About Certificates of Title
In Victoria, most land is owned under a system of title by registration known as ‘Torrens title’ or ‘registered land’. A land title is an official record of who owns a particular piece of land and any relevant dealings, including mortgages, easements, planning agreements and restrictive covenants. If you are the registered owner of land under the Torrens title system and your property is not mortgaged, the original title to your land is held by the Victorian Registrar of Titles as an entry in the official Register of Titles.
You are entitled to a paper copy of the original title, which is known as a ‘Certificate of Title’. A paper Certificate of Title shows the Volume, Folio and applicable plan, your full name and address, the date the certificate was created, and all recordings made at the time it was issued, including (if applicable) any warnings that there is a claim lodged against the land (known as a caveat). Although the Victorian Registrar of Titles will generally issue only one paper Certificate of Title, if your paper certificate is lost or destroyed, you may apply to Land Use Victoria for a new one. You will need the help of a lawyer to prepare a ‘lost title application’, because it is a complicated and involved process. When the new title is issued it will be a different Volume and Folio number.
The conversion of paper Certificates of Title to paperless, electronic Certificates of Title (eCT) is currently in progress in Victoria and is considered the standard practice. This means that, generally, Certificates of Title for land in Victoria are in electronic form and paper Certificates of Title are being phased out. If your land title has previously been converted to an electronic Certificate of Title, your lawyer or conveyancer will have control of the electronic Certificate of Title. If the land you own is mortgaged to a major bank, it is likely that the title has been converted to an electronic Certificate of Title (your consent is not needed) and the bank (or the bank’s lawyer) has control of the electronic Certificate of Title. If your land title has been converted to an electronic Certificate of Title, a duplicate Certificate of Title will not be issued to you in paper form unless requested, and the Certificate of Title is converted to paper form.
This information sheet only deals with the requirements to replace a paper Certificate of Title for Torrens title land. It does not deal with general land law not subject to the Torrens title system. We recommend that you consult a lawyer with relevant experience in general land law if needed. For more information, refer to the Law Institute of Victoria’s Legal Referral Service website.
Paper Certificates of Title
If your Certificate of Title is a paper Certificate of Title, you will need to produce it whenever you are required to confirm you are the owner of your land. This may include when you:
- sell your land
- lease your land
- grant a mortgage over your land, as the person loaning you money will want to hold the paper Certificate of Title as security for repayment of the loan. If the person loaning you money is a bank, your paper Certificate of Title will be converted to an electronic Certificate of Title when the mortgage is registered
- seek to subdivide your land.
There are two types of paper Certificates of Title in Victoria:
- Older Certificates of Title produced on heavy, cream-coloured paper in either A4 or B4 size. The words ‘Certificate of Title’ are printed at the top of the paper and the volume and folio numbers are in the top right-hand corner. Usually, these titles will also include a map or a diagram. These titles record all transactions with the land and are endorsed with printed or handwritten details.
- Newer, computerised Certificates of Title in A4 size. These are printed on blue, thick-stock security paper with a silver hologram and blue seal on the front page and a watermark. The words ‘Certificate of Title’ may be printed vertically in a light ink on the left and right sides of the page using degrees of shading. The volume and folio numbers are also printed in the top right-hand corner. These titles only record the current land ownership and any mortgages or other things that affect the land at the time of print, and do not include a map or diagram.
You should keep your paper Certificate of Title safe because it is evidence of your ownership of land in Victoria and you will need it when you are dealing with your land. It is also time-consuming and expensive to replace your paper Certificate of Title. Organising a replacement will require legal help with associated legal costs.
There are many ways to store a Certificate of Title safely, including:
- a safety deposit box with a bank or other company
- a facility that your solicitor or accountant may provide for
- your own personal safe or secure deposit box at home.
If you choose to store your paper Certificate of Title at home, make sure you know exactly where it is, that it is secure in the case of a break-in, and that you take it with you if you need to evacuate in case of a bushfire. Alternatively, you may wish to consider converting your paper Certificate of Title to an electronic Certificate of Title.
Replacing a Paper Certificate of Title
If you cannot locate your paper Certificate of Title, you should firstly check whether someone else holds it. If your land is subject to a mortgage, the Certificate of Title is usually held by whoever loaned the money to you, which is often your bank.
Land Use Victoria has recently converted all paper Certificates of Title held by banks (and other authorised deposit-taking institutions) to electronic Certificates of Title. This means that unless your property is mortgaged to a company or other person who is not a bank, there will no longer be a paper Certificate of Title.
If you have recently repaid your mortgage, the electronic Certificate of Title held by the bank may have been converted into a paper Certificate of Title because there is no longer a mortgage, and you will receive a new Certificate of Title. If this is the case, it may still be held by your bank for safekeeping. If you have any concerns or cannot remember whether you have repaid your mortgage, speak to your bank. In the case of your mortgage being repaid in full, you will need to complete a discharge authority form and give this to your bank. Generally, the bank needs to arrange registration of the discharge of mortgage for you (with registration fees at your cost) so that the mortgage is removed from the title to the property.
