deeds office examination process

Lodgement and Batching

  • Submission: Conveyancing attorneys simultaneously hand in all interconnected documents (the “batch”), which usually consists of the property transfer, the new mortgage bond (if applicable), and (if applicable) the old bond cancellation.
  • Barcoding: Lodgement clerks scan the documents to generate tracking barcodes for the Deeds Office Tracking System (DOTS)
  • Interdict Check: The Data Section captures the information and checks for restrictive legal attachments, liquidations, or court interdicts against the buyer, seller, and property.

Level 1: Junior Examination

  • Distribution: The batch is sent to the distribution room and allocated randomly to a junior examiner.
  • Scrutiny: The junior examiner checks the basic legal compliance, spelling of names, identity numbers, property descriptions, and supporting documents like SARS transfer duty receipts and municipal clearance certificates.
  • Raising Notes: If the junior examiner identifies any discrepancy or error, they log a query, formally known as a “deed note”.

Level 2: Senior Examination

  • Cross-Checking: The documents move to a senior examiner for a secondary, more comprehensive legal review.
  • Reviewing Notes: The senior examiner evaluates the notes raised by the junior examiner. They can add new notes, eliminate irrelevant ones, and make an initial recommendation to either “pass” (approve) or “reject” the batch.

Level 3: Assistant Registrar Monitoring

  • Final Scrutiny: An Assistant Registrar of Deeds performs the third and final level of examination.
  • Final Judgment: They act as the ultimate arbitrator on outstanding notes. If there is a material error that cannot be easily fixed, the Assistant Registrar officially rejects the deed, sending it back to the delivery section for the conveyancer to collect, correct, and re-lodge.
  • Passing the Deed: If the batch is legally flawless, the Assistant Registrar passes it, moving the documents forward to the preparation phase. 

The Preparation (“Prep”) Phase

  • Notification: The deeds come “up for registration,” and the conveyancing attorneys are notified that their batch has passed examination.
  • Rectifying Minor Notes: The conveyancer has a window of 5 working days to go to the Deeds Office preparation room, resolve minor non-material notes, and sync up with the linked bond and cancellation attorneys.
  • Putting Forward: Once everything is cleared, the conveyancer signs and puts the deeds forward for execution.

Execution and Registration

  • Sign-off: On the final morning, the conveyancer and the Registrar of Deeds physically sign the deeds.
  • Official Transfer: This signature legally transfers ownership from the seller to the buyer.

The entire process from lodgement through to registration typically takes between 7 to 10 working days. After execution, the documents go through final administrative steps like numbering, data capturing, and microfilming before the physical title deed is delivered back to the attorney or the bank if the property is bonded.