Public records

This was an announcement of research, published on 1 Oct 2018. It does not say a blockchain was in use as the land register.

HM Land Registry was exploring how blockchain technology could be used. It was partnering with the software company Methods, which would use R3's platform, Corda, for the second phase of a research and development project called Digital Street. Methods would be supported by R3, Blockchain Digital, and their wider partner network. A tender for that support had attracted 22 bids.

Digital Street, then in its second year, was exploring blockchain technology and smart contracts. The project had already created a digital register for a small selection of properties, as a first step towards a register that a computer can read in full and update at once. That digital register is not described as a blockchain.

The Local Land Charge Register brings data from 326 local authorities into a central database. That is a different record from the research.

This is a written account of a test, posted on 24 May 2019. HM Land Registry calls the test a success. It does not say the live register was moved onto a blockchain.

In that year of Digital Street, the team set out to build a prototype for a digital transfer of a property that would update the Land Register automatically. They tested blockchain technology and built the prototype on the Corda platform. The organisations that took part were Mishcon de Reya, MyHomeMove, Shieldpay, Yoti and HM Revenue and Customs.

On 6 Mar 2019 the sale of a semi-detached house in Gillingham completed, after 22 weeks, longer than the six weeks the buyer and seller had expected. In early April the team ran that sale and purchase through the prototype. The people joined by video from different places. The demonstration ran from end to end in less than 10 minutes. A smart contract was used, including for the transfer of funds and for updating the Land Register. The test used a copy of the Land Register.

The registry wants its data structured so that it can support any model or platform the industry might move to. It does not say that Corda became the register.

This is a strategy, published on 31 Aug 2022. It still names Digital Street as research. It does not say the Land Register is kept on a blockchain.

Through Digital Street, the registry will explore how people in the market might use emerging technologies. The technologies it names are artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and robotics. A glossary on the page defines blockchain as a distributed, decentralised public ledger. The same glossary defines tokenisation as a blockchain-based digital copy of a real-world asset, such as property.

The strategy does not say the 2019 test became the way the register is kept. It does not say a database was chosen instead.

This is the registry's strategy, published on 5 Nov 2025. The publication page gives the same day as its modified date. The strategy describes the registers. It does not name a blockchain, a distributed ledger, or Digital Street.

It applies to England and Wales. The registry keeps the official record of who owns what land there. It names four registers. The Register of Title covers over 90% of the land area. Registered property ownerships are worth nearly £9 trillion, with around £1.66 trillion of lending secured against them. The Local Land Charges Register holds local authority information about how a property can be used and enjoyed, such as listed building status and tree preservation orders. The Land Charges Register holds information about mortgages and other claims on land that is not officially registered, and bankruptcy information. The Agricultural Credits Register is for lending over farm assets other than the land, including livestock and equipment.

The registry provides guarantees for the owners of over 27 million property titles. It receives over 17,000 requests to change details on the register each day, and responds to around 215,000 requests for information each day. Investments to that point had let it handle nearly 22 million information requests and 1 million updates to the register of property title, almost at once, each year. There is a single digital register for local land charges.

The current digital systems have copied paper forms. Information is still sent as a PDF, and paper copies of legally binding documents are still accepted and sent in some situations. The information is still mainly text, and it is not structured so the registry can get at the underlying data. The strategy does not say a simpler database was chosen instead of a blockchain, and it does not mention the 2019 test.