How to check a title deed online in South Africa

How to check a title deed online comes down to two routes: you search the deeds office's register yourself through its DeedsWEB service, or you buy a report from a company that searches it for you. DeedsWEB needs an approved account, a registration fee and a charge for each enquiry, so the table below sets out what each seller's report costs, shows and requires.

What a title deed is

A title deed is a registered legal document that evidences ownership of a defined piece of land, or of an apartment in a block of flats. The deeds office is responsible for the registration, management and maintenance of South Africa's property registry, and it holds the record of every transaction registered against a property (Deeds Registration, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

Four terms come up all through this guide. An erf is the numbered stand a property sits on. A bond is the home loan registered against it.

A conveyancer is an attorney who has also been admitted to practise as a conveyancer, and the law says a conveyancer must prepare the documents for a transfer or a bond. Sectional title is how a unit in a block of flats is owned and registered (Deeds Registration FAQs, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

The title deed and a report about it are different things. The title deed is the document. What you read online is the deeds office's record of the property: who is registered as the owner, what was paid, which bonds are registered against it. If you need the title deed itself, the section on lost and original title deeds below is the one to read.

The deeds office's own route: DeedsWEB

The deeds office says to verify that a property is registered by asking any deeds office for a computer printout of its registration facts, or, if you are a registered DeedsWEB user, by obtaining the printout there. A copy of a title deed, for information purposes, comes from any deeds office on written application to the Registrar of Deeds and payment of the prescribed fee, or online by subscribing to DeedsWEB (Deeds Registration FAQs, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

DeedsWEB has charges at four points. Anyone who seeks deeds registration information must first pay the prescribed fee. The 2026/2027 schedule of fees, effective 1 April 2026, lists a non-refundable administration fee to register as a DeedsWEB user, a monthly subscription fee, a fee for each enquiry about a person, property or deed, and a separate fee to view or download a deed or document (Deeds Registration fees schedule, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

The schedule changes, so read the figures on the day you search. None is repeated here.

Registration is subject to approval, which the deeds office may accept or reject at its sole discretion. An account is activated within 48 hours of receiving the registration fee and verifying your documents: a copy of your identity document, proof of residence, three months' statements for two credit references and your banking details. A company adds its registration document (DeedsWEB terms of use, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

The deeds office bills the subscriber, payable within 30 days of the statement date, and can set a limit on how much a subscriber may transact in a period. You end the subscription in writing, and you still owe the charges for the initial period and the notice period (same terms, read 5 October 2026).

The deeds office's pages describe what you get as the printout of registration facts and copies of title deeds. They say nothing about nearby sales. For those, see Property valuation: what nearby properties sold for, from the deeds office.

DeedsWEB suits someone who searches often and has the paperwork ready. For one property, the paperwork and the wait for approval are the cost.

Paid routes compared

The other route is a company that sells one report on one property. The table sets out what each seller's own page said on 5 October 2026: the price, what the report lists, how it arrives, and what the page says about accounts, a search that finds nothing, and VAT. The rows run from the lowest price to the highest. Where a page doesn't say, the table says so.

Four things in the table settle the choice. What the report lists: some pages promise the owner, price and bond history, others add nearby sales or an automated figure. Whether you need an account. What happens when the property isn't found, because some sellers charge for a not-found result. And VAT, which five of the seven rows don't state, so ask before you assume.

The findproperly row is our deeds search on one property. For a wider comparison with sample reports, see what a property report costs in South Africa in 2026.

What you need to search

For DeedsWEB you need the documents listed above and the registration fee. For a walk-in at a deeds office you need to identify the property and pay the prescribed fee, and the staff in the information section help with the request forms and the payment (Deeds Registration FAQs, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

For a report from a seller, you need to identify one property. What each seller takes differs, as the table shows: three accept an erf number as well as an address, and one of those also takes an owner name. Check the page before you pay.

For findproperly you give a street address and suburb and pick the property from the list. For a unit in a sectional title block, use the block's street address, and if more than one unit matches you choose yours before anything is charged.

You don't need the erf number to start. The address finds the erf.

If the title deed is lost or you need the original

The deeds office doesn't hold the originals. After registration, once the title deed and documents have been microfilmed, they are delivered to the conveyancer.

If the transfer was registered together with a bond over the property, the title deed goes with the bond to the bond holder, a financial institution such as a bank. The deeds office says deeds registries do not keep original title deeds or bonds, and that it takes 10 days after registration to deliver a title deed to the conveyancer (Deeds Registration FAQs, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

If the property was registered in your name and you never received the title deed, the deeds office says to contact the conveyancer who handled the transfer first. A copy for information purposes is the next step, from any deeds office or through DeedsWEB, as described above. A replacement for a lost or destroyed title deed is a different request. It goes through a practising conveyancer, who prepares and lodges the prescribed application (Deeds Registration FAQs, read 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)).

Questions about checking a title deed

Is there a free title deed search?

Partly. The deeds office says anyone who seeks deeds registration information must first pay the prescribed fee, and DeedsWEB adds a registration fee and a charge for each enquiry. Every seller in the table charges for the record too, findproperly included. What costs nothing with findproperly is finding the property on the map and checking that the deeds office holds a record for it. The owners, transfers and bonds on that record are the part you pay for.

How do I get a copy of a title deed online?

Register for DeedsWEB and request it there, or apply in writing at any deeds office. A copy obtained this way is for information purposes. A replacement for a lost or destroyed title deed goes through a conveyancer.

What is the difference between a title deed and a report?

The title deed is the registered document that evidences ownership. A report sets out what the register records about a property: the owner, the transfer history with each price and the bonds. A copy of the title deed itself is a separate request, made to a deeds office or through DeedsWEB.

What if the property isn't found?

Check the street and suburb and try again. With findproperly, a guest purchase that comes back not found, ambiguous or failed is refunded automatically, and on an account the credit is never spent. Other sellers' policies are in the table.

How long does it take?

DeedsWEB accounts are activated within 48 hours of the deeds office receiving the registration fee and verifying your documents. Sellers state their own delivery times in the table, from within seconds to 1 working day.