Can I Register My Own Deed in New Brunswick Without a Lawyer?

You may be buying, selling or receiving property in New Brunswick and wondering whether you can simply register the deed yourself. Legal fees are a real cost, so the question is a fair one.

The short answer is that the rules make it difficult to do on your own, because only subscribers can submit electronic instruments and paper filing is allowed only in limited cases. This article explains how registration works, what the law says about who can file, and what to check before you decide.

This article covers the law of New Brunswick.

Is a lawyer legally required for a purchase?

No statute was found that requires you to hire a lawyer to buy a home in New Brunswick. That is different from saying you can easily register the deed yourself. The way registration is set up makes a lawyer the usual route.

Whether a lender, a seller or another party in your deal expects a lawyer to be involved is a matter between you and them. It depends on your own documents and is worth confirming before you proceed.

Who can submit electronic instruments

Electronic instruments can be submitted only by subscribers, apart from stated exceptions. A subscriber is a member of the Law Society of New Brunswick who is authorized to practise law and who has an agreement with Service New Brunswick.

Service New Brunswick's Land Registration FAQ says that lawyers and land surveyors can submit instruments online. As an ordinary member of the public, you cannot sign up as a subscriber. This is the main reason lawyers do the electronic registration of deeds and mortgages.

The limited paper exception

Paper submission is allowed in limited cases, such as when a registered owner submits the instrument personally. This is an exception, not a general right to file any document you like.

Even if paper filing is open to you, the instrument still has to be properly executed and accompanied by all pertinent documents and approvals. Requirements also differ between Land Titles and the Registry of Deeds. A document that is incomplete or in the wrong form can be turned away.

What a registrar looks for

• A proper description of the land. In Land Titles, describing land by its approved Parcel Identifier (PID) is a sufficient description, and the registrar may reject an instrument that does not use the approved PID, while requirements differ in the Registry of Deeds.
• The right form. A registered mortgage is discharged by registering a discharge of mortgage in prescribed form, and land is mortgaged by registering a mortgage in prescribed form.
• Transfer tax paid first. The tax is payable by the person who tenders the deed and must be paid before the deed is registered.
• Correct system rules. Land Titles is a parcel-based system that uses the PID to identify parcels and record interests in them.

The PID is a land-parcel identifier and is separate from the Property Account Number used for assessment and taxation. Mixing the two up is an easy mistake.

Transfer tax and conversions to Land Titles

For deeds tendered on or after April 1, 2016, the transfer tax is generally 1% of the greater of the price paid and the assessed value, although lower earlier rates (0.5% from June 1, 2012 to March 31, 2016, and 0.25% before that) are kept for agreements for sale or purchase signed before specified dates. A price below assessment does not lower the tax. For a partial interest in property, the transferred share's percentage is applied to the assessed value. No transfer tax is payable on registration of certain instruments, including wills, certain transfers from estates to beneficiaries or heirs, transfers to registered charities, and transfers made only to secure a debt. For example, a $200,000 price on a property assessed at $250,000 is taxed on $250,000, which is $2,500.

When land is converted to Land Titles, a lawyer must do a final Registry of Deeds search and give Service New Brunswick the certificate of title. The Law Society of New Brunswick publishes Standards for the Practice of Real Property Law for lawyers issuing certificates of title. The Form 3 certificate goes to Service New Brunswick for land being brought into Land Titles and confirms a title search was done under those Standards. This step cannot be done by an owner alone.

What to do next

• Find out whether your land is in Land Titles or the Registry of Deeds, since the requirements differ.
• Gather your PID and the documents that go with the instrument.
• Work out the transfer tax and how it will be paid before registration.
• Ask any lender or other party in your deal what they require.
• Speak with a lawyer before you try paper filing, so you know whether you qualify and what could be rejected.

If you are weighing the cost of a lawyer against doing it yourself, a short conversation with a lawyer can help you see which parts of your transaction are straightforward and which are not.

Frequently asked questions