The Mission of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) is to create confidence by delivering assured land title and land survey systems essential to the property market and economic foundation of British Columbia.
Note that fees apply to the services provided by Land Title Offices. Fees are required at the same time documents are submitted or when a letter of request is made by mail. When an application is made in-person, fees are payable by debit card, cash or cheque. Please make cheques payable to the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia. Wherever your real estate professional (e.g., lawyer, notary, land surveyor, registry agent) provides land title registry services on your behalf, LTSA fees would normally be incorporated into their invoice.
Q: I Just Signed an Agreement to Purchase My First Home. What Do I Do Now?
A: What an exciting time! 'What to do next' is a question that your real estate agent may give you some direction on, but you are going to need the expertise of a lawyer or notary.
The legal professional you choose will determine what documentation will be required by investigating the current status of the title. They will look for the possibility of outstanding taxes, or see if there is a mortgage, Claim of Builders Lien, or other charge registered against the property. Your prospective title ownership can be affected by other types of personal debts that are owed by the current title owner, and you would not be aware of this unless the current title is searched.
Your legal professional becomes your representative in these matters and acts on your behalf. They can advise you on how to have your title ownership recorded based on conditions such as your estate planning or business needs. They will also answer any property tax questions that you may have.
BC lawyers and notaries can file the required land transfer documentation directly through the LTSA's secure Electronic Filing System (EFS). This can be done right from their offices, saving time and avoiding courier and mailing issues. EFS also adds a further fraud protection layer to your valuable title ownership. To find a lawyer or notary using EFS, click here.
When your legal professional files documentation on your behalf, they become responsible to remedy any potential defects in the documents, as determined by an LTSA Examiner of Title. Lawyers and notaries may confirm registration of the 'Form A' transfer by providing you with a current State of Title Certificate, which is a certified true copy of your new land title.
A: Conducting a land title search for a particular property provides you with the name of the registered owner and a list of any registered legal interests which affect the title, such as:
Legal notations
Charges, liens and interests
Undersurface rights
Restrictive covenants
Pending applications
Real estate professionals, including lawyers, notaries, land surveyors, real estate agents and an independent Registry Agents are able to conduct land title searches and obtain copies of land title documents on your behalf. These professionals are almost always account holders with the BC OnLine system which enables access to the LTSA's computerized land title records.
Title searches can also be obtained from the provincial government's Service BC Centres that are located in communities throughout the province. Access to land title records is provided through the BC OnLine service.
Staff at Land Title Offices in New Westminster, Kamloops and Victoria can also respond to your in-person requests for title searches or copies of registered documents and plans. Not everyone, however, resides in or close enough to a Land Title Office to make this a practical route for conducting a title search. Legal descriptions or Parcel Identifier Numbers (PIDs) are often required to access land title and survey records. The Land Title Offices cannot use a civic address to perform a title search. Please see our Access to Records page for more information.
Fees are payable to the LTSA for searching land title registry records and obtaining copies of land title records. If you hire a real estate professional to assist in obtaining and / or interpreting land title records, you will also have to pay their additional service fees.
A. You may need to obtain a copy of the title of your property for one or more reasons, for example:
To check to see if your lawyer or notary has registered your title
Estate Planning - for your Will or for the Court House because you are the Executor or Administrator of an estate, for immigration purposes, or for your personal records
A State of Title Certificate is a computer-generated copy of the title which is certified correct at the time of issue by the Land Title Office. There are several options for obtaining a State of Title Certificate:
Your lawyer or notary - can order State of Title Certificates right from their office, for a fee, through the BC OnLine System as part of their work process when dealing with estate, immigration, court, registration of land interests, and other purposes.
The LTSA - can respond to your written requests to obtain a State of Title Certificate. State of Title Certificate requests must be received by the LTSA office responsible for that property's registration district. To request a State of Title Certificate, you must provide a complete legal description of the property of interest. Street (civic) address cannot be used. The legal description, which usually consists of a lot number, various other descriptive numbers, plan number and also includes a nine digit Parcel Identifier Number (PID), is recorded on your BC Assessment Authority tax notice or on your municipal tax notice. You can contact BC Assessment for a legal description for any property located in BC. Fees are payable to the LTSA for searching land title registry records and obtaining copies of land title records.
Q: How Do I Apply for My Duplicate Certificate of Title?
