Persons Indexing Guidelines

Indexable Fields

Within the Land Register, data is input into the PRELINK, PREFIX, FORENAME, SURNAME/COMPANY NAME and LINK TEXT fields. Picklist facilities are available in most of these fields on the LRS and should be used where this reflects the deed. Any business requirement to add any other entries to these picklists should be made via RoSNow. 

Note that if you encounter foreign characters or diacritical marks (accents (e.g. " é "), çedile, ümlaut etc) added to any letters included in a person's name or address, please refer to RoS supported character set. See also Entering Accents and Foreign Characters in the LRS.

Prelink field

Generally, the Prelink field should be used for anything which does not form part of the “name proper”, but would be expected to appear in the proprietorship section to reflect the true meaning. A picklist is available.

The following is an example of when the Prelink field should be used:

Prefix field

Again, the Prefix field should be used for anything that does not form part of the “name proper”, but would be expected to appear in the proprietorship section. A picklist is available but its contents are not exhaustive, therefore any prefix narrated in the deed should be entered in the Prefix field. For the avoidance of doubt, Mr, Mrs and Ms or Miss should not be entered.

The following is an example of when the Prefix field should be used:

The following is an example of when the Prefix and Prelink fields should both be used:

Forename field

The following is an example of when the Forename field should be used:

Surname/Company Name field 

The following are examples of when the Surname/Company Name field should be used. Persons' surnames should always be included within the Surname/Company Name field:

All companies and other organisations should be indexed wholly within the Surname/Company Name field. When the word “The” prefixes an organisation’s name, this should not be indexed (see examples below and Inclusion of "The" in the Table of Contents):

Link text field 

The Link text field is used to link various entries together and to provide additional information e.g. and, spouses, incorporated etc. It should be noted that LRS generates an automatic "and" between names. A picklist is available:

Occupation given in deed

Where the grantees occupation is stated in the deed, this information should be included in the "Link text" field:

"Care of" in Link text field

Where a party is designed as "care of" another party, this should only be reflected in the entry if the designation is a business. For consistency, "care of" should always be entered in full and should not be abbreviated:

Person's Designation 

The person's address should where possible reflect the designation shown on the deed. However, where the application form or other documents submitted with or supporting an application contain additional information about the parties' designation(s) (such as when dealing with an application for voluntary registration), the registration officer should make use of this where possible when preparing the relevant entry. The Postcode field should always be completed if this information is provided on the application form.

Note: This rule differs from the title's subjects address, shown in the property section, where Localities (when applicable) and Towns are added through the LRS Browser.

Either the Locality or Town field should always be populated on LRS for Scottish addresses. In order to identify which field is appropriate, please refer to the page Localities and Post Towns in Scotland. If an Agent submits a deed with both the Locality and the Town detailed, then both should be inserted into the relative LRS fields. If it is determined that a person's designation refers to two (or more) Localities, the registration officer should only enter the correct Locality in the Locality field: no entry should be made in the Town field in such cases if no Town has been provided within the designation (see Example 15 below). The Royal Mail Postcode Finder may also help in determining the correct Locality in such cases.

As the Locality field can accept 35 characters, Localities should normally be able to be entered in full. However, Hamilton International Technology Park (38 characters) should be entered as Hamilton International Tech Park (see Example 16 below).

Note that the Town field is currently not a mandatory field and so need not be completed for a person's designation, if the rest of their designation is otherwise sufficient. Also note that neither the County nor the Country fields should be completed for Scottish addresses.

Examples:

Postcodes

If a designation in a deed/application form includes a postcode, this should always be shown.

Non Scottish Addresses - Rest of the UK

For all UK addresses the Country field should be left blank in the LRS. Any information provided in a deed as to a County in a person's designation should be included in the LRS. County names should be entered in their full form and never abbreviated and Northern Irish counties should always include the prefix "County" even if only the abbreviated form "Co." is given in the deed or is omitted.

Non Scottish Addresses - Rest of the World

See Indexing People with Non-Scottish Addresses - Rest of the World

Spelling

As with all manual indexing, care should be taken to ensure that the spelling of all persons' data is accurate and consistent.

In particular:

• Ensure that there are no obvious spelling errors.

• When a husband and wife are the applicants/granters, ensure that both surnames are consistently spelled.

• However, when the applicant has a non-English originating name, take care that the spelling coincides exactly with that in the deed. Many non-English names have different masculine and feminine forms. For example, Slavic masculine surnames that end in I or Y, end in an A in the feminine form. These should not be amended in order to achieve consistent spelling.

Punctuation

Hyphenated names

Hyphenated names should be entered as one name. There should be no spaces either side of the hyphen:

Apostrophes

Names that contain apostrophes should be entered as they appear. Care should be taken to ensure that the letter ”O” is used, and not the number “0”:

Initials and/ or full stops (company names)

Initials should be entered with a space between them. Do not include full stops:

A full stop indicating an abbreviated word should be omitted:

However, a full stop must always be used after Saint where it has been abbreviated, i.e. St.

