About us
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-26)

We register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales.

Read this in Welsh (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry/about.cy)

HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership valued at nearly £9 trillion, enabling over £1.66 trillion worth of personal and commercial lending to be secured against property across England and Wales. The Land Register contains more than 27 million titles showing evidence of ownership for more than 90% of the land mass of England and Wales.

Anyone buying or selling land or property, or taking out a mortgage, must apply to us to register:
- unregistered land or property
- any new owner of registered land or property
- an interest affecting registered land or property, such as a mortgage, a lease or a right of way
When considering each application, we use the law to decide whether and how it should be registered.

Register land or property with us (https://www.gov.uk/registering-land-or-property-with-land-registry)

Once land or property is entered in the register, we record any ownership changes, mortgages or leases that affect it. Anyone who suffers loss because of an error or omission in the register, or because the register needs to be corrected, will normally be compensated. With annual sales of UK property surpassing £360 billion, HM Land Registry serves and supports one of the world’s largest property markets.

We are committed to carrying out our statutory and commercial business with fairness, openness and honesty. We have policies and procedures to prevent bribery.

Find out about our service standards (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-land-registry-service-standards)

Who we are

We are a non-ministerial government department created in 1862.

We work in 14 locations (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-registry-office-addresses).

Find out more about our people and working for HM Land Registry (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry/about/recruitment).

Our responsibilities

Within England and Wales, our responsibilities are to provide:
- a reliable record of information about ownership of and interests affecting land and property
- owners with a land title, guaranteed by the government
- a title plan that indicates general boundaries
We do not provide legal advice on precise boundary positions and responsibilities.

Our vision, purpose and values

Our vision is: “to achieve digital services and expertise that unlock a better, faster and less stressful property market.”

Our purpose is: “to secure your property ownership, make buying of land easy and safe for everyone and provide access to property information.”

Our values are:
- we have integrity
- we drive innovation
- we are professional
- we give assurance
Read HM Land Registry Strategy 2025+ (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-land-registry-strategy-2025) to understand our commitment to you and what we need from you to help us deliver our mission.

Our culture

At HM Land Registry:
- we have a proud history and rich heritage – for more than 160 years we have protected property ownership and underpinned the modern economy
- our people are important – we want to be the most inclusive employer in government, ensuring fair and equal opportunities for all
- we are open, honest and treat everyone with respect – we trust each other and celebrate our people because we are proud of who they are
- we have a shared sense of belonging and help each other – we connect with each other to feel supported, comfortable and appreciated
- everyone’s voice matters – we encourage respectful challenge and value all opinions and contributions
- we focus on being highly skilled and knowledgeable – we are empowered, accountable and responsible for our own work
- we provide a brilliant service to our customers – we aim for excellence, balancing efficiency and productivity with quality and integrity
- we create confidence by being resilient and responsive but also calm and relaxed – we are adaptable, flexible and able to work at pace
- we encourage our people to be innovative and continuously improve what we do and how we do it – we make tackling challenges fun and exciting through collaborative teams, new technology and new ways of working
- our leaders are supportive – we focus on coaching and developing ourselves and others to achieve our best with confidence – positive and energised leaders involve others to achieve better outcomes and help us grow stronger