A: To apply for your Duplicate Certificate of Title, a Land Title Act Form 22 must be completed, witnessed and submitted with the current fees. Your lawyer or notary would submit this on your behalf.
But, let's take a moment to determine if this is actually the Certificate that you are looking for. Your 'title' is only issued as a 'duplicate title'. It can only be released from the Land Title Office if your current title does not have a mortgage or a right to purchase registered against it. And, the 'duplicate' cannot currently be out of the office, as only one may be issued at a time.
Your Duplicate Certificate of Title is a very valuable document. When this 'duplicate' has been issued, a mortgage or a transfer of ownership for that parcel cannot be registered in the Land Title Office until it is 'surrendered' back into the system. Therefore, if the 'duplicate' is lost, or stolen, and you wish to transfer your interest in that parcel, or mortgage it, you would be required to follow a costly process, involving legal fees and possibly the requirement of advertising in a local newspaper. This process will take some time and will delay any transfer or mortgaging of your parcel of land. Transmitting ownership due to the death of one of the owners will be delayed as well.
If you are actually only wishing to have a copy of your title, for example, to complete your personal home ownership records, your lawyer or notary would apply for a State of Title Certificate, which is a certified true copy of your title. This certificate is accepted by the Courts as proof of ownership. Or, for a less formal printout of your title, you may obtain a computer-generated 'title search'. The owner's 'duplicate title' typically remains in the LTSA system.
Q: I Have Paid My Mortgage Off. How Do I Take It Off My Property?
A: Lawyers, notaries or your lending institution may complete applications to cancel a mortgage, and file them through the LTSA's secure Electronic Filing System directly from their office at any time of the day. On occasion, a financial institution will opt to not use EFS and provide the property owner with a completed 'Form C' to mail to the Land Title Office to remove the mortgage (bringing the form in person is not required). Your legal representative can provide you with confirmation of cancellation of the mortgage by supplying you with a State of Title Certificate, which is a certified true copy of the title.
A similar process is followed to register a new mortgage on your property. When a mortgage is registered by a legal professional, they are responsible for interpreting the mortgage document and its effect when registered. As well, they are responsible for remedying any potential defects in the documentation, as may be determined by an LTSA Examiner of Title when they review the application.
Q: I Supplied All of the Concrete for a Condominium Complex Project and Haven't Been Paid. How Do I Put a Claim of Builders Lien on the Property?
A: Filing a Claim of Builders Lien with the LTSA is an important first step in protecting your claim for an outstanding debt for work done that qualifies under the Builders Lien Act. A lawyer is the legal professional that can determine what legal process to pursue on your behalf. They will provide you with legal counsel as to what the ramifications of filing a claim are, or determine if an alternate legal process should be started to protect your interest. A lawyer creates and can now file the correct documentation with the LTSA through the secure EFS right from their office, at any time of the day.
Transmission to Executor or Transmission to Surviving Joint Tenant
Q: My Mother Passed Away and I Want to Take Her Off the Title. I Have the Estate Papers from the Court and I Need to Put the Title into My Name as an Executor. What Do I Do?
A: This is a difficult time to be going through and it can be frustrating to deal with the legal paper work that will be required.
Transmission of property does require specific documents that may be issued by various governments throughout the world. For example, a Death Certificate from Hawaii would not necessarily be acceptable for land title purposes in BC. Also, there are other legal aspects to consider such as estate planning, future title ownership needs or land tax deferment possibilities. By involving a lawyer or notary you will find that they are legally equipped to advise you and to acquire, provide and complete the required land title documentation that will be determined by their investigation of the current status of the title as it is recorded in the land title registry.
There may be court documents required that they will apply for on your behalf, or they can identify and obtain certain types of certificates that may be needed, which then allows the registration of changed of title to proceed with fewer time delays. These legal professionals can also file this documentation through the LTSA's secure EFS that protects against fraud through the electronic digital signature process. Legal professionals can file documentation for land located in BC right from their computers, saving time and avoiding mailing problems.
After filing the necessary documentation with the LTSA, the legal professional will be responsible for any potential deficiencies in the documents and will be required to remedy them, at their cost. Your legal professional can also provide you with a current State of Title Certificate which is a certified true copy of the new title record.
