Pre-Registration Deed Checklist

Please follow the below guidelines to ensure that a deed is fit for registration:

a. Review name and address information within the deed and ensure the party names at the start of the deed match the signatories within deed, ensuring where relevant, that all parties have signed the deed.

b. If the granter or the witness is a person, the signature must conform to one of the following:

Option 1: - The full name by which the granter is identified in the document or in any testing clause or its equivalent. (Sections 7(2)(a) (granter) and 7(5)(a) (witness) of the 1995 Act.)

Option 2: - Surname preceded by at least one forename or initial or abbreviation or familiar form of forename. (Sections 7(2)(b) (granter) and 7(5)(b) (witness) of the 1995 Act.)

c. Review signatures are an actual “wet signature” and check the signature has not been ‘scanned on’ or ‘PDF signed’.

d. Check that witnesses to the document are named and have a full postal address to comply with Section 3 (1) (b) of the Requirements of Writing Scotland Act 1995.

e. Ensure the ‘Preservation’ and/ or ‘Execution’ fields have been provided. Please note: every deed is for preservation regardless but check if an execution clause is present.

f. Ensure the deeds contains an ‘operative and / or testing’ clause?

g. Ensure the testing clause commences on a page that also contains the operative clauses of the deed, however short that part might be. It is unacceptable to have the testing clause on a separate page.

h. If applicable, check LBTT status. If LBTT is required, then check the Revenue Scotland portal to see if it’s displayed as ‘Paid’.

Check all annexations are signed by the relevant parties.
A non-Scottish will can only be registered if accompanied by a covering letter from a Solicitor who practices in the country of origin confirming it is a valid will under the laws of that country - check this has been provided with the deed.