Abbreviations within company names

The form that a company name takes within the proprietorship section may affect company liability.

All company names must follow the format used in the deed, i.e. if the documents describe the applicant as British Company plc – plc must be entered. If the documentation describes the applicants as Scottish Company Limited – Limited must be entered in full. However, a full stop indicating an abbreviated word must be omitted in line with the advice above:

Commas

Commas should not be entered between initials as this is incompatible with ScotLIS.

Brackets

Brackets within names should be entered as they appear. Care should be taken to ensure that curly type brackets (beside the letter P on the keyboard) are not used on LRS as this has an adverse affect on printing from the system:

Surnames

Prefixed surnames

Prefixed surnames should be entered as one name:

Multiple prefixes

Where there is more than one prefix for the surname / family name, all of these should also be entered in the surname field:

Mc and Mac

The feminine form of Mac/Mc can be Nic. This especially applies to Gaelic-speaking counties. 

Mc, Mac and Nic etc should be entered as they appear:

Initials (forenames)

As shown in Initials and/or full stops (see Table of Contents) initials should be entered with a space between them. They should not include any full stops:

Inclusion of “The”

When the word “The” prefixes an organisation’s name, this should not be indexed. For example:

Exceptions to the above rule

The exceptions to this rule are The Church of Scotland and the registered companies in the examples below. Always select the style shown on the LRS picklist (i.e. use "The" not "THE").

The Church of Scotland 

‘The’ should always be included in the Prefix field when indexing The Church of Scotland. The ‘Church of Scotland General Trustees’ should be chosen from the Surname/Company Name picklist:

Registered companies

The word ‘The’ should be included in the Prefix field only when indexing the following registered companies - but only where it is given as part of the company's name:

When the word “THE” forms an integral part of the name of an organisation, it is included in the Surname/Company Name field as shown below:

Executors

As Applicants

Entries including “Executors of” should include this within the Prelink field. It should be noted that all executors should be specifically named within the applicants field in the application workdesk and the proprietorship section of the title sheet.

The following example applies to the application workdesk when indexing Applicants names and addresses:

As Granters

For Granters you should only index the ‘Executors of C’ (i.e. the names of A and B should not be indexed):

Firm Names

General indexing of firm names

Note that, when indexing limited and public limited companies, Type "C" (Company) should be selected. For other firms and organisations that do not have limited liability, the Type selected should be "O" (Other).

All firm names should be indexed wholly within the Surname/Company Name field.

Initials should be entered with a space between them. Do not include full stops:

All company names must follow the format used in the deed, i.e. if the documents describe the applicant as British Company Public Limited Company – Public Limited Company must be entered in full. If the documentation describes the applicants as Scottish Company Ltd – Ltd must be entered in its abbreviated form.

Commas should not be entered between initials as this is incompatible with ScotLIS:

Local Authorities

All local authorities should be indexed so that the authority's full name is entered into the Surname/Company Name field:

Secretary of State / Government Agencies / Scottish Ministers

All Secretaries of State, e.g. for Scotland, Defence etc., Government Agencies and the Scottish Ministers should be entered in the same manner:

Nobility and Peerage

Full name and family title

Names that contain a full given name and a family title should be double indexed. This procedure applies to all ranks of male / female nobility, e.g. Duke / Duchess, Marquess / Marchioness (alternatively Marquis / Marquise), Earl (equivalent to Count) / Countess, Viscount / Viscountess and Baron / Baroness. 

The first (given) part of the name is entered in the usual manner. Then the second part (the title) can be added using the prefix. Note that a comma should be entered in the link text:

Full name and title

Names which contain a title and a full name should be entered using a combination of prefix, forename and link text:

Name and title only

If only the person's noble rank and title name are given (i.e. the person's given name is not supplied at all and the deed simply refers to the grantee as e.g. "Lord Paisley"), refer to a senior adviser.

His Majesty the King 

Instances of transfers to the King should be indexed as follows:

Please note if your application contains a transfer in favour of His Majesty King Charles the third please reflect this on LRS as above using the Roman Numeral.

Clan Chiefs

Where clan names are listed as e.g. Ruairidh George Donald MacRobert of MacRobert, the whole of the clan name should be shown in the Surname/Company Name field:

Nobility and Peerage: further examples

The Right Honourable TOMMY ALBRIGHT, Lord ALBRIGHT of Brigadoon -

Entry 1 - Prefix - Right Honourable : Forename - Tommy : Surname - ALBRIGHT : link text - , Entry 2 -  Prefix - Lord ALBRIGHT of : Forename - blank : Surname - Brigadoon

FIONA CAMPBELL ALBRIGHT, Lady Albright of Brigadoon

Entry 1 - Forename : Fiona Campbell : Surname - Albright : link text - , Entry 2 - Prefix : Lady ALBRIGHT of : Surname - Brigadoon

Married Women

In instances of married women i.e. “or” names, both names should be entered in the Surname field. This will automatically be stored under both surnames in the index – Young AND Smith:

Alternative Names

Alternative and former names

All former and true alternative names should be included in the application workdesk to ensure that all names are searchable in both the Land Register, ScotLIS and Register of Inhibitions (ROI). Alternative names can be entered by simply “adding” the alternative name, e.g:

Boat names

In fishing counties e.g.Banff, fishermen may still be known in deeds by the name of their boat. These examples should be indexed as follows:

Current Name - Title Sheet

The application workdesk should contain all former and true alternative names. However, in the case of the title sheet only the current name should be disclosed (along with any true alternatives). The exception is where additional information is provided in a subsequent application, e.g. a second security. See examples below:

Existing proprietorship section

Entry 1 - Joanne Smith, designed.

