What Is a TP1 Form? Transfer of Part, Completion Guide, and AML Compliance for UK Conveyancers (2026)

What is the TP1 form?

The TP1 form is HM Land Registry's prescribed form for a transfer of part of a registered title in England and Wales. When a property transaction involves only a portion of land held under a registered title number, the TP1 is the instrument used to effect that disposal at Land Registry.

Under Rule 54 of the Land Registration Rules 2003, a transfer of part of a registered estate must be effected using form TP1. Using a TR1 where a TP1 is required is a defective application and will be returned by HMLR with a requisition. The two forms are not interchangeable.

A TP1 creates a new title number for the part being transferred. The parent title continues to subsist, covering the retained land. In developer scenarios where multiple plots are sold from a single registered title, each individual plot sale requires its own TP1 application. As of 2 March 2026, HMLR Practice Guide 41 Supplement 3 (updated on that date) confirms that panel 1 of the TP1 must list all registered title numbers under which the developer holds the relevant part of the estate.

Form TP2 also exists for cases where a chargee exercises a power of sale over part of a registered title. For the majority of residential and commercial conveyancing, the TP1 is the relevant form. For a precise definition of the whole-title transfer instrument, see Veyco's TR1 form glossary.

TP1 form vs TR1: which do you need?

The choice comes down to a single question: is the whole registered title being transferred, or only part of it?

The most common error in practice is using a TR1 in a multi-plot development scenario where each plot sale must be processed as a TP1. The parent title does not close when a TP1 is registered. It remains open for the retained land and only closes when all parcels have been transferred, typically via a final TR1 for the last remaining plot.

If you are unsure whether the transaction involves a whole or partial title transfer, check the registered title plan against the extent of the land being transferred. A transfer of land that falls within the red edge of a title but does not cover the whole of the title requires a TP1.

Legal requirements for partial title transfers

Statutory framework

A transfer of part of a registered estate creates a registrable disposition under section 27 of the Land Registration Act 2002. The transferee's title is not legally complete until the disposition is registered at HM Land Registry, which means the TP1 must be lodged promptly following completion to protect the buyer's priority against subsequent dealings on the parent title.

The TP1 must be executed as a deed in compliance with section 52 of the Law of Property Act 1925 and section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989. Execution requires signature by the transferor and, where the TP1 contains obligations on the transferee (covenants, indemnities), by the transferee as well. Each signature must be independently witnessed by someone physically present at the time of signing.

The title plan attached to the TP1 must comply with Rule 5 of the Land Registration Rules 2003. It must be drawn to a stated metric scale, show the land edged in red against an Ordnance Survey base, include measurements or dimensions, and be signed by the parties. For the legal background to the Land Registration Act 2002 and its implications for registered title, see Veyco's glossary entry.

AML compliance framework

Under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), conveyancing solicitors are required to carry out customer due diligence on both the transferor and transferee before or during the establishment of a business relationship. A TP1 transaction is not exempt from this obligation, regardless of the relationship between the parties or the amount of consideration.

The following table shows which supervisory body oversees which type of property professional:

The LSAG Guidance 2025 (effective 23 April 2025, confirmed by the SRA as the operative framework for solicitors as of 18 February 2026) applies to all conveyancing transactions including partial title transfers. Non-compliance penalties include civil monetary penalties, criminal prosecution, and referral to the SRA's disciplinary function. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal issued £545,650 in AML-related fines in 2024-25, in addition to the SRA's own internal enforcement outcomes of £953,333 across 151 cases in the same period, according to the SRA Anti-Money Laundering Annual Report 2024-25.

How to complete the TP1 form

Panel 1: Title number(s)

Panel 1 requires the title number or numbers from which the part being transferred is carved out. In a development scenario, list every registered title number the developer holds that covers the land, even if the transferred plot physically sits within just one of them. HMLR's Practice Guide 41 Supplement 3, updated 2 March 2026, confirmed this requirement explicitly for developing estates: all title numbers must appear in panel 1.

