If you suspect that a document used in a property sale, purchase, mortgage or registration is false or forged, act immediately: pause any unsafe transaction step, preserve every record, contact your conveyancer through verified details, notify HM Land Registry, and report alleged forgery to the police or the appropriate fraud-reporting service. The procedure below is for property in England and Wales; other jurisdictions use different registries, police contacts, deadlines and correction processes.
First check which jurisdiction applies
Land-registration procedures are territorial. The guidance in this article follows HM Land Registry Practice Guide 39, which applies to England and Wales and was last updated on 1 June 2026. If the property is in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another country, identify that jurisdiction before relying on any reporting body, restriction, deadline or compensation rule. Ask a locally qualified property solicitor or conveyancer to replace the England-and-Wales steps with the applicable process.
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A document can be suspicious because a signature appears copied, a deed has been altered, an identity document does not match the person involved, or a document was submitted without the registered proprietor’s authority. You do not need to prove the forgery before raising an urgent concern. Your job is to preserve what you have and give the authorities and your legal adviser enough information to assess it.
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What to do first: a safe response sequence
- Pause the next transaction step if you can do so safely and lawfully. Do not authorise a transfer, completion, mortgage drawdown or other dealing merely to keep a timetable moving when the underlying paperwork may be false. Tell your own conveyancer or solicitor what you have found and ask what can be paused. A stop-work decision can have contractual consequences, so obtain advice rather than sending unilateral instructions that could create a separate breach.
- Use independently verified contact details. Call or write to your conveyancer using the number or address already held in your engagement paperwork, not contact details contained only in a suspicious email or document. Ask the firm to confirm the matter through a known channel and to identify who is responsible for urgent fraud escalation.
- Preserve the evidence exactly as received. Keep the original paper documents, scans, emails, message headers, envelopes, payment information, transaction records and notes of telephone calls. Make working copies for review, but do not write on, crop, overwrite or digitally “clean up” the only copy. Report Fraud advises keeping copies of transaction paperwork and notes of phone conversations.
- Tell HM Land Registry promptly. For a property in England or Wales, use its current public contact form or customer-support route and explain that you suspect fraud or forgery connected with the property. For an imminent fraudulent sale or mortgage, Report Fraud lists the HM Land Registry Property Fraud Line, 0300 006 7030, open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5:00pm. Confirm the current number and opening hours when you call because contact routes can change.
- Report alleged forgery to the police. HM Land Registry says that, as well as applying to it for rectification of the register, the alleged forgery should be reported to the police. Report Fraud also accepts reports of committed fraud. Obtain the crime reference number and the investigating officer’s details, then give them to HM Land Registry so it can liaise with the police if necessary.
- Ask about immediate protection for the register. Ask your conveyancer whether an application for a restriction is appropriate and whether an urgent application or other protective step is available on the facts. A restriction is not automatic and does not itself decide who owns the property; it adds a condition that must be met before a later dealing can be registered.
- Get advice on correction and financial loss as separate issues. If the register is already wrong, ask about a formal correction (rectification) application. At the same time, preserve evidence of money lost, professional fees, court or application costs and other expenses. Register correction and compensation are related but different processes, and an indemnity payment is not guaranteed.
Build an evidence file without damaging the originals
Keep the document and its chain of receipt
Save the file in the format in which it arrived. For paper, retain every page, staple, envelope, covering letter and delivery label. For electronic material, preserve the original message, attachments, message headers and the date and time received. Do not rely only on a screenshot: export or forward the original message in a way that retains its technical details, and keep a separate copy for ordinary viewing.
Record what happened while memories are fresh
- Write a dated chronology showing who sent or presented each document, when you received it, and what you did next.
- Record the names, phone numbers and roles of everyone involved in calls or meetings.
- Keep notes of telephone conversations, including the date, time, number dialled, key statements and any promised follow-up.
- Preserve payment instructions, account details, invoices, completion statements and proof of payments or attempted payments.
- Save earlier versions of documents and all related emails, messages and file-transfer notifications.
Do not confront a suspected forger, publish accusations online or alert someone who may destroy evidence. Let your solicitor and the investigating authority decide what contact is safe and useful. If a professional asks for a document for examination, provide a copy first and record when any original leaves your possession.
Three different routes—and what each one does
People often use “report it” to describe several processes. They have different purposes and should be pursued in parallel where appropriate.
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| Route | Purpose | What to provide or ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Police or Report Fraud | Investigates alleged criminal fraud or forgery and creates a crime reference. | Give the chronology, documents, communications, payment information and names of witnesses. Ask for the crime reference number and investigating officer’s details. |
| HM Land Registry | Alerts the land-registration authority to suspected fraud and allows it to consider protective or corrective action. | Explain the property, the suspected dealing, the documents involved and any urgent risk. Ask about a restriction and the correct application route. |
| Formal rectification application | Seeks correction of a register that may contain a mistake, such as a forged disposition. | Identify the mistake, the correction sought and the reasons, supported by evidence. Be prepared for an objection or referral to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber, Land Registration). |
| Indemnity claim | Addresses certain financial losses caused by a register mistake. | Keep evidence of each loss, fee and expense and how the amount was calculated. Ask for advice on eligibility; payment is not automatic. |
How HM Land Registry protection and correction work
A restriction can add a conveyancer certification step
In many cases HM Land Registry can, on application, enter a standard-form restriction requiring a conveyancer to certify that the person executing a lodged disposition is the proprietor. This can make a later sale or mortgage more difficult for a fraudster to register. It is a protective control, not a finding that a crime occurred, and it requires an application. Your conveyancer should explain which restriction, if any, fits the title and circumstances.
