Official Land Registry Document
Certified Folio & Plan
Certified Folio and Map Copies in Ireland
Quick Answer
A certified folio and map are officially certified copies of the register entry and title plan for a registered property in Ireland, issued under the seal of the Property Registration Authority. Certification is what makes them acceptable where an ordinary office copy is not — to a lender, to another solicitor, or in court. They are prepared as hard copies and posted out.
When a transaction reaches the point where the other side will not accept an information copy, the Property Registration Authority can certify the folio and map as true copies of the register, and that certified pair is what carries evidential weight.
Key Facts
Postal Delivery
Certified hard copy by post
What Is This Document
A certified folio is a copy of the register entry that carries a certificate stating it is a true copy of the register as it stood on the date of issue, given under the seal of the Property Registration Authority. A certified map is the same treatment applied to the title plan. Ordered together they are the certified equivalent of the ordinary folio and map pair.
The content is identical to an uncertified copy. Part I still describes the property and gives the plan reference, Part II still names the registered owner and states the Nature of Title, and Part III still lists the burdens. What changes is the standing of the paper. An uncertified copy is information; a certified copy is evidence, issued by the authority that maintains the register and vouched as accurate on its date.
That distinction is procedural rather than cosmetic. A solicitor certifying title to a lender needs certified material on the file. A bank taking security wants certification before releasing funds. An application to court, a probate matter involving a substantial holding, a boundary dispute, a compulsory purchase negotiation, a family settlement being formally recorded — each of these routinely proceeds on certified copies because the party relying on the document needs to be able to point to the authority behind it.
Certification speaks to accuracy and nothing further. A certified folio and map confirm what the register recorded on the day of issue. They do not warrant that the register is complete as against unregistered interests, do not fix the exact boundary line, and do not make the mapped boundary conclusive where the general boundaries rule applies. Nor do they stay current: a dealing lodged after the certification date will not be reflected on them.
Which Document Do I Need
Different questions need different documents:
| Situation | Recommended Document |
|---|---|
| Establish who owns a property | Folio Search |
| See ownership, burdens and extent for your own information | Folio and Map |
| Produce certified evidence of the register entry | Certified Folio |
| Produce a certified plan of the registered extent | Certified Map |
| Read the wording of a right of way, charge or covenant | Instrument Copy |
What Information Is Included
Certification stamp and seal, with the date the copies were certified
The registered owner or owners, with the date of registration
The Nature of Title — absolute, qualified, possessory or good leasehold
The property description in Part I, by townland and county, with the plan reference
Every burden registered in Part III, including charges, rights of way, wayleaves, covenants and grazing or turbary entitlements
Any cautions, inhibitions or notices restricting dealings with the land
The certified Land Registry map showing the parcel the folio describes
The folio number and county, which identify the property on any subsequent order
Why People Order
Certifying title to a lender
A solicitor giving a certificate of title needs certified copies on the file rather than information copies printed from a search.
Completing a mortgage drawdown
Banks commonly require certified evidence of the registered position before releasing funds on a purchase or a refinance.
Selling a substantial holding
Where the value or complexity justifies it, a purchaser's solicitor will ask for certification rather than accept an office copy.
Applying to court
Proceedings touching land — boundary disputes, partition, specific performance, enforcement — proceed on certified copies of the register.
Administering a large estate
Executors dealing with significant landholdings use certified copies to prove registered ownership to the Probate Office and to financial institutions.
Negotiating a compulsory purchase
Where a public authority is acquiring land, certified evidence of ownership and burdens is the basis for the claim.
Recording a family settlement
Divisions of land within a family that are being formally documented rely on certified copies of the existing position.
Resolving a disputed right of way
Certified evidence of the Part III entry is the starting point before the instrument behind it is examined.
Satisfying an overseas requirement
Parties abroad dealing with Irish property frequently need documents that carry an official certificate rather than a printout from a screen.
Proving a possessory or qualified title
Where the Nature of Title is anything other than absolute, certified evidence of that classification is normally what a lender asks to see first.
Real World Use Cases
Solicitors
Practitioners are the largest single source of certified orders. Certifying title, replying to requisitions on a high-value sale, or preparing papers for court all call for material that carries the authority's certificate rather than a printout from a search.Lenders and Banks
Institutions taking security over Irish property want the registered position certified before funds are released, particularly where the title class is anything other than absolute or where substantial burdens appear in Part III.Home Buyers
Most residential purchases proceed on ordinary copies, but certification is worth the difference where the title is possessory or qualified, where a boundary is already in question, or where a lender has asked for it directly.Executors and Personal Representatives
Proving what the deceased owned to the Probate Office and to banks is straightforward with certified copies and frequently contested without them, especially where the estate includes several holdings.Developers and Investors
Site assembly, options and joint ventures turn on precisely what each folio covers and what is registered against it, and the parties to those agreements normally insist on certified evidence rather than information copies.Overseas Owners and Buyers
People dealing with Irish property from abroad often need documents an institution in another jurisdiction will accept, and an official certificate under seal travels considerably better than a screen print.