If you do not have a mortgage and cannot find your paper Certificate of Title, you should conduct the following enquiries:
- Check any safe deposit boxes and safe custody envelopes, as well as other places where you keep important documents, for either the paper Certificate of Title or any documentation regarding who is holding the original copy.
- Do a title search at Land Use Victoria to confirm that the paper Certificate of Title is not an electronic Certificate of Title. This will cost a small fee. If it is an electronic Certificate of Title it will include reference to ‘eCT Control’ towards the bottom of the statement. This will also indicate who is the controller and from what date.
- Ask the lawyer or conveyancer who acted for you when you purchased the land or had other dealings with it. Important documents are often held for safekeeping by your lawyer or bank until you need them. Even if the lawyer or conveyancer does not hold the paper Certificate of Title, if your file is less than seven years old you may be able to obtain copies of the title and confirm its location from the contents of that file.
- Do an issues search at Land Use Victoria to identify the last person the paper Certificate of Title was issued to, for a small fee.
You should make a note of all of the searches you have made, as this information will be needed during your application to replace the paper Certificate of Title.
If your Certificate of Title is not an electronic Certificate of Title, you can apply to have a new paper Certificate of Title issued. To do this, you will need to:
- Complete an 'Application for a New Certificate of Title in Place of One Lost or Destroyed', which is available from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
- Complete a statutory declaration, along with any other current owner of the land, explaining what happened to the Certificate of Title after it was issued by Land Use Victoria. A statutory declaration is also needed from any other person who has dealt with the Certificate of Title, such as your lawyer or conveyancer. A copy of the form of statutory declaration is available from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
- Undertake a verification of identity check to confirm your identity. Formal verification of identity checks were introduced by Land Use Victoria to reduce the risks of identity fraud and are completed by Australia Post for a small fee. The check involves a short face-to-face interview at your chosen Australia Post outlet and you will have to bring along certain original identity documents, like your driver’s licence and passport. A copy of the application form for a verification of identity check is available from the Australia Post website or from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
- Provide a copy of the title search and issues search you conducted. If you purchased the land through a company, a company search is needed that identifies the company’s officers (including the one making the statutory declaration).
- Obtain a copy of your most recent council rates notice, showing the rated owners and council valuation.
- If you own the land in the name of a company, obtain a copy of a company search from ASIC (for a small fee) identifying the company's officers (one of which will be making the statutory declaration and undertaking the verification of identity check referred to above).
- Lodge all of the documents at Land Use Victoria, along with the applicable application fees. If you have a lawyer or conveyancer representing you, they will lodge the documents electronically via the electronic lodgement network called PEXA. In certain circumstances where documents cannot be lodged via PEXA, or where you do not have a lawyer or conveyancer acting for you, you may make a request for Land Use Victoria to accept paper lodgement.
Further details about this process can be found in the 'Guide to replacing a lost or destroyed Certificate of Title' available from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. Other information may be needed depending on the circumstances of the loss or destruction of the Certificate of Title, as Land Use Victoria is required by law to satisfy itself as to certain evidence before approving an application for a replacement paper Certificate of Title.
You may wish to instruct a lawyer to prepare the application on your behalf as the process is detailed and involved. If you decide to do this, you should advise the lawyer of the searches you made for the paper Certificate of Title and, if possible, the volume and folio numbers. If you do not have a record of the volume and folio numbers, the lawyer will need the full names of the owners of the land and the property address in order to prepare the application. Your lawyer will undertake the verification of identity check directly with you and guide you through the process.
The cost of replacing a paper Certificate of Title will depend on the amount of work involved. If the total legal costs, excluding GST and disbursements (which are your lawyer’s out-of-pocket expenses such as photocopying fees), are likely to exceed $750, lawyers are required by law to write to you providing details of their costs.
As at the financial year commencing 1 July 2023, the current fee for replacing a lost or destroyed Certificate of Title is $411.50, which includes a flat Assurance Fund Contribution (similar to insurance) of $200.
If the contents of your property were destroyed, (for example, by a fire at that property), the cost of replacing documents may be covered by your insurance policy. If you do not have a copy of the policy to check, you can contact your insurer to find out. Some insurers may also provide emergency help if your property has been destroyed or damaged by a bushfire. You should contact your insurance provider to seek reimbursement of these replacement fees.
Where to get help
For legal information and referrals, call Disaster Legal Help Victoria on 1800 113 432 (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm).
You can also contact your closest community legal centre to get advice from a local lawyer.
For more support options, see Other organisations that can help or find Other ways to contact us.
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) combines climate change, energy, environment, water, forests, planning and emergency management functions. They can also be contacted for information about bushfire recovery.
They also provide the 'Application for a New Certificate of Title in Place of One Lost or Destroyed'.
Call them on 13 61 86, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm or visit the DELWP website.
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