Existing securities section

Entry 1 - Standard Security by said Joanne Smith in favour of Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, designed.

Subsequent application

The deed narrates the debtor as Joanne Aitken, formerly Joanne Smith. As the first entry in the securities section correctly narrates the debtor's name at the time of registration, this entry should not be amended. The proprietorship section should be updated as follows:

Entry 1 - Joanne Aitken formerly Joanne Smith, designed.

Alternative prefixes

Where alternative titles are listed in the deed, they should not be shown in their entirety. The most current information should be used, in particular, consider the detail listed in the Applicant Details field in the application form.

Alternative names in the proprietorship and securities sections

As previously stated, the current name (and any true alternatives) should be included in the proprietorship section. The securities section should only contain one name which would normally reflect the security deed. However, there will be instances where the information contained in a disposition is more complete than the security and caution should be used when deciding which name should be entered in the securities section. Bear in mind that where the same person is proprietor and granter of a security you would want to show them in the securities section as "said". 

The following tables provides some examples:

Diminutive names

Otherwise/longer names

Otherwise names and ARTL

Married woman & OR names

Spelling difference

Trading as

Trustees

Trustees for a firm should be entered using a combination of Prelink, Forename, Surname/Company Name and Link Text fields, depending on the description in the Deed Inducing Registration. Always index the applicants, whether they are Trustees – as Partners and Trustees, or Trustees – as Individuals and as Partners and Trustees. This applies to Testamentary Trustees and Executors Nominate.

Testamentary trustees

A (designed) and B (designed) and the survivor of them and the executor of the last survivor as Testamentary Trustees of C (designed)

Guardian

A (designed) as Guardian of B (designed)

Trustees under trust deed

A (designed) as Trustee under Trust Deed by B (designed) dated…

Trustees under marriage contract

A (designed) and B (designed) as Trustees under the Contract of Marriage between C (designed) and D (designed) dated…

x

Trustees of firm

Example 1: A (designed) and B (designed) as partners and trustees for Firm X (designed) and their successors as partners and trustees and as individuals 

x

Example 2: A and B (designed) and the survivor of them as trustee and trustees for the firm X (designed)

x

Example 3: A (designed), B (designed) and C (designed) the partners of Firm X (designed) as trustees for the firm and the partners thereof present and future and their successors in office as such trustees and the survivor of them 

Church trustees

A (designed), B (designed) and C (designed) as Church Secretary, Church Treasurer and Minute Secretary and their successors in office as Trustees for the X Church

Ex officio trustees

A (designed), B (designed) and C (designed) as Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and their respective successors in office as Trustees for the X Club (designed)

Trustees under deed of discretionary trust

Individual A (designed) and Company B (designed) as trustees acting under Deed of Discretionary Trust "The C Trust" granted by said Individual A and their successors in office as trustees and the survivors and survivor of them as trustees aforesaid

x

Trustees under deed of declaration of trust ("Family Trust")

Individual A (designed), Individual B (designed) and Company C (designed) as trustees acting under Deed of Declaration of Trust "The Individual A Family Trust" granted by said Individual A 

Personal Pension Plans/SIPPs

Personal Pension Plans should be indexed as though the whole name was a Firm name as per the examples below:

Power of Sale

In First Registration (FR), First Add To (FA), Transfer of Part (TP) and Transfer Add To (TA) Applications, both the creditor and the party last infeft should be entered into the application workdesk.

British Forces Addresses (BFPO) 

According to the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) website, forces addresses are normally addressed as follows:

Service No. Rank and Name
Unit/Regt
Operation Name (if applicable)
BFPO nnnn

For security reasons, the town and country will not appear in the address. Instead, the ‘BFPO’ number is used to identify the location of the base without revealing it to the general public. In 2012 in collaboration with the Royal Mail, the BFPO introduced UK-style postcodes. This was due to websites not recognising the BFPO addressing format. As of 2012, these postcodes all begin with "BF1". The addresses are assigned to the notional post town "BFPO" and this is what should be entered in the Town field. Other information can be entered into the Sub-Building, Building Name and Locality fields. 

However, a postcode is not required if the traditional BFPO address format (the letters "BFPO", followed by a single space, followed by a number 1 - 4 digits long, as shown in the example above) is used.

Degrees and Honours

Any details of a Degree or Honour that are included in a name in any deed should not be added to the entry in the proprietorship or securities sections.