Certificate of title: what it shows and how to get a copy today

Australia uses the Torrens title system. The state keeps a register of land, and the register itself is the proof of ownership. Each parcel of land, or each strata lot, has its own page in that register, called a folio.

A certificate of title used to be a paper copy of the folio, held by the owner or their bank. Paper certificates are now abolished or being phased out (see title deeds for each state). Today a certificate of title almost always means a current title search: an official copy of the folio, produced on the day you order it.

Every registry uses its own name and reference format. These are the registry's own fees for one current title in 2026-27.

A title lists easements and covenants but doesn't set out their terms, and it doesn't show the shape of the lot (Tasmania's search is the exception: it includes the face plan). For those you need the plan and the registered document, called an instrument or dealing.

• The registered owners and how they hold the land, for example as joint tenants or as tenants in common in shares. WA, SA, VIC and NT titles also print an address for the owner. No title shows phone numbers or email addresses.
• The land: the lot and plan number, and a reference to the registered plan that shows the boundaries.
• Mortgages, with the lender's name and the mortgage's dealing number (the registry's reference for a registered document).
• Caveats, easements, covenants and leases, each with its dealing or plan number.
• Pending activity: documents lodged but not yet registered, such as a sale or refinance in progress.

Yes. Because the register is the legal record, a recent title search showing your name is the standard proof of ownership. If a bank, Centrelink, an insurer or a visa officer has asked for something specific, check what they'll accept first. Our guide to proof of property ownership covers the common requests.

Title Registry is an independent service, not a registry. We order the registry's own document through an authorised information broker. If we can't deliver the title, the hold on your card is released and you pay nothing. See prices for each state.

1. 1Have the address ready, or the lot and plan or volume and folio if you know them. They're on your rates notice and contract of sale.
2. 2If you only need the PDF, you can buy direct from the registry in every state except NSW, where NSW LRS sells only through authorised information brokers or at its counter.
3. 3Or order through Title Registry. We show you the lot, plan and title reference before you pay, then email the registry's official PDF, usually within minutes (ACT and NT titles can take up to 1 business day), with a one-page plain-English summary where the state allows it.

At launch Title Registry sells the title search and the Title + Full Report, which explains every entry beside its original text (not available for WA, or for Queensland yet). We don't yet sell the documents a title refers to, so get these from the registry or a broker for now:

• The registered plan: deposited plan, strata plan, plan of subdivision or survey plan.
• The instruments behind easements, covenants and caveats, such as a NSW 88B instrument.
• Past owners, which need a historical title search.
• Sewer pipes, which are on a sewer diagram from your water utility or council.