Panel 4: Property description and title plan

Panel 4 requires a precise description of the land being transferred, defined by reference to a compliant plan. The plan must be prepared before the TP1 is drafted, not after execution. It must comply with Rule 5 of the Land Registration Rules 2003: drawn to a stated metric scale, edged in red, based on the Ordnance Survey map, with measurements shown, and signed by the parties. An estate agent's marketing plan, a Google Maps screenshot, or an unsigned sketch plan will generate a requisition.

A non-compliant plan is the most common single cause of HMLR rejections on TP1 applications.

Panel 6: Covenants, rights, and easements

Panel 6 is the substantive legal content of the TP1. It is the panel for granting or reserving rights of way, drainage, light, and services; imposing positive covenants such as obligations to maintain shared surfaces or contribute to shared costs; imposing restrictive covenants limiting use or development; and giving or receiving indemnities against pre-existing burdens on the parent title. Omitting rights that the transferred plot needs, or failing to include an indemnity covenant for pre-existing burdens, creates post-completion disputes and potential professional negligence claims. There is no mechanism to add covenants to a completed TP1 after registration without a further deed.

Execution

The TP1 must be executed as a deed by the transferor. Where the TP1 imposes obligations on the transferee (covenants, indemnities), the transferee must also execute as a deed. Each signature must be witnessed by an independent person physically present at the time. A family member may witness, but cannot witness the signature of their own spouse or civil partner.

Post-completion lodgement

After completion, the TP1 is lodged at HMLR using application form AP1, accompanied by a certified copy of the TP1, the compliant plan, evidence of payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (form SDLT1), and the applicable Land Registry fee. Delays in registration following completion do not affect the legal validity of the transfer itself but leave the transferee's title unregistered and therefore unprotected against subsequent dealings on the parent title.

AML and KYC compliance for TP1 transfers

Who must carry out due diligence

MLR 2017 applies to all conveyancing solicitors, licensed conveyancers, and estate agents handling TP1 transactions. The obligation is to carry out customer due diligence on each party before or during the establishment of the business relationship. This applies to commercial development plot sales, residential boundary adjustments, and transfers between family members in equal measure.

The assumption that intra-family or low-value partial transfers fall below the AML threshold is incorrect. There is no de minimis exemption for intra-family property transfers under MLR 2017. The SRA's Anti-Money Laundering Annual Report 2024-25 recorded that 73% of the 19 Suspicious Activity Reports filed by the SRA with the NCA in 2024-25 related to conveyancing transactions, covering £148 million in suspected criminal proceeds. The NCA's National Strategic Assessment 2026 (published 17 March 2026) assessed that UK property firms "have almost certainly acted as professional enablers for individuals designated under UK sanctions," with complex ownership structures including those deployed via partial title transfers identified as a live high-priority threat vector.

Standard CDD and when EDD is triggered in TP1 transactions

Standard customer due diligence (CDD) requires identity verification of the transferor and transferee, confirmation that the identity document is genuine and belongs to the person presenting it, and a source of funds check. Enhanced due diligence (EDD) applies where the standard risk factors are present, but three scenarios are specific to partial title transfers and consistently generate EDD obligations that conveyancers underestimate.

First: where an overseas entity is the transferor on a development plot sale. A significant amendment to MLR 2017 took effect on 18 November 2025, introduced via Schedule 2 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Consequential, Incidental and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2025. Under the amended Regulation 28, the Register of Overseas Entities can no longer serve as the sole verification source for beneficial ownership.

For a TP1 transferor that is an overseas entity, the entity's appearance on the Register of Overseas Entities is a starting point only: the conveyancer must use additional verification methods to confirm beneficial ownership. This is a direct trap for conveyancers handling development plot sales from overseas-registered developers who assumed Companies House registration satisfied EDD.

