# How long do you have to reply to a Land Registry requisition, and what happens if the date passes

> HM Land Registry allows 60 working days to reply to most requisitions, warns at day 40, then cancels. The dates worked, with an extension request to copy.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/land-registry-requisition-time-to-reply-extension-cancellation/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Solicitors, Conveyancing, updates and chasing
- Published 1 October 2026
- Key fact: Rule 16 of the Land Registration Rules 2003 lets the registrar set a period of not less than 20 working days to answer a requisition, but HM Land Registry's practice guide 50 allows 60 working days for most applications, sends a warning of cancellation after 40 and normally extends by 20 on a written request. For a requisition dated 5 October 2026 those points fall on 30 November 2026, 30 December 2026 and 28 January 2027.
- Sources: HM Land Registry practice guide 50, "Requisition and cancellation procedures" (updated 16 March 2026) and practice guide 12, "Official searches and outline applications" (updated 28 July 2025), on GOV.UK; Land Registration Rules 2003 rule 16 on legislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK "UK bank holidays" for England and Wales; all read on 2026-10-01. The working-day dates are our count.

HM Land Registry allows 60 working days to reply in full to most requisitions. It sends a warning of cancellation after 40 working days, and if no full reply or successful extension request arrives it may cancel the whole application.

**Free tool on the page:** Land Registry requisition extension request maker. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/land-registry-requisition-time-to-reply-extension-cancellation/#tool and asks for no sign-up.

## The rule and the practice

Rule 16 of the Land Registration Rules 2003 says the registrar may raise requisitions and specify a period of not less than 20 working days for the applicant to comply. If the applicant does not, the registrar may cancel the application or extend the period.

Practice guide 50, updated on 16 March 2026, sets out how the rule is applied:

- A point that can be dealt with quickly may be raised first by telephone or email. It is held for a maximum of three working days, then a formal requisition is issued.
- The specified period is 20 working days, "but for most applications we allow a longer period of 60 working days".
- The warning of cancellation is normally sent after 40 working days and explains how to ask for more time.
- Where a later application is being expedited, a reminder may come at any time, giving 20 working days.

## The dates for a requisition raised on 5 October 2026

| Point | Working days | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Requisition dated | 0 | Monday 5 October 2026 |
| The period named in the rule | 20 | Monday 2 November 2026 |
| Warning of cancellation | 40 | Monday 30 November 2026 |
| Cancellation due | 60 | Wednesday 30 December 2026 |
| Cancellation due after one extension of 20 working days | 80 | Thursday 28 January 2027 |

The count leaves out weekends and the bank holidays on 25 and 28 December 2026 and 1 January 2027. It is our count from the date of the requisition. The requisition and the warning letter each state the cancellation date, and that date governs.

## What cancellation costs the client

A cancelled application has to be made again. Two things follow from the Land Registry's guide on official searches; putting them together is our reading, not a statement in either guide.

Priority under an official search ends at midnight on the 30th working day after the search application was received. By day 60 of a requisition that protection has expired.

An application takes its priority from the time it is entered on the day list. A fresh application after a cancellation therefore ranks behind anything lodged against the title in the meantime, and until it is completed the register still shows the seller as owner and the lender's charge is not registered.

Practice guide 50 does not say what happens to the fee on cancellation, and we could not confirm it from the pages we read.

One exception: where the application includes a discharge and evidence of it has been lodged, the Land Registry completes the discharge and as much of the rest as it can.

## Asking for more time

Ask through the Reply to Requisition service in the portal, or through the case management system for Business Gateway users. The request must:

1. state the reason for the delay
2. give information confirming the matter is being actively pursued, where the delay is with a third party
3. give a timescale for a full reply

The normal extension is 20 working days, confirmed in writing with the new cancellation date.

| Reason given | The Land Registry's view |
|---|---|
| A deed must be re-executed and the parties are hard to reach or ill | extension normally given |
| A restriction needs a consent and the party is hard to reach or ill | extension normally given |
| A third party has not responded | extension normally given, on documentary evidence that the firm chased several times before the day 40 letter and after it |
| A deed was sent abroad and has not come back | normally refused, unless foreign law is the cause |
| A Land Charges search has not been sent | normally refused |
| The person dealing with it is away | normally refused, unless a sole practitioner |

Where a restriction in favour of the existing lender catches the application and the lender is causing the delay, the extension is a further 10 working days.

## An extension request to copy

> Title number [number]. Our reference [reference]. Requisition dated [date], point [number].
>
> We ask for an extension of 20 working days. The outstanding point is [the point]. The delay is with [name of third party]. We wrote to them on [date], and chased on [date], [date] and [date]; copies are attached. They have told us to expect [the document] by [date]. We expect to reply in full by [date].

The wording is ours; the three contents are the Land Registry's.

## Stopping the clock from starting

Practice guide 50 lists the requisitions it sees most and how to avoid each. Six that turn up on ordinary residential files:

1. Names differ between the transfer and the charge lodged with it.
2. Names in the deeds do not match the register, with no evidence of the change.
3. A restriction on the title needs a consent or certificate that was not lodged. Management company restrictions on flats and estates are the usual case.
4. No land transaction return certificate, and no explanation of why none is needed.
5. A signature that was not separately witnessed.
6. The fee is missing or underpaid. The [Land Registry fees guide](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/land-registry-fees-2026-purchase-remortgage-completion-statement/) gives the scales.

## In the firm

Keep one list of open requisitions with these columns: title number, requisition date, the point, who holds it, the day 40 date, the cancellation date, extension asked for and granted. Review it weekly, alongside the chase list in the [fixed-day chasing workflow](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/conveyancing-chasing-time-how-small-firms-cut-it/).

The Land Registry writes to the email address given when the application was submitted. When a fee earner leaves, use Reply to Requisition to give a new address on every pending application, or the day 40 warning goes to an inbox nobody reads.

Tell the client in the [scheduled update](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/conveyancing-client-update-email-template/), with the cancellation date, so that a cancellation is never the first they hear of it.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) can set up an AI Chaser that drafts chasers on the firm's fixed days and logs each one on the file, which is the record an extension request needs. A supervising solicitor reviews and signs anything a tool drafts, including a reply to a requisition. This page is general information, not legal advice.

## Short answers from this page

**How long do I have to reply to a Land Registry requisition before the application is cancelled?** HM Land Registry allows 60 working days for most applications, although the rule sets a minimum of 20. A warning of cancellation is normally sent after 40 working days, and a written request showing the matter is being actively pursued normally gets 20 more. A requisition dated 5 October 2026 reaches day 60 on 30 December 2026.

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General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.