COT-02 Duplicate Title

Version 6 - 23/01/2023

The information provided in this guide is not intended to amount to legal advice. Professional assistance may be required to determine the most appropriate action to protect your legal rights. Please read our Terms of Use on the Land Titles Registration policy and procedure guides web page. Landgate accepts no responsibility where parties print this guide and seek to rely on information that is out of date.

1 Overview

A freehold duplicate certificate of title (if required) is issued to the Registered Proprietor or other person as authorised by the registered proprietor.

Where a certificate of title has been created and registered, a duplicate certificate of title will be issued unless the Registered Proprietor(s) request, in an approved form that a duplicate certificate of title not be issued (s.48B of the TLA).

Section 48B of the TLA provides flexibility on the part of the registered proprietors of land to request the issue or non-issue of the duplicate certificate of title.

Note: A duplicate certificate of title is never issued for the following:

  • A Crown land title
  • A leasehold Strata title
  • A Community title4

4Amended to include  leasehold Strata Title and Community title

2 Request for non-issue of the Duplicate Title

Where a duplicate title has been created and issued, the registered proprietor(s) may in an approved form, request the non-issue of the duplicate title.

If a request for the non-issue of a duplicate certificate of title is made, no duplicate will be issued upon the lodgement of subsequent documents unless the current registered proprietor(s) request, in an approved form that a duplicate certificate of title is to issue.

Only the registered proprietor(s) can make a request for non-issue of the duplicate title. If there is more than one registered proprietor, all of them must make the request. However, a registered proprietor of an undivided share in land may, in an approved form, request the non-issue of the duplicate title for their undivided share in the land.

When a request for the non-issue of a duplicate certificate of title is made, the paper or digital certificate of title (whichever is applicable) will contain the following endorsement:

"DUPLICATE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NOT ISSUED AS REQUESTED BY DEALING"1

1Paragraph added 17/05/2021

Requests for non-issue of a duplicate title may be made in one of the following ways:

Note: see Chapter 4 for the request for non-issue of the duplicate title in National Mortgage Forms.

2.1 Mortgagee consent

An application for the non-issue of a duplicate title requires the consent of the mortgagee if the title is subject to a registered mortgage. Mortgagee consent must be signed under power of attorney and appropriately witnessed. If the mortgagee is a corporation, the consent letter is to be signed under the Corporations Act 2001.

3 Request for issue of the Duplicate Title

This document is subject to the Verification of Identity Practice issued jointly by the Western Australian Registrar of Titles and Commissioner of Titles.

Where a duplicate title has not been created and issued, the registered proprietor(s) may in an approved form, request the issue of the duplicate title.

If a request for the issue of a duplicate certificate of title is made, a duplicate will be issued upon the lodgement of subsequent documents unless the current registered proprietor(s) request, in an approved form, the non-issue of the duplicate certificate of title.

Requests for issue of a duplicate title may be made in one of the following ways:

The duplicate certificate of title (if any) must be produced to the Registrar when any dealing or application concerning the land is lodged for registration. However, the Registrar at the direction of the Commissioner may dispense with the production of the duplicate certificate of title (s.74 of the TLA).

Note: If the land, the subject of a request for the issue of a duplicate certificate of title, is ENCUMBERED by a registered mortgage(s) or a registered charge(s), a requisition (no fee) will be raised to clarify the matter. The issue of a duplicate title may be against the wishes of the mortgagee and it would not benefit the registered proprietors because they are not entitled to physical possession of a duplicate title that is encumbered by a mortgage or charge.

Note: In August 2023, changes to the Transfer of Land Act 1893 will come into effect which will abolish Duplicate Certificates of Title from the land titling system. From August 2023 existing Duplicate Certificates of Title will cease to have any legal effect and they will not be required to be produced with documents for registration. They will not be able to be created or issued after the changes take effect. Existing Duplicate Certificates of Title can be retained as a keepsake. They will not need to be returned to Landgate, destroyed or rendered invalid.5

5Note added 23/01/2023

For additional information, please visit  Changes to the WA Transfer of Land Act

4  Requests for issue or non-issue of the Duplicate Title in National Mortgage Forms2

This document is subject to the Verification of Identity Practice issued jointly by the Western Australian Registrar of Titles and Commissioner of Titles.

National Mortgage Forms (NMF) that are ineligible for electronic dealing and are lodged in paper with an issue title will automatically convert the title to non-issue on registration of the mortgage.

There is no option for the registered proprietor to request the issue of a duplicate title in a paper lodged NMF. Where the registered proprietor desires the issue of a duplicate title following the registration of a paper NMF, they may make application on a General Application form, without payment of a registration fee, for a duplicate title to issue. The first registered mortgagee will be required to consent in writing to the application.

For NMF documents lodged electronically, the subscriber can request the non-issue of the duplicate title, or the title will remain status quo. That is; an issue title will be issued if the title is currently an issue title or a non-issue title will remain non-issue and no duplicate will be issued.

2Section added 17/05/2021

5 Third-party consent to subsequent dealings where no Duplicate Title has been issued

Where a certificate of title is encumbered by a registered mortgage(s) or a registered charge(s) and no duplicate certificate of title has been issued by request of the registered proprietor(s), a letter of consent to subsequent lodgement from the first mortgagee or annuitant is required to be lodged with any document that would normally have required production of the duplicate certificate of title by the first mortgagee or annuitant. The consent of the first mortgagee or annuitant is required where appropriate. (See Example of Consent Letter)3.

3Example of Consent Letter updated 03/06/2021

Note: The exceptions being as follows:

  • where the first mortgagee or annuitant lodges a subsequent document for registration

or

  • where a second mortgage is being lodged for registration by another mortgagee.

In both instances, a letter of consent to subsequent lodgement from the first mortgagee or annuitant is not required.

6 Third-party consent to subsequent dealings where a paper duplicate title has issued

Where there is a paper duplicate Certificate of Title issued, the lodgement of a second or subsequent mortgage requires the production of the duplicate Certificate of Title.

Where there is a paper duplicate Certificate of Title issued and a first mortgage has been lodged and is being processed by Landgate, the lodgement of a second mortgage (or any other document that requires the duplicate Certificate of Title) will require a follower consent letter.

This page was last updated on: 08 Mar 2023

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