Land Registration - Frequently Asked Questions

The Land Registry provides security of tenure by facilitating land-based transactions and maintaining records to New Brunswickers’ rights, restrictions and obligations in land. The Land Registry provides a mechanism to determine the answers to three questions – where is the land? who owns it? what are the charges (e.g. mortgages and liens) against it?
 

The Provincial Land Registration Office is located at 41 King Street, St. Stephen, New Brunswick, E3L 2C1. The hours of operation are from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. The land registration office accepts instruments for registration between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.  

You can submit an instrument for its registration in the Land Registry by mail or in person at the Provincial Land Registration Office between 9:00am and 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. Note, the instrument must be properly executed and accompanied by all pertinent documents and approvals. Requirements will vary depending on whether the instrument is registered under Land Titles or Registry of Deeds. It may be in your best interest to consult the professional who prepared the instrument to understand what is required prior to registration.   Lawyers and land surveyors have the ability to submit them online.
 

Fees for land registration are typically charged per parcel affected. Fees for other products and services vary. Visit the Services and Fees section for detail.
 

Any question regarding the enforcement of judgments and their registration can be obtained from the New Brunswick courts website.
 

Land Titles is a parcel-based registration system which utilizes a Parcel Identifier (PID) to uniquely identify parcels of land and to record interests in that land. Unlike the Registry System, which has existed in New Brunswick for over 230 years, once parcels have been converted to Land Titles as "registered land", the interests of individuals and enterprises in a parcel are guaranteed by the province in the manner provided in the Land Titles Act.
 

In the existing registry of deeds system, when a property changes hands or is mortgaged, to certify title, a lawyer (or a title searcher hired by a lawyer) must search through historical documents in order to determine who owns the land, where the land is located and what are the charges against it. In the Land Titles system, the title is guaranteed by the Province, and to determine the title, anyone may request a Certificate of Registered Ownership (CRO) for the parcel. The CRO will show the current state of the title to answer those questions.
 

Once a parcel is converted to the Land Titles system, the Province of New Brunswick guarantees the title to this parcel of land in the manner provided in the Land Titles Act by issuing a Certificate of Registered Ownership (CRO). The CRO is essentially a snapshot of the title, answering the questions: where is it, who owns it, and what are the charges against it? Each time a new transaction on the parcel is registered, the title register is updated and a new certificate is issued.
 

No. Land Titles guarantees interests of individuals and enterprises in a parcel of land (title), but not the extent of those interests (boundaries). While the Certificate of Registered Ownership (CRO) contains a description of the parcel, that description is not conclusive as to the boundaries extent of the land. If the parcel is not the subject of a current survey plan, you must contact a land surveyor to determine the location of your property boundaries.
 

No. In order to convert your land to the new system, a lawyer must conduct one last search of the title in the Registry of Deeds, and provide that information (the answers to the three questions above) to Service New Brunswick together with the Certificate of title. Conversion to the new system is required if you are mortgaging your land or buying a new property, circumstances under which a lawyer would normally be doing that search anyway.
 

No, but a conversion is required if your land is being mortgaged or sold.
 

Only if land is included in the purchase.
 

Yes, under both the Registry Act and Land Titles Act, a subdivision of land normally requires a survey.
 

Land Titles will reduce the amount of time a lawyer must spend on a real estate transaction dealing the issue of title. Because Land Titles eliminates the time consuming historical title searches required by the grantor/grantee registry system, transfers are efficient and economical. The Certificate of Registered Ownership (CRO) provides security to landowners and lending institutions.