Second: where the parent title itself carries risk indicators. A developer selling plots via TP1 from a title acquired through a complex chain of offshore holding companies is a high-risk scenario even where the individual plot buyer is entirely clean. The risk attaches to the transferor's corporate structure, not just the identity of the individual signatory.

Third: where the source of funds for the original acquisition of the parent title is unclear. In development transactions, the parent title may have been acquired years before the plot sales begin, and the funding trail may be difficult to reconstruct. The LSAG Guidance 2025 requires firms to assess source of funds at the point of the current transaction, not to rely solely on due diligence conducted when the client relationship was first established.

ID1 and ID2 forms for unrepresented parties

Where a party to a TP1 is not represented by a solicitor, that party must produce evidence of identity to the applying solicitor using Land Registry form ID1 (individual) or ID2 (company or organisation). The ID1 must be completed and countersigned by an approved verifier confirming that the party's identity has been verified. For a detailed guide to verifying identity in property transactions, see Veyco's step-by-step guide.

LSAG Guidance 2025 updates relevant to TP1 transactions

The LSAG Guidance 2025, effective 23 April 2025, introduced three changes directly relevant to conveyancers handling partial title transfers:

For a step-by-step guide to implementing KYC in property transactions, including how these LSAG 2025 changes apply in practice, see Veyco's practical 2026 guide.

Common challenges with the TP1 form

Non-compliant title plans

A non-compliant plan is the leading cause of HMLR requisitions on TP1 applications. Plans returned by HMLR typically fail on one of four grounds: no metric scale stated, no Ordnance Survey base used, no boundary dimensions marked, or parties' signatures missing. Every plan lodged with a TP1 must state its scale on the face of the drawing, show the property edged red against identifiable OS grid references, include measurements or dimensions, and be signed by the parties before lodgement. A marketing plan produced by an estate agent or a plan drawn by hand is rarely compliant without amendment by a qualified land surveyor or specialist conveyancing plan provider.

Overlapping charges on the parent title

In multi-plot development transactions, the parent title commonly carries a charge held by a development finance lender that covers the entire registered estate, including all unsold plots. When a developer sells individual plots via TP1, the lender's consent or a deed of release of the charge over each specific plot is required before HMLR will register the transfer. This consent requirement creates a procedural dependency that most conveyancers acting for plot buyers cannot verify independently: the developer's solicitor must obtain and forward written confirmation from the lender before each plot completion can proceed.

Where multiple plots complete simultaneously, a missing or delayed lender consent on one application generates a requisition that blocks that registration and leaves the plot buyer's title unprotected. The SRA confirmed in its 2024-25 Annual Report that failure to check charges on the parent title before completion is a recurring finding in conveyancing file reviews. For guidance on preventing property fraud in complex transactions, see Veyco's 2026 guide.

Electronic signature confusion and HMLR rejection

Practitioners handling TP1s signed remotely continue to encounter HMLR rejection where the signing method does not comply with Land Registry requirements. The HMLR Mercury signing process is one currently accepted method for electronic deed signing. Under Mercury, each party signs the signature page as a separate standalone document, followed by a solicitor confirming by email that the signed page forms part of the agreed TP1 deed. HMLR's Practice Guide 82 also sets out the requirements for Qualified Electronic Signatures as a route to electronic deed execution, distinct from Mercury.

Standard e-signature platforms that attach a digital certificate to a PDF without following either the Mercury protocol or the QES requirements set out in Practice Guide 82 are not accepted by HMLR and will result in the application being rejected. For a comparison of e-signature solutions for property lawyers, see Veyco's guide.

Best practices for TP1 form completion

Commission the title plan before drafting

A compliant plan must be in place before the TP1 is drafted, not after execution. The property description in panel 4 refers to the plan by definition, and the plan must be finalised and signed before the deed goes out for execution. Instructing a qualified land surveyor or specialist plan provider at the outset eliminates the most common cause of requisitions before the application is even lodged.

