registering a mortgage, or discharging a charge). Attach one of your photographs to the designated panel. Do not sign the form yet. The signature has to be made in front of the verifier.3HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry Form ID1
Getting Section B Completed by a Verifier
You attend an in-person appointment where the verifier inspects your original identity documents, compares them with your appearance and the photograph, signs and dates the back of the photograph, and signs a declaration confirming the photograph is a true likeness. You then sign Section A in their presence, and they complete Section B.3HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry Form ID1
Section B can be completed by any of the following:
- Solicitors
- Licensed conveyancers
- Notaries public
- Barristers
- Chartered Legal Executives
- CILEX conveyancing practitioners
- CLC-regulated licensed probate practitioners
The verifier must be independent. They cannot be a family member or a party to the transaction, and they may charge a fee for the service.3HM Land Registry. HM Land Registry Form ID1
If You Live Outside the UK
Applicants abroad who cannot reach a UK-based conveyancer can have Section B or C completed by a lawyer or notary public qualified to practise in their country of residence. The form should be amended to add the country of qualification, a confirmation that the professional holds it, and the name and address of the regulatory body. A Form ID1 is always required for overseas parties, and the shortcut options on forms AP1, FR1, and DS2 that let a conveyancer confirm they have taken sufficient identity steps do not apply in this situation.2HM Land Registry. Completing Forms ID1 and ID2
Alternatives to an In-Person Appointment
Video Call Verification With Form ID5
A conveyancer can verify your identity over a live video call using Form ID5. You still complete Section A of Form ID1, but leave Section B blank. During the call, the conveyancer examines your identification and takes a colour screenshot of your face, which stands in for the passport-sized photographs. You will need a valid passport, a UK, EU, Isle of Man, or Channel Islands photocard driving licence, and a proof-of-address document no more than three months old. The completed Form ID5, Section A of Form ID1, and the screenshot go in together with your main application, and the same three-month signing deadline applies.5GOV.UK. Practice Guide 67: Evidence of Identity for Conveyancers
Digital Verification via Section C
A conveyancer can also verify identity using the HM Land Registry digital identity standard, which uses biometric and cryptographic technology instead of a face-to-face meeting. In that case, the conveyancer completes Section C rather than Section B.6GOV.UK. Practice Guide 81: Encouraging the Use of Digital Technology in Identity Verification
You need a chipped document containing biometric data: a biometric passport meeting international e-passport specifications, a biometric identity card from an EU or EEA country following the relevant Council Regulation standards, or a UK Biometric Residence Permit. The conveyancer’s identity check provider reads the chip using Near Field Communication, verifies its digital signature, and confirms the signing key belongs to the issuing authority. A photograph or scan of the machine-readable zone alone is not enough. The provider also runs a liveness check to confirm you are a real person and not a photograph or other spoof. Digital verification is not mandatory; traditional methods remain available.6GOV.UK. Practice Guide 81: Encouraging the Use of Digital Technology in Identity Verification
Form ID3 With a Personal Verifier
If you cannot access a professional verifier, Form ID3 lets someone who knows you personally confirm your identity. The conditions are strict:
- Both you and the verifier must hold a current valid full UK, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man passport.
- The verifier must have known you for at least one year.
- The verifier must not be related to you in any way.
- The verifier must not be involved in the same transaction.
Submit copies of the personal details page of your own passport and of the verifier’s passport. If one verifier is confirming identity for more than one person, they must provide a separate copy of their passport page for each individual.7GOV.UK. HM Land Registry Form ID3
Submitting the Form
Send the completed Form ID1 with your main application paperwork, typically an AP1 (application to change the register) or a TR1 (transfer form), depending on the transaction. Both Section A and the verifier’s section (B or C) must be dated and signed no more than three months before the Land Registry receives the application. Verification done too early will trigger a requisition or outright cancellation.2HM Land Registry. Completing Forms ID1 and ID2
Applications go by post to the HM Land Registry office that handles the area where the property is located. Use the GOV.UK “HM Land Registry address for applications” page to find the right office.8HM Land Registry. Office Addresses
Mistakes That Cause Requisitions
When the Land Registry finds a problem, it issues a requisition asking you to fix the deficiency, and it can cancel the application if you do not respond in time.9GOV.UK. Practice Guide 50: Requisition and Cancellation Procedures The most common Form ID1 problems:
- The three-month window between signing and lodgement has passed, meaning verification has to be done again from scratch.
- Only one Form ID1 is submitted when two or more unrepresented parties are involved.
- The verifier leaves fields blank in Section B, particularly their registration number or the identity documents inspected.
- The wrong documents have been used, such as a provisional driving licence in place of a full one, or electronic statements in place of postal ones.
- The person lodging the application has not provided their own identity evidence when they are not one of the transaction parties.
If an application is so defective that a requisition would serve no purpose, the Land Registry may reject or cancel it without raising one.9GOV.UK. Practice Guide 50: Requisition and Cancellation Procedures