A requisition on title has been raised on your mortgage: what it means and whether settlement slips

The mortgage is signed. The dealing is lodged. Then a message arrives saying the registry has raised a requisition, and the funding date you promised a supplier now depends on a notice you’ve never read.

Here is what it is, in order: which kind of requisition this is, what usually triggers one, who fixes each cause, what the clock does, and how to stop it happening on the next loan.

Which requisition is this?

The word covers two different things, and search results mix them up.

• Purchaser’s requisitions on title. Questions a buyer’s solicitor sends the seller before exchange about the property. They belong to a sale and are not what you have.
• A registry requisition. A notice from the land registry after a document has been lodged. The registry examined it, found a deficiency, and will not register it as it stands.

If you borrowed against property and your lender or conveyancer has lodged the mortgage, you have the second kind. The registry examined the lodged document, found something wrong and issued a notice. The notice describes the fix and sets a response date.

A requisition isn’t a verdict on you or your business. It’s a defect in paperwork. That said, a second mortgage only ranks once it is registered, so a defect that stops registration matters. The ranking mechanics are on our priority and registration page.

What actually causes a requisition?

The causes fall into a short list. Each has a different owner, and that decides how fast it clears.

Cause	What went wrong	Who fixes it
Name mismatch	The mortgagor’s name on the document differs from the register: a missing middle name, a married name, a company name with a different spelling	The borrower proves the name, the lender or conveyancer corrects the dealing
Wrong folio or lot identifier	The title reference on the document doesn’t match the land	Lender’s conveyancer
Missing or defective consent	A required consent isn’t lodged or isn’t in the right form, such as a first mortgagee’s consent where the register requires it	Lender, with the first mortgagee
A caveat or other interest that blocks registration	Something lodged on the title since the last search stops the dealing	The party who lodged it, or the owner, via withdrawal or a court order
Wrong or missing fee	The lodgement fee paid doesn’t match the dealing	Lodging party
Execution problems	Signature, witnessing or authority issue on the document	The signatories, through the lodger

Two real-world points from the sources are worth knowing. First, a NSW Government bulletin on final title searches describes a bank that, after settlement, received a requisition from NSW Land Registry Services saying the transfer and mortgage couldn’t be registered because of a caveat. A final search before settlement is the cheapest insurance there is. Second, Titles Queensland notes that paying an incorrect fee will itself bring a requisition and delay.

If you have a title search from the start of the process, compare it with the dealing’s details. Our guide to reading a title search before borrowing shows where names, folio references and registered interests sit.

Will a requisition delay settlement?

Usually it delays registration, and registration is what decides whether the delay reaches you. The answer depends on how your funding is set up:

1. Funds released at electronic settlement. In electronic conveyancing the workspace participants run checks before lodgement, and PEXA lists Lodgement Verification among the services its system supports. Where checks catch a problem early, it’s fixed before money moves. Where the defect is only found by the registry after lodgement, funds may already have been released and the exposure sits with the lender.
2. Funds conditional on registration or a clear title. Here a requisition holds the funding date until it’s cleared.
3. Another loan or sale waiting on this one. If a refinance, a purchase or a sale depends on this mortgage being registered, the requisition has a knock-on effect on the next step.

So ask your lender or conveyancer one question: “Is anything I’m waiting on conditional on this registration?” That tells you whether you’re facing a minor wait or a missed deadline.

What does the clock do?

The notice carries a date, and it matters more than most owners realise. Registries differ, so read your own notice. Two examples show the shape.

Queensland. Titles Queensland generally sets the proposed rejection date about two months after the notice is issued. The lodger can write to the Registrar to ask for longer, and each request is judged on its facts. Let the date pass and the dealing can be rejected: it loses its lodgement priority, and fees already paid are forfeited. Re-lodging starts again with a new dealing number, and priority runs from the time of re-lodgement. The Land Title Regulation 2015 also deals with the fee for relodging a rejected instrument, so ask what applies before you start again.

Other registries. Each registry sets its own process. The ACT’s land titles office, for example, says it checks your documents before accepting lodgement (Access Canberra), which is a reminder that the first examination happens early and the notice can arrive within days.