Start AML checks at instruction stage

MLR 2017 requires customer due diligence before or during the establishment of a business relationship. For conveyancers, that means initiating identity verification and source of funds checks at instruction, not at exchange of contracts. The SRA's supervisory visits look for evidence that CDD was started early and was proportionate to the risk level of the transaction.

Conducting AML checks at exchange, under time pressure, produces lower-quality files and increases the probability of missing EDD triggers. For guidance on what a KYC platform for conveyancing should deliver, see Veyco's 2026 guide.

Check for charges on the parent title before drafting

Before preparing a TP1, check the charges register on the parent title at HMLR. If a lender holds a charge over the whole of the parent title, their consent or a deed of substituted security is required before the TP1 can be registered. Submitting a TP1 without lender consent on a charged title results in a requisition for evidence of consent or a deed of release, adding weeks to the transaction and requiring a further application. This is a preventable delay that most frequently affects development and investment property transactions.

Document the covenant rationale in the file

For every covenant, right, or restriction inserted in panel 6 of the TP1, keep a brief file note recording why it was included and whether any alternatives were considered. The SRA does not just look for correctly executed documents during supervisory reviews. It looks for documented professional judgment. A file that shows the fee-earner considered whether an indemnity covenant was appropriate and made a recorded decision is significantly stronger than one where panel 6 was completed without any supporting note.

Use a single platform for identity and AML screening

Running identity checks in one system, AML screening in a second, and PEP screening in a third creates fragmented audit trails and increases the risk that a check is omitted or not documented correctly. As of 26 March 2026, the FCA's Annual Work Programme 2026/27 formally commits the FCA to becoming the single AML supervisor for the legal sector, covering approximately 60,000 new firms including conveyancing solicitors.

The regulatory scrutiny on legal sector AML compliance will intensify as the FCA transition takes effect. Maintaining a single, auditable compliance record per client file is the most defensible position for a supervisory visit. For a guide to automated KYC checks in property transactions, see Veyco's overview.

A faster approach to TP1 compliance

For most conveyancing practices, the compliance steps in a TP1 transaction run across multiple systems: identity verification in one platform, AML screening in another, PEP checks elsewhere, and deed signing via email. The result is a process that takes longer than necessary and creates the audit gaps that regulators look for in file reviews.

Veyco runs identity verification, AML checks, PEP screening, and sanctions in a single workflow. Biometric verification is powered by Onfido, and most standard checks are completed in under 10 minutes. For EDD cases, including overseas entities and PEP clients, the platform flags the elevated risk and prompts additional verification steps rather than requiring a separate process outside the main workflow.

For deed signing, Veyco's QEST provides a qualified electronic signature service that meets HMLR's requirements for electronic deed execution under Practice Guide 82, delivered through a certified Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP). QEST's digital signing workflow satisfies HMLR's requirements without relying on the Mercury email protocol.

The platform is GDPR-compliant and supported by a UK-based team. Book a demo to see how the combined compliance and signing workflow applies to partial title transfers.

Frequently asked questions about the TP1 form

What is a TP1 form used for?

A TP1 form is used to transfer part of the title of a registered property in England and Wales, typically when only a portion of land or property is being sold or transferred. It is submitted to HM Land Registry to update the register and is required in cases such as splitting plots, selling part of a garden, or disposing of part of a registered freehold. The TP1 differs from the TR1, which transfers the whole of a registered title. Each TP1 creates a new registered title number for the part being transferred, while the parent title remains open for the retained land.

What is the difference between a TP1 and a TR1 form?

The main difference is that a TP1 form is used to transfer part of a registered title, while a TR1 form is used to transfer the whole of a registered title. Both forms are prescribed by the Land Registration Rules 2003 and submitted to HM Land Registry, but they are not interchangeable. Using a TR1 for a partial transfer, or a TP1 for a whole title transfer, is a defective application and will generate a requisition from HMLR. In a multi-plot development, each individual plot sale requires its own TP1, regardless of how many plots are sold simultaneously.

