Disbursements
What exactly is a conveyancing disbursement?
Every conveyancing quote is made up of two different kinds of cost: our legal fee, and a handful of disbursements paid out to third parties on your behalf. Here's what each disbursement actually pays for, and why we list them separately rather than folding them into one number.
Get your itemised quote →The Distinction
Our fee, and money we pass on, are not the same thing.
Our legal fee is what you pay us for our own time and expertise: reviewing the title, raising and answering enquiries, reporting to you, and managing the transaction from instruction to completion.
A disbursement is different. It is a cost we pay to someone else on your behalf, such as a search provider, HM Land Registry, or a bank, and we pass that exact cost on to you rather than marking it up. Keeping the two separate on your quote means you can see precisely what our own work costs, and what is simply being paid onward to a third party.
Line By Line
The disbursements you'll typically see itemised.
£350
Search pack
A set of official searches carried out with your local authority, environmental and drainage providers, covering things like planning history, flood risk and nearby developments that could affect the property.
£45
Identity check
A digital check confirming who you are, required by anti-money laundering law before we can act for you.
£55
AML check
A further anti-money laundering check on the source of your funds, required alongside the identity check on every transaction.
£30
CHAPS transfer fee
The cost of sending your completion money by same-day CHAPS bank transfer, the secure method used to move purchase funds on completion day.
£50
Land Registry processing
Our administrative cost of preparing and submitting your application to register the change of ownership with HM Land Registry, separate from the Land Registry's own registration fee, which is a government fee set by property value.
£50
SDLT processing
Our administrative cost of preparing and submitting your Stamp Duty Land Tax return, separate from any Stamp Duty itself, which is a tax paid to HMRC based on the purchase price.
These are typical amounts included in a standard freehold quote, not a guaranteed total. Leasehold transactions often carry an additional fee, and a landlord or managing agent may charge their own notice-of-transfer or notice-of-charge fee to update their records, which we itemise separately when it applies. Stamp Duty Land Tax itself, where it's due, and the Land Registry's own registration fee are government charges set by the price and value of your property, shown on your quote alongside our processing costs above.
Why It Matters
Why we don't fold everything into one headline number.
It would be simpler, on paper, to quote a single all-in figure. But a single number hides what you're actually paying for, and makes it far harder to compare a quote from one firm against a quote from another, because you can't tell how much of each figure is legal fee and how much is a third-party cost that every firm pays the same amount for.
Itemising each disbursement separately means you can see exactly what each pound of your quote is paying for: our own time and expertise, or a cost we're simply passing on from a search provider, HM Land Registry, or a bank. That's the same principle behind every fee bracket on this site.
Your Quote
See every disbursement,
itemised, in your quote.
A few quick questions get you a complete, itemised quote — legal fees, disbursements and government fees, each shown separately.
- About 2 minutes, free
- No obligation to instruct
Your Quote
Professional fees, incl. VAT
—
Disbursements
—
Government fees
—
Total: — Disbursements and government fees are estimates and will be finalised before exchange; for leasehold properties the landlord's own Lessor's Registration Fee is not included, as it is set at the landlord's discretion.
Important information
This quote is based on the information you have given us. If something material changes or additional information comes to light during the transaction, we will tell you and agree any change with you before it applies. To comply with Money Laundering Regulations we verify the identity of all clients, including through an online ID verification service.
Almost done
Where should we send it?
No. Our legal fee is what you pay for our own time, expertise and handling of your transaction. A disbursement is money we pass on to a third party on your behalf, such as a search provider, HM Land Registry or a bank. Both appear on your quote, but they are itemised separately because they are two different things.
The disbursements listed above are typical for a standard freehold purchase or sale. Leasehold properties, new-build purchases and unusual title issues can add further third-party costs, such as a landlord's notice-of-transfer fee. Anything additional is explained to you before it is added, not buried in a final bill.
Search fees and identity checks are usually requested on account early in the transaction, since we need to pay the search provider and run your checks before work can proceed. The CHAPS transfer fee, Land Registry fee and any Stamp Duty due are settled at completion, when the purchase money itself moves.
A single headline figure is easier to compare at a glance, but it can hide what you are actually paying for and make it harder to compare quotes from different firms fairly. We itemise every disbursement so you can see exactly where each pound goes.
Read Next
More on fees and searches.
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