What information will I get from an owner or lessee inquiry?

A NSW owner or lessee inquiry will provide the following details, where available:

• registered name
• locality
• title or Water Access Licence (WAL) reference
• acquired dealing
• corresponding title or WAL references.

Your search results can include the following automated or manual Torrens titles:

• current
• partly
• fully cancelled.

Information isn’t available for old system titles.

View a sample owner or lessee inquiry.

What are some tips when searching on an individual?

• If you enter ‘Mc’ or ‘Mac’, the inquiry searches on both variations.
• If you enter an apostrophe (for example, ‘O’Brien’), the inquiry searches for names both with and without it.
• If you enter spaces (for example, ‘Van Der Meer’), the inquiry searches for names both with and without them.
• You can enter hyphenated names in full (for example, “Smith-Jones” or “Mary-Louise”). Or, you can enter them in part (for example, ‘Smith’ or ‘Mary’). The inquiry routinely searches for hyphenated variations.

How do I improve my results when searching on an organisation?

• Don’t use abbreviations such as ‘P/L’ or ‘Pty Ltd’.
• If you’re unsure of the exact name, leave out terms such as company, corporation or their abbreviations and replace them with a wildcard to find all variations.
• If you enter ‘&’ or ‘And’, the inquiry searches on both variations.
• If you enter ‘The’, the inquiry searches for names with and without it.
• Include numbers if necessary (for example, ‘The 123 Company’).
• If the name includes punctuation or other special characters (such as a bullet point, comma, quotes or brackets), enter them and the inquiry will search for names with and without them.

How do I use wildcards?

• You can use the wildcard ‘%’ to broaden your search.
• They allow you to search for all entries that include a particular name or a string of letters.
• At least three characters must precede wildcards.
• If more than 500 matches return, you’ll be prompted to refine your search criteria.

Wildcard example

A wildcard can represent one or more letters. For example, Robert% in the organisation name will provide the results Roberts, Robertson, Robertson & Sons, and so on.

Can owner/lessee names be suppressed?

Yes, a NSW owner or lessee inquiry doesn’t provide any current owner/lessee or purchaser details for names that NSW Land Registry Services have suppressed for security reasons.

What information will I receive if I also select ‘Search names in any order’?

This option allows the inquiry to also search the names in reverse order. The names you receive will exactly match the surname you enter.

The inquiry also searches for hyphenated surnames and characters within brackets. The names that you receive will be in any order within the name but may include extra names.

What will I get if I also request ‘Search for current and previous owners/lessees’?

A NSW owner or lessee inquiry provides the references of any automated titles or water access licences that are currently owned/leased by an individual or organisation.

However, the search provides limited information about previous ownership from 1 June 1971 to the present. The concept of ‘previous ownership’ covers:

• previous owners of automated titles
• current or previous owners of manual titles
• lessee names for current and expired leases for manual and automated titles.

If you select this option, you’ll receive a list of current owners/lessees that match your search criteria. A list of names in the ‘previous owner/lessees’ categories will also display.

The NSW Land Registry Services database can’t distinguish between current and previous owners/lessees for manual titles.

So, the owner/lessee details for manual titles will only display in the previous purchasers/lessees list. Make sure to confirm these details via another source.

How will I receive my result?

The search result displays immediately and is available in your Confirm inbox. You can also choose to receive your result via email.

To access your Confirm inbox, follow the links in the Confirm header. You can revisit your result anytime within 28 days without incurring an extra cost.

For more information on how to use your Confirm inbox, visit our Getting started page.

Our Customer Service Centre is here to help you between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.