A: The registration of any plan often involves more than appears on the surface. A lawyer, notary (or BC land surveyor where appropriate) can file your plan application and associated legal documents through the LTSA's secure EFS. This expedites the registration of your plan(s), titles and/or charges. And, when a plan package is found not to comply with the LTSA's legal requirements, the legal professional is responsible to remedy those defects as well as pay the defect fees. The legal professional can also apply and pay for, on your behalf, a State of Title Certificate or Certificates, as confirmation of the finalization of the registration process.
A: You will need one original plan, two mylar plans and three paper prints (for most plan types). Applications must be completed with a black ink pen or typed in black ink. All printing or writing must be of an image quality that can be electronically scanned into and read from the electronic image system. Fees are also payable.
These submissions are not inspected as being complete or accurate at the Land Title Office front counter. The plan package will be assigned pending plan numbers and then processed through the cashier system where the documents/applications are assigned their pending numbers. These numbers and document/plan type classifications will be electronically recorded as pending against the parcels of land involved.
Within a few days, an Examiner of Title will examine the plan package as to its legal requirements in relation to the Land Title Act, to provincial, municipal and federal acts, and to other statutes that may apply. A determination of the status of the current title is involved as part of the examination process and there may be additional documentation and/or additional signatures required to allow for the finalization of your plan package.
You may receive a Notice Declining to Register (Defect Notice) as a result of deficiencies in a plan package. This Defect Notice will be written in a legal style and will often require the involvement of a legal professional such as lawyer, notary or BC land surveyor to remedy the defect. There will be a defect fee applied. Additional legal documentation and/or additional filing fees may be required.
If you wish to receive confirmation of the registration of your plan package you may, at the time of filing, complete a State of Title Certificate Application for one lot or each lot. There is a fee for each Certificate that is ordered.
Q: Do Land Title Offices Send Out 'Filing Letters' That Go with Changes of Bylaws Under the Strata Property Act and Other Activities?
A: Yes, we can mail a filing letter to your address. Please complete the letter with black ink or black type. The printing or writing must be of a legible quality that can be scanned into and then read from the LTSA's electronic imaging system.
Note that any documentation attached to your filing letter will be subject to an examination as to the legal correctness of that documentation. If there are deficiencies in your documentation, a Defect Notice will be issued to your attention. The language used will be of a legal nature and you may require a lawyer or notary's expertise to remedy the defect, or to obtain additional legal documentation to complete the filing process. There will be a defect fee to be paid as well.
By choosing to employ a legal professional to create and file your legal documentation, you will gain the advantage of that professional ultimately being responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all documentation and for any defect fees that may be applicable. They are well versed in any additional requirements that may have to be met.
View an image of the format for a filing letter that is acceptable to the LTSA:
Q: What is the Property Transfer Tax? Am I Eligible for an Exemption?
A: The Property Transfer Tax is a provincial tax that applies to the transfer of property. Eligible first time buyers are exempt from the tax. The LTSA facilitates the payment of the Property Transfer Tax fee through its cashier system but remits all of the collected taxes to the provincial government. Accordingly, Land Title Office employees cannot provide taxation advice.
The Property Transfer Tax is combined in your land title registration fees at the time your lawyer or notary files - there is not a separate payment for the tax.
The LTSA is not involved in the governance of the Property Transfer Tax regulations or in establishing the information requirements that must be met when completing the tax form.
The provincial Ministry of Finance is responsible for administering the Property Transfer Tax.
Q: What Can 'Form 17' Be Used For? Am I Eligible for An Exemption?
Land Title Office 'Form 17' application is a multi-use application. The completion requirements are dependent upon what additional documentation is to be attached to it, for example, applications for:
Amalgamation of Companies
Change of Name
Transmission to a Surviving Joint Tenant
Transmission to an Executor
Transmission to an Administrator
Release of a Charge Due to the Effluxion of Time
A lawyer or notary is conversant with the LTSA's legal requirements regarding what constitutes a complete and correct document for filing. Often, additional documentation, such a proof of marriage or death, must be obtained from other recognized agencies throughout the world. This proof must meet with the legal requirements. A lawyer or notary can file most applications through the secure EFS, resulting in timely transactions. Also, they will be responsible to remedy any potential deficiencies in the documentation and for any related defect fees. As your representative, they will also provide confirmation of the finalization of the filing and/or registration event.
More FAQs
If you haven't found the answer to your question here, take a look at our other Frequently Asked Questions pages.
