References to HM Land Registry apply to England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems. Our mapping covers Great Britain, not Northern Ireland. Ask your conveyancer what the plan needs to show and which documents they already hold.

What makes a conveyancing plan suitable?

A useful plan leaves little room for guesswork. Someone who has never visited the property should be able to locate it and understand which land the transaction concerns.

HM Land Registry’s plan-preparation guidance explains the importance of a clear extent, suitable scale, orientation and surrounding detail. The plan’s markings must agree with the deed.

Our standard site and location plans include a north arrow, scale bar and OS licence information. You can add boundaries and a document title or reference using our customisable plan options. Tell us the intended conveyancing use when you need help choosing.

Start by asking: what is included, what is excluded, and what needs a separate explanation? Resolve uncertainty about the intended transaction with your conveyancer before the plan is attached to documents for signing.

The best conveyancing plan formats by transaction type

The plan’s purpose and its file format are different things. A lease plan describes the property being leased; PDF describes how that plan is supplied.

PDF plans for sales, transfers and Land Registry applications

PDF is often the simplest format for circulating a plan. Clients and solicitors can open it without CAD software, and everyone can review the same page layout.

Check the exported page before sending it. PDF preserves a page layout, but copying, editing or printing with the wrong settings can still alter the result.

For a whole-title sale, your conveyancer may start with the existing register, title plan and relevant deeds. A newly prepared conveyancing plan does not replace those official records. HM Land Registry explains how title plans relate to the register and filed documents.

For electronic submission, follow the receiving service’s requirements. HM Land Registry’s Digital Registration Service notice lists PDF among accepted attachment formats; it is not the only one. Let the conveyancer confirm how the agreed plan should be supplied and incorporated into the legal paperwork.

Scaled title plans for transfers of part

If you’re selling a strip of garden rather than the whole property, the existing title plan may not identify that strip clearly enough. A transaction-specific plan is usually needed.

Although these are sometimes called title plans, the new drawing is normally a deed or transfer plan. It is not an official HM Land Registry title plan simply because it uses Ordnance Survey mapping.

Imagine a garden sale where the seller keeps a path to the rear gate. The plan needs to distinguish the land being sold from any access arrangements described in the transfer. Don’t leave a narrow strip hidden beneath a thick coloured line.

Give your conveyancer the draft before treating it as final. Agreeing the extent early is much easier than trying to reconcile conflicting versions later.

CAD files for architects, developers and complex sites

DWG and DXF are useful when a surveyor, architect or developer needs editable mapping. They allow the team to work with drawing geometry and layers while preparing plots, roads and other site details.

Our CAD maps are georeferenced. Ask the person using them to confirm the required format, version and coverage, then check units and alignment against their other drawings. Georeferencing does not turn base mapping into a measured boundary survey.

Keep the CAD source separate from the agreed issue copy. Give revisions clear names and open the exported PDF independently to check that the intended layers and labels appear.

Our sister website’s PDF, DWG and DXF guide explains the formats. Use it alongside your conveyancer’s instructions for the transaction.

Separate plans for leases and easements

A flat needs more explanation than a line around the building. The lease may need a floor plan showing the accommodation, its level and any separate areas included, such as a parking bay or store.

For a maisonette, check every relevant floor. Make it clear which spaces form part of the property being leased and which are shared or subject to rights. The deed must explain those distinctions.

An easement, such as a right of way, needs its route and extent identified clearly. Ask your conveyancer how it should be marked. A coloured strip on a map does not, by itself, create a legal right to use it.

Scale matters more than many applicants expect

Choose a scale that shows the land clearly without losing the surrounding context. A rural field and a small parking bay do not need the same view.

HM Land Registry’s guidance gives preferred urban scales between 1:1250 and 1:500, and 1:2500 for rural property. A larger-scale detail, such as 1:200, can help with internal divisions. These are starting points, not a promise that any plan at those scales will be suitable.

Agree the paper size as well. When printing, use “Actual size” or 100% on the intended sheet size, and check that nothing is cut off. “Fit to page” can change the printed scale; Adobe explains the available settings.

Keep the original PDF. Don’t paste a screenshot into another document and assume the scale will survive unchanged.

Essential details to check before issuing a plan

Open the version that will actually be used, with the draft deed alongside it. Check:

• The address and full intended extent are shown, including any separate garage, parking space or garden.
• Colours, hatching and labels match the wording in the deed.
• Nearby roads, the north point, stated metric scale and scale bar are readable.
• Separate areas and rights are identified without hiding important detail.
• Drawing references, revisions and any required floor levels are consistent.

Avoid wording such as “for identification only” or “do not scale”; HM Land Registry’s guidance explains the problems these disclaimers can cause.

Plans for transfers or leases of part need the appropriate signatures, including each plan where several are attached. Your conveyancer should confirm who signs. Do not quietly replace an agreed or signed drawing with a revised version.

If the boundary itself is uncertain, pause. Most registered titles in England and Wales show general boundaries, not the exact legal line. HM Land Registry’s boundaries guidance explains the distinction. Measuring a thick red line cannot settle a fence dispute; appropriate surveying or legal advice may be needed.

Do not confuse planning plans with conveyancing plans

A planning location plan identifies a development site. A conveyancing plan helps identify land and rights for a legal transaction. They may use similar base mapping, but the annotations serve different purposes.

In particular, don’t carry planning’s red and blue boundary conventions straight into a deed without checking what the deed says. Each colour or pattern needs an agreed meaning for that transaction.

Our plans can be used for conveyancing as well as planning. Choose and mark the plan for the actual transaction: the land being transferred or leased, any separate areas and any rights described in the deed. Your conveyancer checks those legal details; we can help you choose the appropriate plan.

Choosing the format without creating extra work

Our website offers several routes to a conveyancing plan:

• Site or block plans at 1:200 or 1:500 give a closer view of a compact property or garden area. Include enough surrounding detail to locate it.
• Location plans at 1:1250 or 1:2500 provide wider coverage where the full property extent remains clear.
• DWG and DXF maps suit professionals who need editable, georeferenced mapping to prepare the plan.
• Bespoke maps provide non-standard coverage or scale in PDF, Word, JPG, DWG or DXF. Contact us with the area and your conveyancer’s brief.

Check the available sizes and samples, then confirm the format, extent and scale with the person handling the transaction. Where a lease needs internal floor layouts, arrange those drawings too; an external OS map alone does not show the accommodation.

Need something less straightforward? In a customer review, Mr N G Carey-Thomas described helpful, prompt service when obtaining a bespoke map for legal purposes. If your site is awkward to show, contact us before ordering.

Find your conveyancing plan or call 01856 898 022. Have the property address, required area and any instructions from your conveyancer ready so we can help you choose.