Local Land Charges searches in Worcester City

Welcome to the Worcester City Council Local Land Charges section. We aim to provide you with a guide to searches, fees and other relevant information regarding the Local Land Charges search process.

All Local Land Charges searches are handled by a small team, who process approximately 3,000 searches each year.

Our current turnaround times for Official Searches are 10 working days

What is a Local Land Charges search?

The City Council's Local Land Charges section maintains the statutory Local Land Charges Register. It also collates information from various other Council departments such as Development Services to enable the completion of a Local Land Charges search.

A Local Land Charges search forms part of the conveyancing process and is carried out to ascertain if there are any matters affecting the property or land which a prospective purchaser should be aware of. It is designed to protect potential purchasers of property and will tell them about agreements and restrictions which might affect their decision to go ahead with the purchase.

Requests for a Local Land Charges search are normally made by a Solicitors or Licensed Conveyancer acting on behalf of the purchaser of a property.

• The first part of the search – the LLC1 form - will reveal all the charges registered against the property, for example Conditional Planning Permissions, Smoke Control Orders and Tree Preservation Orders. These charges are binding on successive owners of the property or land.
• The second part of the search – the CON29 form - will provide other relevant information which is held by the various Departments of the Council, such as Local Plan information, nearby road schemes and Notices etc. under the Planning Acts.

Worcester City Council - Local Land Charges search fees

Basic search fee

The cost of Local Land Charges searches (including VAT where required) received from Friday 1 April 2024 will be as follows:-

Additional fees - optional enquiries

The above prices apply if the CON29 O forms are submitted together with the CON29 R forms.

Extra parcels of land:

Fees are subject to any change in VAT status

Submission of Official Searches

Our preferred method of receiving search requests is submission online via either LLCSearches or NLIS: ­­­­

Option 1: LLCSearches

Submit and review your searches online via LLCSearches.co.uk.

Register for searches

Payments can be made via BACS: For regular customers we are able to accept payment via BACS. If you wish to pay by BACS please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details. You will be required to provide remittance advice before the search result is released.

Option 2: NLIS

• You can carry out your search electronically via the web using the National Land Information System (NLIS) Hub. Worcester City Council is signed up to level 3 and can receive and return search requests online.
• Details of the search fees are available when you register with the NLIS website.

Option 3: Post

To ensure there are no unnecessary delays when a search is submitted, you or your Solicitor need to supply the following:

• Correctly completed search forms.
• One copy of an OS plan, the boundary of the property to be searched outlined in red.
• One copy of any Additional Questions [if applicable].
• Correct fee – please note payments should to be made via BACS where possible and you should contact the Land Charges team via email regarding making the payment.  If cheques are used the search will not be processed until the cheque has cleared.
• For administrative reasons, incomplete or incorrect searches will be returned.

Searches should be sent to:

Worcester City Council
Land Charges Section
The Guildhall
High Street
Worcester
WR1 2EY.

Please be advised however that our Land Charges Officer works remotely and therefore the posting of searches may lead to a delay in returning your search results.

Contacting the Land Charges team

Our preferred method of contact is email to ensure that queries can be responded to in priority order.

Email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you prefer to contact the Land Charges office via telephone you will be directed to the Customer Service Centre where you can leave a message for the Land Charges office. Your call will then be returned by the Land Charges Officer.

Personal searches from the Land Charges Section

Worcester City Council permits inspection of the Local Land charges Registry and CON 29 data, originating from our local authority, on our Local Land charges portal, which is freely available via our online maps.

Please ensure you read our terms & conditions and hints & tips before using the site for the first time.

Please note that this portal will only show data that is held by Worcester City Council and for any other replies you will still need to contact: South Worcestershire Building Control, Worcestershire County Council Highways Department and Severn Trent Water Authority for replies to Building Regulations, highways, water, etc.

You can view our paper planning register index cards online (1947- March 2016) along with viewing current and historic planning application on our Planning Search page.

Migration to HMLR

Please note that Worcester City Council are currently working with HM Land Registry to prepare for the migration of the LLC1 data to HMLR. Further information will be provided once we have a date for migration.

Where can I get additional CON29 Information

Please refer to our online maps.

Any queries regarding CON29 data, available under EIR, should be directed to the originating department/organisation.

Further information may also be available via the following:

Copy planning documents:

Most copy documents for planning matters will be available on our website. However, requests for copies of planning applications, S106 Agreements, TPO's not on our website will need to be made in writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and include the relevant reference number and the exact documents that are required. Copies of some documents may incur a fee.

Helpful information

Searches can be submitted to the Council via the NLIS (National Land Information Service) electronic search system.

Our postal address for submitting Local Land Charges searches is:

Worcester City Council
Land Charges Section
The Guildhall
High Street
Worcester
WR1 2EY:

The staff in the Land Charges office are available to answer your telephone enquiries/queries from 8:30am until 3pm each day.

Outside these hours and when the office is busy a voice mail service is available – please leave us a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible.

Direct Line Telephone: 01905 722023 or 01905 722024

E-mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Frequently asked questions

Who carries out the Local Land Charges search?

Search requests are usually received from the Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer acting for the purchaser of a property. Personal searches can be made by anyone provided they submit their request as outlined above.

What area do you cover?

We cover the area inside the Worcester City Council boundary.

Adjacent areas outside our boundary are covered by Malvern Hills District Council or Wychavon District Council as appropriate. You can contact their land charges teams at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. respectively.

How can I be sure that a property lies within the Worcester City Council boundary?

You may find that the Government’s website assists you.

If you are unable to determine whether your property lies within our boundary, please email the Land Charges office.

What do I do if my search covers more than one property?

Please contact the Land Charges office for a quote.

Does a commercial search cost more than a residential search?

No – the fee is the same.

What is a personal search?

A personal search is an inspection of the Local Land Charges Register. At Worcester City Council our website allows you to access this information free of charge.

What is the difference between a personal search and a local authority search?

A personal search will provide you with information similar to that of an LLC1 request but its content is your own responsibility and its accuracy is not guaranteed by the Council. A CON29 form is not used for a personal search enquiry and if you wish to ask any similar questions you must approach each individual Council department yourself. You may be charged for any information that is provided following such requests.

Can I submit my request by email?

Yes, but you will need to make the payment by BACs.

Can I receive my search results by email?

All search results are returned by email.

Do you answer drainage enquiries?

No – please contact Severn Trent Water.

Will the road information reply tell me if all the roads abutting my property are adopted?

Our search reply will only refer to the road named in the property address given in Box B on the CON29 form. If you wish to have information regarding any other roads that abut your property you will need to name them (up to a maximum of three) in Box C and clearly mark them on your search plan.

Do I send my Commons Registration Search to you?

Yes, if it is part of a bigger search. You can submit this using the CON29 O form, ticking box 22 and adding the current fee to your search cost.

If it is being submitted independently you will need to contact Legal and Democratic Services at Worcestershire County Council. A fee will apply. Contact them at

Worcestershire County Council
Legal & Democratic Services
Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR5 2NP

or:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Can Land Charges tell me who owns a certain property or piece of land?

No – you will need to contact the Land Registry.

Can we pay by BACS?

Yes. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we’ll send you our bank details.