How do you complete a TP1 form?

To complete a TP1 form, provide the title number or numbers out of which the part is transferred, describe the property by reference to a compliant scale plan, state the parties and consideration, and include any covenants, easements, or rights in the additional provisions panel. Both transferor and transferee must execute the form as a deed with independent witnesses where the TP1 imposes obligations on both parties. The completed TP1 must be lodged at HM Land Registry using form AP1, accompanied by a certified copy, SDLT return, and the applicable Land Registry fee.

Can a TP1 form be signed electronically?

Yes, a TP1 form can be signed electronically using a method that meets HM Land Registry's requirements. HMLR currently accepts two routes: the Mercury electronic signing process, under which each party signs the signature page as a separate standalone document and the solicitor confirms by email that it forms part of the agreed TP1; and Qualified Electronic Signatures that meet the requirements set out in HMLR Practice Guide 82, provided through a certified Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP). Standard e-signature platforms that attach a digital certificate to a PDF without following either route are not accepted by HMLR.

What AML and KYC checks are required for a TP1 form?

Conveyancing solicitors must carry out customer due diligence on both the transferor and transferee in every TP1 transaction under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017). This includes identity verification, confirmation that the document is genuine, and a source of funds check. Enhanced due diligence applies where a party is a PEP, is based in a high-risk country, involves a complex corporate structure, or where the transferor on a development plot sale is an overseas entity. Under the amended Regulation 28 in force since 18 November 2025, an overseas entity's registration at Companies House cannot be the sole verification source for beneficial ownership. The LSAG Guidance 2025 is the operative AML framework for solicitors as confirmed by the SRA on 18 February 2026.

When should a TP1 form be used instead of a TR1?

A TP1 form should be used whenever the transfer involves only part of a registered title rather than the whole. Common situations include selling a development plot from a larger title, splitting a garden, granting permanent rights over part of a registered freehold, or transferring one part of a divided property. If you are unsure whether the transaction involves a whole or partial title, check the registered title plan against the extent of the land being sold or transferred. Using a TR1 where a TP1 is required results in a defective application and an HMLR requisition.

Do I need lender consent before registering a TP1?

Yes, where the parent title carries a registered charge, the lender's consent is required before a TP1 can be registered. If the developer or seller's lender holds a charge over the whole registered title, that charge affects each plot being transferred via TP1. The conveyancer must obtain written evidence of the lender's consent to the release of each specific plot before lodging the TP1 application. Without this, HMLR will raise a requisition and registration will be delayed. In multi-plot development transactions, this consent requirement must be confirmed for each plot individually, not assumed to carry across from a single general consent given at the start of the development.

Conclusion

Transfer of part is the instrument where procedural precision determines outcome. Most TP1 requisitions, professional negligence claims, and SRA supervisory findings in conveyancing trace back to the same three points: a non-compliant title plan submitted without a surveyor's sign-off, an additional provisions panel left incomplete because the parties assumed the issues would resolve post-registration, and AML due diligence treated as a formality rather than a substantive risk exercise. None of these failures are inevitable. All three are addressable at instruction stage, before the pressure of exchange and completion compounds them.

MLR 2017, the LSAG Guidance 2025, and the amended Regulation 28 (in force since November 2025) apply to every TP1 transaction: development plot sales, residential boundary adjustments, and intra-family transfers without exception. The conveyancing practices that consistently clear HMLR first time and pass SRA supervisory visits without findings are the ones that start compliance early, document their professional judgment, and maintain a single auditable record per client file.

Veyco consolidates identity verification, AML screening, PEP checks, and risk reports into a single workflow, with QEST for electronic deed execution under Practice Guide 82. Book a demo to see how it applies to partial title transfers.