Free title search in NSW: what you can get free, and the cheapest title

No. NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) charges a regulated fee for every title search, and owners pay the same as anyone else. NSW LRS doesn't sell titles online to the public at all; it sells them over the counter and through authorised information brokers.

Pages promising a 'free NSW title search' usually mean a free address lookup, with the title itself still paid. The owner's name, mortgages, caveats and easements are only on the title.

• Lot, section and DP, plus zoning: the NSW Planning Portal's Spatial Viewer finds a property by address or by lot/section/DP and shows its zoning and planning controls.
• Your lot and DP on paper: council rates notices usually show the lot, section and deposited plan under the postal address.
• Bush fire prone land: the NSW Rural Fire Service's online check tells you whether a property is mapped as bush fire prone. The answer is only valid for the day you check.
• Heritage: the NSW State Heritage Inventory lists State Heritage Register items and local heritage items.
• Index searches: NSW LRS's own online portal, and some brokers, offer free index searches, such as a certificate of title inquiry showing a title's current edition number and any unregistered dealings. None of these is a copy of the title.

If you know the folio identifier (the lot/section/plan, such as 41/1277564) and only need the PDF, a low-cost broker is cheapest. NSW LRS lists its brokers and their single-search prices on its information broker page, and the cheapest charge only a little more than the A$18.70 registry fee. You can also buy over the counter at NSW LRS for the fee itself.

1. 1Find the lot, section and DP on your rates notice or in the Spatial Viewer.
2. 2Pick a broker from the NSW LRS list and order a title search for that folio identifier.
3. 3Download the PDF and read it with our guide on how to read a NSW title.

Our NSW title search is A$79. That's well above the cheapest broker, so here's what the difference buys:

• You start from the street address, and we show the exact lot, plan and folio identifier before you pay.
• A one-page plain-English summary of the owners, mortgages, caveats, easements, covenants and anything pending.
• An optional Title + Full Report (A$109) that explains every entry and flags what to ask a conveyancer.
• If the title can't be delivered, the hold on your card is released and you pay nothing.

None of these replaces the title, and the title doesn't replace them: the title tells you an easement exists, while the plan and 88B instrument tell you where it runs and what it says.

• Planning certificate (section 10.7): from your council. The maximum fee for a basic certificate is A$74 in 2026-27, and it usually takes about 5 working days.
• Plans and 88B instruments: A$18.70 each from NSW LRS through a broker. Not available from us yet.
• Sydney Water sewer service diagram: A$33.67 through Sydney Water's Tap in service in 2026-27.