Deeds and Probate – Search and Purchase Online

The basic search screen enables you to use search criteria across both deeds and probate records. For example, if you just enter the surname ‘Smith’ it will look for any deeds and probate records that have been indexed with the surname ‘Smith’. This type of search will always take longer for your results to appear. To narrow down your results, and to obtain quicker performance, you can enter further search criteria.

The quicker way to search is to use the advanced options for Deeds or Probate, albeit this will only search against the respective registry (if you search under the advanced deeds search, you will not get any probate documents and vice versa).

To obtain the maximum results, we would suggest you start by just entering search criteria under one field (for example, a surname) and then if necessary narrow down the number of results you receive by entering more data. If you enter a lot of search criteria first, you run the risk of missing what you are looking for as a result will only be returned if all the criteria is met. For example, when searching deeds if you enter ‘Smith’ as a Grantor Surname, ‘Jones’ as a Grantee Surname, ‘Conveyance’ for Nature of Deed and ‘Arbory’ for Parish, the system will search for any conveyance registered in the parish of Arbory where a selling party has the surname ‘Smith’ and a purchaser has the surname ‘Jones’ – should any one part fail, say if there is a conveyance deed recorded in the system as having been made between ‘Smith’ and ‘Jones’ but it is in the parish of Rushen and not Arbory, no results will show.

Deeds – electronic images of deeds registered from 1991 to date should be available to purchase. Further images are being added to the system on a daily basis.

Probate – electronic images of probate records issued by the High Court since 2006 should be available to purchase.

The cost is £2 per document, whether that be a deed or a probate. The fee has been set under section 92 of the Interpretation Act 2015 which provides the power to charge a reasonable amount for non-obligatory services.

A deed document will show the actual deed together with any associated plans and, if the deed is a mortgage deed that has been cancelled, the receipt to cancel.

A probate document will show the grant of probate together with any wills and codicils. For records from 2006 to date you will also see the application, together with any accompanying documentation, that was submitted to the High Court for the grant.

The image will remain available for you to view in your account, under the ‘Purchased Documents’ area, for 30 days. However, you can download the image on to your own pc/device at any time within the 30 days so that you can keep the document indefinitely. If you do not download the document within the 30 days but want to see it again in the future, you will have to pay to purchase it again.

Although all images have been quality assured, the process is prone to human error like any other. If there is an issue with an image you have purchased, please use the ‘Contact us’ option at the bottom of the page on the online service to let us know what is wrong with it.

The Registry will investigate and respond to you as soon as possible. If the document had been scanned incorrectly, the Registry will supply you with a replacement image free of charge.

The Registry endeavours to respond to issues raised within one week, the time period being greater than normal due to the fact the Registry may have to recall the original record back from off-site storage in order to compare it against the scanned image on the system.

Although all index data is quality assured, the risk of human error exists as it does for scanned images.

If you think a document’s index data is incorrect, please use the ‘Contact us’ option at the bottom of the page on the online service to let us know what is wrong with it – please quote the reference number and state clearly what needs corrected (for example, deed 2019/0XXXX – the surname of the selling party (Jones) spelt incorrectly). Please note that the index data entered can only match what is stated in the deed - for example, if the deed names a party as Fred Johns but you know the person is called Fred Jones, the Registry must still index the surname as it is spelt in the original document. For that reason, before reporting any issue with the index data we request that you compare it against what is stated in the image of the document.

The Registry endeavours to correct any issues within one working day of being notified. The Registry will respond to you advising of any action taken.

If the document you want to view is indexed but the image is not available, you will have the option to request the document when viewing the index data. Once you submit your request, the Registry will upload the requested document as soon as possible and notify you accordingly so that you can purchase it. Even during busy periods, the Registry will endeavour to service all requests within 3 working hours of receipt.

You will need to look for and establish the reference number of the deed(s) and/or probate(s) you wish to see using the indices.

Once established, you can e-mail a request to deeds@gov.im quoting the respective deed and/or probate number(s). Upon receipt of your request, the Registry will upload the requested document(s) as soon as possible and notify you so that you can purchase accordingly.  

As a similar naming convention is applied to both deeds and probate records (year, followed by a sequential number), it is essential that you state clearly in your request whether the document you wish to have made available is a deed or a probate document. The reference for deeds registered prior to July 1989 is made up of a month, then the year, followed by a sequential number (for example May 1960 – 28). Please make sure you quote the full reference number, including the month where applicable, when making a request for a document to be uploaded onto the Online Service. 

The Registry has published indices to enable you to establish the reference number(s) of the record(s) you wish to see.

Please note that the Registry does not have the resources to search the indices on your behalf.

As the index data of deeds registered from 1986 to 1991 inclusive does not include an address, we suggest you try searching using a previous or current owner’s name.

Please also note that even if a deed does have an address indexed, this may not match what the property is currently called as the address indexed will reflect that stated in the deed. For this reason, if you cannot find the document you are looking for we would suggest you try searching using different criteria.

The Registry aims to index new deeds, and upload the associated images, within one working day of them being presented to the Registry.

Probate documents will be made available as soon as the High Court publishes the grant.

A record will only be available if probate has been granted by the High Court.

No information will show if an application for probate has been made to the High Court but has not yet been issued (approved).

A grant of probate is not required in all cases.

Further information about probate can be viewed on the Probate and Admin of Estates page. 

Where a record is not available via the online service, you will still be able to inspect the original document for a fee of £2.50. Any copies required will be charged in addition (30p per page for a black and white copy, £1.20 for colour with A3 plans being charged at £1.20 per print in black and white, £6.50 if in colour).

If the documents that you request to see are already available via the online service, the staff can print the documents out for you for a fee of £6 per document (purchasing documents via the online service will save you £4 per document).

There are computers in the public area of the Registries Building from which you can access the online service but we would suggest you only use these to search the documents. If you do intend to make a purchase on one of these computers, you will need to enter your card details so please make sure that you protect your card details by logging out of the computer after making your purchase. The Registry, or indeed the Isle of Man Government, cannot guarantee your card details will be safe if you use a public pc to make a purchase so please bear this in mind before proceeding.

If you are in the Registries Building and want to purchase a document online (as it will be cheaper), a safer option is to bring and use your own device – the Registries provide free Wi-Fi access to facilitate this.

In line with the Isle of Man Government’s Digital Strategy, the records are being provided digitally to enable you as a customer to access the records from where you want at a time that is most convenient to you. Purchasing documents online rather than coming into the public counter in the Registries Building will save time and money for both you and the Registry staff which, in terms of the latter, can then be spent on improving and providing other services more efficiently.

The Registration of Deeds (Online Publication and Inspection of Documents) Regulations 2019 enables the records to be published and made available for inspection online.