New South Wales. The Registrar General’s guidelines say lodgement fees for a rejected dealing are not refundable. They also say other dealings from the same lodging party will be rejected unless that party gives written direction to register them. In a busy conveyancing office that’s a reason to respond quickly: one stuck dealing can drag others with it.

Priority is the real cost. If another mortgage or interest is lodged ahead of your re-lodged dealing, your second mortgage can end up ranking behind something you never expected. Our priority notice guide covers the protections that exist during settlement, and why they don’t replace a fast response.

Mid-settlement with a deadline running and unsure where the file sits? Tell us what’s on the title and a specialist will read it with you.

How is each type of requisition fixed?

Take the causes in turn. The order of steps is similar each time.

Name mismatch. Get proof of the correct name: a marriage certificate, change-of-name record or ASIC extract for a company. Then the lodger either corrects the dealing, with the named parties initialling each change where the registry requires it, or lodges a name-change dealing first. Don’t draft a replacement document yourself: only the lodger or their legal representative amends a lodged document, and a new document can attract new lodgement fees.

Wrong folio or lot. The lender’s conveyancer corrects the reference and responds. Check the whole description once more against a current search, so the same error isn’t repeated in a second requisition.

Missing consent. This is a coordination problem rather than a drafting one. The first mortgagee has to supply the consent in the right form. Start the request early, because a bank’s consent process has its own timeline. See first mortgagee consent for how it’s asked for and what conditions come with it.

A blocking caveat. Slower and sometimes not in your control. The options are a withdrawal by the caveator, payment of whatever the caveat protects, or an application to remove it. Ask your solicitor for a realistic timeline before you promise anyone a funding date.

Wrong fee. Pay the difference as the notice directs. Our mortgage registration fee guide lists the lodgement and settlement costs by state so you can tell what the right figure should have been.

Illustrative example: a name that didn’t match

An owner is borrowing $240,000 behind the bank’s first mortgage to cover a large stock order due in two weeks. The mortgage is signed using the owner’s usual name. The register still carries the full name from an older purchase, with an extra middle name.

• Day 1: the dealing is lodged. Funds were scheduled to be released on registration.
• Day 3: the registry issues a requisition: the mortgagor’s name doesn’t match the register.
• Day 4: the owner supplies a certified identity record that links the two forms of the name.
• Day 5: the lender’s conveyancer responds, the amended dealing is re-examined and registered.

The loan wasn’t at risk. The delay came from one name and one missing document. Had the response sat for two weeks, the stock order would have been missed. The numbers are illustrative only.

How do you avoid it next time?

Most requisitions are preventable before signing:

1. Order a current title search and copy the registered name, folio and every listed interest into your own notes.
2. Make every name exact. The mortgagor name on the loan should be the name on the title, character for character, or the name change should be lodged first.
3. Have consents lined up. Ask the first lender early; don’t wait for the lodgement.
4. Run a final title search or title activity check immediately before settlement. The NSW bulletin recommends this before workspace sign-off.
5. Pay the right fees. If you’re unsure, ask the conveyancer for the lodgement fee schedule for your state.
6. Gather the paperwork up front. Our documents checklist lists identity, ownership and loan documents a second mortgage normally needs.

You can also use the equity and LVR calculator to confirm the amount before documents are drawn, which avoids revised figures after lodgement.

A clean title, a straight answer

If a registry notice has you worried about a funding date, or you’d like the paperwork to go through first time on your next loan, the first step is simple. We’ll look at the title, the owners and the order of the mortgages, and tell you what needs to be right before anything is lodged.

The enquiry takes about 60 seconds, and there’s no credit check when you first enquire, so asking won’t touch your credit file. Your details go to one specialist, not a pile of lenders, so there’s no spray and pray and no flood of calls. A real person works through your situation and phones you. Please fill the form in accurately: owner names exactly as they appear on the title, the property address, what’s owed on the first mortgage and the amount you need. Accurate details are what let us match the right structure first time.

Find out where my title stands →