A personal search can be undertaken only at the Local Land Charges Section. However, other statutory registers held by the Council are open for public inspection. For details on accessing information held to answer a Local Land Charges Search please click here.

Guidelines to carrying out a Personal Search:

The Local Land Charges Office is open for Personal Searches to be carried out at the following times.

11:00am until 12:00 noon, the last appointment being 11:50am

2:00pm until 4:00pm, the last appointment being 3:50pm

• Contact Local Land Charges to make an appointment, we will endeavour to meet your request. At least 24 hours notice of an appointment is required. To make an appointment by telephone please call 01623 457237.
• Appointments are offered on a 'first come first served' basis and are one address per 10 minute appointment and we will accept a maximum of 5 addresses per company per day.
• The Personal Searcher should endeavour to keep any appointment and notify the authority as soon as possible in the event that an appointment cannot be kept.
• When you make your appointment, we will require details of the individual or company carrying out the search and a contact telephone number.
• When making the appointment the property address or area to be searched against should be provided to the Local Land Charges Section. Please note: we reserve the right to rearrange the appointment depending upon the complexity of the site.
• Searches are conducted using an electronic copy of the Local Land Charges Register on a view only basis.
• The statutory fee for a Personal Search of the Local Land Charges Register is £11.00. Each additional parcel on that property is an additional £1.00.
• Registration copies can be purchased at a cost of £1.50 per registration  purchased from the Local Land Charges staff at the time of the Personal Search being carried out.
• Copies of most documents relating to the Local Land Charges Register can be purchased from the Local Land Charges section on request.

Personal search agents carrying out such searches on behalf of third parties are expected to possess sufficient knowledge of the search process to enable them to carry out their personal searches without guidance from Local Land Charges staff.

If you rely on a personal search from a solicitor or personal search company, may we remind you that they are not given or entitled to receive, answers to the questions on the CON 29, and any information they do obtain is not covered by Section 10(3) of the Local Land Charges Act 1975 which relates to compensation for loss. The only way to receive this information is to submit the Official Certificate of Search (LLC1) and CON 29 enquiries forms.

Should you wish to make a suggestion, comment or make a complaint about the service please contact us. Click here for contact details.