Land Registry Context
The value of certification comes from the legal standing of the register itself, and that standing is the whole point of the Irish title registration system.
Registration of title was introduced to replace investigation of a chain of deeds with reliance on a single state-maintained record. Under the Registration of Title Act 1964 the register is conclusive evidence of the title of the registered owner, subject to the burdens noted on it and to certain interests that affect registered land without appearing on the register at all. That conclusiveness is why a certified copy carries weight: it is not one party's account of the title but the state's record of it, vouched by the authority that keeps it.
The Nature of Title stated in Part II qualifies that conclusiveness, and it is the entry most often overlooked. Absolute title is the strongest class. Qualified title excepts some specified matter. Possessory title guarantees only the applicant's possession and leaves earlier rights unaffected, and it arises where first registration proceeded on long occupation rather than a complete documentary chain. Good leasehold guarantees the leasehold interest but not the lessor's power to grant it. A certified copy makes that classification formally provable, which matters because a lender's appetite frequently turns on it.
Certification does not extend the register's reach. Interests that affect registered land without registration remain outside it, the general boundaries rule still means the plan does not fix the exact line, and a certificate speaks only as at its date of issue — a dealing lodged the following week will not appear on it.
Where land is unregistered, none of this applies. Title rests in deeds recorded at the Registry of Deeds, where registration governs priority between competing instruments rather than guaranteeing title, and no folio exists to be certified at all.
Common Mistakes
Paying to certify what an ordinary copy already answers
Certification adds evidential standing, not information. If you simply want to know who owns a property or what burdens are registered, an ordinary folio search or folio and map answers it for less — /folio-search/dublin/.
Treating certification as a guarantee of the boundary
The general boundaries rule is unaffected by certification. A certified map is a certified copy of a plan that shows the division approximately, and it does not make the line conclusive.
Assuming a certificate stays current
A certified copy speaks as at its date of issue. Dealings lodged afterwards will not appear, so a certificate obtained months before completion may no longer reflect the register.
Overlooking the Nature of Title
Possessory and qualified title are materially weaker than absolute, and the entry sits in Part II where it is easily read past. Certification proves the class formally, which is precisely why lenders ask for it.
Ordering a single copy where several are needed
A lender, a purchaser's solicitor and a court office may each require their own certified copy, and ordering them together at the outset is cheaper and faster than certifying the same folio three times over several weeks.
Assuming certification reaches unregistered interests
A certificate vouches the register, not the whole title. Short leases, rights acquired by long occupation and other interests that bind registered land without appearing on it are unaffected by certification and must be investigated separately.
When Not Sufficient
Certified copies prove what the register recorded on their date of issue. They do not disclose unregistered interests, fix an exact boundary, set out the terms of the instruments behind Part III burdens, cover land that has never been registered, or remain current once later dealings are lodged. Those need an instrument copy, a Registry of Deeds search, a surveyor, or a fresh copy taken closer to completion.
How To Order
Send the address and Eircode of the property, or the folio number together with its county. Folio numbers repeat across counties, so the county forms part of the identifier rather than being optional.
Say at the outset that certified copies are required and who is asking for them — a lender, another solicitor, a court office — because that occasionally affects how many copies are worth ordering and when they should be dated.
If you do not have a folio number, our team locates the folio from the address and confirms the property before anything is certified, coming back to you where more than one registered parcel matches.
Turnaround & Delivery
Delivery time:
Certified copies are prepared as certified hard copies under seal and posted to the address you give us. Certification is a physical process, so these cannot be supplied as an emailed download — the certificate is on the document itself.
If the property cannot be identified from the details supplied, or the land proves to be unregistered so that no folio exists to certify, we contact you before anything is prepared.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does certification actually add?
Evidential standing rather than extra information. The content matches an ordinary copy, but the certificate under seal states that it is a true copy of the register as at its date, which is what a lender, another solicitor or a court office relies on.
How do certified copies reach me?
As certified hard copies under seal, posted to the address you provide. Because the certificate is applied to the document itself, certified copies are not available as an emailed download in the way an ordinary copy is.
How current is a certified copy?
It states the register as at its date of certification. Dealings lodged after that date will not appear, so where completion is some way off it is normal to take a fresh copy closer to the day rather than rely on an older certificate.
Do I need certification for an ordinary house purchase?
Often not. Many residential transactions proceed on ordinary copies. Certification becomes worthwhile where a lender asks for it, where the Nature of Title is possessory or qualified, or where a boundary or burden is already in dispute.
Can a certified folio be used for probate?
Yes. Executors administering an estate that includes registered land use certified copies to prove the deceased's registered ownership to the Probate Office and to financial institutions, which is one of the most common reasons certification is ordered.
Does a certified map settle a boundary dispute?
No. Ireland operates a general boundaries system, and certification does not change that. The certified plan is a certified copy of a map showing the division approximately, so the exact line is still established through the instruments and physical evidence.
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Property Records Editorial Team
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