Land titles and real-property records, by jurisdiction.
A curated guide to authoritative real-property registers, county recorders, and personal-property security registers across major commercial-law jurisdictions.
How property records work
Real-property records are highly jurisdictional. There is no global land registry. Each country (and within many countries, each state or province) operates its own system. A few generalisations help orient research:
- Title-based systems (Torrens registration — Australia, New Zealand, much of Canada, Singapore, Malaysia) maintain a state-guaranteed register of indefeasible title. The register is the title.
- Deed-based systems (most of the United States, common in older Commonwealth jurisdictions) record successive transactions; title must be established by tracing the chain of recorded deeds.
- Mixed systems (England and Wales since 1925, Scotland since 1979) combine registered and unregistered land with progressive conversion.
- Personal property securities (movable collateral, secured-interests) sit in separate registers — for example, the Australian PPSR, the US Article 9 / UCC state filings, and the UK Companies House charges register.
Cost and accessibility vary widely. Some registers are free to search but charge for certified copies; others charge per search.
Australia
State and Territory land titles offices
Type: Torrens title registers · Maintained by: Each Australian State or Territory titles office.
Cost / access: Per-search fee. Online accounts required for most products.
Useful for: Real-property title searches, registered interests, mortgages, easements, caveats, and ownership history. Australia uses the Torrens system; the register is the title.
Limitations: Each State or Territory maintains its own register; there is no national Australian land register.
- Queensland — Titles Queensland (see also the Queensland page).
- New South Wales — NSW Land Registry Services.
- Victoria — Land Use Victoria.
- South Australia — Land Services SA.
- Western Australia — Landgate.
- Tasmania — Land Information System Tasmania (LIST).
- Northern Territory — NT Land Titles Office.
- Australian Capital Territory — ACT Land Titles Office.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)
Type: National personal-property securities register. · Maintained by: Australian Financial Security Authority.
Cost / access: Per-search fee.
Useful for: Registered security interests over personal property — motor vehicles, plant and equipment, intellectual property, intangibles. See the full entry on the Australia page.
Official link: www.ppsr.gov.au · Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
United States
County Recorder of Deeds (state-by-state, county-by-county)
Type: County-level real-property records · Maintained by: Recorder of Deeds (or Register of Deeds, County Clerk, depending on state) in each US county.
Cost / access: Per-document fee. Online search varies enormously by county.
Useful for: Deeds, mortgages, easements, restrictive covenants, mechanic’s liens, and other recorded real-property documents.
Limitations: No single national US land registry. The US operates a deed-recording system at the county level — over 3,000 counties, each with its own recorder. Search interfaces, document fees, and electronic-access depth vary widely. For high-volume work, commercial title companies aggregate this.
Notes: Delaware’s county recorders are described on the Delaware page. Phase 3 will add direct links for priority county recorders in major commercial jurisdictions. Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
UCC Article 9 — State Filing Offices
Type: US personal-property security register · Maintained by: Each state’s Secretary of State (or equivalent filing office).
Cost / access: Per-search fee in most states; some basic searches are free.
Useful for: Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 filings — security interests in personal property by US debtors. Each state’s filing office is the authoritative source for filings by debtors located in that state.
Limitations: No single national UCC database. State-by-state search is required. Some commercial aggregators consolidate UCC data but the source filing office remains authoritative.
Notes: Phase 3 will add direct links for Delaware, New York, California, Florida, and Texas state UCC offices. Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
United Kingdom
HM Land Registry — England and Wales
Type: Registered land and property records. · Maintained by: HM Land Registry.
Cost / access: Per-record fee (currently £3–£7 per title). Online account required.
Useful for: Registered title information for England and Wales. See the full entry on the United Kingdom page.
Limitations: Unregistered land is not in the system.
Official link: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry · Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
Registers of Scotland
Type: Scottish land register and Sasines register. · Maintained by: Registers of Scotland.
Cost / access: Per-search fee. Online account.
Useful for: Title to Scottish land — both the Land Register (modern, indefeasible) and the older Sasines Register (still relevant for older titles).
Limitations: Scotland uses different terminology and registration concepts than English land law. The two registers cover different property; the Land Register is progressively replacing Sasines.
Official link: www.ros.gov.uk · Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
Land Registry of Northern Ireland (LRNI)
Type: Northern Ireland land register. · Maintained by: Land and Property Services (Department of Finance NI).
Cost / access: Per-search fee.
Useful for: Title to Northern Irish land. Combines the Land Register and Registry of Deeds for the jurisdiction.
Official link: www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/landweb-direct · Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
Canada
Provincial land titles offices
Type: Provincial land registers (mostly Torrens; Quebec is civil-law) · Maintained by: Each province’s land titles office or registry.
Cost / access: Per-search fee. Online access varies by province.
Useful for: Title to Canadian real property. There is no national Canadian land registry.
- Ontario — OnLand / Teranet.
- Quebec — Registre Foncier du Québec en Ligne.
- British Columbia — Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA).
- Alberta — SPIN2 / Land Titles Office.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
Personal Property Security Registers (Canadian provincial)
Type: Provincial PPSA registers · Maintained by: Each Canadian province under its Personal Property Security Act (PPSA).
Cost / access: Per-search fee. Online access varies.
Useful for: Registered security interests in personal property by debtors in each province.
Limitations: No national Canadian PPSR; each province is separate. Cross-border secured interests typically require multi-jurisdiction searches. Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.
What’s coming in Phase 3
New Zealand — Land Information New Zealand (LINZ); Singapore — Singapore Land Authority; European Union — selected member-state cadastres (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands); offshore financial centres — Cayman Islands, BVI, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Bermuda for real-property records; US priority counties — direct links to recorder offices in priority commercial counties; vessel and aircraft registries — international shipping and aircraft ownership records.
Disclaimer
General information only. This directory is provided for general information and professional research purposes only. It is not legal advice, financial advice, or due-diligence advice. Information found through any third-party source is not verified by Transglobal Intel Net.
Third-party sources. Transglobal Intel Net does not control, certify, or guarantee the accuracy, currency, or completeness of any source listed. Links are provided as starting points. Each source is maintained independently by its respective authority.
Access conditions. Some sources require payment, registration, lawful-purpose attestation, or local professional access. Users are responsible for compliance with each source’s terms of use and with applicable law.
Not a Transglobal service. Listing a source in this directory does not constitute an endorsement, a recommendation, or a Transglobal service. The directory is a reference index, not an investigative product.
Lawful use only. Users must have a lawful basis for any search undertaken. Users are responsible for compliance with privacy law, data-protection law, anti-stalking law, and any other applicable framework in their jurisdiction.
Reservation. Transglobal Intel Net may add, remove, or modify entries without notice. Outdated entries are reviewed quarterly and updated as resources change.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-24.