The Land Registration (Official Searches) Rules 1993, which came into force on 28 March 1994 and replace the Land Registration (Official Searches) Rules 1990, contain provisions to outlaw the use of photocopied land and charge certificates in lieu of office copy entries.Since the Land Registry introduced a fee in 1990 for supplying office copy entries of the register it has increasingly become the practice for a solicitor acting for a seller to deduce his or her client's title by supplying the buyer's solicitor with a photocopy of the seller's land or charge certificate rather than with office copy entries.The reasons behind this have presumably been to save the seller the expense of having to pay the Land Registry fee for providing office copy entries and also to speed up the conveyancing process.

Consequently, this practice has been especially popular with solicitors involved with 'cut price' conveyancing.

Where a photocopy has been supplied, the buyer's solicitor has then been able to investigate the seller's title and bring the register up to date by carrying out a search of the register from the date on which the land or charge certificate was last compared with the register.

However, under the 1993 rules this will no longer be possible.The rules introduce new forms of 94A, 94B and 94C searches.

These forms provide that the date which must be specified in them as the date from which the search is to be made must be the date which is stated on the office copy entries as being the date on which the entries were issued by the Land Registry.

This date is called the 'search from date' and will in future be shown on the office copy entries together with the subsisting entries date which is the date which has always been shown.The rules also provide that office copy entries can be obtained by means of a computer link direct from the solicitor's office to the Land Registry.

In this case, the 'search from date' will be the date on which the entries are transmitted by the Land Registry computer to the solicitor's office.The definition of 'search from date' in r.2(1) also provides that the date of issue, or computer transmission, of the office copy entries must have been within the period of 12 months prior to the date on which the search is delivered to the Land Registry.

This will ensure that out of date office copy entries which do not reflect the subsisting entries on the register are no longer used.

The practice of using out of date office copy entries has apparently caused the Land Registry difficulties and expense because the practice has increased the number of situations where search results have had to include details of entries on the register in order to bring the out of date office copy entries up to date.

The use of up to date entries should eliminate this.Whilst the new search forms should have been used from 28 March 1994, the Land Registry will accept the forms prescribed under the 1990 rules until further notice.

This will enable practitioners to use any stocks of these forms which they may have.

However, since 1 June 1994 all searches, even though they may be made on the old forms, must contain a 'search from date' in accordance with the 1993 rules.

Failure to do this may lead to the search being returned.In the case of a search without priority of land in registered title, ie a form 94C search, the 'search from date' may either be the date on which office copy entries were issued provided that this is not more than 12 months previous or, alternatively, the date on which the certificate was last examined against the register.The effects of these changes are:1.

A solicitor acting for a client who is selling property will now always have to obtain office copy entries of his or her client's title from the Land Registry.

The result of this will be that an additional disbursement, the fee payable to the Land Registry for the office copy entries, will be payable by the seller.2.

The office copy entries which are supplied to the buyer's solicitor must be recent so that they are not more than 12 months' old when the buyer's solicitor makes his or her application for an official search.The 12-month rule will have an effect on estate conveyancing where it is common for firms of solicitors acting for developers and builders to obtain one set of office copy entries relating to the whole development and to then include an examined photocopy of these entries as part of the initial contractual documentation which they supply to solicitors acting for buyers of the individual plots.

On large scale estate conveyancing a considerable amount of money can be saved in this way.It is sugg ested that this method of deducing title can still be used provided that the office copy entries which are photocopied are recent so that the buyer's solicitor can enter a search from date which is not more than 12-months' old.

A developer's solicitor should therefore apply at regular intervals to the Land Registry for fresh office copy entries.3.

Under standard condition 4.2.1 of the standard conditions of sale (second edition), a seller's solicitor must deduce title to registered land by means of office copy entries.

In the past, if a seller has supplied a photocopy of the land or charge certificate instead of office copy entries, a special condition would usually have been included in the contract in order to exclude standard condition 4.2.1.

when approving draft contracts, practitioners must now check to make sure that such special conditions are no longer contained in contracts as, if they are, it will not be possible to carry out an official search of the register after exchange of contracts.

Such conditions must now always be deleted when approving a draft contract.Where the Law Society's national conveyancing protocol has been adopted in a conveyancing transaction, title to registered land must be deduced by supplying the buyer's solicitor with either office copy entries or, alternatively, where office copy entries are not available, a photocopy of the seller's land or charge certificate which is marked with the date on which the certificate was last examined with the register.

Practitioners should be aware that if a photocopy of the certificate is supplied to them where they are acting for a buyer they will not be able to carry out a Land Registry search despite the advice in the third edition of the protocol suggesting that they can.

In such a situation, a solicitor must insist on office copy entries being supplied.Other changes which are introduced by the 1993 rules include:1.

The requirement that a search must be submitted to the Land Registry in duplicate does not apply to the new edition of form 94A searches and only one copy of these should be sent to the Land Registry.

However, the position in respect of forms 94B and 94C remains unchanged for the present and solicitors must submit these in duplicate.2.

Form 94B(FR) has been withdrawn.

Searches covered by this form, that is searches with priority in respect of part of the land which is comprised in either a registered title or a pending application for first registration, are now dealt with together in the new form 94B.3.

When carrying out a search with priority in respect of land which is comprised in a pending application for first registration there will, of course, be no date of issue of office copy entries which can be entered by the buyer's solicitor as a 'search from date' in the search form.

In this situation the letters 'FR' should be inserted instead.4.

Applications for office copy entries can now be made by telephone provided that the applicant has a Land Registry credit account.5.

Since 28 March 1994 holders of Land Registry credit accounts can carry out an immediate telephone search in respect of the whole of the land comprised in a registered title.

The effect of this is that where the search result is clear, showing no adverse entries, or there have been no other changes to the register, the search result will be given to the applicant immediately together with an instantaneous priority period.

The result of the search will be guaranteed and will not be subject to any subsequent searches which may be dealt with by the Land Registry later the same day.

Where a clear search result cannot be given, for example where changes have been made to the register or there is a pending application for registration, as much information as possible will be given to the applicant over the telephone, though a further telephone conversation will usually be necessary once details of any pending application have been located.An immediate priority search can also be carried out by telephone in respect of land contained in a pending application for first registration provided there are no other applications or searches lodged against the land.In every case of a telephone search, a written result will be sent to the applicant.6.

Applications for office copy entries and immediate telephone searches can only be made by ringing one of the special telephone centres situated at the Croydon, Durham, Gloucester, Lytham and Stevenage Land Registries.

Each centre can deal with applications in respect of any registered title in England and Wales.

The centres will be open as follows: requests for office copy entries - 10am to 4.40pm; priority searches - 11am to 4.30pm.7.

Non-priority searches can still be made as in the past by telephoning the appropriate Land Registry.

This service will be available between 11am and 4.30pm.8.

Searches can also now be made orally at the public counter of any Land Registry between 11am and 4.30pm.

As with telephone searches, an applicant making an oral application will receive immediate priority and a guaranteed result if the search result is clear.