Because a restriction does not automatically freeze every activity on a title, ask what dealing it covers, what certificate is required, who can give it and how quickly it can be entered. Do not assume that sending an email to HM Land Registry has itself created a restriction.
If the forged deed has already been registered
Ask for a formal rectification application. The application should identify the alleged mistake, state the correction sought and set out the reasons. HM Land Registry may notify people whose registered interests could be affected. A notified person generally has until noon on the 15th working day after the notice was issued to respond. That is a notice-response period, not a general deadline for reporting suspected forgery. Anyone who needs longer should request an extension before the period expires and explain why.
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A correction application can be challenged. If an objection is not resolved, completion may be prevented while the dispute is dealt with, and the matter may be referred to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber, Land Registration). Your adviser should explain the likely evidence, costs and timetable for the particular title rather than promising that the register will be changed quickly.
Proof may require more than the document itself
HM Land Registry says the applicant must prove that the document was forged. A handwriting expert’s report may be required where the authenticity of a signature is disputed. The Registry may hold only an electronic copy because it is not required to keep original documents. An admission that a document was forged does not remove the need for evidence when rectification is sought; preserve the admission and the circumstances in which it was made, then let your legal adviser decide how to use it.
What if completion or registration has not happened yet?
Tell your conveyancer before signing, exchanging, releasing funds or authorising registration. Ask for a written explanation of which step is being paused and whether any contractual notice is required. Notify HM Land Registry as soon as possible if the suspected dealing concerns the title. If the concern involves a mortgage, tell the lender through its verified fraud or legal contact as well as your conveyancer; do not rely on a message from the suspicious party to “correct” the paperwork.
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Keep a record of every deadline and instruction. A transaction can involve several independent documents, so a genuine document elsewhere in the file does not validate the one you question. Conversely, a discrepancy may be an administrative error rather than a forgery; only the relevant professionals and authorities can determine that after reviewing the evidence.
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Tell your solicitor immediately and preserve the payment trail: account details supplied, confirmation messages, completion statements, bank references and the precise time and amount of each transfer. Ask your adviser which urgent notifications are appropriate for the bank, lender and other participants. Keep evidence of consequential costs and losses, but do not describe an amount as recoverable until a solicitor has assessed the applicable rules.
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Questions to take to your solicitor or conveyancer
- What exact document or dealing is suspected to be false, and what transaction step can still be paused?
- Should an application for a standard-form restriction be made, and what risk would it address?
- Has anything already been lodged or registered, and what title entries and applications should be checked?
- What evidence is needed to prove forgery, including whether a handwriting expert is appropriate?
- Who will notify HM Land Registry, the police, Report Fraud, the lender and any other affected party?
- If a rectification notice arrives, when does the 15-working-day response period end at noon, and who will prepare the response?
- Which losses may be relevant to an indemnity claim, and what documents prove each amount?
Common mistakes that make a case harder
- Waiting for certainty. HM Land Registry’s instruction is to report a suspected fraud immediately; proof can be developed after the alert.
- Editing the only copy. Mark-ups, renamed files or missing message headers can make authenticity harder to assess.
- Using unverified contact details. A fraudster can impersonate a conveyancer, bank or registry contact. Use details from an independently trusted record.
- Treating a police report as a register correction. Criminal investigation does not by itself amend the title.
- Treating a restriction as a final solution. It is an application-based protective condition, not an automatic freeze or ownership decision.
- Assuming compensation follows automatically. Rectification, indemnity and recovery from a perpetrator involve different tests and evidence.
- Missing a notice deadline. If HM Land Registry serves a rectification notice, calculate the noon deadline from the issue date and request more time before it expires if necessary.
When the property is outside England and Wales
Do not substitute HM Land Registry, Report Fraud or the 15-working-day rule into another jurisdiction. Start by identifying the local land registry, police or fraud-reporting authority, and the local solicitor’s procedure for freezing or correcting a title. Preserve the same categories of evidence, but ask local counsel which forms, emergency applications, notice periods and compensation schemes apply. A title system may use different terminology for a restriction, rectification or indemnity.
Key takeaways
- For property in England and Wales, report suspected registration fraud to HM Land Registry promptly and report alleged forgery to the police.
- Keep documents, electronic records, payment information and call notes intact; the Registry may not hold an original deed.
- Ask about an application-based restriction to require conveyancer certification on a later disposition.
- If the register is already wrong, prepare a formal rectification application and expect that an objection can delay completion or lead to a tribunal referral.
- Remember that the 15-working-day period applies to responding to a rectification notice, not to making the initial fraud report.
- Deal with register correction and possible indemnity separately, with evidence for every claimed loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if documents in my property sale or purchase are fake?
Stop the next unsafe step if possible, contact your conveyancer through verified details, preserve the documents and communications, notify HM Land Registry for property in England and Wales, and report alleged forgery to the police or Report Fraud.
Should I tell the police about a forged property document?
Yes. HM Land Registry says alleged forgery should be reported to the police. Obtain the crime reference number and investigating officer’s details so HM Land Registry can liaise with the investigation.
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Can HM Land Registry stop a fraudulent sale?
It can consider protective measures, including an application for a standard-form restriction requiring conveyancer certification, but a restriction is not automatic and does not itself determine ownership.
What if the forged deed has already been registered?
Ask a qualified adviser about a formal rectification application identifying the mistake, correction sought and reasons. A notified person generally has until noon on the 15th working day after the notice was issued to respond, and an unresolved objection may be referred to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber, Land Registration).
What evidence should I keep?
Keep original documents, electronic files and message headers, envelopes, payment records, transaction paperwork, earlier versions and dated notes of calls. Do not annotate or alter the only copy; proving forgery may require expert evidence.
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